When Will Nigerians Start Listening To Peter Obi? (6)
By Tai Emeka Obasi.
While the last Anambra State Gubernatorial election neared feverish heights, Nigerians woke up one morning to the shock of Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu’s statements about the former governor of the state, HE Mr. Peter Obi. Most people of Anambra and beyond were shocked at the cook-up of lies and insults all in the name of electioneering.
The ex-governor had (and still has) a team of admirers, who were quite competent media men and women to have responded appropriately to the Enugu-born Nigerian Ambassador to Spain. But the man, who received all the bizarre insults, instructed that no one who truly follows him should raise a word against the wife of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.
Whoever knows the man we fondly call Okwute well should appreciate that the he loved and respected the Ezeigbogbururu so much that the only thing the former governor didn’t do was to die in the great Igbo leader’s stead.
So the widow of the departed hero should have known better. And it was indeed this acknowledgement that must have been used to manipulate her. The former Miss Nigeria must have been turned with stories that if APGA lost that her husband would be forgotten forever …and that it was either stopping the ex-governor with any falsehood, however damaging, or her husband’s name got lost forever. And being a woman, and a widow for that matter, she not only bought this tale, she also took it to heart, memorized her script, delivered to reporters and did even more. She took up a role beyond Nollywood and acted grade A movies on different podia with rehearsed tears that deceived the gullible. Grapevine opined that an SSA on handkerchiefs was customarily appointed to supply the Ambassador with enough tear-wiping materials while they campaigned all around Anambra State.
Videos upon videos of her Oscar-winning stunts were shown of her repeatedly.
But Okwute NEVER rose to the bait. He instructed further, ‘’she is Bianca Ojukwu, the widow of Ojukwu – my most-respected mentor. Any word against her is disrespecting that great man and nothing whatsoever should make any follower of mine to ever disrespect him.
‘’If it means losing the election so be it.’’ Okwute concluded firmly.
I buried every article I had already developed in my brain to respond to the Ambassador because I respected Ikemba more than any Igbo man. And now that Okwute had appropriately educated me, I wouldn’t be part of any action that would ever dishonour that legend.
Most people didn’t know what Mr. Obi achieved when he convinced President Goodluck Jonathan to accord Ikemba a hero’s burial. It meant that Ikemba went to the grave as a full NIGERIAN GENERAL …thereby wiping off the derogatory toga of a rebel. And by extension it meant he did the right thing leading his people to secede. Many may not know that this was the day the journey to Igbo Presidency took off. A well-detailed history will follow at the appropriate time.
Today, the same Ikemba’s widow just declared interest as an aspirant to keep the same husband’s name alive. And bizarrely, a part of the same group of people who supplied the handkerchief that she used to wipe off those Hollywood tears, are now tearing this woman apart. She only declared interest. Never insulted anyone yet.
And I ask, what is her sin?
In fairness to the Enugu-born senatorial aspirant, she has managed her public life well. Apart from those lies she told against Okwute, I don’t think she has done anything else to disrespect the man she married. As beautiful as she still is, all the imagined temptations have been handled admirably without any scandal. It’s not easy at all. Whatever she does in private is and remains her privacy. That was why I tore at FFK for the mischief he brought along in a failed attempt to cheapen and disgrace the widow of Ezeigbo.
Everyday we say, ‘Igbo enwe eze.’ A very retrogressive expression. But daily we engage in actions that re-affirm that unfortunate phrase. Is respecting a woman Ikemba loved more than every other before he departed this wicked world too much to ask from any Igbo person? Will a man who lived for and died for Ndi Igbo be resting well when all these insults are being pelted at his loved widow?
They say politics is a dirty game. Only a fool takes this statement to heart. Politics should be played with decorum. And any one born of an Igbo parent should not for any reason haul insults at the woman the great Ikemba left behind.
That is what Okwute taught his followers and they understood him. That is what all these boys and girls parading the cyberspace in name of media people should be forced to learn. You can promote your candidate with all his positive attributes without trying to damage Ikemba’s honour. You can quietly campaign within the delegates without publicly insulting her and ridiculing the Igbo pride. You can quietly vote against her as a delegate if you don’t want her without bringing Ikemba’s name to shame.
People were berating the APGA stakeholders for only using Ikemba’s pictures to win elections. Now, if they have decided to go beyond that by keeping the only thing of his still clinging onto his loved APGA with a ticket that could send her to the Senate, isn’t that worthy of applause?
Some people envy Okwute while others call him names. But this man didn’t just arrive. He came well-blended by the creator. He sees far ahead, warns of the danger, prepares himself and soldiers on. But most people are too self-centred to toe his line, which is forever for the benefit of Ndi Igbo and Nigeria.
The question remains – When Will Ndi Igbo Start Listening To Peter Obi?
We can start by stopping all these insults and damaging write-ups against the wife of the departed Igbo leader. We can definitely start by respecting the widow of this legend. We can start by having restraints while we pursue political goals. We can start by limiting this craze that only politics matters in life. We can start by imbibing that your political opponent is not your life-long enemy.
PLEASE STOP ABUSING AMB BIANCA OJUKWU.
#StopAbusingIkemba'sWidow#
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