Nde ebeke anyi! Ndu mmiri ndu Azu; Mmiri atala Azu anwula! Ashi m ya riri onye o wu la nma! A job that is supposed to be done by somebody and nobody wants to do it will remain undone. I have yeaned to read or hear the extent of negotiation with regards to the way forward in the community, especially during the Xmas, but nothing is forthcoming. Does it mean that we are in limbo? And for how long? Let us call to mind that Umualum Nekede has a wide range of learned men and women in all walks of life, who make policy statements in their areas of jurisdiction but fail to rationally put heads together, knowing that we have a quagmire here, a problem. Not until we begin to see this community as ours, handed down to us from generation of forefathers and ancestors, some of who may have spilled their blood to reclaim and protect what we now take for granted. A community that plays host to state government. A community that houses more than 3,000 tenants, many have sourjouned for more than 20 years, raised kids to whom we are married and are equally married to us. There must be something good about this community where some left their fathers’ houses and came to settle. An Igbo man can only settle where there is milk and honey. Trust me! I well remember in the early 90’s when men like Sir. Osondu Opara, Nkemakolam Njoku, Oracle, and a group of Ejechi youths organize annual symposium. What has happened to such forum where we can come together, rub minds, promote justice and equality and inject ideas that enable us grow? Somebody can do it! We can invite our brothers and sisters all over the world to come and address us, enlighten us on the way forward to building a strong community. We all give to the communities where we all live and we can bring in such ideas and make Umualum grow. But as it is now, this is definitely not the community we all want to leave behind to our children. President Obama ran his campaign under the slogan; “YES, WE CAN’! Now, we are holding brief, expecting the court to indict Eze eclect Stephen Agumanu, but what if he is found not guilty? Going by my personal assessment of him as a gentle and decent man, who cannot meddle with such menial things, especially when he knows that ‘Okorobia ele ele ejila atula ntu, he knows and it is true that his reputation will be at stake if such happens. However, what is the way forward? Let us look beyond the ‘CRUCIFY HIM’ cries and focus on what is more important. And that is the fact that Umualum is in limbo and we all fold our hands as though nothing is happening. In every society, when the going gets tough, the elites come out and save the day. And I hereby challenge the Umualum Nekede inteligentia to take a bold step towards the right direction and save us from the emberassing and shameful quagmire that we may gain whatever we can in this generation and even the ones to come from the state government and in time rebuild and reconcile the community. Note: To all whose names were mentioned here, I do not mean any insult or derogation but to buttress points raised in the write up. And should you find it offensive, I tender my sincere and reserved apologies. Sorry, in advance! Ikechukwu Mcdonald Azuatalam.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 07:53:41 +0000