As we approach the 2027 general elections, a critical look at the avalanche of political aspirants to the National Assembly and Imo Governorship positions from Owerri North obviously raises an unavoidable question: Can Owerri North survive the consequences of the dirty hands of politics which will arise from avoidable political rivalry?
This question is imperative because the process of grabbing political power follows some fundamental ethics and rules which must be respected by politicians. Those who ignore them do so at their peril. So far, Owerri North has fieded candidates for the National Assembly elections. It is also featuring many aspirants to the Governorship postion. A situation where Owerri North is neckdeep in every pie in the federal Constituency is very disturbing. It can become our Achilles heel.
In the first place, this attitude exposes us as a greedy people and that we do not care about the feelings of the other two local governments. Our sister local governments of Owerri West and Municipal may embark on the principle of power balancing to cut down our excesses. We should not expect them to be happy with us.
We in Owerri North must come to the realisation that the manner in which we brazenly marginalise our sister local governments is a veritable proof of the statement that a politician has no integrity. This is very true. Integrity would have required for equitable sharing of elective positions in Owerri Federal Constituency. Everyone knows this truth but it is often discarded because the political blood running in us is all about self, self and self to satisfy selfish ambitions. This attitude is repulsive and expensive at the end of the day.
Secondly, with the alarming number of gubernatorial aspirants from Owerri North, we are most likely going to carry the can of worms at the end of the coming general elections. Let us face the reality, these brothers fighting to grab the guber seat may not escape being victims of the “dirty hands of politics” because integrity and morality will be involved in the tug of war.
The truth is that integrity and morality are the main features in an election. These are the two opposing forces which control a politician in a race for power. With the benefit of hindsight, morality is a burden which a politician cannot afford to compromise. A politician standing for election is ready to crush every obstacle against his victory.
For the avoidance of doubts, our political gladiators in Owerri North know very well that it is not ideal to marginalise the other two local governments. Nevertheless, everyone is concerned foremost with his selfish ambition. But behind the camaraderie frequently showcased in public by these politicians, there are secret plots to undo each other. This is the crux of the matter, avoidable rivalries.
For example, the morality to win the guber seat will make guber candidates to resort to playing “the dirty hands of politics” which will manifest in working for the failure of National Assembly candidates. They are all aware that the victory of our National Assembly candidates will negatively affect their guber chances. Owerri North will not likely be allowed to take all the elective positions. Therefore, our pursuit to grab all may result in a season of “pull him down” until we end up getting nothing. As for me, I am disposed to believe by critical reasoning that no matter how foolish they may appear, GUBER CANDIDATES FROM OWERRI NORTH WILL WANT ALL SENATORIAL CANDIDATES FROM OWERRI NORTH TO FAIL the coming election. It is not something that can be denied.
Finally, I would like to make it very clear that I am personally worried about these practices in Owerri North. The imminent political rivalry in the coming days, when juxtaposed with the elements of integrity and morality purtends an era of “the dirty hands of politics” in the local government. For the time being however , we shall just cross our fingers and watch the game of politics.
