Our attention has been drawn to a number of social media blogs and commentaries linking the name of Distinguished Senator Chris Anyanwu to the primitive outburst of the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, at last week’s Oru Owere ceremony.
Ordinarily, the governor’s outburst does not merit a response from the Distinguished Senator, as Mr. Okorocha did not mention any names, and because the caricature he painted did not fit into the character make-up of Senator Anyanwu.
However, out of respect for feelings of concerned friends, supporters and well-wishers of the Senator at the antics of the social media which have persisted in speculating who the governor could have been referring to in the outburst, we would like to state the following:
- There are more than one female politicians who have indicated interest to contest for the position of Governor of Imo State in the 2015 general elections and it is interesting to note that the governor did not have the courage to publicly name the particular aspirant he had in mind – because he knows the consequences;
- The governor was conforming to the typical stereotype where strong, achievement-oriented women in politics are frightened off with labels and are often held to standards that their male counterparts are not; in their warped thinking, any woman who has broken the glass ceiling through solid achievement – in the professions or in business – must have cut corners to make it, and not because she has brains as well as entrepreneurial and managerial capacity.
- The governor’s romance with the microphone and tendency to shoot off the mark is legendary – the reason why his hosts now consider snatching the equipment from him and his aides turn apprehensive whenever he gets up to make a public speech!
- Apart from being a proud daughter of Owerri Zone, Senator Anyanwu was specially invited to the event to be honoured as Omenma Owerri because of the numerous projects she has attracted or single-handedly built in her constituency, including the venue of the event where the outburst was made. The governor could not therefore have come to her home as it were to dish out insults.
Finally we would like to state that the Imo State Governorship Elections in 2015 must be about issues and about Imo State – what each aspirant or candidate can or has brought to the table, and how this will impact or has impacted on the life of Imo citizens. It should not be about a tiny clique of politicians desperate for power and willing to do everything to gain or retain it, including desecrating tradition, insulting their hosts, breaching protocols to engage in rabble rousing, and generally conducting themselves in manners unbecoming of their high office. This should not be the character that Imo people want to see of their future leaders, whether at Douglas House or elsewhere.
EMMANUEL ONUOHA
Special Adviser to Sen. Chris Anyanwu