Orlu Political Consultative Assembly (OPOCA) was the group that took the lid off the cauldron of political activities going on in the struggle for Imo 2027 governorship when they warned against distracting Gov. Hope Uzodimma with such matters.
A good number of Imo people wondered how that could be a distraction to the governor who was on his last lap as governor. It was actually the governor who, earlier, offered to iron out the issue through a renewed Imo Charter of Equity, even before he went into the Nov. 2023 off season election which he won convincingly. He held meetings, made a series of consultations and rested the charter on the agreement that after his tenure as an Orlu man, the chair would swing to Owerri Zone.
It’s not out of place for politicians to begin now to position themselves for the battle ahead. And so, moves towards that end do not constitute a distraction to the governor. Right after the rejuvenation of the charter under Gov. Uzodimma, politicians from Okigwe began to beat their drums of resentment, laying claim to the throne come 2027.
We must emphasize that this charter does not stretch beyond a gentleman’s agreement by men expected to be honourable. It is not legally binding. It’s only a moral imperative to enhance healthy coexistence in the peculiar political environment we find ourselves in, a milieu that permits chop-I-chop politics.
As much as it has the capability to calm nerves, the charter is also ostensibly susceptible to equivocation. Those who propound it today are likely to be the ones to shoot it down at the battlefield. Therefore, it is not something to rely on.
“Much as the Charter could be an influence in voting patterns, politicians would be foolhardy to rule out the hand of some unscrupulous Orlu gladiators in the Owerri-Okigwe imbroglio. While Owerri and Okigwe fight over the throne, a smart Orlu man could snatch the crown, grab it again and run with it in 2027. There’s little anyone can do about that. Benevolent politicians with understanding are, however, greater in number in Orlu Zone”
We are all aware that the Charter, an unwritten agreement among politicians that the office of the governor would equitably rotate among the three zones of Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe making up Imo State, dates back to 1999. That year, the soldiers had decided to leave the government houses for the civilians all across the federation. By that time, the old Imo State had been split into Imo and Abia states.
The political leaders decided to apply it in retrospect, counting the Late Sir Sam Mbakwe’s interrupted four years and two months tenure in the old Imo State for Okigwe zone, and crediting to Owerri Zone an also truncated tenure of the late Evan Enwerem who barely stayed one year in Douglas House under Military President Ibrahim Babangida’s diarchy.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), the reigning party, then, considered that the only zone that had not tasted the Douglas House was Orlu. And so, the late Humphrey Anumudu of Owerri zone who picked the ticket in the party’s round table primaries bowed to pressure and relinquished the ticket to Achike Udenwa, an Orlu candidate.
At the end of Gov. Uzodimma’s second tenure, the final scores for the three zones in the equity charter game would stand at Orlu 24 years, Okigwe eight and Owerri barely one and a half years. Okigwe is angling for the position in 2027, claiming that its eight years through Ikedi Ohakim was shortened to four and so they needed to complete their four years. They are supported by some prominent sons of Owerri, such as Bob Njemanze and Prof. Vitalis Ajumbe, among others.
That argument implies that it must be Ohakim since a fresh person is likely to insist on two terms of eight years. It, however, ignores the feelings that Ohakim seemed to have usurped the Owerri slot, when Owerri-born Martin Agbaso’s undeclared mandate was scuttled in the 2007 general elections. What really barred Ohakim from a second term in 2011? Simple. Results of the elections which stretched to supplementary voting showed that he did not impress the Imo electorate! It becomes difficult to sell him to the people as we must not lose sight that besides the Charter, the elective office remains a competitive one. Besides being competitive, damaging intrigues sometimes abound to change political equations.
In asmuch as equity is necessary in the brand of politics we play, it is important that the quality of the person being touted for the position is acceptable and beneficial to the administration of the state. For this reason, to win the election, competing zones ought to present their best for consideration.
Trends have shown that the Imo electorate are not usually a trifle when it’s time to choose who leads them, regardless of zoning. They chose Mbakwe in those days and chose well. Clearly, they elected Achike Udenwa in 1999 and got the benefits of his tripod AIR – Agriculture, Industry and Reorientation – programme. It was then that Imo was proved capable of producing rice through the Songhai Farms that appear to be moribund today. When PDP could not reach an agreement who to field in 2007, they coasted to All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and voted for Agbaso. Then, “glitches” in the electoral body’s systems awarded it to an insignificantly known Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and Ikedi Ohakim became governor. Perhaps, the Alliance in the two names confused the “machines” of those days.
By sheer collective will, they sent Ohakim packing when arrogance and impunity seemed to pervade the Government House, Owerri. Against all odds, in the face of all forms of violence, inducement and intimidation of electoral officers, as well as falsification of results, they were resolute in electing Emeka Ihedioha in 2019. Sooner than later, as they had settled down to savour the dividends of their collective victory, the Supreme Court accident happened. It’s most likely that this electorate has not changed despite the tigers that visited the goats’ shed each time the results were out.
Much as the Charter could be an influence in voting patterns, politicians would be foolhardy to rule out the hand of some unscrupulous Orlu gladiators in the Owerri-Okigwe imbroglio. While Owerri and Okigwe fight over the throne, a smart Orlu man could snatch the crown, grab it again and run with it in 2027. There’s little anyone can do about that. Benevolent politicians with understanding are, however, greater in number in Orlu Zone.
Indeed, there’s no need for much ado about the Charter of Equity as the kingdom of Imo suffers violence in very many cases and, usually, only the violent has always taken it. Imo must pray hard that they get their God-given man into the Douglas House in the next dispensation.
Dr. Odu can be reached through dirimrich2018@gmail.com or SMS 07056207620.
“It’s not out of place for politicians to begin now to position themselves for the battle ahead. And so, moves towards that end do not constitute a distraction to the governor. Right after the rejuvenation of the charter under Gov. Uzodimma, politicians from Okigwe began to beat their drums of resentment, laying claim to the throne come 2027”