Whoever has keenly watched the goings on in Anambra State for sometime now would have got worried over the high rate of propaganda mounted by Gov. Peter Obi and his handlers over who is responsible for the woes of the only political party bequeathed to Igbos by late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and his associates. In doing this, Mr. Obi’s sycophants especially one Emeka Ndudi have employed all sorts of media weapons in their arsenal to cover their employer’s filthy deeds as well as assassinate the personality of their imagined or perceived foe. I have watched these without any further endurance lest a less critical looker mistakenly accepts the false as the obvious and consequently, if care is not taken, sells such falsehood to a great multitude. It is against this backdrop, do I come to rescue the public from a naive monster who from all indications has conclusively purposed in his mind to destroy Igbo political destiny. Let it be told Gov. Obi pointblank that he will surely fail.
There are too many falsehoods that Obi and company have actually peddled but because of want of space we shall point at those handfuls that have the capacity of bemusing the public from an apt comprehension of the true situation of things; I mean things as they really are with respect to APGA, Umeh and Peter Obi vis-à-vis the falsehood being circulated in the media by one Emeka Ndudi who claimed to be in the Peter Obi’s APGA caucus, which caucus INEC has vehemently faulted the procedures of its emergence and consequently the legality of its being.
In his well-worded notorious piece, the unfortunate Ndudi has devilishly dubbed it “Umeh the Emperor of APGA”, trying to put to the mind of his audience that Umeh’s highhandedness and draconian manifestations in the running of the party are directly responsible for the Peter Obi’s sowed crisis that has bewitched APGA these days. There is one thing which I perceived from Emeka’s writing especially with the matter under contention: that Ndudi wherever he maybe is notoriously insincere. Ndudi has said: “This has however taken a new turn in recent time when a day passes without the chief castigating one person or the other with righteous indignation”. He unabashedly continues: “Reading him these days through his actions one can conclude that he is fearless”. Indeed, the “the righteous indignation and the fearlessness” which are characteristic of Umeh are twin attributes which are lacking in most Nigerian politicians—including Peter Obi—and consequently Nigerian political space is therefore awash with politicians who cannot stand up for the common man of this country—men who are lacking in the spirit and character that transforms nations and countries. Ones cursory glance at the lives of the great masters of the earth must have revealed to Ndudi that in a world of so many wolves one need talk, if not roar like the ancient tigers. Concerning this wonderful attribute of “righteous indignation” Russell has criticized Jesus the Christ in his article entitled “why I am not a Christian”. Russell like most naïve empiricist denied the divinity of Jesus by his attribute of “righteous indignation”. This, Russell called “cantankerousness” “anger” if you prefer. Russell has said that it is far from being in the nature of God to be angrily cursing. Christ cannot be God as he talked with “righteous indignation” or “anger” as he did to the Pharisees and Sadducees when he says: “Woe to you Pharisees”, “Woe to you Saducees”. Indeed, history is replete with menu of great men of great moral standards, masters of the earth like Jesus of Nazareth, Socrates of Athens, Paul of Tarsus, Thomas Moore, Thomas Paine of the Americas, Boethius, Anaxagoras, Zeno, Soranus, Arrius of Seneca etc., who in the wake of their possession of these two great attributes have been able to rebuff and withstood cruel kings and corrupt kingdoms as Obi’s. Let me say it immediately, it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks and that is what is obtainable in Umeh’s case. Umeh’s courage and attitude of righteous indignation is not spawned by the kind of fearlessness we see in criminals but by that innate instinctual conviction that has driven the masters from ages past towards challenging wickedness, intimidation, injustice, corruption as are ubiquitous in the palace of Anambra kingdom.
In another instance, Emeka Ndudi did not hesitate in demonstrating barefaced jiggery pockery. Ndudi ambivalently blunders: “the other day he was up in arms against Governor Peter Obi, the man believed to have made him”. There are two issues here. One is Emeka’s equivocal assertion that Peter Obi made Umeh, and secondly, is the veracity of the claim that Obi made Umeh. First , we notice that Emeka was in doubt of the falsehood Obi has sold to them: “that he made Umeh”. Small wonder, he makes that assertion without having the courage of being responsible for that claim thus he says “the man believed to have made him”. Who believes? Believed by who? Which people? Perhaps, the Obi’s boys! The truth is that Emeka is undoubtedly a man of no circumspect; otherwise he should have considered the ethical norm that says “in doubt do not act”. For, indeed, Ndudi, for no single time, even in the heart of his heart do know that Obi didn’t make Umeh rather the contrary may be the case notably as it pertains to Obi’s political successes.
Concerning the former, that is, the veracity of the claim that Obi made Umeh, we notice yet another blatant fib. If we reason that Obi cannot make claim that he sent Umeh to the University as both attended the same university and graduated the same year (1984); if we also reason that Umeh and Obi came in the know of each other as a result of the referral given to Obi in 2001 to meet Umeh at Umeh’s Enugu residence at that time; if we reason that Umeh was already deep in National as well as Anambra politics before Obi came to the knowledge of Umeh as, he was one of the founding members of PDP (verifiable), “was the chairman of the PDP panel that conducted the primaries for the first local government election that took place in this country in Imo state,” (verifiable) “was elected state treasurer of PDP in Anambra state” (a position that can only be apportioned to men of honesty, integrity, stable character), “was appointed a member of board of directors of Nigeria film co-operation Jos by former president of Federal Republic of Nigeria” because of his uncommon contributions to the growth of the party (verifiable), then our conclusion can easily be conjectured: that the peddlers of the rumour that Obi made Umeh are shameless liars of a great gut, falsehood peddlers par excellence. What shall we then say? That it is far from being the truth that Obi made Umeh rather Umeh made Obi politically knowing full well that the story of Obi’s political successes cannot be exhausted without talking about the wisdom of the man who contributed so immeasurably in the elevation of the man all of us know to be a fulltime merchant in Lagos
Ndudi’s-Obi’s insincerity and falsehood continues: Ndudi says: “for discharging his function as a judicial officer at a High court in Enugu state, Justice Innocent Umezurike became a victim of Umeh’s blackmail.” You see, sometimes it baffles me how these people have sadly descended to this level; calling white, black. Ndudi left what he knows is the issue into saying that Umeh attacked Umezurike just for the mere reason that Umezurike carried out his duty as a judicial officer, thus evading the matter of utmost importance. The contention is that Innocent Umezurike’s judgment is questionable: Umezurike has approbated the 2006 convention of APGA that elected Sir Victor Umeh as Chairman with “voice vote” and at the same reprobated the 2010 convention that elected Sir Victor Umeh as Chairman with “voice vote” saying that Umeh’s election as Chairman is unconstitutional on the basis of “voice vote” instead of secret balloting the Umezurike’s supposed mechanism of electing the Chairman. This contradicts simple laws of thought, law of identity, law of non-contradiction and the excluded middle. It is simple: a thing cannot be and not be at the same time. Thus, in lieu of justifying Umezurike verdict, Ndudi was busy chasing the wind. And in his mind Ndudi thinks he has done very well; he represented his master very wonderfully. The truth is that Ndudi undoubtedly is not skilled in matters of logic , its principles and application in all human reasoning processes otherwise he would not have spared much time for much blabbing; saying nothing: not even one thing either in favour or against the judgment as it is the matter and not as he insincerely peddles. And what shall we now say? That a man who functions as one of the writers of the governor and consistently falls guilty of one of the most pronounced fallacies of all times is not competent to be the writer of our king and should be relieved of his commission.
The spirit of Ndudi-Obi’s insincerity and falsehood continues, “In a nation where those that made first class do not brag about it, the piece was telling us how Umeh narrowly missed first class”. The man blatantly continues: “Do they know the academic pedigree of Udah. With a 2nd class upper probably better than Umeh’s, has three masters and is now undertaking his PhD”. Before I come to dismantle this falsehood, let me say that it appears, very clearly it seems to me, that Anambra seraglio has been turned into “The Axis of Liars”; somebody whispered to me, what of “Liars Incorporated.” The managers of the king’s palace have sadly turned the palace, the headquarters of a behemoth, even that of the “Liars incorporated”. Let’s take the matter one after the other.
Ndudi has said that “in a nation where those that made first class do not brag about it, the piece was telling us Umeh narrowly missed first class.” It is only in the mind of Ndudi, his cronies and his masters that first class is not a source of pride. The importance of first class still remains intact even here in Nigeria let alone the developed world. Let Ndudi and company be told that from Addis Ababa to Kremlin, from Washington to London to Beijing the story is the same that first class still remains a source of pride. Little wonder, that in virtually all the universities in Nigeria it is an extant rule that first class graduates be given automatic employment in the same department from which they graduated and for Umeh to say that he narrowly missed first class depicts the mind of a man who knows the relevance of academics unlike their master who narrowly escaped being issued a certificate only indicating “attempted university.” Thus, it is clear that the people who sadly preside over the affairs of Anambra palace have no single regard for academics. That clearly informs while the Imo state Government is busy working strenuously to empower the Ndi Imo with free education from primary to university level and ours is busy seeking for more avenue of extorting money from the financially straitened Ndi Anambra.
We would have kept mute on this particular occasion but we need to say this to bring to clarity what we have for long tried to established which is the fact that those in the Anambra palace has sadly turned that holy perch the bureau of a behemoth understandably dubbed “Liars incorporated”. Emeka Ndudi has said: “Do they know the academic pedigree of Udah. With a 2nd class upper probably better than Umeh’s, has three masters and is now undertaking his PhD”. The point is that at the class of Umeh which as I have pointed out obliquely, is the class of the masters, the great teachers like Socrates, Boethius, Zeno, Thomas Paine, etc getting a PhD is no longer relevant. What is important is Umeh’s consistent holding unto the truth: Umeh’s possession of the kind of enlightenment that was manifest in the life of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Ghandi, etc. In any case, if Umeh has said that he narrowly missed first class how true is it that Udah’s second class upper is better than that of Umeh. Even within the heart of heart of Ndudi, he fully knows that Umeh’s second class upper is better than that of Udah and that informs his use of the word “probably” as is typical of all unsound claims or dubious lies. Similarly, that Udah is portrayed to be more brilliant than Umeh ought not to be mentioned here but for the sake of bringing to the knowledge of the public that the seraglio of Anambra kingdom has sadly become the “Axis of Liars”, we shall once more endure this analytical exposition.
Udah was my classmate. Both of us did our master’s degree at the department of Philosophy, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria. Udah I know could not make more the required minimum CGPA and as a consequent did not qualify for PhD programme. During this period of our study (master’s degree programme) we were divided into groups. I and Udah were in the same group. I wrote all the seminar papers that the group was supposed to write. But my fallout with Udah was his nonchalance and little value for academics. It is a common rumour that Udah did not author his thesis as he could barely defend it. So, it surprises one when people begin to say that Udah is academically sound; and worse still comparing him with a person who is far ahead of his master in all things save in his unbridled hankering for the filthy lucre of this world. And what is special about a man undertaking a PhD after over two decades of graduation? And those falsehood peddlers should know that Mike is not eligible for PhD programme in any University in this country unless it is another “Toronto”.
Having said all these it is now clear that all the stories being circulated in the media by Ndudi-Obi are all falsehoods, falsehood raise to power ten. And it seems to me, very clearly I suppose, that the real person sponsoring APGA crisis, both proximately and remotely is the Governor of Anambra State. I had said it before even when the matter was not as public as it is, much more than now when even every child in APGA knows that Peter Obi is a mole in the party. He is the veritable instrument deployed by PDP to ensure that APGA is comprehensively decimated. But, as I have said in the beginning, this unfortunate mission which Obi has sadly embarked on will teach him a lesson that, he, unfortunately at his age, and coupled with the political position attained in the Nigeria political history, is yet be learnt. When these lessons will be fully made manifest then will Peter Obi and the coterie of persons he has successfully befuddled will come to this belated enlightenment—even though many are already in knowledge of this—That there is a limit to how far and how long Obi’s weapons of propaganda can endure.
Elo Afoka has a PhD in Logic
eloafoka@gmail.com +23408039229982.
