By OGUWIKE NWACHUKU

AT the end of its first quarterly meeting in Owerri recently, precisely on April 13, 2023, members of the Imo State Council of Elders took a far reaching decision that would go a long way in stabilising the political dynamics and soothing frayed nerves in the state. For the benefit of those who do not know, the Imo State Council of Elders is a statutory body established by the law of Imo State, empowered with the responsibility of advising the government and people of Imo State on issues of public interest for the peace, unity, and good governance of the state. 

It is a non-partisan body with membership derived from men and women of Imo State origin, across the three geopolitical zones of Okigwe, Orlu, and Owerri, with impeccable records of accomplishments in politics, academia, the military, paramilitary, business, customs and traditions, religion, as well as other professional and vocational persuasions. So, this is how valuable the body is. Though the decisions reached at the said meeting, for which a communiqué was signed by the Chairman, HRM, Eze Dr. Cletus Ilomuanya, and Secretary, Rt. Hon. Maxwell Duru, respectively, cut across different segments of the state, one particular area in which the elders took a position that is reverberating across the length and breadth of Imo is the much-talkedabout Imo Charter of Equity. 

Many people in the state believe that the idea has not been properly situated and implemented to reflect the contestation in the three geo-political zones that make up Imo. Therefore, it is the desire of the elders and wellmeaning Imo people that the Charter of Equity be given ample play now in the interest of all Ndi Imo. This is also borne out of the fact that members of the Council can only be happy when their state and her people are happy and sad, when the state and her people are sad. If you called the elders who are members of the Council the conscience of the state, you would not be wrong. 

So, it was heartwarming when news filtered out that members of this noble body rose from their first meeting of the year, proposing, agreeing, and resolving to give the Charter of Equity the needed fillip and bite as well as to disabuse the minds of Ndi Imo on the notion that it is merely a recurring decimal with the features of ogbanje that appears and disappears only during periods of elections in Imo State. Kudos to the Chief Dan Nwanyanwu-led Strategy Committee of the Imo State Council of Elders that painstakingly and objectively considered the issues ailing Imo currently and to our erudite scholar and former INEC Chairman, Professor Maurice Iwu, who conceived and moved the motion that was overwhelmingly bought into by his colleagues for the Charter of Equity to be alive. 

There is no doubt that Prof. Iwu’s motion awakened the consciousness of the generality of the elders, who probably did not know that they were on a renewed mission to make lasting and enduring history for Imo State with the Charter of Equity. And I think they have unknowingly, but permanently bought a place for themselves in the good books of history in Imo State, particularly if they put in the extra effort of joining everyone, including the government, to ensure its implementation. Yes, the Nwanyanwu-led report includes that the incumbent Governor of Imo State, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, deserves a second term in office in line with the earlier decision by Ndi Imo at a stakeholder meeting on January this year that the governor has done very well and so, should be supported to go for a second term that will bring to an end his tenure come 2027. 

However, the role the elders recently played in charting an enduring and stabilising political course for Ndi Imo goes beyond what anyone thinks about Governor Uzodimma’s reelection bid. Those with deep intuitive perception know that the ultimate beneficiary of the effort to strengthen the processes of political contestation and the quest for power in Imo State will always be the people themselves. It is not and can never be about Uzodimma’s reelection bid. With the governorship, deputy governorship, and speaker’s positions properly defined and zoned among the three zones in Imo State and the tenure also determined, one can, therefore, beat one’s chest and say that Imo is on the way to sustained political stability, socioeconomic rejuvenation, and unimaginable prosperity for all. Who says Imo is not on the path to recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction? 

The beauty of what is unfolding with the Charter of Equity is that, by God’s grace, Governor Uzodimma will round off his tenure in 2027, after eight years in office, thereby paving the way for Owerri zone to have her turn of eight years, and thereafter, Okigwe zone. Part of the communiqué reads: “To further spread this Charter of Equity, it shall be enshrined that no other zone can hold the offices of Governor and Speaker of the House of Assembly at the same time or the offices of Deputy Governor and Speaker at the same time. 

That whereas the Council is not unmindful of the unethical antics of some politicians who might scheme to thwart this rotational arrangement done in good conscience for their selfish reasons, the Council also resolved that for the forthcoming November election, other zones are enjoined to drop their governorship ambitions to enable Governor Hope Uzodimma to complete the tenure of Orlu zone.” I have read a few lines from those I am constrained to consider enemies of Ndi Imo. I mean those who are consistent in not seeing anything good about the current government of Imo State. Before the outsiders, they are champions. 

Perhaps, they are seen as champions due to how they run the affairs of their state, but unfortunately, if things do not go their way. I have come across a piece credited to the foremost progressive intellectual, philosopher, and activist, Professor T. U. Nwala, a prominent academic from Imo, who reportedly accused members of the Elders Council of collecting N2 million each to sign the Charter of Equity. 

In the said news item, Prof. Nwala also picked holes in the endorsement of Governor Uzodimma by members of the Council, insinuating that their action is petty, childish, a huge joke, a charade, and an exercise in futility. He tarred the elders as card carrying members of the APC, a highly uncharitable comment, oozing blackmail. As an octogenarian, Prof. Nwala should be concerned and interested in things that guarantee the peace, unity, wellbeing, and progress of society, especially in his own state. But I doubt that is what he is doing currently.

·Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to Governor Uzodimma, wrote from Owerri.