That Unelderly Outburst by Dr. Nduaguibe
Posted by admin | 8 years ago | 4,635 times
I should have kept quite like many have decided to do and move on as if nothing of note was said in the piece by Dr. Nduaguibe. Many views have been expressed either way on this diatribe. First I feel very concerned by certain assumptions, claims and name calling that got into the write up, I also felt deeply concerned by the choice of words used by Dr. Nduaguibe. I must say that the words were not in tandem with the reverence that Dr. Nduaguibe has received from those who know him.
First I really want to state that many of us from Nsulu in Isiala Ukwa Ngwa North who became very politically active especially from the intellectual bent cut their teeth associating with Dr. Nduaguibe because somehow then his brand of politics attracted the younger generation however as more wisdom came with advancing age and experience his brand of politics began to lose steam and many moved on and his hordes of followers became leaner by the years.
I want to address some of the issues raised in the piece and I want to address Dr Nduaguibe directly, somehow many of the Ukwa Ngwa younger Turks began to reason that rather than the exclusive brand of politics being advocated, it was better to play more inclusion and networking with other segments of the Abia polity given the fact that Abia belongs to all Abians not necessary the Ukwa Ngwa people alone. This is more important given that our old Bende brothers using their longer legs, more resources have made a mess of our population advantage. It therefore was more beneficial to us Ndi Ukwa Ngwa to network more than to recline backwards as some of you wanted us to do. Some of your likes wanted us to rob in the superiority attitude on our old Bende brothers and sisters negating the old saying that you “stoop to conquer”. So your so-called “pilgrimage” was not what you thought but again an effort by smarter politicians to become more contemporary in approach, more so the Abia State we want to govern is not Ukwa Ngwa State, if we neglected respected leaders from other blocks it would be difficult to curry the favour of their people in terms of support and votes. As an academic Doc, I want you to know that the exclusive politics your league introduced to us placed us more in a very disadvantaged position.
Secondly, we were not dashed governorship, if national political history is anything to glean from, you are very well informed why in 1998 only two Yoruba men flew the flags of all the political parties that ran for the presidency of Nigeria. Knowing your intellectual and political background I do not need to expatiate further, but I must add that Okezie Ikpeazu governorship is part of the culmination of years of Ukwa Ngwa agitation and the full implementation of the Abia charter of equity. It is important to add that we would appear very ungrateful to those our brothers from Old Bende who sacrificed so much to support this power shift if “Elders” like you begin to speak in this manner. Many of them paid a huge sacrifice to ensure that their voices were heard in support of an Ukwa-Ukwa Ngwa governor.
Doc, your choice of words to describe your brothers and sisters who have participated in previous governments in Abia is very unkind and unbecoming of a person of your intellectual height and exposure, adding to my doubt if your frame of mind was sound when you authored that piece. With all due respect sir, some of these men/women represents the best of Ukwa Ngwa land. I must add that while not all might have meet your unattainable criteria as best brains we had many who have excelled where the likes of you failed woefully. And that again buttress the point I have consistently made, why is it that the Ukwa Ngwa man does not take pride in celebrating his own? You and I had discussed how the old Bende people with all their clout rallied around an Orji Uzo Kalu of this world to do 8 years as governor of Abia state. I do not want to use this medium to restate some of the issues we agreed on. My worry and I don’t want to use this medium again to address the point is that some of you who have had opportunities to raise Ukwa Ngwa people young and old have not done well at all. Many successful Ukwa Ngwa people today especially the youths are mostly self-made, many with the help of non-Ukwa Ngwas. It’s high time we learnt something from our neighbours, the Old Bende, they build their own, they raise successive generations it wouldn’t be bad if we gleaned that. I had this same discussion with one of our most respected leaders when it was obvious that many of the younger generation were rooting for Dr Ikpeazu and he wanted us to back down and listen to the so-called elders. I asked him where were this elders when these people were literary crawling to stand. If you wanted to be treated like an elder brother, play the role of an elder brother.
Following this last point, I want to state clearly though not holding brief for the Governor and not presenting him as faultless individual, we couldn’t have had a better and more acceptable governor than the one we have today. God gives power to whom He chooses and most times He looks at the mind. The acceptance Dr. Ikpeazu had amongst the Ukwa Ngwa especially the youths should really have served as a big lesson to those of your generation of politicians, we have had enough and we have moved on.
The posers you raised about those who gave us power, I am sure you were here during the elections and knew where all our votes came from. The results of the last gubernatorial elections spoke volumes and for those of you still living in the past that our Governor was not validly elected, check the voting pattern. Ndi Ukwa Ngwa accepted their own and voted massively for him and to the glory of God he won.
Now Doc, while I feel very disappointed by your write up I want you and your fellows to know that this project is not only sanctioned by God, but will move on to succeed without the likes of you who thought it was your birth right to become the first Ukwa Ngwa Governor. It is a shame to your group of Elders that F. N. Nwosu is embarrassing the Ukwa Ngwa nation the way he is doing. Rather than working so hard for the unity and better coordination in our clan you choose a social media platform to address a governor of a state with such level of gutter language. I shudder at your approach because the Okezie Ikpeazu that I know will not treat you in the same manner you have chosen to treat him. He respects people of all ages, he is humble, he listens and he is very kind hearted. May be that is why many of your likes have taken his calmness for granted. Instead of resorting to the hate, clandestine and thuggish brand of politics you people expect he has decided to focus on rebuilding Abia and providing critical infrastructures for the suffering masses of Abia. At a time of harsh economic realities when all hands are at stake to build a virile and robust economic base in many states we have chosen to return to the trenches of political viciousness, hate and name calling, who is being served here. Rather than support the governor in his untiring efforts to place Abia on the pedestal of progress, people have chosen the base approach of insulting the exalted office of the governor of a state. The language you used to describe the governor of Abia State, your governor exposes, the hidden plot and script being played. If you feel not involved enough, there were better ways to have played the role of an Elder than the path you chose. Doc you taught us courage, you also taught not to allow personal interest take the better path of us. That’s why I worry at your outburst. This style hasn’t helped the Ukwa Ngwa man and will certainly not at this time. This is the time of building consensus, unity and speaking with one voice amongst the Ukwa Ngwa people when Elders should recline into the closets and advice the governor for better delivery not a time of abuse and expression of unfounded anger and bitterness. You of all people know that we have come a long way in this struggle while we haven’t reached Eldorado yet, certainly this approach is not welcome at this time. Doc, you know there are many things I should say here but because of my training and respect for elders I have avoided them.
This pull him down syndrome that have characterized our politics over the years should be halted. The selfishness that have become the bane of our political development should give way to a more refine approach of consultation, selflessness, and building up each other for the good of all. All over the streets of Nigeria are jobless and underpowered Ukwa Ngwa young men and women due to several years of neglect and lack of supportive guidance by the so called “elders”, now that we have this glimmer of hope the youths of Ukwa Ngwa land will never allow anybody to derail our journey any further.
A stich in time save nine…
Chinenye Nwaogu wrote from Umuahia
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