MIKE Onuzulike, in a national newspaperof February 28, attempted a rebuttal of the facts contained in the article, “Ndukwe’s Burden of Misrepresentation”, earlier published in some national newspapers written by Chukwuka Odinaka.

Onuzulike accused Chukwuka of being a hireling working for Ndukwe’s opponent. This, I assume, presupposes that he too was hired by Ernest Ndukwe, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in the coming Anambra South Senatorial election, to play on the intelligence of voters in Anambra South Senatorial zone, especially all of us who hail from the same town of Oraifite with Ndukwe.

I say this since he has suggested that no one can speak the truth or comment on matters of public interest without being hired.

Most sadly, Onuzulike did not earn the fee he might have been paid for that shoddy and unintelligent write up. He did not succeed in making Ndukwe appear as the “perfect guy” he wanted.

I had, at least, expected him to grab the opportunity offered by Chukwuka’s article to refute the tough accusations leveled against his principal. I was disappointed that he did not even mention one project Ndukwe attracted to his community in his ten long years as the Executive Vice-Chairman of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

As a man who set out to defend Ndukwe, he could have attempted to manufacture one, at least to save his master’s face, albeit temporarily.

His inability to name one thing Ndukwe used his high-profile public office to do for the people he seeks to represent has made Ndukwe more vulnerable than ever. Apart from his long stay at NCC, Ndukwe has been parading the names of many companies and Onuzulike should have told Nigerians what Ndukwe used those companies to achieve for his community.

Even in psychophancy, there is some honour and the least I expected from Onuzulike are tantrums and brickbats. His piece sounded more like the Shakespearian tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury but signifying nothing.

As Chukwuka did, I challenge Ndukwe and his defenders to point out “one dead project” he attracted to his native Oraifite. Let him refute the allegation that he does not belong to an age grade in his town, as this is a serious misdemeanour that passes him off in the town as “efulefu” (an unserious person).

For someone who desperately seeks to represent his people, let Ndukwe tell Nigerians how many times he had attended Oraifite Town Union Meetings? Strategies for the peace and development of Igbo towns are perfected in such meetings.

Had Ndukwe been part of those strategies? I want to ask Onuzulike if he does not belong to an age grade in his town. Does he not attend his Town Union meetings? If he is an indigene of Nnewi as he indicated, does he not see Dr. Dozie Ikodife, Sen. Ikechukwu Obiorah and other prominent sons and daughters of Nnewi in their Town Union Meetings?”

Onuzulike should proudly tell people what development projects Ndukwe, as the boss of NCC for ten years, attracted to his village alone through any of the telecom companies, which spent billions of Naira under his watch developing other communities across Nigeria.

As a successful Igbo son, has Ndukwe taken the Ozo title? He is married from Onitsha and his in-laws as well as his people of Oraifite hold the Ozo institution in high esteem. Why didn’t he take the title? Is it because he doesn’t care about the values and tradition of the people he seeks to represent?

Sen. Chris Ngige, representing Anambra Central, has the title of “Onwa”. Sen. Andy Uba is the “Ugomba Aguata”. Sen. Margery Okadigbo holds the prestigious title of “Odibeze”. Her late husband, Sen. Chuba Okadigbo was the famous “Oyi of Oyi”. Which title did Ernest Ndukwe have before December last year? Is it not true that it was in the wake of his Senatorial ambition, that he was conferred with a chieftaincy title last December ?

Onuzulike should at least have been intelligent to provide answers that could ameliorate Chukwuka’s accusations against Ndukwe. However, we must understand the plight of a man who was suddenly drafted to defend the antecedents of a man he does not know well. Ndukwe was guilty of the accusations by Chukwuka because before now, he abhorred our people and had nothing to do with us. I am in a better position to say this.

My name is Henry Okpala. Ndukwe and I are from the same Awor-Ifite village in Oraifite. Our houses are about 400 metres apart and I have had the singular privilege of being the Vice-Chairman of Awor-ifite village Union for four years. I get angry and upset when I see my brother, Ndukwe, claiming to be what he is not and had never been.

In my four years as Vice-Chairman of our Village Union, Ndukwe never attended our meetings or contributed in any way to the development of the village despite several entreaties. To hire people like Onuzulike to defend him and smear the integrity of decent people have only compounded his woes, because many more people would come out forcefully to refute these lies. The truth that no one has said before is that Ndukwe is insensitive.

About five years ago, he built his first house in the village and sunk a borehole in the compound. In other communities, people of Ndukwe’s status sink boreholes to alleviate the sufferings of their people. Ndukwe sunk his own to make money from his poor kinsmen. He added to the suffering of his kinsmen by charging money for water fetched from his borehole. In Igboland, this is an abomination.
It was in the wake of his Senatorial bid that he discontinued this exploitation and maltreatment of his kinsmen.

Rather than answer the posers before him Ndukwe has conjured an imaginary enemy called Sen. Andy Uba, who is the incumbent Senator and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the coming National Assembly elections, and commenced a smear campaign against him. They want to know how many bills and motions Sen. Uba has sponsored in the Senate. Fair enough, I will answer but not before educating them that the office of the clerk of the National Assembly is a public one, and they could, at any time, obtain information on the legislative activities of Sen. Uba.

I want them to know that, Sen. Dr. Andy Uba has demonstrated effective representation and sensitivity towards the socio-economic and political exigencies of his constituents and Nigerians by sponsoring and co-sponsoring many people-oriented Bills and Motions. From 2011 till date, the distinguished Senator has sponsored four motions and co-sponsored 17. He has sponsored nine bills and co-sponsored two. Unarguably, this does not look like the report card of a docile Senator.

Good legislative representation does not require much talk. The serious businesses of the legislature is not achieved by loud-mouths but by legislative diplomats who secure compromises behind closed doors .

This is what the great Zik of Africa referred to as “masterly inactivity” – less noise but plenty of action. There is the well known profile of a Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, whose first speech and contribution on the floor of the House, despite being a member of the House for more than one year, was his acceptance speech, after being elected Speaker of the House. Simple-minded fellows like Ndukwe’s defender could have passed him off as a bench warmer legislator but his colleagues knew him better to elect him Speaker.

They did not assess him by the volume of noise he made publicly but by the innate qualities they knew he possessed. This is “masterly inactivity” in action and Sen. Andy Uba personifies this famed philosophy of “masterly inactivity”.
I will advise my brother against the use of people who can do nothing for him except offend more sensibilities.

Mr.   Henry  Okpala, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Oraifite, Ekwusigo GLA, Anambra State.