By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu<\/p>\n
Every man deserves right to toe a particular line of action.After all, we
\nall cannot flow in the same direction and swim on the same page. But
\nhistory has taught us neither to oppose a popular cause, such as the
\nUkwa-Ngwa aspiration to have a consecutive second shot at the number one
\nposition of Abia State, nor to support and unpopular one. People who
\neither opposed the cause of their people or support an unpopular cause
\nhave ended up in regret.<\/p>\n
\u201d A traitor to his people will be a traitor forever,\u201d they told poor David
\nDion, as they shoved him into the gas chamber before the end of the second
\nworld war. David Dion, the renegade Jew, thought he could buy a lifesaving
\nfriendship into the German power caste by betraying his people.<\/p>\n
The fate of David Dion may not be\u00a0 familiar, but we cannot easily forget
\nHughes Stanford. Stanford sought to appease the Christian mission which
\nexplored the Niger areas(later Nigeria). Stanford poured invectives on
\nAfricans only to be keenly avoided by the church leaders who rightly felt
\nthat they needed diplomats, committed missionaries and lovers of humanity,
\nnot raving racist and hate- monger who would ignite African resistance to
\ntheir new values. He died without a job and without a penny in the world.
\nBut this was a time some more positive colonial agents were building their
\ncareer in the emerging colonies.<\/p>\n
Joseph Goebbel, the German Nazi Party member, paid dearly for supporting
\nan unpopular cause. Goebbel became Adolf Hitler\u2019s propaganda minister in
\n1933 comes to mind. By exploiting mob emotions and by employing all modern
\nmethods of propaganda Goebbels helped Hitler to power. His work as a
\npropagandist materially aided Hitler\u2019s rise to power in 1933. When Hitler
\nseized power in 1933, Goebbels was appointed Reichsminister for propaganda
\nand national enlightenment. From then until his death, Goebbels used all
\nmedia of education and communications to further Nazi propagandistic aims,
\ninstilling in the Germans the concept of their leader as a veritable god
\nand of their destiny as the rulers of the world. In 1938 he became a
\nmember of the Hitler cabinet council. Late in World War II, in 1944,
\nHitler placed him in charge of total mobilization. Unfortunately, despite
\nGoebbel’s propaganda wizardry, Germany lost the war. On May 1, 1945, as
\nSoviet troops were storming Berlin, Goebbels committed suicide.<\/p>\n
What of Benedict Arnold (1741-1801), the American hero of the
\nRevolutionary War (1775-83) who later became one of the most infamous
\ntraitors in U.S. history after he switched sides and fought for the
\nBritish .Arnold was involved in several landmark battles for the US such
\nas the capture of the British garrison Fort of Ticonderoga in 175, warding
\noff British invasion of New York at the Battle of Chaplain. Arnold also
\nplayed a crucial role in bringing about the surrender of British General
\nJohn Burgoyne\u2019s (1722-92) army at Saratoga. Unfortunately, Arnold felt he
\nwas not adequately rewarded and became a turncoat. He entered into secret
\nnegotiations with the British, agreeing to turn over the U.S. post at West
\nPoint in return for money and a command in the British army. The plot was
\ndiscovered, but Arnold escaped to British lines.<\/p>\n
After fleeing to the enemy side, Arnold received a commission with the
\nBritish army and served in several minor engagements against the
\nAmericans. After the war, which ended in victory for the Americans with
\nthe Treaty of Paris in 1783, Arnold resided in England. He died in London
\non June 14, 1801, at age 60. The British regarded him with ambivalence,
\nwhile his former countrymen despised him. Following his death, Arnold\u2019s
\nmemory lived on in the land of his birth, where his name became synonymous
\nwith the word “traitor”.<\/p>\n
Even in the Bible, strong opposition from Sanballat and Tobias did not
\ndeter Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem .We may have
\nbeen offended one way or the other, but the best way to vent our anger is
\nnot to become a turncoat by standing against a collective aspiration.<\/p>\n
May we not share the fates of David Dion,\u00a0 Hughes Stanford or Benedict
\nArnold. Let us support Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s second term. This is the
\nappeal to my Ukwa-Ngwa brothers.<\/p>\n
By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu Every man deserves right to toe a particular line of action.After all, we all cannot flow in the same direction and swim on the same page.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n