Verily Verily We May Ask: Is There Vacancy In Douglas House?

Robert Dale once wrote, “Properly put, politics is who gets what, how and why?”

Another contemporary writer, Lasswell has written, “in functional politics, those who are often anxious for an office merely do not get to the end of the race but tarry by the way side because, ambition when it is inordinate, drive people to senseless struggle for office.”

It is on the premise of those two citations above that I want to begin today’s analysis which almost has been overdue.

But for obvious reasons, I am a student of Edmund Burke who has reasoned,

“The only way evil can thrive in a society is if good men do nothing.”

Since we have more than enough thinking persons in our society, we must speak out when things are going wrong.

For quite sometimes now, since His Excellency Owelle took office for the second tenure, one or two persons have been very anxious instead of helping the Governor to make impressive achievements in his agenda for the second and final tenure of his administration have been doing everything to run his government down inadvertently.

Instead of concentrating on the management of the State affairs in support of the Governor, have been busy taking actions that are capable of putting stud on the wheel of progress in the best interests of Imo people.

This is not a matter of APC or PDP affairs.
No, it is a matter of Imo State and her people.
Many Imo citizens are aware of the most scandalous and often reprehensible behavior of one or two persons in Owelle’s administration who instead of contributing positively to the success of rescue mission agenda are working very hard to be putting “sand in Owelle’s bag of garri,” chasing shadows of inordinate ambition to become the next Governor of Imo State, a race that would come in 2019.

This is what Thomas Jefferson, the fourth American President described as, “wrong vision and wrong mission.”

We may ask, “What is the reason for someone in Owelle’s administration being busy sponsoring bad press publicity against the person of Deputy Governor of Imo State, His Excellency, Prince Eze Madumere?

We cannot forget in a hurry that before the last 2015 governorship election, rumours, gossips and side-talks were all over the place to the effect that Owelle would never choose Prince Madumere as his Deputy again.

In one of my write-ups entitled, “what God has put together, nobody shall put asunder,”

I was firm, definite and decisive that given all the contending variables, both empirical and normative, nothing would make Owelle to drop Prince Madumere as his Deputy.

That was not only a statement of fact, but one based on the cumulative totality of things on the ground and things not evegovernorshiphingCan an analyst, I know like others how Imo politics works, particularly its jingoistic propensities.

For me, Owelle is a smart politician who knows how to weigh strategic options especially when it comes to safeguard of his office.

Unfortunately, those who were and still are politically myopic, empty and truly shallow would think that Owelle who has had what one could liken to as “a life time political and social relationship” with Prince Madumere would think that a mere sentimental expression on the pages of newspaper or on social media would make Owelle to blink his eye on the choice of Madumere.

When he chose Madumere, he did it without any iota of dramatic action because what he did was too obvious and expected.

Unfortunately, seven months into his second tenure, the same shortsighted mediocre political gladiators have begun dreaming.

This time, one of them is using every available opportunity including sponsored “community reception” to market himself to Owelle before his people as a possible heir apparent to Owelle. Of course, Owelle in his usual characteristics referred to Prince Madumere as “my son in whom I am well pleased,” at that reception because he understood the game.

The entire arena went deadly dead in silence but soon recovered from the political torrent as they reacted after gripping composure with “D-Gov, D-Gov.”

But to their chagrin, those who had planned to use the reception to sow a seed of “solid political marriage” with Owelle were dumbfounded.

Thank God nobody had a heart attack.
Furthermore, that incident of last November was not enough to send chills to the marrows of an over ambitious politician whose struggles appears to be defiant and has in the first few weeks of the new year started another round of political smear campaign against the office of the deputy governor, as if the current occupant whose record of accomplishments, activities and unrelenting support for the governor has not been performing.

Fortunately, Mohammed Ali during his boxing career once said, “the only way to teach foreman lesson is to beat him twice and deadly too.”

The opportunity came during the 40th anniversary of the creation of Imo State at the Heros square.

In fact, it was the gathering of Imo people, a holistic combination of all the strata of the society. Owelle while recognizing His Excellency Prince Eze Madumere assailed him with the most prestigious accolade, “my headache-free Deputy Governor.”

The time the ovation was diminishing, he added, “this is my son in whom I am well pleased.”

Readers may I ask, “is this not equivalent to Mohammed Ali’s deadly blow to a foreman?”

Is this not a message to those who did not know where the rain started to drench both Owelle and Madumere who now want to tell Owelle “where he should take shelter?”

Indeed, politics in Nigeria is off the line of fundamentals of known politics the world over.

Those who did not contribute to the ingredients of a soup pot want to lay claim to “the bottom pot.”

Moreover, in spite of all these distractive tendencies, Prince Madumere the deputy governor had continued to be supportive of his governor, showing undiluted loyalty, commitment and above all demonstrating unflinching support, respect and tendencies of political inseparability.

He is behaving just like an elephant who does not even notice that there is a fly near his eye.

Can what Owelle said at that prayer gathering be instructive to those who think that a mere offering them of a high political office is tantamount to them becoming a possible replacement of Prince Madumere?

Although people have the right to aspire to a greater political office or position, in the words of Hamilton King, “aspiring to unreliable position is equivalent to a baby boar hoping to engage a lion in public a duel.”

Besides, when the time comes, anybody from Owerri Federal Constituency aspiring to the governorship of Imo State must count his teeth with his tongue because their behavior during the last governorship election is likely to hunt them generation to generation unless they find a way to make amendment for the political suicide which they committed against Mbaise son at the alter of politics of social envy which has stretched to hatred. Yet we call ourselves brothers from one zone. A typical one Nigeria I guess?

However, in terms of political articulation of interest and their aggregation, we must not forget that Mbaike and Ngor people have equal stake in such political calculus and must not be ignored.

Finally, it must be pointed out that although it is too early to begin to compare Political qualities and characters of the ring leader of such over ambitious move to that of His Excellency Prince Madumere, it is not out of place to say that there are no bases for comparison.

The other is haughty, boastful, full of himself, very repugnant and takes his high office to be the end of life, unapproachable even to his kit and kin and awfully arrogant and repulsive. This offends people so easily. On the other hand, Prince Madumere is so simple, approachable, accommodating, in fact not only a political animal but also a policy animal. The difference has no basis for comparison.

But the truth is that this time, there is no vacancy at the Douglas House and h must stop behaving as if there is one.

This is not the attitude of a team player. Do I need to say more?