I read with joy the information from Mr. James Igiri Ode, the chief media officer of Rt. Hon. Samson Okwu, the member representing Oju/Obi Federal Constituency about the efforts of our worthy leader; that led to the visit of NEMA in a bid to assist the victims of the unfortunate fire incident in Oju main market. With depressed emotions, I also read the reactions of some commentators. I also learnt about the actions and unsavory utterances of the left-wing foot soldiers, whose sole objective is to display their long held animosity towards Rt. Hon. Samson; trying to sabotage the noble effort by giving unfounded and contrary information about the unfortunate incident.
Another instance, when Mr. Amicable Tranquility, one of the inner caucus and aid to the MP posted the progress made by Hon. Samson on the long awaited electrification project of Uwokwu community; it was greeted with unsavory reactions from some people. All these got me thinking hard again and again.
At the process of thinking, several questions that begged for answer came rolling through my mind. Do this set of individuals really have Igede blood running down their veins? Because in Igede land, you are not called a reputable hunter for killing a relation; but for killing either a leopard or an antelope. In our land, you are called a wicked fool if your only means of rising to relevance is in pulling others down. In Igede land, respected people are those who are selfless and truthful enough to call a spade a spade regardless of who owns it.
Do this set of people not smell the odour of the futility of playing the blame game for relevance and the futility of tearing down for no just cause? How long will it take them to know that Hon. Samson is a destined leader and nobody can pull him down except when it is the will of God? How long will they come to terms with the reality that hating Hon. Samson does not in any way limit him and also in no way promote them? How long will it take them to know that their hatred did not stop him from soaring politically at the state and national level?
Navigating away from the culture of tearing down has been the recipe for development in any sane society. No tribe can ever live happily under falsehood and hatred. No set of people will ever witness development when the good of people are maliciously thrown to the dustbin for either political or selfish reasons. I made bold and declared at several fora that since 1999, no political office holder of Igede extraction have performed half of what Hon. Samson did and up till now, nobody came out for rebuttal. We had people that smoked our mandate away, other sets of people drank our mandate away and others disconnect with people until the expiration of their mandate. We look the other way and find it easy to speak unfounded and write unprintable things about Hon. Samson because he has chosen the path of an honourable gentleman.
We are the enemies of ourselves, when we are specialist in tearing down any political office holder with our mandate. We are enemies of ourselves, when we cannot respect and support the one with our mandate. We are enemies of ourselves, when we down play the good actions of our political office holder and thinking that it will help our successes and relevance. We are enemies of ourselves, when we think that such action will translate into our popularity and relevance in future elections. When we cannot come with one voice defiling our internal differences to present a common position as a minority tribe in the zone and state, then we are not ready to receive anything good from government.
Unfortunate reality is that, no nation will develop if relevant stakeholders, elites and elders have no mechanism of sanctioning or correcting malicious destroyers. If the elders and elites are looking the other way while a particular political office holder is badmouthed by some youths or are sponsoring youths for this ignoble act; they can be sure that their turn will come. At that time, the hunter now will be hunted by the same person he allowed to grow wild. Now is Rt. Hon. Samson, it may be one of them tomorrow. Elders and political elites- these your silence is not golden.
To our dear and revered Rt. Hon Samson, you have our mandate and you are on track. Accept the congratulations of all well-meaning Igede people. You are a lion and characteristically, lions don’t allow anything to distract or stop them from their goal.
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