Imo: The return of Ikedi Godson Ohakim Former governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim, is attempting to return to office four years after he lost his re-election bid, writes STEVE UZOECHI In 2011, when Chief Ikedi Ohakim was sacked from the Imo State Government House, many perceived his exit as a terminal end to his political career, owing to the circumstances that built up to his election defeat. At the time, swirling negative sentiments, fanciful tales and exaggerated narratives plunged the once towering political stature of Ohakim to the dust. Even after he lost the coveted seat, he was still viewed by many as everything a politician should not be. He was on the wrong side of a massive conspiracy that reduced him to a spectacle of ridicule and disdain. Ohakim, a high equity brand was thoroughly debranded by a cross section of elites in the Imo political class. It has however been said that, “Ohakim did not lose the election, but the calculation.” Either way, he took quite a bashing. And of course, the conspirators knew their job. Events of the recent past however suggest that the effect of the 2011 plot against Ohakim has speedily worn thin. With an iron will and defiant resilience, he refused to stay down. The immediate natural inclination of one who has taken a political bashing is often to isolate himself and brood over his losses while time elapses. But not Ohakim; he has appeared at fora where he was least expected to show up. He has addressed head-on, all the issues and mendacity that had turned the people against him. He had diligently pulled down all the beastly images of himself and his administration which supposedly were cast in iron. Ohakim has walked the streets of Owerri, attending functions, meeting people and most importantly telling his tale himself; that he is not the monster he was labelled as. Meticulously picking up the pieces of the 2011 experience, Ohakim is relentlessly rebuilding bridges that were burnt and enhancing his acceptability both at the state and national levels. And he has done a good job of it. Like or hate him, the former governor has a disarming charisma to his advantage and wields enormous social capital, vital in politics. Today, the appearance of Ohakim on the streets of Owerri elicits frenzied cheers; the misconceptions against him are gradually paling into nothingness in the light of the staggered strides of his successor, Chief Rochas Okorocha. In spite of the fact that Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has a crowd of aspirants under its platform, the emergence of Ohakim has continued to rankle a number of persons and interest groups. Months ago, when he announced that he was addressing Imo people on his political aspiration, an unfortunate incident aborted that resolve as his Owerri resident was razed to the ground by some nocturnal assailants, only days to the event. He however made good his resolve on August 28 when he visited the Imo State headquarters of the PDP. Owerri was literally shut down as the political grandeur of the former governor threw supposed contenders into a confused whirl. Speaking at the PDP state secretariat where he formally declared his interest to contest for the governorship position in the state, the ex-governor noted that he was yet too young to retire from the political terrain and in clear terms appealed to the leadership of the party to allow him complete his second term in 2015. He however expressed fears that if the PDP failed to win the governorship election in 2015, most of the cur-political gladiators in the party may be forced into retirement. Ohakim described his ouster in 2011 as divine tragedy, stating that he had learnt his lessons from his past mistakes during his first stint as the governor, even as he promised to give the state better and qualitative governance if given the opportunity to complete his second term. While insisting that he did not lose the 2011 election, he told the party that he is the only aspirant that has well laid down political structure from the wards to the state level. The PDP, he added, would not find it difficult to win the 2015 election if he would be given the opportunity to return. The former governor lamented that less than three years after Owelle Rochas Okorocha succeeded him; Imo State had been turned upside down and ridiculously cluttered with what he referred to as, ‘China projects’. He assured that all the valuable projects he started would be completed if given another opportunity, lamenting that if he had been allowed to complete his tenure, about 400,000 Imo youths currently out of job, would have found solace and the economy would not have been stifled by the current stagnation and reverse cash-flow occasioned by a rudderless policy thrust on the welfare of the populace. He warned the PDP to be wary of those he described as ‘moneyticians’ who would not hesitate to destroy the party with their money in their bid to secure the party’s ticket, which he said should not go to the highest bidder. A number of issues stand in favour of Ohakim. Besides stating that, “the political accident that led to my ouster in 2011 has made me a better person and more importantly, a better leader,” Ohakim is clearly the only governorship aspirant in the PDP among the over 25 contenders, that is coming to the contest with the experience of a former governor. Definitely, he is not coming to learn on the job. Considering the prevailing zoning controversy in the state and the argument of Imo North where Ohakim comes from that they are entitled to a full eight years in power like their counterpart in Imo West from where Chief Achike Udenwa served for eight years, from 1999 to 2007. Imo North through Ohakim had served for only four years (2007 – 2011) before Rochas Okorocha another Imo West son emerged, against the existing zoning arrangement. While many believe that Imo East has a full entitlement to the governorship seat this time having been outside power since 1999, many others are aggressively pushing that Imo North should complete their stay in the governorship seat to eight years before Imo East takes over power. While this argument may be tenable, there is always the fear that politicians never keep to their words. Okorocha, for instance, vowed to govern Imo for only four years; today he is eyeing the seat again, arguing that it was necessary to consolidate the gains of his administration. But the emergence of Ohakim solves the problem for the state and for his party because having served one term as governor, Ohakim is bound by law to stay in office for only one tenure of four years if he is elected a second time in 2015. Ohakim will be the safest bet for the people of Imo East and a legal assurance that power will swing their way in the shortest possible time after four years. But with any other person in power, eight years would be the most realistic possibility. Arguing that he was better placed to beat Okorocha in 2015 as the governor would be pointing to some projects as his achievements while freshers would only be able to offer promises. This he said would give Okorocha an advantage over any fresher candidate. Speaking last Saturday during the launching of his book, ‘Legacies that Speak’, Ohakim said: “Let the debate begin, let truth be told, let’s discuss issues and governance. Nobody should attack Okorocha or anybody else on my behalf. Let issues, reason and common sense prevail.” The event was a massive spur for followers of Ohakim as it re-awakened the consciousness of Imo people to the great possibilities the return of Ohakim represented. Looking beyond where Imo presently is, the presentations painted a vivid picture of what could be under a futuristic leader committed to taking his people to a better future. Not always in the history of a people does a leader get an opportunity after his stint in power, to prove his points, disabuse minds and even to make amends. If the PDP governorship ticket for Imo State goes to Ohakim, the ex-governor would have had a historic opportunity to give life to his visions of a great Imo and for all times correct misconceptions about him, that may still linger. With the emergence of Ohakim, a lot of aspirants in the PDP are either casting pebbles at his aspiration or restructuring their campaign organisation for better impact. The truth remains, however, that no matter how loud his return is heralded, Ohakim would fight every inch of the way for the party’s governorship ticket and of course there are battle-ready warlords in the PDP. Though Ohakim brings some robust dynamism to politics, it is believed that with the scars of 2011 still very evident, he will this time, fight from the point of knowledge and indeed fight smarter.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:12:16 +0000
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