PLAYING THE OSTRICH

RE: IHEDIOHA: BISHOP OBINNA, IMO ANGLICAN BISHOPS & HOPE UZODINMA

BY: DAN UGWU

My attention has been drawn to an article written by Sam Onwuemodo, Chief press secretary to Senator Rochas Anayo Okorocha, former governor of Imo State. In the said article, Onwuemodo derided Archbishop Obinna and the Imo Anglican Bishops for their alleged lack of support to governor Hope Uzodimma and for their presumed adoption of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha on parochial reasons. He further accused these Church leaders of hatred for President Buhari, Rochas Okorocha, Hope Uzodimma and the APC party. That is not all, Onwuemodo in his article gave reasons why Emeka Ihedioha should not be the winner of the 2019 guber elections in Imo state. These reasons include (1) Ihedioha's failure to meet the constitutional requirement of having twenty-five percent of the votes cast in two-third of the Local Governments in the State. (2) Ihedioha's high level of wickedness which his government enthroned in the State. These points perhaps were the reasons the Supreme court sacked Ihedioha according to Onwuemodo.

Journalism is a vocation which bestows on journalists the obligation to truth and objectivity. In writing, the journalist ought to purge himself of all personal idiosyncrasies so as to make an objective reportage. Unfortunately, the Nigerian brand of politics has corrupted the objectivity of most press men that they end up campaigning for their principals through the pen. For some clarity sake, both Sam Onwuemodo, Emeka Ihedioha and my very self are all indigens of Mbutu Mbaise. At least if not for anything, I have known both Onwuemodo and Ihedioha very well and have also followed their controversial antecedents.  Since I do not belong to any political party, at least I stand an opportunity of condemning the excesses of both men. When some traditional rulers goofed by their alleged vote of no confidence on Sam Onwuemodo for his attack on Ihedioha, I condemned it before relevant authorities. When at the wake of the general elections, Onwuemodo was waylaid by security forces acting on the alleged instruction of Ihedioha, I also condemned it. In all these, I did not because I belong to Onwuemodo's APC, but for the unfair treatments. As such, I cannot be helmed in by walls of malice and suspicion even when describing an incident involving an enemy. That is in fulfilment of this obligation bestowed by journalism.

The confusion and impasse generated in Imo state by the Supreme court judgement has become monumental. The burden of its analysis is not the crux of this reply. I am rather saddened by the mental reservation and concealment of truth employed by Sam Onwuemodo whenever he writes about Ihedioha, especially in this latest drama in Imo. Since the writer was profusely quoting the bible to portray his fear of God and sincerity, the failure to mention the alleged presentation of forged votes which was the centre of judgement was just an ostrich policy aimed at ignoring obvious matters like they never existed. If Onwuemodo expresses ignorance over the general ill feeling of majority of Imo people over this development, then he will be lying to his teeth. Truth be told, Ihedioha was not removed for any of those reasons furnished by Onwuemodo in his writing. Truth be told, Uzodimma was not made governor because he got Onwuemodo's spread across local governments.

Sam Onwuemodo's projection of the Church hierarchy in Imo state as standing in hatred for the ruling party is a very wrong impression and can never be to the interest of the current leadership both in Imo and Nigeria. After all, Hope Uzodimma is a Catholic and even a stake holder at Holy Trinity Catholic Church Maitama Abuja, will that make the Church support him when he employs evil and fraud? The Catholic Church teaches her members to reflect virtues in whatever they do including politics because that will be the hallmark of their judgement before God. Am a catholic, a serious one for that, but I have personally grown to love Mohammadu Buhari and his tough skin. Even though he is a Muslim, I have always loved him, thus defiling and purging myself of the salad of acrimony and bitterness fed to us in the east by our leaders. I have always projected him as one that is good for Nigeria at least at the dawn of the pillage and  wrecked carried out by the PDP through unhindered access to our lifeblood, but will that make me blind to his mistakes? Ofcourse not. Will such tacit support make me lose my Catholic identity? No. It will rather make me a better Catholic by loving the 'enemy'. The Catholic church has always condemned from time immemorial the involvement of her ministers in partisan politics. This is why the Church has condemned Rev Fr Mbaka's attitude towards politics. No matter how the  cleric is applauded, those who know how the Church works will know he has goofed. The Church in her numerous legislations has encouraged her lay members to go into active politics, not to dent the image of Christ but to show forth christian virtues as salt of the earth and light of the world, in this way they will become ambassadors of Jesus Christ.This stand of the Church does not make her indifferent to socio-political issues concerning the people of God. This later responsibility is part of the Church's social mission of condemning unjust policies and structures that confine the common man to the margin of poverty and servitude. This was what has formed the churches condemnation of security lapses inherent in Buhari's government. This was also what occasioned the Church in Imo state to condemn the excesses of Rochas Okorocha when he virtually lost control and bought over Imo state with their resources. Perhaps, there was nothing wrong Onwuemodo saw in Rochas brand of politics.

Onwuemodo wrote of Ihedioha's wickedness which is unfounded. Did Onwuemodo see the level of unprecedented wickedness carried out by Rochas on Imo state? What manner of wickedness could be beyond building 27 general hospitals in Imo for 8 years without completing them for the people? What manner of wickedness could surpass the construction of roads that begged for reconstruction as soon as they were constructed? Was it not wickedness to have blocked major streets in owerri for God knows reason? What manner of wickedness will surpass the owing of pensioners and retirees for months in Imo? What manner of wickedness will surpass the non payment of 100% to civil servants in Imo? What manner of wickedness will surpass the running of government for 8 years without LGA elections? What else what wickedness than those fraudulent Youth-Must-Work and CGC formations? Was it not wickedness that Ogechi Ololo, Rochas sister was decorating Owerri with huge and heart breaking millions every Christmas? Did Onwuemodo see the level of wickedness that greeted the forceful takeover of peoples land to construct Rochas Spilbeth in Orji and Mbieri? Will Onwuemodo remember the wickedness meted to Jude Agbaso by Rochas? Was it not greed beyond wickedness by Rochas in attempting to handover power to his in law as against the general feeling of the people? What else is the definition of wickedness than uncompleted projects littered everywhere in Imo? Perhaps Onwuemodo only saw wickedness in the attempt by the Imo recovery team to get back some of Imo state properties from his master. Why must Onwuemodo be beclouded by his professed hatred for Ihedioha whenever he is writing? I am not of Ihedioha and his political team but am obliged to show him or any person charity in speech as a Christian I am. Onwuemodo belongs to the Assemblies of God Church, can he walk freely into such Assembly in Imo and tell them Rochas and Uzodimma are the best that has happened to Imo without being booed? Who fed them with such hatred? Maybe Archbishop Obinna of the Catholic Church.

Am happy Onwuemodo related that he will surely be judged by God for the truth in what he writes. If he truly believes that, then this unguarded attack on Ihedioha and his recent criticism of the Church will stand as a condemning force if he doesn't retrace steps. No one will teach the writer how best to satisfy his master's thirst, but then, it has to be done with sincerity of purpose. While Onwuemodo has duty to write good of his pay masters, he also has obligation to tell them truth as a Born-Again he alleges. But one known difficulty about marketing is that it is always hard to market a very bad product. You spend much energy in advertisements that doesn't worth the gain. The reason is not farfetched: your clients already know the product. This same Hope Uzodimma being canonized by Onwuemodo was the same Hope Uzodimma that was vilified by Onwuemodo and Rochas. On March 14, 2019, Onwuemodo wrote of Hope Uzodimma on behalf of Rochas Okorocha  saying that Hope Uzodimma couldn't have won the election because the people know him too well. This message is revelatory and implicatory. It means that Uzodimma is a bad market already known by the clients. In this letter of March 14, 2019, Onwuemodo stated among other things that Uzodimma connived with Adams  Oshiomhole to destroy APC in Imo, while also noting that Uzodimma was working for Ihedioha. Not up to a year after this revelation, Uzodimma has turned for Onwuemodo as Imo's best because he is now governor. The Hope that was presented as one with a questionable character has immediately become the saint to emulate. Is that how a journalist ought to behave? No, except for government hirelings. But one thing is sure, God will judge us by what we write.