FEATURE ARTICLE

Hon. Chinedu NkwontaFriday, January 16, 2015
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London, UK

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IF NOT CHIEF (SIR) VICTOR UMEH...

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ince the take off of the current political quest by interested candidates for different positions in the governance of our country, no other position has generated much heat like the quest by Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh to go to the Senate to represent Ndi Igbo via the Central Senatorial seat of Anambra State.

Taking time and dissecting critically into all the heats generated, one is left in no doubt that the so called heat is mere noise making by some minor interest groups that are just enemies of progress, anti Igbo agenda and mercenaries against our common interest.

These people find it difficult to comprehend that this Umeh they know would soon become a Senator, a small man of yesterday that they knew when he was living under the bridge at Ogbete Enugu, how can it be? In terms of the substance in their claims, there is none.

I have written in the past that living under the bridge by anyone is a plus for a candidate, the implication is that the candidate has felt what the everyday Igbo person feels. It is an indication that the candidate does not need to be told what the problems of the real people are if given the opportunity to be in a power position. I am not implying that Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh lived under the bridge, all of us have histories and those histories are the stories that make us, the history we tell and look back on to appreciate the grace of God on us and be considerate and compassionate while dealing with others.

I have never heard that the parents of Ohamadike were the Dangotes of their time, I do not think that most of the leaders we have today all over were all made of golden spoons. The reason of this emphasis is that most critics raise this background issue as if it is a crime for a child to grow better than the parents. The prayer of every parent or indeed every decent elder is that the youths grow to be better than their generation. Is it not then a thing of joy that Ohamadike has grown or is it a case of a person that did better than the others so he must have gone to the evil forest to fetch his own firewood.

What in our decent and unbiased opinions should be the attributes of people we want to lead us in all levels of leadership? I have never heard that Ohamadike was a criminal, his name has never been mentioned in drug business, 419 or any other form of illegality, what then are the issues?

Ohamadike, Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh abinitio identified himself first as an Igbo man in self realisation that charity begins from home through his mode of dressing. Ohamadike has told us so many times that his three children all have distinctions in Igbo language, is he then guilty of being an unapologetic Igbo man? To be frank, one cannot be a good Nigerian if you do not first recognise who you are. If such gap exists, such then leads to confusion, subjective decision making and lack of cohesive direction if such person finds him or herself in leadership position.

Nigeria is a conglomerate of tribes co existing as one, if our representatives do not go out there and present our issues, who will do that for us? I want to be corrected please, there is no Igbo man or woman living today that is as vocal as Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh on matters affecting our common interest as Ndi Igbo, why would an Igbo son or daughter then be against his candidacy for the Senate.

I want to repeat what I have said in the past, Ohamadike is well positioned at-least in the politics of Anambra State today that he would have taken a cooler option of becoming a Minister or an Ambassador. I am sure that the people that know his influence and relationship with Akpokuodike global, the Executive Governor of Anambra State would agree to this, why has Ohamadike taken the difficult option of putting himself out there to run for an elective position? He simply recognises that the organ that makes the decisions for the future of the generality of Nigeria is the Legislature. He recognises that if we do not put out our argument no one will do that for us. He recognises that the quality of the leaders and their actions determine what comes to us as a people. He recognises that we have been short-changed in this country and that it is not the fault of the other zones or tribes but our fault due to the quality of people we send out to a field where others send their best elevens. He recognises his personal strengths considering the huge difference he made in his very short stay in the National Conference. Having been the National Chairman of APGA for a reasonable time, he understands how this thing called politics works. Ohamadike knows the importance of being an elected member of Parliament knowing that no one will get up in the morning and remove him without giving him reasons, he has passion to work for the betterment of Ndi Igbo in one political entity called Nigeria.

The little that I know Ohamadike, I do not think that his motivation is to be called a Senator or to make money, I suppose he is grateful to God for the level he has attained so far, it is not wrong then for him to dedicate himself to the service of Ndi Igbo and the oppressed. It may be rare for Ohamadike to walk into anywhere in this country without being recognised, in-fact anyone that wears the long Igbo red cap will remind Nigerians of Victor Umeh first, the APGA strong man. Such should be the pride of all Igbos knowing that our son represents well.

In all that I say, I want to repeat that Ohamadike Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh is not an angel, he is fallible like all of us, we do not need to judge him as if he is god. Having been in the leadership of APGA for so long, it makes sense that some people would not be happy with him, would that be enough reason to throw away the baby with the bath water? If we can stop for a second and consider the common interest of the Igbo nation in Nigeria today, all of us would do all we can to make sure that Ohamadike gets to the Senate. The failure of Ohamadike to get to the Senate is the failure of the Igbo nation to read the political hand writing as far as we are concerned. The right questions to ask would be, are we where we are supposed to be, who is to be blamed for such, what are our strategies to reposition? If we can candidly answer these questions and truly believe in the ability of the Igbo nation to rediscover ourselves in Nigeria, there would be no option left for all of us than to make sure Ohamadike gets to the Senate. Going to the Senate is not just about being called Distinguished Senator or Constituency projects, it is more about the quality of the representatives which is the image of the people, it is about the respect that these representatives attract from their associates and colleagues, it is about positioning in very important committees that would enable the sitting of other Federal government projects, it is about knowing what the people want and presenting bills on such, it is about going the extra miles to lobby and convince others to support their bills, it is about making the nocturnal moves and political horse-trading necessary to achieve same, it is about building bridges across border for the interest of our people, Chief Sir Victor Umeh knows all these, he is going there to work hard for us. If he has brought himself out to serve us all, we must encourage him through our prayers, support and constructive criticisms, not cheap, biased and empty allegations that have never been expatiated.

The Igbos must have a voice and I am convinced that Ohamadike Ndi Igbo, Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh is the beginning of our collective emancipation from the hands of the uninformed cabals that have held us down for so long.

ANAMBRA CENTRAL, VOTE WISELY, VOTE CHIEF (SIR) VICTOR UMEH FOR SENATE, VOTE ALL APGA CANDIDATES, EBE ESELU OKUKO.

I salute you all.

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