Imo: PDP And The Uzodimma Albatross

OGU BUNDU NWADIKE, M.A

The man, called Kissinger Ikeokwu, is a lawyer by training and by practice. He’s also a politician. He’s the current State Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State. He’s a popular broadcast media player, who also tries his hands at writing from time to time.

Recently, he made one of his attempts at writing and wrote on a topic he couched as: “Uzodimma’s Aloofness And The Folly Of His Band Of Praise Singers”!

The title exposed two key defects which warranted this rejoinder. One was the falsehood of the governor’s “aloofness” and two was the abuse and insult of “folly”, which has characterized and bastardized the efforts of Imo PDP to play effectively the roles of a leading opposition party in the State.

Only a very helpless bitter Imo PDP can say that the Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, has been “aloof” in the State.

Except the term aloof has got a new definition, it’s a pure lie, falsehood, propaganda and blackmail against the governor and well-meaning Ndimo that are truthful, honest and sincere to accuse the governor of keeping aloof from the State.

It’s crass play to the gallery with grandiloquence, falsehood, propaganda and blackmail for Imo PDP via their State Legal Adviser to utter such nonsense as: “Since he assumed office via the Supreme Court judgment of January 14th, 2021 (sic), Senator Uzodinma barely spent a full calendar week in Imo State. The weeks Hope Uzodinma spent a full week circle in Owerri must be counted with the fingers (sic). Spending a week in Owerri is a serious torture for him Senator Uzodinma.”

It won’t be necessary responding directly to that. Rather, we would invite honest and sincere Ndimo to respond to the writer and his paymasters. Their responses will be a painful trauma to the embattled weak party that has lost focus, only seeing Governor Uzodimma and not their party and its sustainable failure!

However, we must remind Imo PDP that their lawyer exposed them to ridicule by dabbling into the issue of the itinerary of the governor, which isn’t ever open to public knowledge and analysis.

That’s more since the governor is aware of the threat by an Imo PDP chieftain to make the State ungovernable if the Supreme Court of Nigeria refused to reinstate Imo PDP back into Government House, Owerri, after they were cast out by the Apex Court!

With such a threat, only a dummy governor will publicize his going out and coming. Anybody surrounded by enemies, will always guard his life. That Governor Uzodimma is a governor doesn’t make him an immortal object. So, he wisely avoids the self-made enemies that populate Imo PDP.

Truth is that the Imo Governor has never been absent whenever he should be present in any occasion in the State that he should be present. He’s almost always around. Those that know know and can attest to that truth!

Some say he hasn’t visit his home town and village since January 2020! Whatever that means! Is it normal for people to make public announcements that they’re visiting their villages and home towns? 

Should Governor Uzodimma, because he’s Imo governor and to please Imo PDP and other detractors, go to Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) and announce that he’ll be visiting his village and home town?

To that extent, Barr. Kissinger Ikeokwu was simply kissing the power of the word without considering the effect of his diction and utterances on the party and the judiciary that he’s supposed to be representing. Lawyers shouldn’t be liars much as many people in the world see them as such!

Then, for a State officer of the main opposition party in the State to go public and declare reporters and defenders of his governor’s actions and activities as “folly” speaks volumes about how decay Imo PDP has turned and how it’s struggling to afflict Ndimo with its unbeffitting bad politics of hatred and malice, envy and jealousy!

Any other person may be pardoned for saying in public that his or her governor is foolish. But what do you say or do to a lawyer, who doubles as State Legal Adviser of Imo PDP? Please, say or do to him whatever you feel is right for his bad conduct in public!

Truth is that neither Governor Uzodimma nor his band of praise singers are foolish. Otherwise, the prominent leaders of Imo PDP are foolish together with their band of praise singers of which Barr. Kissinger Ikeokwu is in the frontline.

But nobody is foolish for deciding to sing the praises of leaders. It’s normal for deserving leaders, particularly presidents or governors, to have a band of praise singers. It has so been since Adam! Governor Uzodimma is the governor of Imo State. His own won’t be different. Why should Barr. Kissinger Ikeokwu go so low and hard on Governor Uzodimma’s band of praise singers? It’s really unfortunate! 

At this juncture, let it be underscored that Governor Uzodimma is a homebody. He’s a home chicken. Those that see him see him daily in Imo State in the performance of his public assignments. As for his private life, that must be left for him.

The tsunami of programmes and projects accomplishments and achievements attests to the steady presence of the governor in the State. 

Even when he’s wrongly taunted and mocked for being in Abuja everyday, every week, and every month, the relationship between Aso Rock and Douglas House has started paying desired dividends. 

Governor Uzodimma has been able to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to Imo State. How many States in Nigeria has Mr. President visited since 2015? Governor Uzodimma has been able to get military assistance from the Presidency to fight insecurity in the State. How many States in Nigeria have got same favour and benefit? 

Imo PDP must look inwards and keep updating Ndimo on what it’s doing that should guide the people to assessing the party and its claims to be getting set to return to Douglas House in the near future.

Such pettiness as whether or not the governor is 24/7 present in the State of shouldn’t camouflage the evidences of good leadership and good governance that are being tallied and mounted for him across the State. 

Finally, “I get am before na poor man defence. No be property”! All the references to the seven and half months efforts of Imo PDP while in power won’t count for much in the next election. Time changes people and things a lot! That woman of 2019 won’t be the same woman in 2023 or 2027! Change is the only thing permanent in the land of the living!

By God’s grace, Imo State must be rehabilitated, reconstructed and recovered!!