From age to age such kind of responsibility has always fallen upon great philosophers to look the king in his very countenance and reprimand him. To this, many great philosophers have experienced persecutions in its wake. Shall we recount the agonies of the poisoned thinker of Athens—Socrates—or the banishment of Anaxagoras or the torturing of Zeno. I too have a crystal reminiscence of the execution of Severinus Boethius, the Nero’s killing of Seneca and the brutal decapitation of Thomas Moore, to mention but a few. Their crimes have the semblance of the crime of Jesus before the ignorant Jews of those days. This crime which I shall not in any way spare contemplation or fear to commit against a king that has executed much evil against the ordinary man even against a political party so dear to Igboland. It is my duty, I ween, an eternal obligation of the righteous, to bring to the open the sins of the wicked. I may not be alone in this judgment. But one thing is to be noticed my judgment must be guided by the illumination of reason. What I have just expressed is that the onus of chronicling the mortal sins of the wicked, even of the king of our day falls upon me. This sole task shall this piece undertake to accomplish.
It is a crime against Igboland, the culprit being “onye” Anambra. He sits in the throne of the king even of the king of the day here in Anambra. He has wronged his people even the ordinary man of the day. He is a trader, even a successful trader of his day. This adds sadness to him who has history read. Who have endeavored to contemplate the writings of Plato in the Republic or the teachings of Aristotle in his Politics. Their concordance with respect to their takes on leadership and the republic is outright spurning of the artisans (traders) who being in the lowest rung of ladder of men in the republic should not for any reason whatsoever be allowed to rule. Trading is consequently for the emotional—people who are ruled by their crude desires, and not their thought. I have deliberately pointed out this before I commence in earnest the goal of which this piece has undertaken to express. Its essence is to serve a caveat to the managers of APGA of the dangers of allowing merchants to rule, as I, Plato and Aristotle have pointed out are very wrong people for such a noble appointment. Small wonder, Plato did aver that unless philosophers are made kings or kings be imbued with sufficient measure of genuine philosophy the commonwealth or state shall know no peace. And it seems to me that the ultimate cause of the conflagration consuming APGA is the abdication of leadership to merchants who Plato aptly dubbed the artisans. We shall indeed plead for forgiveness on behalf of the corrupt king; his sins notwithstanding shall be made public to serve deterrence to the kings hopeful and to prepare the members of our great party to rally round the true leadership of APGA under the chairmanship of Sir Victor Umeh for the next election soon to come. I shall therefore at this moment through the illumination of reason showcase to the ordinary man of APGA the great sins of our king against the very institution that graciously molded and made him.
The first sin: In the year of the Lord, 2006, after the great struggle to enthrone the king, and the king having been enthroned, there ensued the first mortal sin. The king declared a shoot on sight even against his people. Kill, shoot them even on sight. And so many were killed, homes pillaged, women raped at thy command Oh king! But, there were dissenting voices even from the very party which the king belonged. Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu denounced the shoot on sight—he, the leader of the party. Sir Victor Umeh condemned the shoot on sight—he the National Chairman of the party. The king, his sidekicks and kitchen cabinet have either denied this or rationalized the unfortunate act. But, the truth remains that the essence of the king’s act was to annihilate MASSOB who sadly today appear to be the friend of the corrupt kingdom. The then king of kings—Obasanjo—had instructed our king thus: If you desire to continue in this perch and consequently enjoy the trappings therein, you must ensure you abstain from that rascal—Ojukwu—and, of the other, is that, you must perforce ensure that his foot soldiers—MASSOB—are completely extirpated. So the king denied his party. Ignored his party leaders and embarked on those killings that were reminiscence of the ugly pogrom of the civil war even in the heartland of Igboland when there were better ways to rein in the restiveness of the youth of those days even as suggested to the king by his party leaders. Thus he clearly demonstrated no regard for the sages of the party but on the contrary made obeisance to the king of kings (Obasanjo, of PDP) as is consistent with what obtains with his obeisance to our today’s king of kings (another PDP president).
The second sin: In Obi’s first four years, he maintained a close relationship with the powers that be in Abuja—PDP. This particular sinful act just like others was not without one misfortune or the other for the party. The party was left in forlorn. People were abandoned. Party members were offered no reasonable appointment. And the king has so many reasons to justify his meanness against the fingers that fed him. The act we remembered created a problem between our king and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu as the king was refused the party ticket in 2010 lest such now routine treachery be adopted as the way of the party. That fear of that old man has been confirmed today as the king is now fighting hard to customize its perfidy by working both covertly and overtly to divest Umeh of his position so as to impose stooges who can as at when due execute his debauchery.
Third sin: Obi denied the party completely. Soon after the king’s victory: the king has been given the party ticket after much kneeling and asking for forgiveness, and election having been won and the king having been sworn in for the second time agha were setie—real war, the long anticipated has come. The news tabloids were awash with the statement which was credited to the king’s uncle that APGA contributed nothing to Obi’s victory rather Obi won that election as a result of his sudden exalted personality. Madness! It was a direct attack against a man who staked his life for a mere trader now turned king. And those days the man ideologically avowed: “vote for him this is my last wish”! And Odumegwu never knew—but he supposed to have known—that he has consented to his demise and that the principalities and powers, the thrones and the dominations, the cherubims and seraphims, the laws and the virtues, the angels and archangels have in the wake of his avowal been made handicapped even in the day of his rescue. Don’t you see, thee that is a member of APGA that the renewal of the king’s power is not without the shedding of the blood; for unless a grain of wheat falls down to the ground and dies it can profit nothing but the king said APGA contributed nothing.
The fourth sin: The refusal of Obi to conduct local government election. Forms having been sold to the party members who have indicated interest! To some, hundred thousand Naira! To another, one million! All the necessary things having been put in place, the hopes of the party members were dashed to the ground even to the ground Oh thee the wicked ruler! And the king’s party members not only were forced to spend their hard earned money to purchase forms but were indefinitely forsaken by their supposed king. The king has so many reasons to adduce for the non conduct of this election. But, we are wiser to have known the whole truth and nothing but all of the truth. It is consistent with the king’s strong resolve not to see APGA flourish so as to continue the king’s lubrication of his unholy union with every king of kings up there.
The fifth sin: In consistency with the king’s policy of oiling his union with the king of kings and still in unremitting consistency with ensuring that APGA’s structure be handed over to PDP as at when the later demanded, the king was caught in another sinful act; the fifth sin: Obi handed over APGA tickets to the PDPs—Dora Akunyili, Chuma Nzeribe, and Joy Emordi. And the man who shamelessly claimed that his personality gave him victory in an election where there were obviously better personalities than the king (Soludo and Ngige), could not deliver the PDPs now APGA. For far from it, the king was not in any way naïve in this matter, it was to enable the king of kings establish his suzerainty on us as the PDPs in the PDP took a larger part of the senatorial districts.
The sixth sin: The king’s conspicuous absence in all the campaigns of all the APGA gubernatorial candidates in other states namely Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Abia, and River states in 2011 elections. At the confrontation by the chairman over such a perfidious stance, the king has a reason congruously depicting a man obviously invaded by narcissism and schizophrenia: I am the vice chairman of the governors’ forum and the chairman of south east governors’ forum and I cannot therefore go to their states to campaign against them. Ndi APGA kwenu! The king has a conspicuous unremitting stance on such matter especially as concerning APGA and PDP. When it does come that there is a conflicting interest between the duo we can easily guess the side on which the king pitches his tent. This is our king who apparently is now the one championing the restructuring of the king’s party to accelerate its development and consequently ensure that the king’s party wins election from the Coal city to Enyimba stadium, from the land of the River’s man to the Bayelsa Ijaw. Narcissism and Schizophrenia are diseases capable of precipitating such affective illusion. This is pure chicanery. The king is in full knowledge of his actions: you mean what? To keep greasing his union with the now king of kings—PDP!
The seventh sin: In the battle that ensued between the national chairman and the former national chairman as regards INEC’s registration of UPGA, the king maintained a disturbing but perfidious silence. This is our king who now wants APGA to be robust and formidable and consequently dominate in future elections both in the east and beyond. The king of kings would want such confusion that would have followed the registration of UPGA as PDP will benefit in such political commotion and our king cannot but maintain a silence likened to that of Brutus ere his stabbing of Caesar with such an immeasurable wickedness.
At this station the king sins eight times: All other machinations have failed. The option left was perchance a complete surgical operation to delete the face of the man who is the engine of this wheel and consequently render the wheel not only rickety but in a state of unmitigated comatose. “Umeh go or be sacked”, overwhelmed the political-media space. It is unceasingly circadian in the mouth of the king’s uncle. In the circles of the king’s commissioners! In the gathering of a whit of wretched transition committee chair-the-loot! That was an atmosphere dominated by smear campaign to depose the authentic Ojukwu-Achuzie affirmed leadership of APGA. I dare say that the world is an ordered whole and nature has a way and has always taken care of the likes of this kind of king of our day. Let’s wait and see! Because I for one know that the king, even the king of our day, cannot escape the retributions due for his sins for karma is surely as real as the certainty of death.
The ninth and the last station: The king’s deployment of Ojukwu’s house and wife to destroy Ojukwu’s party. The king has always championed the cause of ensuring that Ojukwu’s Enugu residence be made use of as a rendezvous for their unholy assembly. This baffles not me but the traditional Igbo man who wanders how the dead man’s kitchen could be deployed in ensuring that the last fabrics of his remaining political legacy are completely destroyed. That is the strange behavior which is one of the hallmarks of the kings neck-deep in the demonic occultism that now surprisingly pervades the world of the jet age. Because we know as history has always made known that that is the only source of such emboldening. But, let us reason—now through dialogue—awhile because we do know that this Ojukwu “residence of a thing” fractured the relationship between the MASSOB leader and the national chairman. What is important, I may ask, Ojukwu’s residence or Ojukwu’s will? Certainly I will say Ojukwu’s will because the will of a man is the real man in/of a man. And if it is true it is Ojukwu’s will, what then is Ojukwu’s will with respect to APGA? That APGA be an independent party capable of protecting and projecting the Igbo agenda and that of the ordinary man in the country where we are. You have answered rightly, my son. Assuming you answered quite correctly, why then do you accuse the king? Because the king’s actions have undoubtedly indicated an unremitting stance, tendencies, and now clear-cut act of a man who wants to hand over the APGA structure to a party other than APGA—PDP. I have not finished sir: And this is the same party upon her humiliation of Ndi Igbo APGA was perforce formed. What then is this tantamount to, my son? That the king’s posturing of deploying Ojukwu’s residence is a long known artifice of charlatans now so moribund to be deployed in matters of political subterfuge. And what does your big grammar portends to say? That it is the kings that do the will of God that will make heaven and not the king that kills God’s prophets even right inside the synagogue. Wait a minute sir: That it is not the kings that say “Lord, Lord” that shall be welcomed into the heavenly nirvana but the kings that do the will of Ojukwu who sent Umeh. You have answered correctly, my son. And it seems to me, therefore, that the rift between chief and the chairman should be resolved by this theological understanding.
What shall I say having said all that have been said: These finally: that this write up be liken to any of those epistles of the man of Tarsus, even Saul who was later named Paul. And that this epistle listing the mortal sins—“a mortal sin in Roman Catholic theology is considered to be so evil that it causes a complete loss of grace”, in this context the grace of the king to anoint his successor—of the king be dispatched to all the districts and provinces of APGA (ward to ward) so as to keep the ordinary man in knowledge as election draws nigh. Let the women endeavor to obtain their copies and the men do as well. I suppose that young people pay more attention word by word line after line to the contents of this letter. This is to ensure that the wicked king having lost the grace to anoint a successor in the wake of the gravity of his sins could be stopped forthwith from imposing a candidate upon our party. That it shall no longer happen in Igboland that such kings that act with impunity come even after this one. Let it be so!
Elo Afoka holds a PhD in Logic
Mobile: +2348039229982
Email: eloafoka@gmail.com
