I have learned over the years that when democracy is suspended at the grassroots, it never disappears quietly. It mutates. It festers. And eventually, it returns as conflict.
That is why Gov. Hope Uzodimma’s decision to lift the long-standing ban on town union elections in Imo State matters far more than it might appear at first glance. This is not just an administrative adjustment. It is an overdue acknowledgment that democracy, even in its most modest village form, cannot be replaced indefinitely by appointment letters and political convenience.
Town unions, as we once knew them, were organic creations of communal will. They began as self-help platforms—informal, voluntary, often messy, but fundamentally accountable to the people. Over time, however, they were refashioned into quasi-government appendages, increasingly dependent on state funding, stripped of independence, and rendered vulnerable to political capture.
The turning point came in 2011, when the Okorocha administration attempted to reengineer town unions into Community Governing Councils, (CGCs) marketed as a “fourth tier” of government. Critics warned then that this was less about grassroots empowerment and more about grassroots control. They were right. Even though the formal structure failed, the logic behind it survived. Government began to define positions, bankroll them, and inevitably politicize them.
Once money entered the picture, democracy quietly exited through the back door. Positions like president-general became too valuable to be left to elections. Appointments replaced ballots. Loyalty trumped legitimacy. And the people, for whom these structures were supposedly created, became spectators in their own communities.
So, when I heard Gov. Uzodimma direct the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to begin preparations for fresh town union elections, I felt cautious optimism. Democracy does not simply return because it is announced. It returns only if it is conducted transparently, credibly, and without backstage interference. Anything less risks trading one form of instability for another.
But town unions are only one side of Imo’s grassroots problem. The other is the growing crisis around traditional rulership. In theory, traditional rulers are custodians of peace, culture, and moral authority. In practice, many stools in Imo have become commercial assets. Autonomous communities have multiplied at an alarming rate from about 200 in 1979 to over 800 today—often without the social cohesion or historical grounding to sustain them. What followed was predictable: disputes, litigations, parallel kings, and endless bitterness.
I have seen communities where three men parade themselves as eze, each clutching court papers, each claiming legitimacy, and none commanding genuine respect. What passes for peace in such places is merely the silence of exhaustion.
These disputes did not arise by accident. They were fueled by ambitious individuals unwilling to submit themselves to communal choice, aided by political actors who saw autonomous community creation as a revenue stream rather than a governance responsibility. When authority is auctioned to the highest bidder, exploitation is inevitable.
To his credit, Gov. Uzodimma appears to understand that insecurity does not begin with gunmen. It begins with broken legitimacy. His call on traditional rulers to mobilize vigilance groups and work with youths to defend their communities will ring hollow if those same communities are internally fractured by unresolved leadership disputes. Security cannot be improvised on a foundation of injustice.
What I expect now is consistency. The abrogation of existing town union leadership structures must be followed by elections that reflect the true will of the people, not the preferences of political patrons. Disputed stools must be addressed decisively, with recognition granted to rightful candidates, not those with the loudest connections.
If the governor treats the crises of town unions and traditional rulership holistically, he will not only restore administrative sanity but also strengthen the first line of defense against the banditry and external threats creeping into rural Nigeria.
On a candid note, grassroots peace is not decorative. It is strategic. And if democracy is to survive in Imo State, it must begin where it matters most—among the people, not above them.
Dr. Odu can be reached through [email protected] or SMS 07016722929
