By Chuks Akamadu
This is my three years of uninterrupted political aloofness. In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, a constellation of Abia stars had joined forces to retrieve the state’s governance compass from the grip of T.A Orji’s political family. Yours sincerely is proud to have stood to be counted. That mission, to the misery of Abians, was aborted – and this occasion is hardly auspicious to re-tell the sordid story! Four years earlier, I had actually damned what many considered to be “good political judgement” to run for the Abia Central Senatorial seat, which had pitted me against the rampaging Governor T.A Orji.
Yes, the incumbent governor did win, but my loss curiously came at a steep cost. It did cost an arm and a leg. The reason wasn’t too distant to see: my governor (as he then was) felt affronted by the temerity of a young man from same Umuahia North Local Government Area to run against him irrepressibly. For some reason, he appeared convinced that I was planted by his obvious political adversaries to bring his national assembly aspiration to ruin. Otherwise, there really was no justification for his brazen abuse of political power in the early hours of December 8, 2014 when, at his instance, I was “kidnapped” and “abducted” by operatives of Department of State Service (DSS) all in a bid to botch my party’s senatorial primary election which, against all odds, still held on the said date. Now for the first time, I wish to confess publicly that in the midst of my travails in the hands of the hawks at Government House Umuahia in that tempest era, three things enabled me to stay faithful to the struggle. First, as a Mahatma Gandhi fan, I had learnt the art of resilience and was actually happy that an opportunity had been provided for me to experiment with it at the realm of practice. Second, the instructive words of Sydney J. Harris written in 1951 which says that “Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable”! Third, the sheer conviction, rare courage and uncommon passion for justice Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi admirably displayed in the course of his Supreme Court battle to reclaim his gubernatorial mandate constantly reminded me that fighting a good cause does not necessarily have to enjoy the buy-in of a fair-weather crowd. However, for the purpose of this piece, I would have us briefly chew more on Harris’ profound words (… it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable). Truly, I now have every reason to believe that our founding fathers were acutely aware of how inconsolable they would have been had they shirked the historic responsibility of fighting for and winning independence for Nigeria. Ditto the Dr. Alex Ekwueme-led G-18, later G-34, who spoke raw truth to the smokey guns of the military in the face of indiscriminate tyranny!
There comes a time in the life of a man when he, of his own volition, steps out of his comfort zone to take a stand– and that is exactly why I have willfully terminated my three years of political hibernation. With the general elections being less than 365 days away from today, Nigeria has once again approached the crossroads. As usual, pundits and political hirelings have saturated the media (conventional and new) space, pulling wool over our eyes. It has equally become pretty difficult to really separate chaff from wheat. Worse still, pretenders and charlatans seem to be dominating the front pages. However, the rigour of seeing through the political maze and the ability to stay uncontaminated by contagious primordial considerations are the reason it has taken some of us this long to reach an objective decision. Straight to the point, the issue of who succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari is too crucial to be left in the hands of political parties lest we, as Harris warned, become inconsolable for choosing not to do the needful.I have keenly followed – for the most part with amusement – the fierce conversation around which part of the country the next president should come from. Let me state clearly that it is laughable for some Nigerians to be making an otherwise straightforward matter a subject of debate. Nigeria as we know it from birth is WA-ZO-BIA that has always stood mainly on the tripod of Igbo, Hausa (which of course includes the Fulani etc) and Yoruba. This of course is not an attempt to obscure the strategic importance of other ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. And even if, for the purpose of mischief, we go by the six geopolitical zones arrangement, there wouldn’t still be need for argument of any sorts. Either way, it’s the “turn” of Ndigbo. But this is not even my thesis. On the contrary, I am of the opinion that given the peculiar realities of the present time, Nigeria needs a president whose triumph at next year’s poll would be a pan-Nigerian mandate that comes with vision, direction, competence and profuse patriotism. Nigeria needs a bold, courageous and pragmatic leader who would look our hydra-headed challenges in the face and begin to decimate them mercilessly.
More than anything else, Nigeria urgently needs healing just as Nigerians need to be inspired afresh by a leader they can trust, someone whose antecedents show immaculate fidelity to Project Nigeria. We need a president, whose past leadership accomplishments would naturally recommend him to the diverse peoples of Nigeria. We need a sharp-shooter who shoots with clinical precision. Who then does the cap fit? Amongst all that have thrown their hats into the ring – distinguished Nigerians no doubt, I have not seen one who the judiciary crowned as a conqueror, the legislature considered his feats phenomenal, the executive at both the state and federal levels acknowledged his governance legacies as transformational! His kinsmen call him “Lion”, in a faraway land, he’s known as a “trusted son of the soil” and the best his detractors could validly say against him is that he is too blunt. He appears to have a covenant with victory. He won as a legislator, won as speaker, won as governor and when it was time for him to come to the centre, he didn’t waste time to win an Olympic Gold, metaphorically speaking, in rail infrastructure. What is more, under him Canniriv was midwifed and Port-Harcourt became the “Book Capital of the World”. His political reach is sprawling and cuts across all crucially important divides. His mind is fertile and intellectual stamina amazing. Those who know him well say his word is his bond.
Thankfully, he is an Igboman. Igbo kwenu! With him, Nigeria would be killing several birds with one stone: enthrone quality leadership; resolve once and for all the lingering Igbo agitation; and at the same time provide a sustainable roadmap for inclusive growth and development. For the North, it would be a rewarding alliance; for the South, it would be putting their best foot forward; for the South-South in particular, it would be adequate pacification for President Jonathan’s one term of office; for the South West, it would be a flawless case for merit; for Ndigbo, it would on the one hand be the fulfilment of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s prophecy in his book, Because I Am Involved, that “The Igbo people must advance into the mainstream of Nigerian politics”, and on the other hand, it would be a historic affirmation that indeed man-made geographical boundaries apart, Igbo Bu Ofu (Igbo is One). He sure would be the unveiling of the Nigeria of our dreams and his presidency a win-win for all parts of the country.
In adherence to the wise words of Harris and for the love of fatherland, I make haste to publicly join millions of patriotic voices across the nation to say that the silence of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is no longer golden. Run, Amaechi, Run!
Akamadu, Lawyer and Public Relations Consultant