Out-Going President Jonathan Exhibits Statesmanlike Leadership Characters Worthy of Emulation by Other African Leaders – both Current and future!

The envelope please! Friends, Nigerians, country men and women, people of the world, ladies, and gentlemen, the people of the Commonwealth States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have spoken, loud and clear! The presidential election of March 28, 2015 was a groundbreaking event in the history of Nigeria and entire African continent…!

And the winner is, Democracy 1, corruption and dictatorship, 0 (zero)!!

Over these many years, the people of the most populous and richest nation in Africa, Nigeria (170 + millions) and the biggest economy, prayed to their God and one day, just on March 28, 2015 their God heard and answered them saying: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance” (ps.33:12) and who adheres to the virtuous democratic philosophy of one-citizen-one-vote, for they shall reap many more uncounted years of the benefits of practical and effective DEMOCRACY! And so it was with the people of Nigeria that on March 28, 2015, with one democratic thunderous voice, bellied and irreversibly etched under the most powerful weapon of the secrecy of the voting booth of one-man-one-vote sided with democracy to triumph yet again in Nigeria by the majority election of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. In the plebiscite of March 28, 2015 of the people, by, the people, and for the people of the commonwealth-Federal Republic of Nigeria, one more democratic eagle’s feather was added unto the 16-year-old-wings that democracy has been growing in Nigeria, the heart-beat of the African continent. This model democratic accomplishment of, by, and for the people of Nigeria is worthy of replication throughout the entire African continent if democracy and its practices must survive in Africa. And when we do this, together, we would have brought into Africa’s body-politic, that most elusive base and missing link for democracy, and development to take root, germinate, grow, bloom and yield fruition.  Without honoring the most sacred phenomenon on which democracy stands and is built, of one-citizen, one-vote, and of leaving office and handing over power when the people of Africa speaks or want the incumbent to do so, the talk for Africa’s democracy and development will just be nothing more than a vicious circle of spinning the wheel on one spot, one leader after another and year in, year out without any tangible or substantive change or accomplishment of note.

Nevertheless, there is hope on the horizon and light at the end of the tunnel. That hope and embers of light at the end of the tunnel in Africa was renewed and excitedly brought alive in the recently concluded Nigeria’s all important Presidential Election of March 28, 2015.  Here is a government and its party noted to be overly and overtly corrupt in the past 16 years since they assumed leadership and now stands defeated at the polls/ballot boxes and booted away by the opposition party, backed by the people. Hence on this day, actual winners were the people and democracy and the looser corruption and inefficiency!!

Although, very much belated in joining the team of the world’s political game or practices, if the current democratic trend that has sprouted in Nigeria for the past 16 years continues to be the norm and  hold sway much longer in majority of African nations, then I believe we’re on the cusp of the long-awaited  democratic political revolutionary change coming to Africa that will not only make current despotic and dictatorial leadership practices (wherever they still exist) odious to the steadily and progressively enlightened African electorates and populace but also a thing of the past much sooner than we ever think. I believe!

Of the current Nigeria’s democratic dispensation, barring a few unavoidable but deadly aftermath incidences here and there after any election in Nigeria in the recent past, whether it is yet clear or not to the naked eye, one quiet but historic fact underlying contemporary Nigeria is that in the past 16 years, Nigeria has steadily been progressing along the long continuum of democracy by changing and handing over powers from one civilian democracy to the next without interruption. This phenomenon is good for democracy to flourish not only in Nigeria, the epicenter of Africa’s democratic principles and practices, but throughout Africa and other third world democracies that look unto Nigeria as their beacon of democratic hope. At this point, one would only hope and pray that Nigeria sustains this continental and international honor she has either wittingly or otherwise been garnering for herself in the recent years past.

The bell for peaceful and sustained democracy on Nigeria’s soil started tolling hard and fast and now incessantly (it would seem) on the day, May 29, 1999 when Nigeria’s last known military strongman, General Abdusalami Abubakar handed over power to the former head of state of Nigeria and military general, Obasanjo. That this, peaceful transition from military to civilian democracy was possible could also in fact be attributable to the behind-the-scenes and quiet efforts made by Lieutenant General (retired) Aliyu Mohammed Gusau, the Chief National Security officer who assisted in no small way to see that the ex-military leader, General Olushegun Obasanjo was elected the democratic civilian President in 1999. This peaceful transition from military to national democratically elected government in 1999 was the prelude to today’s historic election of President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari in the most orderly and peaceful election in recent years in Nigeria’s history. Continuing that historic gain for democracy, in 2006, after failing to change the terms of the Presidency from 4 to 6 years, Obasanjo handed power over to yet another civilian democratically elected President, Umaru Yar’Adua, who picked Professor Goodluck Jonathan as his running mate under the umbrella of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP).

As the writing of the Eventual Unification of Nigeria  as a peaceful United States of Nigeria would have it, in June 2010, Umaru Yar’Adua passed away in Saudi Arabia after a lengthy period of illness, thereby creating a vacuum that saw the accidental presidency of the outgoing president, Good Luck Jonathan.  President Jonathan would be elected on his own terms and right in a nearly landslide election of his own recognition and accord, as the democratically elected President of Nigeria in 2011 over the then opposition and challenger, now the President-Elect, Muhammadu Buhari. Although more than 800 Nigerians lost their precious lives as the aftermath of Jonathan-Buhari 2011 election  in which Jonathan clearly emerged as the peoples’ choice of Presidency, painful as the shed of blood was, the killings and accompanying disturbances did not halt the wheels of democracy as the nay Sayers to democracy had hoped, and so, democracy, yet again won at the ballot boxes!

Coming in as the long awaited national democratic panacea, the government of Jonathan started off with very high hopes that before long were dashed to the ever spiky ruggedness of Nigeria’s politics and Aso Rock’s entrenched corruption and ineptitude of the highest order. Hence the people of Nigeria, soon became disillusioned, fed up with Goodluck and his administration and were counting their days and numbering the remaining days when the opportunity of the secrecy of the ballot booth will once more rear its powerful head on the corridors of Nigeria’s national politics. Though the longest four years in coming, that day did in deed come on Saturday, March 28, 2015 when the people and the rightful owners of Nigeria breathed a sigh of relieve at which time, they were once again confronted with the most coveted citizen’s role of choice-making, the most powerful decision of their commonwealth life to continue the corrupt and inept status quo of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and government or to make a change and garner victory for democracy.

As we now know it in the last 22 days or thereabout, not surprisingly or rather as was expected, when the all-powerful (more powerful than the President, Governor, senator or Assembly person at-the heat-of-any election) Independent Electoral Commission, INEC for short opened and read the envelope, the result was “…and the winner is, democracy and the people of Nigeria, one; corruption and dictatorship, zero!” And thus, former general Muhammadu Buhari was elected Nigeria’s President and President Goodluck Jonathan was defeated and thrown out of office by the people, the true owners of our beloved country, Nigeria!! And this brings me to the point of making the case for Nigeria waking up from her long decades of slumber and now realizing that it’s time to take back reins of the leadership of the African continent where it belongs rather than continuing sitting on the fence and throwing cold hands of apathy in every and any inter and intra continental roles she should have been playing all these decades gone by with the audacity of confidence, territorial integrity, good governance, leadership, power, and the economic wherewithal to match!

I dare say to you that today, apparently Nigeria, the sleeping lion and giant has woken up from her deepest slumber and is better off placed democratically to take the reins of continental African leadership than she was 17 years ago at the hands of despotic and dictatorial military leadership. Yes Although current democratic leaders can mostly be written off as corrupt and inept officials, it is better to have civilians managing the affairs of the nation than military autocracy in the sense that the laws made by these corrupt law makers and presidents and governors, crafted for the people, eventually will be the same legal instruments to be used to prosecute these law makers found operating outside the realms of the same laws they promulgated as long as the statutory limitation does not run out on them. And in most cases, the people have every right to make those statutory limitations stay in effect until the last culprit who took part in ruining Nigeria and the people are brought to books to face the music and wrath of the law. Because, that is how democracy triumphs – democracy is like an elephant, it never forgets nor forgives and therefore it prosecutes criminals and the guilty, no matter how long they can hide their criminal looting of Nigeria’s commonwealth resources – it never easily forgets nor forgives until proven otherwise. And this brings me to the big win Democracy scored on Nigeria’s internationally watched political score-card board of the presidential election March 28, 2015.

Although the March 28, 2015 presidential election has been dubbed the most smoothest, calm, well organized, and democratically conducted election in Nigeria’s history since gaining independence from Britain on October 1, 1960 and may have in fact been a contributing factor to the outcomes of the election in which for the first time in the history of Nigeria, (nay of entire Africa,) where the opposition party defeated an entrenched ruling party, the outcome, as important as it was, pales in comparison to what took place after the election.

Thus the most important aftermath of the election was not that the opposition challenger, Muhammadu Buhari won the election as he defeated President Jonathan. No! That’s not it, because it (the outcome of the election) was given!! Rather what were most important were the actions taken and not taken by the defeated President, Jonathan afterwards – marked by his conceding statements! The most important post-election aftermath action that the President (in his mind) earlier on resolved not to take was to “contest” the outcomes of the election and to accept it “as is!” This was a gallant political move – a statesman’s action marked by integrity, honor, and brevity!

The next set of important actions he took was in the crafting and choosing of words for his conceding statement.  I call them, the 333 words that changed the cause of democracy to the better in the entire African Continent. And perhaps, just perhaps, these 333 words may have been the only most important reason God Almighty (Allah) decided to choose Jonathan to be the President of Nigeria at the time He did so thus:

“Fellow Nigerians, I thank you all for turning out en-masse for the March 28 General Elections. I promised the country free and fair elections. I have kept my word. I have also expanded the space for Nigerians to participate in the democratic process. That is one legacy I will like to see endure.

Although some people have expressed mixed feelings about the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I urge those who may feel aggrieved to follow due process based on our constitution and our electoral laws, in seeking redress.

As I have always affirmed, nobody’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian. The unity, stability and progress of our dear country is more important than anything else.

I congratulate all Nigerians for successfully going through the process of the March 28^th General Elections with the commendable enthusiasm and commitment that was demonstrated nationwide.

I also commend the Security Services for their role in ensuring that the elections were mostly peaceful and violence-free. To my colleagues in the PDP, I thank you for your support. Today, the PDP should be celebrating rather than mourning. We have established a legacy of democratic freedom, transparency, economic growth and free and fair elections. For the past 16 years, we have steered the country away from ethnic and regional politics. We created a Pan-Nigerian political party and brought home to our people the realities of economic development and social transformation.

Through patriotism and diligence, we have built the biggest and most patriotic party in Nigerian history. We must stand together as a party and look to the future with renewed optimism.

I thank all Nigerians once again for the great opportunity I was given to lead this country and assure you that I will continue to do my best at the helm of national affairs until the end of my tenure.

I have conveyed my personal best wishes to General Muhammadu Buhari.

May God Almighty continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” http://dailypost.ng/2015/03/31/nigeria-decides-full-text-of-president-jonathans-concession-speech/

And notice that in his concession speech, he informed the Nigerian citizens and people of the world that he had already conveyed his personal best wishes to the winner and President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari. Jonathan’s actions were nothing more than states man-like – of a leader who wants peace and unity for his people. It was an action that tells of a leader who realizes that the people have spoken and to save the people from further heart and headaches, the best thing is to accept the results of the election as the peoples’ wishes move on and allow the new administration to build on the democratic legacies his Administration had thus far begun…! Thus, although his Administration may have been a disappointment to many a Nigerian, however, in defeat and exit, out-going President Jonathan stood tall and took the  statesman’s political road less trodden by previous Nigeria’s and  the entire Africa’s presidents, and heads of states and governments!   (Please stay tuned for Part 2 and the conclusion).

A response to Obiano: The Face of Wickedness

“If you were in my shoes what else would you do but to accept your sack and move on. I have accepted my fate and I have equally moved on. However, I still expect that one day my brother and friend, Governor Willie Obiano will appreciate my efforts in enthroning him and extend to me and all that worked for him the ‘dividends of democracy” … Joe Martins Uzodike

The above quote taken from the last paragraph of Joe Martins Uzodike’s 12-page drivel against Governor Willie Obiano aptly sums up the actual motive behind his attack. It also effectively places a heavy moral burden on his shoulders. Uzodike, immediate past Commissioner for Information Culture and Tourism in Anambra State is deeply pained at losing the position of privilege and influence he had occupied for years. In the process, he cheekily breaks the code of silence of professional information managers and spins a bitter narrative in an open display of extreme unprofessionalism that lowers the esteem of the office he once occupied. Nevertheless, had Uzodike’s long epistle of hate been only about a sudden loss of privilege, it would have been easy to sympathize with him. Unfortunately, the long tendentious piece titled Obiano: The Face of Wickedness drips with bile, lies, malice and fecal jeremaid that if not refuted might be mistaken as a factual account by some segments of the audience.

In truth, reading Uzodike’s poisonous piece, I felt absolute pity for him. I could not easily get over the mental picture of the once powerful Joe martins Uzodike, now a broken man, weeping like a hapless widow in the public space. Where has dignity gone? Where has pride fled to? Whatever happened to manliness?

But then again, I reasoned that had Uzodike (Buzuzu as he is fondly called) acted with wisdom, he would probably have chosen the path of honour and chewed his sorrow in silence. However, he didn’t for obvious reasons. For one, Uzodike who is quick to preach the gospel of gratitude to others never seems to play by his own rules. As a Special Adviser to Governor Obiano on Politics, Uzodike was the ultimate enemy within. He led the Fifth Columnists that infiltrated the inner sanctum of governance, laying landmines for Obiano and digging up dirt from unknown places to splash on social media and embarrass the governor to demystify the symbol of political leadership in Anambra State.

For another, Uzodike is obviously afflicted by an uncommon post-exit-from-office disorder which took a turn to the worse when his dream of a high-profile appointment at the federal level suffered a stillbirth with President Jonathan’s failure to win his second term bid. Determined not to go down in silence, Uzodike has shown that he never fights fair, choosing to lash out at the man who never commanded his loyalty for one day all through his stint as Special Adviser on Politics. In so doing, he unwittingly drove the final nail in his own political coffin.

Now, a look at the particulars of Buzuzu’s hokum will tell us how –

1. The Charge of wickedness – Uzodike says that Willie Obiano is the face of wickedness. And I wonder how that can be. Beyond giving him an opportunity to prove himself by appointing him as his Special Adviser, which he rewarded with an outright betrayal, what else did Obiano do wrong? And come to think of it, Uzodike likes to make a song and dance of his role as Obiano’s campaign DG but in actuality, he was so deliberately ineffective in that role that Hon Dubem Obaze had to be appointed to give verve to the campaign. Party insiders know that Uzodike never believed in the candidacy of Willie Obiano. His standard response to requests from the foot soldiers who played prominent roles in the campaign was that he was not in office to work but to make money – a brazen, mercantile and uncouth response. This same man as the Commissioner for Information, assiduously worked for the slow death of the organs of information dissemination in the state. For instance, Uzodike bought three re-furbished generators for ABS that broke down in less than one month after installation. What could be more wicked than that? Is it the very idea of playing the mole in government, the cankerworm, gnawing insidiously at the heart of your beneficiary while blowing a cool breeze to lull him into a false sense of safety? All through his stint, Obiano and his wife were the subject of cruel attacks on social media as the battalion of attack-dogs Buzuzu funded carried his instructions to the letter. And when he was finally asked to join his guerilla team fully and lead his current calumny campaign, he began to kick. Now, can wickedness be any shade darker than Joe Martins Uzodike?
2. The Charge of Obiano not putting a kobo into his campaign – It is incredulous that Uzodike should speak with so much authority on a process in which his ineffectiveness was pointedly colossal. Is it really possible for anyone in Nigeria to run for public office without putting in a kobo in the campaign process? Uzodike has conveniently forgotten that I was personally involved in the entire campaign effort and that myself and Emeka Ozumba were drafted in to run a structure that made up for the inadequacies of his own feeble efforts. I can personally testify that Uzodike headed a campaign effort that had no media plan. Uzodike had no TV commercial to sell the Obiano candidacy. Whatever was seen on television that looked like a commercial was sponsored by Obiano’s friends. Buzuzu was too abuzz with hatred for Obiano to even do what was professionally expected of him. And I make bold to say that the question of who actually was Willlie Obiano was not answered until Ozumba and I resumed work. The entire storification of the Obiano candidacy, playing up his promise and strength was done by Emeka Ozumba and myself. Truth be told, Joe Martins Uzodike actually worked against the Obiano candidacy and continued to work against the Obiano administration until he found himself incapable of holding down his bitterness and then committed the gaffe in a radio programme that led to his eventual ouster. I still recall with vividness, his thunderous arguments with a colleague each time he tried to malign the governor even when he was serving as a Special Adviser. What more could be cruel?
3. On the Charge of Obiano not knowing anybody in APGA – This is a very trite point but let’s just assume that it is worth our time to engage it. What does Uzodike really mean by this? If Obiano knew Governor Peter Obi, Chief Victor Umeh, Joe Martins Uzodike and a host of other party chieftains, who else was he supposed to know? However, no one is contesting that until his return from America, Willie Obiano had led his life as an astute technocrat. He was not involved in partisan politics. And lest we forget, it was this squeaky clean background that made him a clear favourite for the post. The party wanted an outsider that would have the strength of character to engender true reforms. Obiano fit the bill perfectly at the time. So, why should Uzodike turn around to talk as though everyone has been blighted by his peculiar memory loss?
4. On the claim that Peter Obi and his wife begged Uche Ekwunife to allow Obiano – Honestly, if I were Uzodike, I wouldn’t put out this kind of argument. This is a meaningless hyperbole that can only work against his paymaster. I consider it demeaning to even imagine Governor Peter Obi bringing the weight of his office to utter disrepute by bowing before anybody for any reason whatsoever. Is Uzodike sincerely telling us about the kind of effete government they ran or simply lying to garnish his grievance? Does Uzodike have to lie to make a point? Is this a product of wisdom and experience or an irrational act of an emotive man? I leave the audience to judge.
5. On the Charge of diverting campaign Funds to re-build his Country Home – This is also one of the utterly frivolous charges leveled against Obiano. Most people are aware that Obiano had a very successful banking career and a wise retirement plan. He was living in absolute comfort in Houston when he was chosen by party elders to serve Ndi Anambra. He demonstrated rare clairvoyance when he built the impressive Gech Auditorium in his large compound which became something of a fulfilled self-prophecy as it transformed into a mini state house when he was sworn in as governor. The truth is that Joe Martins Uzodike knows all these things but he chose to lie about them in pure revenge. We all know that when revenge is the motive, there is little fidelity to facts.
6. On the Sack of Obi’s Commissioners – Again, my elder brother, Uzodike showed a poor grasp of the nuances of governance when he made this point. It is utterly delusional that Buzuzu had actually hoped that Obiano would retain every member of Obi’s cabinet for a long period of time. Haba! There is nowhere in our contemporary democratic experience where a governor has retained the entire cabinet of his successor throughout the duration of his own administration. Buzuzu should count himself lucky not to have been eased out when his erstwhile colleagues had to go. It is a normal administrative re-arrangement that helps the new man to come into the fullness of his office and eventually become his own man. It is even to Obiano’s credit that in the spirit of continuity, he still retains the services of some key members of Obi’s cabinet to date. Happily, none of them has played the same ignoble role that led to Uzodike’s ouster.
7. On the Charge of Working against Obi’s Appointment as Aviation Minister – As a former Commissioner for Information, Uzodike should not be reminded of the journalism maxim which says that facts are sacred while comments are free. It is therefore embarrassing to see that almost all through his tirade, Uzodike paid scant attention to this maxim. For instance, he made a very wide-off-the-mark allegation that Obiano spent millions of naira to frustrate Obi’s bid for the position of Aviation Minister without adducing any evidence to substantiate his claim. Should we just believe his story because he told it? Is it not common knowledge that in the past one year, Governor Obiano has been so extremely busy to earn the trust and confidence of Ndi Anambra that the last thing he would do is to embark on a frivolous chase of imaginary enemies? Again, Uzodike seems to have forgotten that with Obiano’s background as a chartered accountant and a respected internal auditor, he cannot engage in a reckless spending of public funds in pursuit of a personal vendetta. But we can all forgive Buzuzu, seeing that people remember only what they choose to when their mission is destructive.
8. Uzodike’s Embarrassing Inconsistency – A careful reader of Uzodike’s lengthy drivel can easily see that it is strewn with lies. And being a poor author who is solely blinded by his thirst for revenge, he had no patience to let anyone who is detached from his emotional baggage read through his epistle before rushing to share it. For instance, in one of his long winding paragraphs, he recalled that after he was appointed Special Adviser on Politics, he met Governor Obiano only once. In his own words, “I was never able to meet him again despite all my efforts through texts, email and the Chief of Staff and other eminent emissaries.” Yet in so many other places, he claimed that he had advised the governor against taking certain decisions that he considered wrong. He even quoted Obiano extensively in one instance, showing that he must have carried a tape recorder when they met or activated his phone’s recorder anytime they spoke on phone with a view to using it against him at some future date. Whatever was the case, he gave himself away when he wrote – “This, he noted, will prepare him for the bigger task in 2019, when he would have become the most important Igbo politician.” He went as far as striking his chest saying “Ndi Igbo ga ama na abum nnukwu Nmanwu, na Akpokuedike abata go n’ogbo.” Pray, how did Buzuzu know that Obiano thumped his chest when he spoke if he was not physically present with him? Yet he dubiously wrote that he was never able to meet him again despite titanic efforts. Such a tasteless lies! Buzuzu has been buzzing around with boats about a book he has written on his experience with Obiano. I hope that the book will not be published with such poorly conceived lies and inaccuracies. We are waiting for that book though.
9. On the Charge that Investors have not Invested 1 Kobo in Anambra State – It is pathetic that Uzodike does not feel any stab of conscience when he spews his numerous lies. It is common knowledge that since signing the necessary agreements with the government of Anambra State, Coched Farms Limited, Ekcel Farms Limited, UDIPPCO Limited and Richborn Auto Industries Limited have all moved into Anambra State to begin operations. All these were widely reported in the media and are well known to Ndi Anambra. All these were accomplished in one year. All these investments came into a once dreaded state. Surely, Uzodike will have a rethink of his many lies someday.
10. The Charge of Wastefulness – This is also another poorly conceived accusation which flies in the face of the solid achievements on the ground. What sense does it make to accuse a sitting governor of wastefulness when he is meeting all his financial obligations and executing projects that his predecessor dared not dream of? How can Buzuzu point a finger at a man whose adroit management of the resources of the state has led to an increase in workers’ salaries after one year in office? Is that how a wasteful governor runs his state? Buzuzu evidently thinks that he is addressing people who cannot make any deductive reasoning on their own but have to be led by the hand. Otherwise, he would have known that we are all witnesses to the changing landscape of Awka. By my reckoning, that is not a sign of wastefulness. Uzodike should save himself the heartache of comparing Obi’s lifestyle to Obiano’s. They are two separate individuals with totally different lifestyles and no lifestyle is better than the other.  China’s Mao Zedong once declared, “Let a thousand flowers bloom,” while making an appeal for a world that is more accommodating of the many differences in life. Peter Obi and Willie Obiano are different persons. Everyone cannot live a puritanical life like the one portrayed by Peter Obi. Buzuzu ought to know this.
11. On the Redeployment of Permanent Secretaries – Redeployment is a standard administrative procedure in any organized establishment. It goes with the territory. Uzodike is not making any earth shaking revelation in saying that the permanent secretaries in Lagos and Abuja were redeployed. But as we now know, everything is grist to the mill of a vengeful man.
12. The Charge on Christmas Light – Uzodike over-reached himself with the claim that Governor Obiano spent N1bn on Christmas lights last year. This lie is as laughable as his charge of wastefulness. He has evidently forgotten that most people are aware that the governor had appealed to banks, construction companies and other corporates and wealthy individuals to assist the state by adopting the nearest roundabout or public space to decorate for Christmas. Because he is loved and trusted by the people, there was a rush to identify with his initiative by many companies and individuals. Still, if Uzodike has any hard evidence to prove that Governor Obiano actually spent N1bn on Christmas decoration, he is free to publish that.
13. On the N75bn – Since their recent political misadventure in Abuja, former Governor Obi and his handlers have returned to seek for a new foothold in Anambra State with a basket of lies and half-truths. The most embarrassing of their recent gambit is the adoption of the N75bn he purportedly handed over to Obiano as their new swansong. Obi himself has been moving around radio stations to remind Ndi Anambra that he left N75bn in his handover note. A corollary to this seeming anxiety to perpetuate his legacy is the fact that at no time has Governor Obiano or his spokesmen challenged this hefty claim. Quite naturally, that bridge shall be crossed one day, but this is neither the time nor the place. The question then is, why does Obi feel extremely anxious to drum up this particular legacy? Is Anambra State not better today than he left it? Are workers’ salaries not being paid regularly even with the increment?  And perhaps more importantly, has anyone complained to them that the state has become insolvent? Or is there something hidden under the carpet that they hope to conceal by regularly waving this particular legacy in our faces? Whatever the case may be, it remains the prerogative of the Governor of Anambra State to clear the air on what he inherited from his predecessor. It is also his choice to decide if it is necessary to break his silence and when it is appropriate to break that silence on it. Until then, Joe Martins Uzodike and his friends can carry on with their dance in the market square!

In conclusion, Joe Martins Uzodike’s diet of lies and despicable attempts to malign the Governor of Anambra State and expose him to ridicule is one of the regrettable learning curves of our nascent democracy. Nevertheless, one would have hoped that Uzodike and his sponsors would have enough wisdom to lick their brutal electoral wounds in dignified silence. But that has not been the case. Rather, they are hell bent on distracting Governor Obiano from his mission of building a state that will become the pride of the race in the next couple of years. The good thing though is that their ignoble mission has failed because their motive is as clear as daylight.

Signed

James Eze

Senior Special Assistant on Media