I sympathize with Ukwa Ngwa people from Abia state and beyond have been inundating me with text messages and phone calls, demanding the reason for my silence since the recent political turbulence in Abia state. Let me first of all inform those who may not know that I took a political back seat after I lost the Abia Central Senatorial Election it in 2011. And soon after that I found solace in writing and published two books (the law and politics of ECOWAS, and a novel titled: the tragedy of Yagana), thereafter, my health became frail, as I advanced in age, and so I decided to be playing advisory roles, as an elder statesman in the State.
Nevertheless, I share my sympathy with the Ukwa Ngwa people of Abia State in this period of anxiety and trepidation arising from the recent vagaries of politics which, in my humble opinion, the Ukwa Ngwa people have brought upon themselves.
I sympathize with the Ukwa Ngwa people for their failure in organizing themselves in view of capturing political power in Abia state, their failure to realize that political power is never given, it is usually conquered. Any time that power is assumed given, it is certainly counterfeit power that is transferred to the recipient. A Greek gift.
It has been a fatal failure on our part and we have no one else to blame than ourselves. We were, and still are naïve with the assumption that the self-glorification of a few government appointees in Ukwa Ngwa has guaranteed us a firm promise for it. Who do you blame when neophytes dominated the political terrain in Ukwa Ngwa.?
The so-called Ukwa Ngwa politicians, in their amateurish understanding of political struggle, presumed, even against knowledgeable counsel, that pilgrimages and servitude to B.B Apugo, Orji Uzor Kalu and T. A Orji, was the sure way for a governor to emerge from Ukwa Ngwa land. they went and exposed their weaknesses to their opponents and adversaries, publicly and persistently chastised their elders, turned themselves unabashedly to become greatest cheerleaders of Orji Kalu/T.A Orji regimes, begging to be given the governorship of Abia state, ‘even if it means giving it to the most stupid of us, provided the person is an Ngwa person.’
Orji Uzor Kalu /T.A.Orji’s regimes gave our political neophytes the false assumption that if they served well their masters, they will compensate them with political power, thus, creating a crop of political jobbers in Ukwa Ngwa land; a group of little people, vulcanizers, motor park touts, low level people with little or no education were humoured with insignificant political appointments as councillors, ward chairmen, commissioners, and sent back to their villages by their masters in Umuahia to go and abuse their elders, their erstwhile political adversaries, who had jostled with them at the end of military regime and resumption of democratic politics. Dr. Gershon Amuta and myself, (Dr Max Nduaguibe) principally, then Dr Chima Nwafor, Dr Dominic Nwogbe, Sen. Enyinaya Abaribe, Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu, Chief Willie Wabara et ore’s, these were the first eleven in the expression of Ukwa Ngwa aspiration for the governorship of Abia state. These leaders became targets of the so-called ‘honourables’ empowered to go and disorganize any cohesiveness left in Ukwa Ngwa land, even the appointment of traditional rulers in Ngwa land by Orji Kalu/T.A Orji is symptomatic of divide and rule meant to continue the exploitation of the disunity in Ukwa Ngwa land. Brainwashed with little appointments, our ‘honourables’ believed that exhibiting unflinching servitude will be compensation for bigger appointments.
Our so-called ‘honourables’ went unrestrained in disrupting the existing political organization installed by their elders. They were even forbidden from relating with their elders, brothers and sisters who were not obedient to their masters. In-fighting, mudslinging, blackmail took over the political terrain in Ukwa Ngwa land. so, for 17years to date the Ukwa Ngwa failed to organize themselves to grab power, instead they outclassed each other to prove the depth of their servitude to their masters in Umuahia with the false expectation that power will be given to them.
Now that, for some of us, power has been given to Ukwa Ngwa, is it not clear to us that it is counterfeit power that was given to us?
1) Who gave us the power? Ans: Chief T.A Orji and his son, clearly, not in agreement with the leaders of Bende clan with whom we are in competition for political power in Abia state. And not in agreement also with the opinion of the majority of Ukwa Ngwa voters.
2) Was the transfer of power to Ukwa Ngwa as a result of consensus building between Bende and Ukwa Ngwa, the two clans in Abia? ans: no! All the eight lga’s in bende rejected the so -called Ukwa Ngwa candidate ( Okezie Ikpeazu), including one or two lga’s in Ukwa Ngwa land.
3) The nature of the conflict today has been twisted to look as if it is a war between the Bende people and the Ukwa Ngwa people, a dangerous outcome of political manipulation, making the state more divided and atomistic.
4) The lack of consensus was also manifest within Chief T.A Orji’s family. There was no agreement as to the nature of power to be given to Ndi Ukwa Ngwa between the ex-governor and his son, who, suddenly, is today, the effective power broker in Abia state. There was no consultation either with Ukwa Ngwa people. Ukwa Ngwa had lost the ‘privileged’ to be consulted because we had reduced ourselves to an unenviable status of beggars, and not partners, just by our conducts in the last 17 years. And our adversaries did not fail to rub it on our face, by exhibiting their arrogance, by unilaterally choosing the positions that protected the loot and the interest of the looters in government in the last 17 years, and also by guaranteeing the power to reduce the so-called governor to the status of a real puppet. ..( by retaining the position of state party chairman, a position which had always remained in the zone where the governor comes from, and this was done, in addition, to guaranteeing eventual removal of the governor with ease. to make it so brazen they took control of the following vital positions of governance- Chief of Staff, Secretary to Govt, Comm. for Finance, Comm. for Works and Public Utilities, Comm. for Justice and Attorney General, Chief Judge, Comm. for chieftaincy and local Government Affair…all of these portfolios and more, were held for 17 years in the zone where the governor (Orji Uzor kalu and T.A.Orji) came from. Why strip Ukwa Ngwa the real power, why give them counterfeit power, adegboroja power? 5) Sen.T.A. Orji and family tied the power given to Ndi Ukwa Ngwa with apron strings, including with the tax clearance certificate. The power givers used our honourables to reject authentic Ngwa folks who have ambition, thus genuine aspirations to serve abia state well,, such as Sen. Enyinaya Abaribe, Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu, Barr. F.N.Nwosu, and to make sure the chosen puppet remained an obedient houseboy, the power givers planted all sorts of banana peals on his pathway (adegboroja tax papers), alloted powerful portfolios to themselves, appointed new permanent secretaries to cage him, and nominated their ardent loyalists and cousins, as commissioners for him.
6) It is these fears that turned a large portion of Abia people against the pdp. having used their agents in Ngwa land to rubbish and discredit authentic candidates and by so doing rubbishing their own elders, the present political ‘honourables’ in Ukwa Ngwa, inadvertently, without knowing how, finally deprived themselves the quality and calliber of politicians that could have stood -up to the power givers and wrest authentic power from them to serve the whole of Abia state and not just a few families of the power givers.
I am amused to note that the board of internal revenue in abia state, hitherto used in the last 17 years to falsify and deliver fake tax receipts to regimes opponents, is, today coming out, unlike in the past, uninvited, to defend a tax clearance dated and issued on a Saturday, a non working day in Nigeria. Nemesis?
If Dr.Okezie Ikpeazu fails to retain the seat, pray that Barr. Nwosu grabs it, otherwise, your tears and regrets will be as many as mine.
Max Nduaguibe Ph.d.
Ugo Ngwa 2,
Ugo Ndi Ukwa na Ngwa 1
Leader; Concerned Ukwa Ngwa Elders