Letter to the Ngwa Nation (1)

By Godwin Adindu
These are precarious times for the Ngwa nation of Abia State! Perhaps, no

period may have been so critical in the political history of the people

than the current time. It is a time of a very delicate decision, a

decision that will shape or mar the destiny of the entity for many decades

to come. No time will the Ngwa be as careful, cautious and as altruistic

as this time. The reason is simple: there are many weapons fashioned by

adversaries.
The Ngwa Nation is currently standing at a crossroad. After a long

journey, with all the vicissitudes and ordeals, it has come to that thin

borderline where one wise step takes us over the cliff and a

miscalculation pushes us down the slope from where the journey began.

Yet, I must commend the Ngwa political stakeholders at home for the

caution and the wisdom they have exercised so far. They understood very

clearly the political temperament of the state and have trod carefully in

tandem with the political mood. There have been many struggles in the past

and many mistakes made and history has opened our eyes to the absurdity

and foolishness of always swimming against the tide.

The Ngwa nation must note that, except for the firm and unwavering

decision of Governor Theodore Orji who, against all pressure and odds, has

stood his ground on power rotation and has kept his word as his bond on

handing over to an Ngwa, there could not have been this present silver

lining in the skyline of the Ngwa nation. We must recall that in 2001, at

Okpuala Ngwa, the traditional cradle of the Ngwa nation, the former

governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, told the people, face-to-face,

eye-ball-to-eyeball, that his daughter who was three years then, would

grow to rule the Ngwa if they do not support him for a second term. That

was the height of insult against the collective sensibilities of a people.

Indeed, it was there and then that the Ngwa decided to run a parrarell

line with Kalu. They immediately routed for the Otuonu Struggle, a great

mass movement for which I gave my career and my life. The movement raised

the momentum of the Ngwa agenda and brought many issues about the people

to the front burner of national discourse. Yet, as in all history of wars

and liberation struggles, the people have over time sat back to review the

struggle and gained some valuable insight and wisdom and also saw the need

for a change of strategy. The lesson is pertinent that political victory

can only be gained by playing with the status quo. It is an unnecessary

dissipation of energy to run at cross purposes with an incumbent power.

This is a suicidal mistake the Ngwa will not make again.

Luckily for us, the incumbent power in Umuahia and Abuja is determined on

power shift to the Abia South and precisely to the Ngwa. This is one

great milestone that Ochendo has helped us to cross. And, I repeat, save

for this political magnanimity of Ochendo, save for this divine

uprightness of a leader, this dream will still be too far-fetched for the

Ngwa and the reasons are very obvious. There is a deep-seated conspiracy

nurtured by an unfounded stereotype against the Ngwa by the other sections

of our polity. But, today, Ochendo has raised the bar of equity by

treating all Abians as one people and insisting that what is good for the

goose is also good for the gander.
The Ngwa must show gratitude to Ochendo for setting this standard of

equity. If we could realise the intense pressure that has been mounted on

the governor forhim to renege on his words then, the Ngwa will forever say

prayers of gratitude to a great man of justice and firmness of character.

The governor is the only leader of Abia who has demonstrated that balance

of power is critical and crucial for our common existence as one common

humanity of Abia State and he is honestly committed to achieving this

template of togetherness and harmony. As every intelligent and wise father

does when time is drawing nigh, Ochendo has also been deeply worried about

who, among his children (here gubernatorial aspirants), could keep the

house in order. The decision is not about his personal relationship with

people, not about the people's clout and pedigree but about the future and

destiny of the over fifteen million Abians. It is about the peace and

progress of Abia.
Today, Ochendo has done his part for the Ngwa, the rest lies in the hand

of the people. Lamentably, the current monster standing between the Ngwa

and their time-honoured aspiration is the personal selfishness of the

aspirants. It is no more the war of ideology but the war of personal ego.

Like Mobutu Sese Seko said of himself and Congo, some of the aspirants

hold the view that there cannot be Ngwa governor without them. Yet, at the

nick of time, Congo existed without Mobutu. At the nick of time, there

will be only one Abia governor of Ngwa extraction that God will ordain. No

one is more Ngwa than the other. No one is more qualified than the other.

It is only God that gives power.
I feel very worried to see that the Ngwa cannot come together even at this

perilous time when we are just at the foot of the bridge. After the rain

and the sun have beaten us for years, we are now standing at the foot of

the bridge, ready to cross. Yet, our albatross is no more our adversaries

but ourselves. Individual ego of aspirants is the current albatross of the

Ngwa. People are so self-conceited that they cannot come to terms with the

fact that it cannot be them. Why must it be you at all times? What is

critical now is the destiny of the Ngwa nation and Abia State and not

you. If the tide is not flowing to your favour, why must you be the

stumbling block? Why not collapse your ambition to the current tide and

think of Ngwa first? This is where the Yorubas have always been wiser.

I am speaking to the conscience of the Ngwa people, my people.

​
Adindu is the President-general of the Abia Renaissance Movement (ARM)

The post Letter to the Ngwa Nation (1) appeared first on Pointblank News .