Upcoming APC State Congress And The need For Uzodimma To Build Party Structure On Loyalty And Trusted Members

PETER DIBIA

More often than not, trust and loyalty are two ingredients in politics that should never be neglected. As a result, any good leader should not abandon those who stood with him when the going was tough and rough. 

Imo State, being one of the state that makes up the South East zone, should not be played with in terms of party structure.  Ward and LGA Congress, has come and gone, what remains now is the State Congress, which will take place on the 2nd October, 2021.

Truth be told, if Governor Hope Uzodimma, should make the mistake in selecting those that will be in charge of Imo State APC, it will not only affect his political ambition but will also affect his government.

Many are of the opinion that those that should be elected to hold party structure in the state, should be those who are your strong followers and trusted members of the party.

Welcoming those from other parties into APC is good but do not be in a hurry to leave your house for them. My investigations have it that some of them are there to either gather structures for themselves or enrich their pockets; remember no one empowers his enemy.

It is important for us to state that the fact that, political leadership, be it a junta, monarchy, or democracy,  thrives on Loyalty and Trust. That is why, Sir, you must be very careful now that the party congresses and convention are approaching; you have to be mindful of Bread and Butter politicians, Food is Ready politicians, Mercenary politicians etc, most of whom have come to hijack the party structure through an assumed and fake loyalty. Our eyes are all open! They have started collecting money, making promises they cannot keep and dropping names. 
We have observed that they are now subjecting most of these their so called preferred candidates to oaths. They intend to use them to rip off unsuspecting candidates at the primaries. We advise that you have to be watchful and watch your back. You must not allow or sacrifice your God given victory to be tampered with or destroyed by these mercenary politicians. You must protect your own, that is, the party which you are the leader by all definitions. 

Many politicians agree and believe that Loyalty is and should be held at high esteem. That in loyalty there is the absence of bribery, corruption and  betrayals. Politicians also believe that they cannot depend on people who believe in another philosophy of government to give them their undivided loyalty or their best when it comes to making the party strong and united. Political leadership thrives on loyalty and trust, they emphasize. 

It is clear that all political leaders can sacrifice something but not loyalty and trust.  Your Excellency Sir, they believe that they are the lifeblood of any regime. As such in considering political appointments or placements in party offices, every politician wittingly or unwittingly makes a choice between loyalty and competence. 

Sir, in most cases loyalty thrives over competence. This in no way suggests that those who are placed in such positions are not competent. Accordingly, in considering people for such positions, those concerned in considering people for appointments or political positions are also mindful in doing so of political sabotage, political sell out, internal party cliques and personal ambitions of appointees. 

What is seriously needed from an appointee or one considered for party positions is loyalty, especially when the going gets rough as it will inevitably will. Loyalty is obvious when it exists, crystal clear when it doesn’t and sadly, nearly impossible to pinpoint when it lands somewhere. Ironically, that is where most people fall… in the gray. Placements based on loyalty must serve the political needs of the governor.  

Oftentimes, government appointment process is frequently regarded as being strongly dominated by consideration of loyalty and trust, at the cost of competence. This is so because all political leaders believe that there is no 99.9% in loyalty. Loyalty is either 100%, absolute or it is not there. Politicians also believe that while competence can be sourced, loyalty is constant. Loyalists rewarded whether for party offices or any other appointment must show acceptable levels of competence.

Continuing on political appointees, it is only that sometimes,  some of these ‘loyal and trusted’ appointees are not necessarily the Ph.D, Masters or First Degree holders in Law, Medicine, Political Science, History, Business Administration. They may not have worked for twenty years or more in multilateral companies,  financial sector or international bodies. They may not possess enviable CVs or be the darling ‘boys and girls’ of the media. Some may not be authorities in any field of endeavour nor accomplished professionals.                 

                                        
Some may just be middle School Certificate holders, or GCE ‘O’ or ‘A’ level holders. Others may not even hold any form of educational qualificational credentials. But they are the ones who stayed loyal, dedicated, and committed to the cause sometimes at the peril of their business, marriage or life and so, as politics is also a game of rewards, appointing authorities feel loyally bound and indebted to such apparatchiks. 

This is no way dismissive of the political appointees commitment to providing the country, state or LGA with competent and quality governance. They only need appointees who can loyally drive the vision of the party and government.                                                                       
The public should in no way expect that appointing authorities will ever appoint ‘politically neutral’, ‘politically correct’ nice technocrats into government as long as politics remains a game of mobilization and aggregation of interest. Even where that becomes the consideration, then it is also the case that such an individual is amenable to the beliefs and ideologies of the appointing authority but covertly.               

                 
If that were not the case, party folks will not be seen agitating against some of the appointees, who they consider outsiders who are not known in the party or who were not in the trenches with them or contributed overtly to the cause of the party’s success. In conclusion, when it comes to political appointment, be it anywhere in the world, loyalty and trust thrive over confidence.