Date Published: 08/10/09
IMO: EXORCISING INTOLERANCE
By Maximus Uba
In the last twenty four months or so that Mr. Ikedi Ohakim, the PPA renegade was stamped into office as Governor by a band of rough necks led by Olusegun Obasanjo, one thing has been manifestly clear in Imo State, complete flight of governance such that there are no infrastructures in the state but mindless looting of the treasury. But the above is not the real worry of Imo People, what is the real worry today in IMO is the introduction of political gangsterism, over dose of intolerance, crass and unmitigated ambition which has seen one man behave as if he is a resurrected Sani Abacha all in a bid to govern IMO for eight years. To achieve this untoward ambition, not a few had to pay the unnecessary ransom. The first set of People to taste this Abacha like style of intolerance were local journalists who are not used to “Ebeano style of governance which is-report what you did not see or be attacked by government goons. Because these young Professionals care much about their future and integrity as against falsehood as churned out by Mr. Ohakim, the emperor began blackmailing them before their Editors, began seeking their transfer out of Owerri and began hounding them into submission. Aside correspondents, there are freelance journalists and others who come from Imo and who have been critical of the wish wash administration as packaged by Ohakim who are today daily hounded by the emperor. Listed here are Messrs Ikenna Iwuoha whose business premises was closed while he was later arrested on trumped up charges of causing a breach of peace in Imo, he was Later taken to court. This writer was not spared by the emerging despot as the Chief of Staff to the Governor, a former casual bank staff continually used the Police to harass and intimidate him.
As I write, I have a pending court case between me and the Governor at a Federal High Court in Owerri. Having done with the Media, the next on the list of the Emperor is his real political enemy, Sen I. G. Ararume. First he threatened to close the road constructed by Araraume, a road which leads to both his house and that Araraume but the protests of the people put paid to the madness. He then personally marched to Isiebu, the village of Sen. Araraume with his army of rough necks styled Executive Assistants and closed down a functional police station chasing away police officers posted to the station. Ironically this same Araraume nominated and ensured Ohakim was made a commissioner in 1991 at a time he-Ohakim had neither academic nor work experience required for such public office. His next attention was turned to Eze Oliver Ohanwe, a respected traditional ruler and a man of means who had done so much for his community and Okigwe Zone. But this vitae did not sway Ohakim as he had Ohanwe dethroned, his palace desecrated by thugs sent by Ohakim. But the interesting thing about Eze Ohanwe and Ikedi Ohakim is that this was a man that housed Ohakim when he first came to Lagos, this was the man who put down his feet and knelt down before Sen. Araraume to give Ohakim the Commissionership slot given him by Evan Enwerem in 1991 but Ohanwe’s sin today is that he did not believe in the injustice meted out to Sen. Araraume and Ohakim moved to teach him a lesson, how far this Lesson will be assimilated, only time will tell .Interestingly while this Abacha style of hounding creeped into Imo, some politicians and leaders rather than condemn and take a position behaved as it was none of their business, yes to them, it was an Araraume affair but these fellows were dumbstruck few months later when Ohakim not only plotted against the nomination of Udenwa as Minister but sent petition to the police and other law enforcement agencies against Udenwa’s candidate, that is not all, he sent petitions to anti-graft bodies like EFCC, ICPC to look into the financial books of Imo from 1999-2007 when Udenwa was Imo Governor, it was at that stage that Udenwa pinched himself and began keeping his distance.
As I write, Ohakim has set up a Judicial Commission of inquiry headed by Rtd. Justice Jude Njereibeako to look into issues Like Land allocation, and other matters carried out during the regime of Achike Udenwa with a view to indicting him and causing him his job as Minister, a deal perfected already between some certain hawks in Aso Rock and Ikedi Ohakim. Not done with the “big politicians”, his next target became Senator Osita Izunaso, an amicable young Man who took over from Sen. F. A. Nzeribe in 2007 but what Ohakim did not known is that Izunaso having been in the corridor of power since 1993 having learnt enough to smell an enemy a thousand miles away. His attempts therefore to get Izunaso recalled from the senate with the backing of Iwu and other little minds not only hit the rocks but was fatal to say the least, ashamed, he rushed back to Senator Izunaso and offered a suspicious Olive branch. Interestingly ,one case that brought out Mr. Ohakim as a loose political cannon that must be watched closely was during the visit of Umaru Yar A’dua on 25 July for his defection to PDP. Thinking some political leaders are not happy with his now” larger than life postures” drew a list of People who in his thinking would disrupt the Presidential visit. In the list include Dr. Alex Obi, a former SDP Governorship Candidate in 1990 and recently, the immediate past Imo PDP Chairman. Like an over stretched joke, security men had stormed Obi’s house a day before the Presidential visit whisked him away and had him locked up at the police cell for over 36 hours on trumped up charges of attempting to cause breach of Peace and vandalize Government Property .But that was not the end as Ikedi Ohakim went the extra length and had Obi prosecuted at a Magistrate Court. Although the magistrate court granted Obi the necessary bail as against the expectation of his abductors, the development has not ceased to create anxiety in the State especially because it was this same Alex Obi who assembled the foot soldiers on May 28 2007 as the head of Redemption group, a splinter group within Imo PDP and ensured that Obasanjo’s pronouncement that the PDP candidate, Sen. Araraume should not be allowed to get one vote got enforced. Besides it was Alex Obi who convinced Chief Achike Udenwa then the Governor of Imo State on the candidature of Ohakim but Udenwa was not impressed with the man vitae, his carriage and demeanor still OBI put his foot down in favour of Ohakim. Also during the court case between Araraume and Ohakim which lasted over two years, the lot fell on Alex Obi to ensure that enough footsoldiers were raised each court sitting day at least to create the impression before the Judges that at Ohakim had followers in Imo State. Also it is a notorious fact that Alex Obi manned the strategic arm of “Ohakims think tank” as Ohakim before May 2007 could not neither assemble genuine men of intellect nor men with brawns to march those of Sen. Araraume.
Observers now wonder whether it is just a vaulting ambition to do two terms that made Ohakim take this action against Alex Obi and whether he took the action on Obi just to punish Achike Udenwa since Obi is Udenwa’s alter ago, again we ask, how come Ohakim forgot what Obi did for him to ensure an, easy entrance to government House when nobody not even his family gave him a chance to win an ordinary councillorship election in his Okohia ward. Even disturbing is the issue of what intends to achieve from all these showmanship as a demigod and if this can happen to the likes of Alex Obi, who then can be spared of the show of madness that Ikedi Ohakin is currently unleashing in Imo. Also worrisome is the fact that Ohakim is introducing a brand of politics that is alien since Imo was created in 1976 which is club people to submission. As one writer said in Owerri, the second phase of this intolerance may be state sponsored elimination of opposition voices as done in States like Enugu etc. Analysts now predict that Ohakim is even more determined to take on opponents who say no to second term . These pundits even remember that Ohakim in the past has made such moves against Sen. I. G. Araraume who nominated him a Commissioner in 1991, Eze Oliver Ohanwe who housed him Lagos, Orji Uzor Kalu who has been providing for him since he lost his job at First Aluminum, Mr Achike Udenwa who provided a platform for him to emerge Governor in 2007 and Goodluck Jonathan who provided a platform to meet Umaru Yaradua, a man he is presently running down before Northern Emirs just to run the Presidency in 2015. Analysts now say this ugly and monstrous development as it is presently occurring in Imo demands that political leaders, Civil Societies group, the disabled and those who cherish free political atmosphere should step out and say no to despotism, Abachaism, emerging one man rule, and intolerance by a man who should thank God that from he was taken from obscurity to limelight but who today is behaving as if he dropped from the moon. But the Question still remains, who will be Ohakim’s next victim, who can stop this brigande showing at ‘Ohakim cinema’” and who can step up to exorcise intolerance which has found a home in Imo since 2007 and now done at the expense of peace and development, only time will tell.
Maximus Uba, lives in Mbaise, Nigeria
