The attack in the early hours of May 15 on the house of former Imo State Governor, Ikedi Ohakim, is as shocking as the comments he made over the incident.
Suspected arsonists reportedly scaled through the roof of his Owerri residence at about 1.30am and reduced parts of it to a rubble using explosives.
When Ohakim learnt of it at about 6.30am, he raised the alarm and invited journalists to the scene, where he made comments one cannot but say are shocking.
The attack is not only condemnable, it shows the sign of things to come in Imo State as we inch closer to the election in 2015.
That the arsonists resorted to bombing Ohakim’s house (I hope police investigation will establish the actual materials used) shows that, somehow, insecurity in the East, Imo State in particular, has taken a different dimension.
I am aware that Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration places much emphasis on security, which means the Ohakim experience should be of great concern to both the government and people of the state. Or is Okorocha saying he is no more in charge of the security of lives and property of Imo indigenes?
The government should be as interested in the police investigation of the incident as the victim himself so that the perpetrators are unmasked and made to face justice.
It is on that score that I said Ohakim’s comment was rather shocking, if it was well thought out. He accused political opponents of masterminding the incident because he had planned to declare a second run for the governorship on May 17.
Ohakim was pained that political opponents carried out the attack even as he claimed he did not hurt anyone as Governor for four years, between 2007 and 2011.
He told reporters: “That is the only building I have in this Owerri. I built it in 1992 when I was Commissioner. Now, I have to knock at peoples’ doors before I would sleep in a house.
“They said they saw the ceiling opened from outside and some things were thrown in. I don’t know, but I leave that to the security people to investigate. I have never assassinated anybody, contrary to their blackmail.
“What triggered their adrenaline might be my intension to make a political statement on Saturday, but I will not be deterred. This is a state I have served, yet there is no penny from the government as my pension.
“Can you imagine that I was sick and my paper forwarded to them for my entitlement bills was torn?”
It is obvious who Ohakim thinks was responsible for the arson, and that, to me, means deciding the case before it even gets to court.
I sympathise with him that he has not collected his benefits after serving the state for four years, whether he did well or not. Which means Okorocha should, as a mark of respect, ensure the payment of Ohakim’s pension and other entitlements as quickly as possible.
However, I also think that Ohakim is wrong believing that the only opposition he has is in Government House, Owerri, or to put it bluntly, Okorocha.
Ohakim claimed he did not hurt anybody when he was helmsman. That statement is far from the truth because, during his tenure, many Imo indigenes were practically barred from coming home over one issue or another.
The government under Ohakim might not have issued a statement to that effect, but the reality on the ground said it all. I remember too well that Lagos lawyer, Chief Ziggy Azike; Eze Oliver Ohanwe; the late Mbaise freelance journalist, Maximus Uba, and a host of others ran away fearing for their lives, frequently raising the alarm that the government was hunting them.
It is even unthinkable for Ohakim to assume that he does not have enemies in his own Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Even if he claims he does not, how about planning to announce his bid for Government House on May 17 when excitement already trails the governorship aspirations of other members of the PDP in the three senatorial zones of the state – Owerri, Okigwe and Orlu?
It is the rat in the house that tells the one outside that there is fish in the kitchen. And the greatest enemy one should pray not to have is what the Bible refers to as the household enemy.
There are many PDP politicians in Imo State who think that Ohakim should not be talking of a second term under any guise. One of his former commissioners I spoke to was livid that Ohakim, instead of assuming the role of statesman in the party and in Imo, would delude himself about governorship ambition when he can read the political equation on the back of his hand. That is food for thought.
But in all this, does Ohakim have the right to aspire to any political office, state or national? The answer is yes. Is his political ambition enough reason for his house to be attacked? The answer is no.
Is what happened to Ohakim a sign of what to expect in Imo politics in the run up to 2015? The answer again is yes. Can we as Imo indigenes afford to destroy lives and property on the altar of individuals’ political interest? The answer is no. And this we must collectively resist.
What we do then? The arson is a big lesson to all Imo indigenes. Regardless of political leaning, it should as well serve as a lesson to all politicians in the state, some of whom have nursed bitterness in their heart for too long because of the quest for political office.
If Imo politicians are the thinking type, by now they would have known that what our people crave most is good governance, not political contest which has never favoured them, and will never do.