By Declan Emelumba
When he joined APC midway into his second term as the senator representing Imo West senatorial district,he made it clear that his decision was borne out of the fact that his people needed to be aligned to the centre. When he ran for the governorship of Imo state on the platform of APC,he swore to retain the state for the party because Imo was too important to play opposition politics. That was why he literally went to “hell” and returned to ensure that he reclaimed his stolen mandate. Today, Imo State is firmly in the hands of APC and the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma has moved on to another battle. He desires to have the entire south east collapse into APC and he is not pretending about it. Because, again the region is so important to play opposition politics, Uzodinma is not relenting in his determined efforts to turn the region a broom zone come 2023 . For Uzodinma, returning lgbo land to APC, is a task that must be accomplished. Unlike those who betrayed APC for personal ambition and in the process sold it out, Uzodinma has made tremendous sacrifices to ensure that the party becomes the destination point for Ndigbo ahead of the 2003 elections. Quite aware of the Igbo adage that you have to put your house in order before pontificating to others to do same, Uzodinma has used the past one year to consolidate APC in Imo state. Unlike the emperor who factionalized the party through his vaulting ambition of ruling Imo for a third term through his son in law, Uzodinma has united APC and returned it to the people as the true owners.
By providing transparent and compassionate leadership anchored on justice, democracy and accountability, Uzodinma has successfully welded the disparate groups into a formidable force to reckon with. With deft diplomatic engagement, all those who left APC as a result of sheer gangsterism type of leadership have returned.
That is why stakeholders’ meetings are now a routine in the state. But the governor believed that Imo was still an orphan in the south east. Not comfortable that the remaining four states were in opposition,and shuddering from the consequences of regional politics which the zone had suffered since 2015, Uzodinma revved up efforts to reverse the situation. One of the leaders who bought into his vision was the former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani. He it was that prophesied that with Uzodinma’s leadership in the south east, the region would soon turn into APC. Fortunately, Ebonyi fell to APC soon after the prophecy. It could be safe to say that the south east is 40 percent APC. But only 100 percent is good enough for Senator Uzodinma. The obvious state that is much needed to wave the broom is Anambra which Uzodinma noted has been so long in opposition with the concomitant deprivations. That is why he sees the upcoming governorship election in Anambra as a golden opportunity for the people to return to mainstream politics by electing an APC Governor in November this year. The Governor who the national leadership of APC chose as the leader to reconcile all factions and aggrieved members in the south east used the opportunity of the visit of the leaders to Anambra recently to drum support for the party and drive home his point for Anambra to embrace APC.
In his thought provoking address, the Imo State governor emphasized the point that the south east needed to collapse into APC as a means of achieving national integration and being in mainstream politics. Said he,” Biafra war ended 51 years ago. What Igbo are seeking for in a united Nigeria is justice. Igbo need justice to provide a level playing ground for fairness and equity so that their talents and industry will flourish” Uzodinma noted that Ndigbo has lost a lot since 2015 by playing opposition politics,reason they should use Anambra as a test case to showcase their readiness to embrace mainstream politics.
“We need victory in Anambra to reconnect Ndigbo to the national grid by returning them to mainstream national politics where we can obtain the justice we seek”, he said and disagreed with those who don’t see anything wrong by being in opposition. He referred them to Owelle Nnamdi Azikiwe who forged an alliance with NPC and Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme who fought to ensure that Anambra State returned to national politics in 1983. It is obvious to me that we cannot get the justice we seek though isolationism or ethnic politics. The only way we can get what we seek is by being of mainstream politics by belonging to APC”
Turning to the elites and leaders of APC in Anambra State, Senator Hope Uzodinma stressed the need for inclusiveness, unity and peace for them to achieve victory in the election come November. He told them to eschew ego and bigotry and embrace reconciliation as a means of ending the long years of being in opposition. Just as he was leaving Anambra State, Uzodinma also seized the opportunity of the current registration and revalidation of membership exercise of the APC to preach once again the gospel of mainstream national politics for Ndigbo ahead of the 2023 general elections. In a veiled reference to poor performance of APC in the south east in 2015, the Imo State governor stressed the need for improved spectacular outing in subsequent elections. He said Ndigbo should be mindful of the fact that the strength and numerical power of each state and region will largely determine what they get from the centre outside statutory rights.
According to him, “the numerical strength of each state or zone will surely go a long way in determining the bargaining strength of the state or zone. Make no mistake about this,it is our membership strength that will determine our bargaining power in the forthcoming general elections”.
The governor who spoke at the official flag off of the exercise in the south east earlier in the week said it was important for the people to troop out in their millions to register and re-validate their membership in order not to be caught off guard. He said unlike before, the exercise should be a wake up call for Ndigbo to show their presence in the party.” For us in the south east,we have a responsibility to ensure that we all troop out to participate in the registration and re-validation exercise to make the statement loud and clear that we are set to take our rightful position as members of the ruling party. That way,our dominance and preeminence in the mainstream politics in Nigeria will no longer be in doubt”
Uzodinma who painted a rosy picture of what Imo State has derived from the centre by being in the ruling party urged other states in the south east to follow suit and testify to the results. He also made it clear that the federal government has been courting Ndigbo by ensuring that significant projects such as roads and the second Niger bridge are given the attention they deserve. In a working visit to the second Niger bridge on Friday, Uzodinma noted that the ₦336 billion project is almost 70 percent done because President Muhammadu Buhari has ensured that funds are released to the construction company handling it, Julius Berger.
Recounting the socio-economic benefits of the project to the five south east states, Uzodinma said it was a thing of joy that the people really appreciate what the project means to them.
While acknowledging that the Igbo have made tremendous sacrifices for the unity of Nigeria, Uzodinma urged them to consummate it by belonging to the mainstream national politics through APC. He pledged to work assiduously to ensure that the remaining states of Abia, Anambra and Enugu embrace APC ahead of the 2023 general elections. He commended other leaders of APC in the south east for working for the interest of the party irrespective of daunting challenges. There is no doubt that with the vision of the governor and the resolve of the people, the goal of returning the south east to mainstream national politics through the APC is just about to materialise. And when the history of the great turn around is written, Uzodimma’s efforts will be copiously acknowledged.
•Emelumba is the commissioner of information and strategy, Imo state.