By Gregory Aharanwa
BACKGROUND
Last week, an elder statesman in Imo State, a highly revered scholar and a Prince of the ancient Njamanze dynasty in Owerri Municipal, Prince Bob Njamanze popularly known with the sobriquet “Ndaa Bob,” stirred the honest’s nest when he featured on a Channels Television programme. During the program, he,amongst other issues, x-rayed contencious political issues,particularly the 2027 Imo State governorship election.
In that programme, Ndaa Bob proffered the most reasonable, incisive, and long-term solution to rotational governance in the State. He was courageous enough to remind Imo people,particularly pockets of self-centred agitators from our Owerri zone,that allowing our brothers from Okigwe zone to complete their remaining one tenure of four years,and afterwards Owerri zone will have its turn of eight years seamlessly, will solve the claims and counterclaims over which zone between Okigwe and Owerri zones should take the shot at Imo’s governorship seat in 2027.
For the records, that was not the first time Ndaa Bob was offering this thought-provoking advice as an elder statesman. Ndaa Bob, perhaps, to safeguard the interest of Owerri zone and protect it from being shortchanged in the power equation in Imo State, also added a proviso in his suggestion that Okigwe zone be allowed to run for 2027 governorship. According to him,Owerri zone will not accept any Okigwe zone person who will aspire for two terms of eight years. “That will be unfair, unjust, unacceptable, and against the tenets of equity and justice on the side of succeeding generations of Owerri zone people, particularly the youths.” He didn’t mince words about this clause in his previous commentary on the issue.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH NDAA BOB’S ADVICE ?
To any right-thinking person in Owerri zone, Ndaa Bob made the most rational suggestion. Except,of course, for the oldies from Emekuku/Egbu axis in particular and Owerri North local government area as a whole, who felt threatened by this wise suggestion – most other reasonable people in Owerri zone subscribe to Ndaa Bob’s template.
Ndaa Bob,to me, technically spoke for us – the youths and supposed leaders of tomorrow. He reminded us of the Igbo proverb that “an elder does not stay at home while the she-goat delivers in her tethers.” He spoke with wisdom.
Ndaa Bob was the youths’ advocate. He spoke our minds. At 82 years, he has seen it all and probably desires nothing more. He is at peace with God and his conscience. He only wanted to safeguard our political future. He did not want to entrust our future in the hands of the oldies of Emekuku/Egbu extraction and Owerri North, who have the propensity to either trade it off tomorrow to the highest bidder from Orlu zone, or alternatively, plan to plant their own children as would-be successors.
THE ANGER OF EMEKUKU CABAL
Hardly had Ndaa Bob’s well commended Channels TV appearance gone viral on social media with an avalanche of commendations from well-meaning Imo people across the three geopolitical zones of Orlu, Okigwe and Owerri, than the Emekuku/Egbu oldies went beserk with their negative criticisms of Ndaa Bob and his honest suggestion. They called him names and described him with ridiculous adjectives. All that was because they felt jittery that they may not be witnesses when Owerri youths other than their immediate family members and cronies take over from Okigwe zone in 2031 – after four years. We understand their pathetic fears – most of them are now in their twilights in life.
How selfish can our supposed leaders be! Must it always be them,their family members and cronies? Are other local government areas in Owerri zone subordinate or inferior to the Emekuku/Egbu and Owerri North cabal? I do not think so.
FACTS ABOUT THE EMEKUKU AND OWERRI NORTH OPPRESSORS
These pretentious leaders have in actual sense, used Owerri zone platform to incumbate and fester their individual and families’ interests all these while. They pretend to be speaking or acting on behalf of the good people of Owerri zone, but in reality, they are worse than former Governor Rochas Okorocha in pretence and selfishness.
Alas,the veil has fallen off our eyes – the youths. We are now wiser.
It is imperative to point out that these selfish leaders had held power and high profile positions in various strata of governance in the past. They have been Honourable Ministers, Ambassadors, Presidential Advisers on Ecological Fund,and also installed Deputy Governor in Government House.
Two weeks ago, news reports told us how one of them walked in triumphantly and majestically like a king maker into the Dan Anyiam stadium, Owerri, during the inauguration of Okorocha as Governor of Imo State. This was just because he installed his own of this same Emekuku/Egbu extraction as Deputy Governor – And,we ask : was there no other son or daughter of Owerri zone at that time suitable to be nominated for the Deputy Governorship position apart from their ilk in the Emekuku/Egbu cabal enclave? Of course, it MUST be them willy-nilly. This is exactly what Ndaa Bob is fighting to avert a reoccurrence and for which they are demanding for his head on a platter as king Herod’s wife did to John the Baptist in the Holy Bible.
These men and women from Emekuku/Egbu enclave and their stooges from Orji axis have equally held sway at the topmost positions in the banking and telecommunications industries as well as in the church. In the old East Central State, they were also firmly in charge of governance. During former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan regimes, they held “A – portfolios” as Honourable Ministers.
The question again is : apart from filthy and personal accumulation of wealth for themselves and their families, what did they do with these positions for the benefit of Owerri zone? Absolutely nothing tangible.
During such periods, they had unfettered access to Government Houses, Aso Rock Villa, and wherever they wanted, yet Owerri zone never benefitted anything reasonable from them. They only flaunted their amassed wealth before us and sent their children abroad for a better lifestyle while deceiving us to continue hoping upon hope. Not again – their time is up.
Even a few days ago,one of the female arch-promoters of their political vehicle – the Imo Harmony Project (IHP), in her frenetic defence of an earlier exposee on this same Emekuku/Egbu cabal, boldly alluded that apart from their IHP, all other sociopolitical groups in Owerri zone have either been hijacked or compromised. What a serious accusation! Can you imagine that? Can she empirically substantiate this wild accusation?
So,by implication, IHP is the ONLY CREDIBLE sociopolitical group in Owerri zone? Others are toddlers, abi? What about OZOPOLF, OZAC, Olu Owerri, TMO, etc? This is another exhibition of the unbridled arrogance of the Emekuku/Egbu cabal being complained about. It must always be them FIRST BEFORE OTHERS.
INVASION OF GOVERNMENT HOUSE CHAPEL
Perhaps, this is the most ludicrous and shameful tactics they have now employed – all in their desperation to arm-twist and pressure Governor Hope Uzodinma to pander to their whims.
Having failed in their previous two embarrassing outings to Government House – on March 10 and August 20,2025 respectively,they have suddenly become “emergency congregants’ at the Government House Chapel every Sunday. They have abandoned their home churches and other churches where they were ordained deacons and deaconesses, Knights and Lady Knights – to now lay siege on the governor every Sunday at Government House Chapel. Surprisingly, they constitute the largest number of congregants in that Chapel every Sunday. At times,they even force themselves on the governor for launch after church service instead of quietly returning to their respective homes. That is very belittling and petty.
May be,they erroneously think that the governor is a fool to just gloss over their desperation. Unknown to them,they are already eating their cake. Imo people are watching, too.
The governor’s accommodating disposition, notwithstanding, that is pure invasion. The governor should restrain them now. They are really embarrassing us in Owerri zone, with their desperation and pettiness – Habaaaa!
THE WAY FORWARD
Before suggesting the way forward, I wish to appeal to all our leaders, elder statesmen,brothers and sisters of Owerri zone extraction, to “shine their eyes ” – for once beaten, twice shy. We must not again allow a tiny segment of people in our geopolitical zone to continue holding us by the jugular and leading us with selfish intents and interests. We,the younger generation will henceforth, resist such cabalist proclivities.
It is disheartening that this same group of people now masquerading as messiahs were responsible for destroying the Imo Charter of Equity in 2011. The same group never allowed former Governor Achike Udenwa to have a moment’s rest during his tenure. They put fire on him through out his tenure by forming an infamous group called “Abuja politicians” and wedged war against a democratically elected government of Udenwa. It must always be them or they rock the boat.
Former Governor Ikedi Ohakim came on board after Udenwa and, they shifted their gun noozle on him. They aligned with anti-democracy forces at the federal level,lured the military in, and Ohakim and democracy were overthrown in Imo State in 2011 before our eyes. The records speak for themselves.
Then,the same Rochas Okorocha whom they brought in and coerced into signing an agreement to stay for only one tenure and hand over to their preferred choice candidate from amongst the Emekuku/Egbu cabal and their affiliates in Owerri North,came in and they equally fought him to a standstill when he began to have a rethink.
But Okorocha was smarter than them. He had learnt his lessons from what befell Udenwa and Ohakim in the hands of this cabal. Thus,he made it clear to the cabal that “the monkey’s tricks can not be tried on the baboon because they are of the same specie.” Okorocha trounced and beat them to their game. The rest is history.
That unholy alliance with Okorocha and federal forces was specifically made to undercut our brothers in Okigwe zone. That was unfair, unjust and against equity and natural justice.
It was this selfishly intended action that destroyed the smooth rotation of power in Imo State and brought us to where we are now. It is very dangerous to entrust power to a tiny group of people – the fulanis prototype(Emekuku/Egbu cabal and affiliates in Owerri North)in Owerri zone,who are averse to dissenting views except theirs.
His Excellency, Governor Hope Uzodinma should be wary of whatever representation that comes from Emekuku/Egbu politicians or Owerri North. He should “beware of the ides of march.” What happened to Julius Caesar should be instructive in this instant scenario.
It is equally risky to give power or dine with desperadoes. If the governor must do that,let him do so with a very long spoon.
Emekuku community and Owerri North do not speak for Owerri zone. Rather, they speak and seek for their pockets, children and cronies.
It should be vehemently condemned, the resort to sponsoring hate speeches, and veiled media attacks against the governor because he refused to be cajoled or blackmailed. Since courtesy visits have failed, the invasion of Government House Chapel and sponsored media attacks will also fail – ha lekwa anya !
I further ask : why haven’t these leaders openly condemned the series of sponsored media attacks from hirelings in Owerri zone against the governor if they love him so much as they claim ? Perhaps they love him in the daytime, and at night, he becomes a villain who must be bent to do their bidding by any subterfuge means possible. Our Emekuku/Egbu politicians and their affiliates in Owerri North, nakwa echeki !
