– Accuses Orlu Of Plotting To Retain Power Beyond 2027
As Owerri and Okigwe zones hustle about which part will produce the next Governor of Imo State after the expiration of Governor Hope Uzodinma’s tenure in 2027, Chief Mike Nwachukwu, (Mpi Dike) the Egbelu, Obube, Owerri North Local Government Area born politician and former Senatorial candidate of in the 2023 election, has thrown his weight behind Okigwe zone, thereby urging Owerri zone where he hails from to wait for Okigwe zone to complete it’s remaining 4-year.
Mpi Dike, as fondly called by his teeming supporters, who stated this in an open letter dated July, 8, 2024, which he signed and made available to the press, hinged his argument in support of Okigwe zone on the ground that it is better for Owerri zone to negotiate with and support Okigwe zone to complete its outstanding 4 years after which they will support Owerri zone to produce a Governor that will be on the saddle for 8 years, adding that there is no way Owerri zone will achieve the fact alone without the support of either Okigwe or Orlu zone.
The retired banker and astute manager of men and resources who raised a lot of issues to justify his stand on the Imo Charter of Equity noted that if Owerri and Okigwe zone fail to agree on a common line of action, there is the tendency for a person from Orlu zone to succeed Governor Uzodinma in 2027.
The letter reads in part, “On March 3, 2024 I penned and caused to be published an article on The Imo Charter of Equity (2.0) further to the 2027 / 28 governorship election in which article I summed up the need for Owerri Zone and Okigwe Zone to come together and dialogue with the objective of working together towards making sure that against the background of the fact that by the time H.E. Dist. Senator Hope Uzodinma completes his second tenure, Orlu Zone would have occupied the Governorship Seat for Twenty Four (24) years out of Twenty Eight (28), the next Governor will come from either Owerri or Okigwe Zone. As you may have been aware, I also took the step of formally forwarding to The Imo State Council of Elders the said article vide a letter dated April 2, 2024 in which letter I offered a “TEMPLATE” on the resolution of the looming political crisis in Imo State as a result of the contest between Owerri Zone and Okigwe Zone for the Governorship Seat.
It is clear to me that I stirred up a lot of emotions in Imo State in general and amongst not a few persons from Owerri Zone in particular, when I, in my article created a window of suggestion that it may well be that onye Okigwe Zone will succeed the present Governor as virtually most political leaders of Owerri Zone are of the expectation that it is the “TURN OF OWERRI ZONE” and therefore expect every Owerri Zone person to fall in line. This, in my candid opinion is not how this thing will work out! However unassailable our argument(s) is(are), we have just nine (9) out of twenty seven (27) L.G.A’s and therefore cannot by ourselves make a governor.
Another clear reality which we must “APPRECIATE” no matter how bitter it is, is that Okigwe Zone has very serious concerns and also believe they have “VERY UNASSAILABLE” arguments why we should concede to them and allow them to complete their truncated twoterm tenure in the true spirit of The Imo Charter of Equity. In a well-publicized letter to The Imo State Council of Elders, Okigwe Global League ostensibly writing on behalf of nde Okigwe Zone articulated and conveyed their position. However, just like Owerri Zone, Okigwe Zone do not have the “NUMBERS” to make a governor themselves with their six (6) L.G.A’s.
I challenge the reader particularly those of us from Owerri Zone to interrogate the reasons offered by nde Okigwe Zone to justify their demand to be availed the first shot come the 2027 Governorship election. This will help prepare us for the eventual engagement with them as is the nature of politics!
As we examine the options open to Owerri Zone toward the realization of the Owerri Zone agenda, we must without any prodding from anybody or group play for ourselves and on ourselves the role of “THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE” and ask ourselves the following questions:
1. If I am from Okigwe Zone and championing the Okigwe Zone agenda what would be my appropriate strategy in the face of a rampaging Owerri Zone with Nine (9) L.G.A’s against my Six (6) L.G.A’s? To answer this question, we must put ourselves in the mind of onye Okigwe Zone and think as he would under the circumstance!
2. As nde Owerri Zone, if for any conceivable reason, we are not able to clinch the “almighty governorship seat”, would we rather nde Okigwe who are clamoring for another term of four years or would we rather nde Orlu Zone, who are on the throes of being on the seat for twenty-four (24) out of twenty-eight (28) years since the commencement of the present democratic experience?
3. As onye Orlu zone, who realizes that somehow Orlu zone will emerge the beautiful bride in the emerging contest between Owerri Zone and Okigwe Zone and who believes in The Imo Chapter of Equity, which route shall I follow so that “power” will come back to Orlu in the shortest possible period as follows:
i. Owerri Zone (8 years) + Okigwe Zone (8 years) → 16 years wait for Orlu, or
ii. Okigwe Zone (4 years) + Owerri Zone (8 years) → 12 years wait for Orlu. Again, to answer this question, we must put ourselves in the in the mind of the fair-minded onye Orlu who believes in The Imo Charter of Equity but is also looking for the shortest possible route to get back to Douglas House and think like he would think!
4. What if, I am that onye Orlu who has scant regard for Equity, Fairness & Justice encapsulated in The Imo Charter of Equity and does not believe Orlu has to yield to either Owerri or Okigwe Zone?
This version of onye Orlu played out in 2007 in the persons of Chief Tony Ezenna (Orange Drugs), Chief Festus Eze Odimegwu and our present Governor, Dist. Senator Hope Uzodinma, when regardless of the fact that Chief Achike Udenwa was just rounding off his second term in office they contested for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) nomination and nearly almost had it.
I had ascribed their (Orlu Zone) not being able to win the contest to what I described as the “SUPERIOR FIRE POWER AND ORGANIZATION” of Dist. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume from Okigwe Zone who stopped them, though was eventually denied the “spoils” of his victory by the owner of PDP at that time.
But on a deeper reflection and interrogation of the events of that period it became clear to me that Dist. Senator Araraume came tops for two related reasons:
i. The trio of H.E. Dist. Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chief Tony Ezenna & Chief Eze Odimegwu who all had very deep pockets shared the Orlu votes amongst themselves.
ii. ii. H.E. Chief Ikedi Ohakim who is from the same Local Government Area as Dist. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume strategically moved over to PPA and so Senator Araraume had the votes of Okigwe Zone to himself.
If the kind of “ELITE CONSENSUS” that is existing today amongst politicians from Orlu Zone existed then, perhaps the three Orlu Zone political champions at that time would have decided to present one of them and pool in their deep resources, rather than share their votes. It goes without saying that the aspirant presented would have clearly won the PDP nomination and go ahead to become Governor right after H.E. Chief Achike Udenwa’s eight years in office! Again, if Chief Ikedi Ohakim hadn’t left for PPA and remained in PDP he would have shared Okigwe Zone votes with Dist. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, and the aspirants from Orlu Zone would have been the beneficiaries of his presence in the contest. It is instructive to note that whilst Araraume came tops in the contest, our present Governor came second, Orange drugs third, and Odimegwu fourth followed by “the also ran’s”.
However, it happened, the mistake of 2011 must never be allowed to re-occur. Perhaps, if there was leadership consensus among the Owerri Zone political elite and we gave a deep thought to the consequences of the massive support Owelle Rochas Okorocha received from Owerri Zone then, the political history and narrative of Imo politics may have taken a new turn.
I had in my article offered a template that would guide us through this proposed engagement with Okigwe Zone equal partners with a potential for a VOTE BY SECRET BALLOT to resolve the question if there is no resolution through a frank discourse. I am pleased to present excerpts of my letter to The Imo State Council of Elders that put forth the Template hereunder:
After exploring the issues surrounding the Charter of Equity and putting it in its proper historical perspective and context, I came to the conclusion that the way forward would be for very credible stakeholders from Owerri Zone and Okigwe Zone in equal numbers regardless of the number of Local Government Areas each Zone has, to come together, rub minds, politic amongst themselves, even fight amongst themselves, present their respective arguments and positions and come up with a common position on which of the two Zones will take the first shot.
Rather than vilify me as one unidentified “hack” who called himself Maxwell Obinna did in the April 11, 2024 edition of Horn Newspaper, and yet another did in thenationonlineng.net publication of April 28, 2024, anybody who has a superior thought process, argument and template should present same for consideration and discussion! Such fellows should be men enough to identify themselves and join issues with me in the public space rather than hide behind a mask to attack my person instead of addressing the issues I raised.
Ironically, some of the key persons who are providing the intellectual framework for the Owerri Zone Governorship Project ‘2027 via the Imo Harmony Project (IHP) also worked for the governorship ambition of Dist. Senator Athan Achonu from Okigwe Zone in the November 11, 2023 Governorship election and provided the intellectual resource that crystallized into a well thought out Agenda for Senator Achonu.
What if the Senator won and became Governor? What would have become the configuration of Imo Harmony Project (IHP) today? I guess we would have reconciled and resigned ourselves into waiting for eight years or put up a fight against him after his first term? Alright! Would it surprise you or anybody, if at that time some elements from our Zone join forces with Orlu Zone to wrestle power from him and make onye Orlu Zone the Governor!
However, in a twist of faith, on the contrary, Prof. Vitalis Ajumbe who is today vilified, perhaps more than I am, single handedly introduced, packaged and navigated Retired Major-General Ogunewe’s Owerri Zone Governorship project in the Labour Party in the said election for which Athan Achonu became the Party’s Flag Bearer. As we all know Ogunewe is from Ezinihitte Mbaise L.G.A. of Owerri Zone!
A lot of our people who have engaged me on this subject and on my article “incognito” have unabashedly told me and argued that the Governor promised to handover to onye Owerri Zone (in fact onye Owerri Federal Constituency) at the end of his term.
Well, I am a student of Political History and so the question I have asked, is what does history tell us about transfer of power in Imo State? Which Governor in Imo state has successfully determined his successor in Imo State? What does the 2007 PDP Governorship process that produced Dist. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume tell and teach us?
H.E. Dist. Senator Hope Uzodinma has the record of being the first Governor in Nigeria to be declared as having come fourth position in a general election but eventually became Governor after the Supreme Court agreed with him that his valid votes from various polling units across Imo State were not added to his vote tally. And so, he may well break the jinx of Governor’s in Imo State not being able to determine their successor. But should we not be pragmatic enough and help him by effectively and respectfully engaging our Okigwe Compatriots and using the said Governor’s promise as one of our bargaining chips?
If indeed, the Governor, true to the claim by some of us will hand over to onye Owerri Zone, do we really think, Okigwe Zone will rollover because the Governor has said so? If the tables were turned, and it is said that the Governor said he will hand over to onye Okigwe, will nde Owerri rollover because the Governor said? Did we all rollover in 2018 / 2019 because H.E. Owelle Rochas Okorocha said it will be his son-in-law Chief Uche Nwosu? We all know what happened to Rochas’s APC before they had to settle for AA.
The need for a sincere and structured dialogue with nde Okigwe Zone cannot be treated with the level of levity I am seeing in nde Owerri’s body language.
In the same vein, Okigwe Zone must wake up to the reality of the need for a structured and serious dialogue with Owerri Zone.
The Promoters of Imo Harmony Project of Owerri Zone and Okigwe Global League of Okigwe Zone should all drop their braggadocios dispositions and key into the TEMPLATE I have offered for a ROBUST ENGAGEMENT between the two Zones as equal partners. I am happy to note that a new organisation – Owerri Zone People’s Mandate (OZOPEM) has emerged to champion this structured engagement with of course, the interest of Owerri Zone uppermost in their agenda. I enjoin us all to embrace this body who in its maiden communique committed to engaging not just Okigwe Zone but also Orlu Zone in their quest to seeing through the Owerri Zone Governorship Project come 2027. I am a member of this organisation and have been appointed to Head the Strategy Committee which is saddled with the task of providing the organisation with a strategic pathway towards the realization of our agenda. Naturally I shall present the template I developed for discussions and possible adoption with other Committee Members and eventually present same to the general body.
The danger in becoming Zonal Champions rather than being Champions of Engagement of the two Zones is that each Zone will go into the election politics believing it will outsmart the other. Orlu zone will not help the two Zones to reconcile themselves. On the contrary, they (Orlu Zone) will encourage, fuel and accentuate the battle and division and then take full advantage of the ensuing face off to mount the saddle of one or two of the major Political Parties, emerge their candidate and win back the price!!! One may think and say that I am being alarmist, but this is what will happen if we are not circumspect and when it happens what each and every one of us will be saying is “I WISH WE LISTENED TO MPI DIKE”. Unfortunately, at that time we would be getting ready to Swear into Office, another Orlu Zone Compatriot as Governor following which another round of “musical chairs” will commence, but sadly most of the present “actors and actresses” will not be around to make any meaningful contribution. Those lucky to be around will be concerned about “other things” than “IT IS OUR TURN”.
It is on this note that I challenge the youths of Imo State in general and Owerri Zone in particular to wake up from their slumber and take their destiny into the palm of their hands. We are not talking of Imo State of today! We are talking about Imo State of tomorrow!! And who does that tomorrow belong to?
The great Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; Dr. Michael Okpara; Dr. K. O. Mbadiwe; Chief Obafemi Awolowo; Dr. Akanu Francis Ibiam; Dennis Chukude Osadebay; Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa; Sir Ahmadu Bello; General Yakubu Gowon; Alfred Diette Spiff; Chief Emeka Odimegwu Ojukwu to mention just these few were all significantly young men in their late 20’s 30’s and 40’s when they bestrode the socio-politico-economic climate of Nigeria! You too can become”!
