These trendsetters eventually ventured outside and commenced membership drive and initiations outside Nigeria, especially in several cities of America and Europe. The Club's networking and coordination both within and outside Nigeria was becoming a major force, a potential instrument for grass root political mobilization for Ndi-Igbo. The Club's profile was further heightened by its role during and after the Ikemba returned from Ivory Coast and was eventually inducted into the fold as a chieftain of the People's Club. Obviously, the military juntas that succeeded Shagari took notice. A concerted effort was made to infiltrate the rank and file and sabotage the objectives and aspirations of private organization striving to rebuild and restore the pride and dignity of Ndi-Igbo across the land and beyond. The destabilization and eventual collapse of People's Club was no accident and there are many who have yet to understand and grapple completely with the issues that led to the demise of the club. The same bad apples, candle-bearing unholy acolytes of the enemy were on duty and fully engaged and have continued to be ever since.

This discussion is not really about People's Club. However, the bellows that contributed to the problems in the affairs of the Club remain alive and well and have continued to blow hot air; that is perhaps the concern. Before going further into that, I have to recall an active member of People's Club, a professor of history at a premier university in Nigeria. He never missed the annual yam festival of the Club. It was always an all day and night affair; the celebrations were elaborate indeed and all campus neighbors noticed. He also used the occasion to rally his troops, addressing issues important and significant to the welfare of his people. His people are Imo People and for his dedication, support and service, he was rewarded with a title, the IMORIMO ONE OF IMO. Incidentally his house was also located close to a popular on-campus stream and dam. And so the focus is about Imo People and of course Imo State of Nigeria, the Igbo heartland, and my home state.

They are mostly rural farmers, fishermen and women, blacksmiths, rope makers, palm wine tappers, traders, brick-layers, tinkers, welders, mechanics, carpenters, tailors, electricians, shoemakers, native doctors, professors, doctors, engineers, surveyors, lawyers and the list goes on. Obviously, so much skill is available and the people work very hard to be the best, promoting quality and excellence at whatever they do. Imo is also known as the home of self-help and communal effort. It is a place where rural and community development is fostered by the people's will and determination to survive, in the typical Igbo spirit. There is a very strong belief that when skilled people come together, they empower themselves, become motivated to use available resources and expertise to undertake and accomplish difficult tasks for the common good. Most often these are tasks individuals cannot perform for themselves and are not only deliberately ignored, but also sabotaged and held hostage by public policy. Imo State is no stranger to Nigeria's politics of DELIBERATE CONTROL & MANAGED ATTRITION to undermine the pace of development, weaken the resolve of a people constantly struggling very hard to survive and succeed against all obstacles. It is no wonder Imo People branded themselves with the title, OMERE ONWE YA (Do it yourself) of Nigeria.

Recently the Imo State Government marked the 25th anniversary of the creation of the state. What was the celebration all about? It probably provided opportunity for the incumbent chief executive and the legislature to take some stock. In 25 years, the State has had only three civilian governors and together they account for barely five to six years of collective continuous service to the people. The rest in excess of fifteen years were in the hands of military escorts, an army of occupation whose commanders took orders from a controlling authority far away in Lagos or Abuja. And so what is there for us to see? The New Owerri layout is still much a designer's dream, lying fallow and flat on canvass. The Shoe Factory closed shop a long time ago and the Italian partners have since left town and forgotten. The oil palm production center, the Ada Palm is probably operating at less than full capacity. The Concord Hotel used to be the heartthrob and pride of New Owerri, with clean excellent accommodation, home-style kitchen food and exciting floorshows and casino atmosphere. What happened to the thrill, where did it go? What about the famous Oguta Lake and its Resort? There used to be farm settlements and agricultural extension services at Ohaji and parts of Egbema and Oguta. There used to be "cottage" industries in parts of Okigwe and Orlu. What about the Paint Industry at Nguru, Abo Mbaise? Obviously Governor Achike Udenwa has his hands full. The Imo State industrial base and infrastructure are clearly in a sorry state of disrepair. The government has had to grapple with years of unpaid salaries and pensions. The state also inherited bogus debts accrued from external borrowings that ended up in the pockets of past military administrators. In plain language, the state of Imo State after 25 years is less of cheers but more of a reflection, a clarion call for Imo to be raised from its ashes and take its rightful place once again.

As the government and people of Imo go back to the drawing board, an attempt to rebuild their lives after 25 years of rampage, let us cursorily take a look at the state of federal presence in Imo. The federal secretariat in the state is still housing itself in prefabricated "make-shifts". The Federal University of Technology Owerri began classes at a temporary site and in more than 15 years since inception, its permanent campus remains essentially a bill board, a glorified "work-in-progress". The Federal Girls' Secondary School was born out of crisis. The military government woke up one morning and decided to acquire part of Owerri Government Secondary School. The former Eastern Region of Nigeria established "special centers of excellence" for high school kids. Owerri Government School as it was popularly called was one of the three first generation of such boarding schools for boys; the others were located at Umuahia and Afikpo. The only equivalent for girls was Queen's School Enugu. Although government colleges as they were collectively referred to, belonged exclusively to Eastern Nigeria, students were also admitted from other parts of Nigeria, Cameroon and in particular instances, from Southern Africa. That was a long time ago.

And so the Federal Government seized a set of dormitories, confiscated land belonging to Owerri Government School and eventually set up a temporary campus for Federal Girls' Secondary School. This deliberate assault on a state educational institution was taken from one of several chapters of public policy designed to clamp down on a people and slow down their pace of development. Since the civil war, the Government School like the others of its type, became the exclusive property of the state government; admission into the school was open to Imo children through a statewide common entrance examination. The Federal Girls' on the other hand based its admissions by quota in accordance with the "Unity School" policy determined by the Federal Ministry of Education. Students were as expected, drawn from all over Nigeria. There was no special benefit to Imo people for the federal government to establish a secondary school in the state only to destroy an existing state institution. But it happened, it was callous and mischievous then and remains so at this time.

The next other federal presence is the military camp at Obinze, some six to eight miles on the southern fringe of the New Owerri layout. The military camp was a child of circumstances, an outcome of the civil war. Again the government forcefully seized and acquired an existing primary school at Obinze. That was originally an outpost for the wartime battalion that entered Owerri Township through Egbema and Port-Harcourt axis at the waning stages of the Biafra-Nigeria war. And so what are the other acquisitions of the federal government in Imo? The Onitsha-Owerri-Aba Road has remained "a face-me-I-face-you" since the time of Public Works Department (PWD). The Owerri-Umuahia Road is patched here and there but the last tar came from Pakinson Construction Company. That was the time J.B. Whelan was the Bishop in charge of Owerri Diocese; Bishop Shanahan served at Onitsha. Uncle Nwimo like many in Imo is catholic; he kept the diary and I had to call to check with him as always. Certainly, it has been a long period of neglect.

The Imo State Airport is the last federal acquisition and perhaps the most controversial of all. The reasons are simple. Imo State is the only state in Nigeria whose airport was constructed through communal effort. Every village, ward and local government area in Imo contributed towards the airport appeal fund. While the fund was being raised, the then Governor Sam Mbakwe was fighting a battle to secure approval from federal authorities to build the airport. President Shagari's liaison officer Chief Collins Obi, an Imo son and a former chieftain of the African Continental Bank remained insolvent. Chief Obi candidate for National Party of Nigeria (NPN) lost the governorship election to Mbakwe and was therefore unprepared to see the governor take credit for the construction of such a landmark. Sam Mbakwe fought the battle in two courts, the court of justice and that of public opinion. In the end, Sam Mbakwe mounted and operated the bulldozers that broke grounds at the airport site and as usual, he cried. I saw the tears because I was there among the very many Imo sons and daughters who came from far and near to watch the history of Imo Airport as it unfolded in our eyes. The construction of Imo Airport was a "start, stop and go" process; the federal government stood on the way, one military administration after another. Finally, the frustration could no longer endure and the airport was taken over "another so-called federal presence".

And so when I visited Nigeriaworld and read the article culled from Guardian Online Thursday February 15, 2001 my emotions ran very high indeed. The article in question was written by Sola Dixon and he reported that the "Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) may have ordered a halt to the on-going construction of a N29 million airport lounge at Imo Airport in Owerri". According to Dixon, the construction was "aimed at boosting the viability of the hitherto unviable airport". The State Commissioner for Works, Mr. Chima Ekwem is reported to have been in close consultation with the federal authorities to seek approval of the designs. The FAAN has since January 19, 2001 endorsed the design with minor modifications and has given the green light for construction to begin. It is understood that the state government is also taking responsibility to install an Instrument Landing System (ILS), which had been idle since procured by the FAAN. In addition, the governor agreed to install air conditioners at the airport terminal. The sad news is that the FAAN Imo Airport engineer, Mr. Peter Onyeri ordered work stoppage at the site on February 8, 2001 on the orders of higher powers in Lagos and Abuja. When contacted, the Aviation Minister, Dr. (Mrs) Chikwe "denied that she ordered the stoppage of the protocol Lounge in Imo Airport". The report indicated that she "was quoted as saying that the FAAN was directly responsible for all the airports and absolved herself of any involvement in the work stoppage".

Here we go again! The Collins Obi factor is still alive and well long after Chief Obi departed to meet his ancestors. It is strange and amazing indeed that a minister of aviation would not have the right or power to intervene and determine why work stoppage was ordered. Mrs Chikwe has pleaded ignorant. The rest of Nigeria might believe her but not Imo sons and daughters who have expended a lot of emotions on that airport. Obviously, a rat smells. It is politics of "STUPIDITY", otherwise why would an indigene of Imo in her position clog the wheel of progress? The airport lounge is not the personal property of Achike Udenwa. What if Chief Udenwa takes credit for doing something good for Imo and friends of the people?

Mrs Chikwe should go ahead and declare her real intensions. It is a vaulting ambition to become the first woman governor in Imo State and in fact in Nigeria. There is nothing wrong with big dreams provided such dreams are interpreted correctly and carefully. Unfortunately, Dr. Chikwe has been reading Punjab tealeaves from India. She believes what she sees and hears especially when they come from two most important people plotting the road map. Chief Ukpabi Asika and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo are behind the wheels. Asika is Chikwe's inlaw married to Chief Ejiogu's daughter. Asika is also Obasanjo's trusted friend. The two have been close since the civil war days when Ukpabi emerged from the blue sky to become the administrator of a conquered people. The foregoing brief background is therefore the only tangible and specific qualification that Mrs Chikwe has to become and remain Nigeria's Minister of Aviation. President Obasanjo has the right to appoint anybody he so chooses to serve at any position. It would be dangerous however for the President and his cronies to impose their political will on the Imo people by selecting their governor. If Mrs Chikwe is worth her onions, she should come clean and stand out and answer her father's name. Chief Ejiogu was a proud illustrious son of Imo State. What he never gave to his friends, he never had. I recall many occasions when he spoke to us at the assembly hall in Government College in his capacity as the Chief Inspector of Eastern Nigeria's Ministry of Education. He wanted the best for everyone and he proved it by assigning even people from other ethnic groups into prominent positions in the ministry. He was instrumental to the appointment of I.D. Erokosima and Chief Kombo Igbetta (both from Rivers) to be among the first Africans to become Government College Principals. Chief Ejiogu rendered selfless service and Imo State and the entire former Eastern Nigeria recognize that and remain grateful and proud. Pa Ejiogu would definitely be turning and revolting wherever he is today to learn that his own offspring is standing on the way, refusing to intervene and facilitate the construction of Imo airport lounge. Mrs Chikwe should know better and pursue her challenge of Achike Udenwa clearly and cleanly, take her case to the Imo electorate and take her chances in 2003. Ukpabi Asika and Obasanjo should stay out of it. Imo people have suffered enough and do not deserve any more chicken dance from political novitiates.

And to help Dr. (Mrs) Kemafor Chikwe evaluate and assess her chances, here is the Big Question: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR IMO LATELY?