Former Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha
The name Nicole Ceausescu may not register well with some of us. He served as head of state of Romania between 1967 and 1973, and from 1974 till his overthrow and assassination in 1989, he was the Romanian president.
His execution was made possible by the Romanian Revolution Movement in December 1989. The executioners said, “it was a part of series of anti- communist upraising in Eastern Europe that year”.
The president became anti -people. When the masses protested against his inhuman policies and procedures, he urged his security men, mostly military men, to dislodge and expire his fellow compatriots. After some days, the heavily armed security men said they could not continue killing innocent people just like that. They turned, went back to the state house, informed Ceausescu about their resolution, dragged him in front of his official lodge and sent him to the gallows.
Two, there was Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire. In 2000, there was a transition to civil rule. Gbagbo contested the election and won. But the then head of state, General Robert Guei, just like Nigeria’s General Ibrahim Babangida, annulled the election on the grounds that Gbagbo was not originally Ivoirien.
Of course, the masses called the head of state’s bluff. They thronged the streets and staged massive protests never before witnessed in that francophone West African country. Their demand was straight and simple – Go Guei, Gbagbo is our next president!!! Like Ceausescu, Guei used soldiers on the electorate. As the soldiers confronted them with live bullets, the masses surged on the more. On getting to the government house, the soldiers turned against their supreme commander, kidnapped him and ultimately handed over powers to Gbagbo.
You see, just as it happened in the two accounts presented above, so it has always happened for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. The masses usually fight for him. Like the sheep that said that what the dog saw and was hysterically barking, he had long seen and decided to go without a bleating – just to look on until all his adversaries work themselves out. This is actually Ihedioha’s philosophy now to wit: “anya, anya kamji elegbu ha”. Indeed the late Bola Ige called it “sit down look”. At the end of the day the masses will decide that it is Ihedioha they want.
It was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana who informed us that, “The strength of the organized masses is invincible. We should be organized now more than ever before because organization decides everything”. Ihedioha believes in organization and the strength of the organized masses. He has absolute confidence in constitutionality, processes and procedures of an organized system. This is his strength and he draws his power from here.
The moment the supreme court controversially enthroned Senator Hope Uzodimma as Imo State governor, the first port of call of the mutineers around him was to fabricate a barefaced lie against Ihedioha that he made away with N19bn Imo State money. They started a thorough investigation aimed at hitting the former governor hard if he was indicted. Unfortunately for them, Ihedioha is an administrator who follows due processes, and his financial records are immaculate and straight. They realized Ihedioha never appropriated one kobo to his personal or selfish interest. There and then, the investigation died and nothing was heard about it again. Ihedioha was innocent of the allegation.
Instead, all the glories Governor Uzodimma is taking today on few of the roads he has constructed or reconnected, were made possible by the well tailored modalities put in place by the Ihedioha administration. Again, the governor and his APC government are counting their blessings on few recoveries they had registered without giving credit to Ihedioha who created the judicial panel of inquiries upon whose recommendations the non inclusive and minor recoveries are achieved.
And now, the PDP chauvinists who lost in the last PDP primary elections in the state. They have always lost. And they will continue to lose except they come back to base. After their abysmal outing in the last primary elections, these hackers had three options – 1) stay in PDP, support and work for success 2) go out of PDP and join another party 3) stay in PDP and cause confusion. The first two is noble. Number three is dishonorable. And those who have been fighting Ihedioha mostly belong to the number three group.
This group’s only missile against Ihedioha is nothing but where he hails from – Mbaise. It is not that Ihedioha has committed any crime against PDP. In actual fact, he is the soul of the party in the state. He has never worked against the party’s interest as those of them grandstanding today had done or are doing. Without Ihedioha, a requem would have been sung for PDP in Imo long time ago. He organizes and puts the party in proper shape for victory.
Yet, these ruthless executioners, having conspired against Ihedioha, without any genuine evidence and reason, have established a fresh gibbet upon which they want arrow him on. The gibbet now is to “micro zone PDP ticket to Ngo Okpala, Ikeduru, Mbaitoli, Owerri West, Owerri North or Owerri Municipal”. These macabre dancers are doling out a clearly contaminated idea of “it shouldn’t be Mbaise bloc”. They fidget whenever Mbaise is mentioned. The name Mbaise is a bomb to them. Yet, they fail to understand that Mbaise is the political capital of PDP in Imo State! What we deliver on election day is what Dr Alex Obi once described demographic bomb which no other bloc in the state can boast of! Thus, this their backyard option is not only infantile, it is senseless as well as primitive.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar contested the 2019 presidential election on the ticket of PDP just as Ihedioha did in Imo State for governor. Before that Atiku had also contested for president on the the platform of ACN in 2007. In 2023, Atiku will be on the ballot again on the platform of PDP. Why didn’t these spin doctors talk about micro zoning it out of the reach of Atiku?
I read their submission and it was as the iconic William Shakespeare put it: “full of furry signifying nothing”. And so, it must be disregarded and thrown overboard. The point is, the only Owerri ward before 2019 to have governed Imo State was Senator Evan Enwerem who ruled for 18 months. He was from Ikeduru. Ihedioha was there for seven months. So, how can you now exclude Mbaise from your jagged micro zoning in view of Ihedioha who ruled for seven months but included Ikeduru who has also produced a governor who served for 18 months? That their submission lacked merit and it is politically incorrect. It is best for the dustbin!!!
We must always remember that Ihedioha has the masses behind him because: his word is his bond. At the end of the day, the masses will return him because power belongs to the people, not few people.
