By Ogu Bundu Nwadike
From the final list of gubernatorial candidates recently published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), there are a total of 67 candidates. That happens to be the highest among the 33 States that will be fielding candidates for the governorship elections. While some people feel that’s one too many, others say it is good for democracy because as they say, “The more, the merrier”!
However, the truth about the matter is that out of the incredible high number of Guber candidates in Imo State, probably only seven are known by name, while only four are identifiable by face among the people of Imo State. That is said without any intent of sounding indecent and vulgar, but with every sense of sincerity that truth may be told.
Also, without fear of contradiction, we recognize as sincere and serious the candidature of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha (PDP), Senator Ifeanyi Araraume (APGA), Senator Hope Uzodinma (APC), Mr. Okey Ezeh (SDP), Chief Uche Nwosu and Hon. Tony Nwulu. That does not imply that the 60 candidates are not sincere and serious. The difference lies in the fact that we don’t recognize them. Who knows, some other analysts may recognize!
But on a more serious note, one out of the seven candidates listed in the paragraph above will become the next governor of Imo State. That is the result of well calculated permutations that are based on measurable factors. It is based on such that we are burdened here with the task of presenting in summary a comparative analysis of the profile, pedigree and antecedents of each of the seven listed candidates. The aim is to help the reader form an informed opinion on the candidates to enable him talked factually about the candidate he adopts as a potential governor of Imo State.
To make for a fluidy comprehension by the reader, we have streamlined the criteria for assessment into five. Education. Work/Business career experience. Political career experience. Accomplishments and achievements. Character and conduct.
EDUCATION:
The role of the element of education for the ominous task of being a governor cannot be overlooked in any serious analysis by any serious pundit.
Among the seven candidates signposted, Ihedioha has a very impressive and indeed exciting education. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos(Nigeria), Harvard University Business School (USA) Stanford University Business School (USA) Oxford University Business School (UK) London School of Economics (UK) and British Columbia University (Canada).
Within his twelve years as a national legislator, Ihedioha also attended numerous on-the-job-trainings, seminars, workshops and the like. All of the above add up to enrich the educational capacity of Ihedioha.
We know that Araraume is adequately educated. At least, he is a master’s degree holder.
While we note that Ihedioha entered the House of Representatives with a bachelor’s degree, he kept updating himself educationally until he obtained five additional certificates. Senator Araraume entered the Senate with his master’s degree and left with his master’s degree.
Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong about that, but we reason that since we agree that the educational capacity of the candidates are crucial and critical to their qualifications for the task in the Government House, the reach and extent of refreshing of the tank of knowledge through regular courses, training, workshops and conferences should be an added advantage.
Uzodinma’s has a WAEC/GCE O’Level certificate. Of course, constitutionally, the Red Chamber lawmaker is very much qualified to be a state governor; even a president. But two things are involved. One is that we are talking about the potential governor of Imo State; a state reputed for being populated by highly educated citizens. Two, this is the first quarter of the 21st Century running fastly to an end. Leadership and governance capacity can no longer be entrusted to people that are not digital in their operability. We believe that while Uzodinma may find a higher rating in other indicators, that of education is a low.
Ezeh is very okay on the aspect of educational capacity by virtue of his proven sound education, especially in the field of economics, banking and finance.
Much as the possession of highly educated person for governor is quintessential and indeed sine-qua-non, what Imo State requires now is a highly educated person with an additional utilitarian horizon that could translate his knowledge to practical terms that will reflect in the proper delivery of good governance. It is one thing to be a graduate and yet another thing to be practical graduate. The latter is utilitarian and most desired under precarious situation Imo State and Imo people have been enduring since 2011.
Nwosu was recorded by INEC as possessing WAEC O’Level. But in fairness to him, it is common knowledge that he was a student of Imo State University where he served in the executive of the Students Union Government.
What is not clear as at the time of writing this is whether Nwosu completed his university course and obtained a degree certificate or not. However, besides his WAEC O’Level and probably his degree certificates, he doesn’t seem to be affluent with cerebrum as he is with ceremonies.
Nwulu must have first surprised himself before surprising people around him with his bold declaration to contest for the office of governor of Imo State. Besides his feat of dusting his opponents to secure the coveted seat of Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency, nothing much is known by his educational background. However, we are constrained to suggest that he may not be the man Imo people need at this time.
WORK/BUSINESS CAREER EXPERIENCE:
Starting with Ihedioha, we would say he has a very enviable profile in this regard. After he graduated from the University of Lagos in 1988, he secured a job in 1992 at the Senate of the National Assembly that was then in Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos. The job was cut short in 1993, no thanks to the noxious Abacha palace putsch. Consequently, he established First Page Communications Limited, a firm that was into media marketing public relations.
In 1995, when the signals for a return to democracy looked real, Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) was founded by such leadership heavyweights as Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, Olusegun Obasanjo Atiku Abubakar and their ilk. The Director, Media and Publicity of PDM was Ihedioha. The PDP metamorphosed into the PDP that won the 1999 general elections. Obviously as an equitable recompense for his service to PDM, he was appointed Special Assistant to the Senate President. He also served as a Special Assistant to a Special Adviser to the then President Obasanjo. Ultimately, he served as Special Assistant on Political Matters to the then Vice President Atiku Abubakar. All of that transpired between 1999 and 2003.
By 2003, Ihedioha was elected into the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to represent Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency. He served in that capacity for three consecutive terms of of four years each, totalling twelve straight years as a national legislator, 2003-2015! In 2015, he gave the office of governor of Imo State a very robust chase but missed it to bad politics of some leaders and members of his PDP at that time. He is giving it another shot in 2019.
For brevity of analysis, let us suffice to say that none of the other six supposedly notable guber candidates in Imo State has anything near the work/business career experience of Ihedioha that spans cognate over half a century with rooting in the workings of executive and legislative arms of government.
Senator Araraume besides being a two-term, eight-year senator has no record of work experience. However, he claims to run a supermarket chain in places outside Imo State. There are unconfirmed reports of Araraume being an industrialist. But nobody actually attests to the location of his industry or factory. Though, he has a micro-factory along Onitsha-Owerri Expressway where tissue paper and bottle water are produced.
Before emerging a Senator in 2011 nobody knows what was the work or business of Uzodinma. And he has not made any attempt at claiming that he worked here or there or he did this or that. Yet, many know him to relatively wealthy. Since going to the Senate, though, he has established businesses through which he secured a contract which became subject of investigation by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP).
Ezeh has work/business career experience in offshore banking field. He worked at Citi Bank and works as a consultant in the fields of business, economics, banking and finance. But he doesn’t appear to have the experience in the practical workings of government at the executive and legislative levels.
Since leaving university in the year 2003, Nwosu has worked for the man that later became the father of his wife till date. His CV will be very lean because besides his appointments as Commissioner, Deputy Chief of Staff and ultimately Chief of Staff, the controversial in-law of Governor Rochas Okorocha, has little else to showcase as work/business career experience. He has a poor experience in the true workings of the executive arm of government and knows nothing about the workings of the legislative arm.
Nwulu is the first term incumbent member representing Oshodi/Isolo Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives. Some people have asked what business he has running for the office of governor of Imo State. We remind them that dual citizenship is permitted by the Nigerian constitution. Besides his short-lived experience in the House as a neophyte lawmaker, nothing is heard about the work/business career of Nwulu.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Ihedioha made remarkable sustainable accomplishments and achievements both in the House, in his Federal Constituency and in Imo his State. While in the House, he became everything there was to become. However, the more unique accomplishments and achievements was encapsulated in his becoming the Chairman of the Committee on Marine Transport in his first. That was in the 5th Assembly, 2003-2007.
Between 2007 and 2011 or the 6th Assembly, Ihedioha served as a principal officer, when he became the Chief Whip of the House. The office accorded him vital legislative and executive experiences. In his third term, 2011-2015, he became the Deputy Speaker of the House. That was a presiding officer position and as such was embedded in executive duties and responsibilities. In 2015, when the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, left to pursue his gubernatorial ambition in Sokoto State, Ihedioha was unanimously adopted to serve out the last days of the 7th Assembly as Speaker.
In the course of his landmark accomplishments and achievements in the House, Ihedioha was awarded the fourth highest national honour, which is the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). In 2015 he underwent full-option rigour of contesting for the office of governor of Imo State and came in second after the unpopular winner, Gov. Rochas Okorocha. Today, in 2019, four years after, Ihedioha is the only candidate out of twenty five that is running the governorship race for a second time. Some pundits see that as part of his accomplishments and achievements.
In the physical society, the accomplishments and achievements of Ihedioha are so monumental that each of the 305 wards and 27 LGAs in Imo State got one form of project or another from Ihedioha. In fact, according to his personal aides, the compilation and cataloguing of “Ihedioha Projects” as they are called has run into about 100 pages and still counting. Itemizing them here will be a burdening overkill. Therefore, we must suffice to say that sincerely Ihedioha actually provided projects in such a way that no legislator past or present can boast of equalling not to talk about surpassing.
Araraume was the Senator for Okigwe Zone for eight years. But he appears to have focused on the legislative representation while ignoring the need of the people for people-oriented projects and empowerment. He therefore has little accomplishments and achievements to lay claim to having facilitated and sponsored anything tangible per se.
Uzodinma as earlier stated will be returning to his Imo West (Orlu Zone) by mid year but without any major projects accomplishments and achievements. The few projects he tried to facilitate ended up as abandoned projects. If he eventually wins the election and become governor he would certainly require a lot schooling to develop the culture and character of providing projects for the people of Imo State.
Nwosu was a principal officer of the poorly-performing and poorly-rated rescue mission regime of Gov. Rochas Okorocha from 2011 till date. Therefore, it will not be out of place for him to claim experience in the provision of projects. But the snag there is the stigma that the projects of the regime were “China projects”, meaning that they were substandard and not durable. Trouble is that learn a habit is quite easy but unlearning it is not easy. As they say, “Leopards don’t change their colours”!
Nwulu, as we have attempted to establish without any intent at castigating him, is not very much an Imo man. That is why probably beyond his home place of Eziudo Ezinihitte Mbaise, Imo people outside Mbaise do not know him well. We may not know how much he did for his Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency of Lagos State. So, we won’t belabour the true story of Hon. Anthony Nwulu’s pedigree and antecedents in the areas of provision of legislative accomplishments and achievements vis-a-vis his physical projects.
CHARACTER AND CONDUCT:
Experts are of the view that issues pertaining to character and conduct are sourced from the realm of psychology. That means they are behavioural. The greater percentage of them are personal but a certain percentage is verifiable and measurable. Those are the ones we will dwell on in this subtitle.
Ihedioha is a man of good character and good conduct. He doesn’t claim those titles as some of his counterparts in the race for Douglas House claim. But his good work and his inter-personal relationships with every category of persons in the society speaks volumes about his good character and good conduct.
Specifically, it must be his good character and good conduct that made a way for him to sit on the same executive table with Yar’Adua, Obasanjo Atiku and others in PDM. It must be Ihedioha’s good character and good conduct that made a way for him to become a Special Assistant to Senate Presidents, Special Assistant to Special Adviser to the President. It must be his good character and good conduct that made the way for him to be appointed Special Assistant on Political Matters to Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
We are persuaded that if Ihedioha had questionable character and conduct, the good people of Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency would not have elected, re-elected and again elected him to represent them for three consecutive terms 2003-2015. They elected him because of his good character and good conduct.
As a national legislator, it must be his good character and good conduct that made him member of various important House Committees, made him Chief Whip, made him Deputy Speaker and even Speaker. Nothing other than good character and good conduct warranted the award of the fourth highest national honour to Ihedioha, CON. It is good character and good conduct that have endeared and attracted hundreds of thousands of people to him as rigorously drives his gubernatorial ambition this far.
It must be an innate good character and good conduct in Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha that inspired him, spurred him, motivated him to provide physical projects to the wider Imo society. We can go on and on.
Ordinarily, Araraume is a simple man. He is believed to be extremely ambitious. He is quite dogged. In many respects he is qualified to be a governor. However, what remains is why despite his much mouthed good attributes, he is the best governor Imo people never wants? The reason ma be character and conduct. Whether his character and conduct is good or bad is open for the people of Imo State to decide.
For Uzodinma, there have been accusations and counter accusations between him and the Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha over failed government contract.
Ezeh has remained a good Catholic. Only recently he was honoured with admission into the order of the knights of the church. We apologize for addressing him as ordinary “Mr” when he is a “Sir”! So, we noted that for certain idiosyncrasies personal and private to him, Sir Ezeh has no known issues with poor profile of character and conduct. Whatever he lacks in experience he may regain with his status of good character and conduct.
Nwosu is a young man known among his fellow school mates in his set at Imo State University. Certainly, at that time he must have been a young man of good character. At least, he became Director of Transport in the Student Union Government of his university.
However, there is a whole world of difference between Imo State University Student Union Government (IMSU SUG) and Imo State Government (IMSG). While in IMSU SUG Nwosu may have done well in character and conduct, it is not very clear what the status of his character and conduct has been since the emergence of the expiring rescue mission regime in IMSG.
One thing is certain, the character and conduct capacity of Chief Uche Nwosu is open to multifaceted conjectures. We beg to pass on that.
Nwulu is like a JJC in Imo politics. No insult intended. He is like the Man from Atlantic. Imo people may not be able to situate the thrust of his character and conduct. We wonder how many Imo will guarantee or surety him for good governance character and good conduct. Many pundits have wondered how a young man from his native Eziudo Ezinihitte Mbaise will outshine and deshine all other candidates from Lagos State and Southwest geo-political zone and emerge the democratically elected representative of Oshodi-Isolo Federal Constituency of Lagos State. Pundits reason that he must be an epitome of good character and conduct or conversely he must be the best of the opposite. Probably, Nwulu is a revelation star whose time is still approaching for appropriate utility.
We feel we have been able to present to the readers the six gubernatorial candidates in Imo State from among whom will emerge the next governor of Imo State and Imo people. We believe from the gamut of critical information, those to whom it may concern have been availed rough parameters for decision on who should be the desirable next governor of Imo State.
.Nwadike, a journalist and public affairs analyst is based in Imo State and can be reached on: 08037146635.
