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Imo blazes the trail in events hosting
By Ben Duru
Imo
State has perhaps become the capital of the new South East Nigeria going by the
number of activities which the state has hosted and is going to host in the
months to come.
It
would be recalled that the last World Igbo Day Celebration put together by the
Igbo socio-cultural organization, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, was hosted by the Government
of Imo State. Same was the
National Festival of Arts and Culture, NAFEST, as well as the All Primary and
Secondary School Games.
In
all these events, the performance of the government was outstanding, which,
perhaps, has informed the military top brass to schedule the Chief of Army
Staff, COAS, Games in December for Owerri.
No
doubt, the man behind all these successful events is the Governor, Chief Achike
Udenwa. In his characteristic
manner, Udenwa accepted and
ensured that everything that had to do with the events was not only properly done,
but would go the extra mile to personal supervise the events for maximum
success.
Assuring
the visiting General Officer Commanding, GOC, of the 82 Division, Enugu, Major
General Adewuyi, of the determination of the state to host the military games,
he hinged the acceptance on the immense contributions of the military to the
success so far recorded in Nigeria’s democratic experiment.
According to him, whereas the major
problem bedeviling many African countries where the military midwife an
election has always been how to confine the military to their barracks to play
their constitutional role of defending their countries from internal
insurrection and external aggression.
Udenwa
agreed that the military and the promoters of the today’s democracy
should work hand-in-hand to bequeath a lasting democracy to the people and
usher in more development in the areas of infrastructure.
He
maintained that since 1999 when the democratic governance was instituted, those
who have been saddled with the mandate of the people have been struggling to
ensure that all goes well, adding, however, that that it is not to suggest that
there will be no mistakes.
According
to the governor, if mistakes are made, such should not be enough for the
military to seize power again, explaining that the operators of democratic
governance are humans who are not immuned to making mistakes. He added that the
military should tolerate such mistakes by the politicians as there is still
room for the correction.
Responding,
Adewusi praised the state and
indeed Nigerians for the peaceful co-existence which has translated into the
prevailing stability in the polity. He promised that the military would
continue to ensure that there are no lapses in the duties of the military.
Meanwhile, one main issue, which has
continued to gain currency at the Government House is the Orlu Resolution which
may throw the state into political brouhaha, going by the sharp divisions among
the various contenders to the governorship seat in 2007.
Within
the hierarchy of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, the hitherto unity
among members is fast developing into a quicksand due largely to that
resolution. The Government House is having its own share of the anxiety.
Among party faithful and hangers-on,
discussions centre around the issue of where the governorship seat should be
zoned and how the gladiators in the ensuing jostling would bury their hatchets
to sustain peace and unity in the state, particularly by adopting zoning
formula, which has helped the state to achieve some relative peace in the
sharing of political offices.
Another
point is the intention of the zone to drag Senator Arthur Francis Nzeribe into
the fray, particularly with the flurry of newspapers advertorials, which has
further increased the tempo of the agitation.
The
Owerri and Okigwe zones are also strategising to work out their
counter-resolutions as they claim that Orlu zone will be asking for too much if
it insists on producing the governor again after occupying the position for
eight years.
But
the real intention of both Orlu political leaders and those calling on Senator
Nzeribe to contest is not yet known, as it is believed their calls may not be
more than a strategy to test the ground.
Be
that as it may, the battle is still raging and the Government House is showing
palpable fear that it may lead to another round of unpalatable media war such
as noticed in the state between 1999 and 2003. Scores of aides, who pleaded anonymity, said the stress that
the resolution is taking on the government is enormous even though much is not
being noticed because of Governor Udenwa’s decision to keep himself and
his government out of the controversy. But whether he would be able to insulate
himself and his administration from the ensuing battle would be determined in
the coming days.
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