The campaigns for the 2019 elections are on in full swing. The politicians are mounting soap boxes, telling beleaguered Nigerians what they long to hear, which is simply the magic wand each contestant is wielding to take them out of the current economic doldrums. It is also the season when meretricious misinformation is splashed on opponents to gain advantage.
However, while some contestants are really prepared for the onerous task ahead, the campaigns have also exposed the underbellies of the pretenders and gadflies, who are clutching unto mere straws of political deceptions and loquacious godfathers whose only trust is in rigging but which, unfortunately for them, can never fly under the prevailing circumstances, especially in Imo State.
Ever since the front liner in the race for who represents Okigwe South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, fondly called HCN, kicked off his campaign at Abueke, Ihitte Uboma Local Government, barely a fortnight ago, the pretenders have become paranoid. The outpouring of support trailing HCN’s aspiration has struck fear into and disorientated them. The panic is so palpable they have resorted to name calling and sheepish propaganda.
Ironically, HCN and his camp have ignored them, trailing their eyes solely on the plum prize, which, by God’s grace will be in their kitty by February 16. That is part of the DNA of the man, HCN. The gentle colossus, with a doctorate in law, boasts of bagful of verifiable, intimidating achievements, a reason most constituents are rooting for him, as evidenced in the mammoth crowds that throng his ward to ward campaign venues.
HCN has received wide endorsements across the federal constituency but chose not to rest on his oars, as his campaign train still moves from ward to ward, door to door, selling his candidature to appreciative constituents. Unsettled by this development, the minion opposition decided on smear campaign, trying too hard to lump him with the sacking of the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFUND, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi. Nwajiuba’s crime is that he superintends over TETFUND, as board chairman, a task that has no nexus with the beat of the now removed ES.
However, this baseless rumour is not only specious but also unfortunate, malicious and the handiwork of daft enemies of Okigwe South whose design is to keep area perpetually leashed to underdevelopment. Yes, the very laughable drivel is nothing but a smear campaign by desperate turncoats, who have sold their people for pittance. This extreme act must be ignored, as there is no iota of truth in it. It is only meant to discredit HCN and mislead naive minds to follow them into the pitch-dark ditch of political funeral to which they are destined.
HCN has over the years proved himself to be humble and humane, a man of honour. That is why he commands groundswell love and support among his people. Okigwe South is urged to shun the scuttlebutt being peddled by the opposition, as it is mere hogwash crafted by little minds, who are disturbed by the fear of the looming certain loss their lollipop. It is understandable and we pray for them to heal early enough to witness Nwajiuba’s inauguration. Meanwhile people should shun all unproven news aimed at besmirching HCN’s towering profile, honed on granite.
However, rather than diminish the man, the false propaganda has actually boosted Nwajiuba’s credentials, as a leader that can be trusted. No less a personality than the sacked TETFUND ES himself has stated that the reason for his removal was domiciled elsewhere, which had no link whatsoever to the board HCN heads. Anyway, common sense also dictates that if HCN or the board was involved, knowing how President Muhammadu Buhari functions, could he have left the board in place while removing the ES? Of course, no; he definitely would have sacked the board as well. But you see, the dog whose time is up, would not even hear the voice of his master. That was how the voice of reason was lost or ignored by the people intent on doing HCN in but have ended up helping his cause, much to their grief.
Let us establish that Nwajiuba, who, by every stretch of imagination, is obviously well heeled in all aspects of life, is not desperate to return to the National Assembly he left some years back. He is actually on a mission for his people in Ehime Mbano whose turn it is to produce the representative of Okigwe South in the incoming National Assembly, which is a settled matter under the existing tradition of the constituency.
Okigwe South is made up of three local governments – Nwajiuba’s Ehime Mbano, Ihitte Uboma and Obowo, where the current representative, Hon. Chike Okafor, hails from. The distinguished senator representing the zone, Ben Uwajumogu, is from Ihitte Uboma, which constituted the old Ekiti with Obowo. What this means is that the old Ekiti is occupying both the representative and senatorial seats in the current dispensation. For strategic reasons, the people are also agreed that Uwajumogu should return to the Senate while Ehime Mbano takes up the House seat. Sadly, greed and subterfuge came to play, as Chike Okafor allowed himself to be willing tool in the hand of the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to scuttle the peace of his homestead. The implication of this if it succeeds is that while the old Ekiti would hold the two seats for eight unbroken years, Ehime Mbano would have nothing. This is unjust, unfair and evil. It is unacceptable! That is the crux of the matter.
What Okafor fails to understand is that Okorocha is merely using him to fight a proxy war Nwajiuba whom he feels would dwarf his ambitions in 2023 coupled with the fear that HCN would call him to account for the whereabouts of the equipment for Nsu Tiles, which his government carted away. However, Chike should realise too that Okorocha would dump him as soon as he is done using him; this will happen sooner. Moreover, both of them may not even be in the race after all. The All Progressives Congress, APC, is set to pull the rug from under Okorocha’s feet and invariably, everyone clutching onto him, including Chike, will come tumbling down.
When they colluded to frustrate Nwajiuba’s from picking the APC ticket, little did they know that he would outsmart them by picking Accord Party’s ticket and still soar high with it. HCN is still principally APC in spirit and would immediately return to the party as soon as he wins the election so that he will be well positioned to run for the plum office of speaker. The huge accruals to Okigwe South when that happens are too awesome to contemplate. That makes voting the number one party on the ballot inevitable for Okigwe South to grab the premium seat in the House inevitable. One definite outcome of this is that the much deprived people would certainly see the elusive light. And this opportunity is what greed and selfishness of a few paid pipers want Okigwe South to pass up? Never!