Elections in Enugu State have come and gone, and for most people in the political space, the issue on board is either that of Governance featuring Governor Peter Mba’s Executive Orders, or the Elections Petitions Tribunal or the Struggle for appointments and recognition by new Administration.
For the Nwodos of Igbo-Etiti, these normal issues are of no concern to them. Rather, they have gone back to their old game of systemic exaction which they have survived on for the past 3 decades.
For clarity, the Nwodos have been in the corridors of power for 6 decades, both at the Federal, State and Local Government levels.
Unlike others who would use such length of time in government to make their Communities a place of pride, the Nwodos have left their their community, Ukehe to remain one of the most underdeveloped communities in Enugu State which can neither boast of good roads, water, institutions or factories/companies. Not even one standard market.
On the contrary, they are focused on feeding off Government coffers and ensuring that they hoodwink every government in power to be loyal to them and pay them from time to time.
To achieve this, they established a pattern of brutally attacking the image of every outgoing governor starting from Jim Nwobodo and ensuring that a seed of discord is planted so they can make the new Administration wary of them.
They couldn’t do that with the administration of Ex-Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as Gburugburu is certainly not a politician that would give in to fighting anybody, whether big or small, let alone, his predecessor. However, he managed to keep the Nwodo family in his good books.
First, he made one of them the President General of Ohanézè ndị Igbo, and then another a Transition Committee Chairman, and later, a substantive LGA Chairman.
Things went south when Nnia Nwodo demanded that a State wide welcome rally be organized for him from the government coffers after his tenure as President General of Ohanézè ndị Igbo.
A Demand which Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi rejected. It’s well known that Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi was always skeptical about spending government funds on big events which was why he never invited Governors from other States to commission his projects as that would amount to waste of hundreds of millions. So it’s expected that he won’t do same just to welcome someone home.
The matter reached its crust when when the Nwodos rallied Nsukka General Assembly to force Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi to anoint an in-law of theirs, Mr. Chijioke Edeoga to succeed him as governor.
They even went the extra mile to share all the principal positions amongst themselves and presented to Ugwuanyi, who would later turn them down and endorse Barr. Peter Mba when they least expected it.
That was the last straw that broke the Carmel’s back. Since then, the Nwodos who couldn’t use their connections and decades in government offices to develop their kindred, embarked on a mission to bring Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi down using all the available connections, big or small, and employing unfathomable propaganda machineries to taint his image.
One would have thought that after the elections, the Nwodos would take a breath and leave Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi alone, but no. They are stopping at nothing to prove that hell hath no fury like the Nwodos scorned.
Not only have their propaganda machineries gonewild with baseless accusations and allegations, they have also included meaningless conjectures, one of which is that Ugwuanyi is hiding in the Government House because EFCC is looking for him. All in an attempt to make sure that the Ex-Governor who is taking the much deserved rest in his home remains a topic of negative discussion and is portrayed in bad light.
The antics of the Nwodos to plant their exaction tendencies on the new Administration by struggling to force their hands to a negotiation table so they can continue feeding off Government coffers is all known too well, and like every juju, it’s expiry date has come.
It’s about time that the Nwodos shifted their politics from the politics of exaction to politics of development by mimicking the towering examples of Ex-Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
This is so that their obscure Ukehe can be half as developed and thriving as Orba Udulekenyi that not only have beautiful well crafted road networks, but also a State University, A Military College, a Standard Market and Standard Hospitals.
Ex-Governor Ugwuanyi’s 2 decades in government trumps the Nwodos’ 6 decades. It’s about time the Nwodos swallowed a chill pill and begin their journey towards playing catch-up to Ugwuanyi’s towering developmental achievements.
Do not envy or attack someone you can learn from.
