‘No man is good enough to govern another man without the other’s consent-
Abraham Lincoln
The above comment made by Abraham Lincoln a long time ago holds true today as it did at the time it was made. So it is with the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu who it seems never had the consent of the Abia people, by the plurality of their votes, to govern them. As we celebrate this appellate court victory restoring Dr Alex Otti’s stolen mandate we must not fail to give credit to this Lion of Abia politics. Like his namesake “Alexander The great” he came, he saw and he conquered the PDP juggernaut that had dominated Abia politics for more than a decade. It is in the spirit of the recognition of his efforts that I quote Theodore Roosevelt who said the following, “it is not the critic who counts, but the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly, who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming, but who actually strives to do the deeds, who knows great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows in the end the triumphs of great achievement and who at worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory or defeat”.
With this victory Dr Alex Otti deserves most of the credit for his efforts and fight for justice. His victory has shown that he is a man of exceptional determination with great reserves of personal courage and wisdom.
For many of us here in diaspora, Thursday the 31st of December 2015 was a day of hope and of anxiety. There was a solemn stillness, a burdensome weight hanging upon the minds of all, of fearful foreboding of defeat, a dread for the future. But today as we have had time to absorb the enormity of this victory, we are all in good spirits. Today there is an ebullience that has prevailed over the Abia diaspora community here and our joy is irrepressible. For me personally, it was a welcome Christmas -New Year present, joined into one. It is very gratifying to know that all our efforts, including those of my fellow comrades like Samuel Igwe Obinna , Ifeanyi Ndulaka , Solomon Nwoko , Justina Okoro and a host of others have not been in vain.
In recent weeks, I have been amused by the Ikpeazu supporters who were beginning to refer to him as God-sent. It would appear our people have become very adept at invoking God tirelessly without reason, without provocation, without necessity and without justification, perhaps pre-emotively.
To the many Ngwa folks from the Obingwa, Ukwa Ngwa axis, worshipping their own wisdom, who have responded to my articles with vitriol and have chastised me endlessly for being critical of their brother, I forgive you. As you can see, I have been vindicated in the end. At least just for once, my faith in Nigeria’s judiciary has been temporary restored, even though I still believe that branch of government needs to be reorganized and better still sanitized.
Just don’t forget that the Supreme Court judges are also regular Nigerians who watch the network news and read events in newspaper like everyone else, hence capable of forming their own opinions and impressions about litigants and the cases that come before them. What you are doing is akin to cutting your nose to spite your face. To my fellow Abians, you and I finally got the change you wanted and which you voted for. Change is universal and inescapable, but it must be change that we desire and willing to accept or adjust to, not one foisted on you against your will. This has been a long struggle for change, but it is a change we wholeheartedly welcome. Dr Alex Otti is change personified and one that the entire state has embraced as evident by the jubilation and dancing in the streets of Aba, Umuahia, Ohafia and my hometown of Arochukwu.
With this victory comes a great deal of work and expectations. The task before Alex Otti after he is sworn-in, and after the Supreme Court formalities are dispensed with as the Ikpeazu people have stated they will be filing an appeal, is not going to be easy. There is this story about what Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt said to Harry Truman who was at the time the American Vice-president at the time her husband died. It is said that Mrs Roosevelt walked up to Truman and said, ‘the President is dead”, to which Truman responded, “is there anything I can do for you” and to which Mrs Roosevelt curtly replied, “Is there anything we can do for you, for you are the one now in trouble”. Yes , with the sacking of the Governor, Alex Otti is now the one in trouble and after all the avalanche of congratulatory messages and best wishes, the question we should all be asking is, what can we all do to help him, considering the enormity of the task ahead of him. That notwithstanding, I venture to say most categorically that no man in the history of Abia electoral politics was more keenly aware of the task before him before he ever sought the office of governor than Dr Alex Otti, hence he had paid consultants to traverse the length and breath of the state identifying areas of need and proffering solutions. This is a man who during the campaign showed a felicitous combination of effort, conviction and understanding of the state’s many problems and how to grapple with them.
His preparedness for the job notwithstanding, the pressure on him is going to be immeasurable and unending. He will have to be the rock on the beach of his administration, against which the breakers dash and roar. He will have to fight back the waters of criticism and of high expectations from overwhelming him. He may very well know that the Abia State House is a place full of hazards. He must therefore use his instincts, talents and wisdom to maneuver those hazards. Some people are going to try to keep the very people he may want to see away. Special interest groups, party faithful’s and professional sycophants and bootlickers will stand in the rain for a week to see him and will treat him like a king. They will come sliding in and telling him he is the greatest Nigerian Governor since Lord Luggard. He should not believe their praise or it may put him off the true track to greatness.
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