“The immature conscience is not its own master. It simply parrots the decisions of others. It does not make judgments of its own; it merely conforms to the judgments of others. That is not real freedom, and it makes true love impossible.”
The quote above was by one Jon Katz. It informs the likes of Chief Benjamin Benedict Apugo, a member Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a man who says his mind wherever and whenever, to re-think his self-chosen fight against the immediate past Governor of Abia State and now, Senator representing Abia Central at the Red Chambers of the National Assembly, Senator Theodore Ahamefule Orji.
Apugo’s recent outburst against Senator Orji was titled, “Apugo bombs TA Orji again”, published in both print and online media. After reading Apugo’s views what came to my mind was that Apugo ought to help push Abia State forward and not downwards.
It is palpable to say that no one builds by destroying. Apugo as a well revered man should think again if he wants to destroy Abia State with the past or build the future of the state with lessons he perhaps learned from the past.
A Gaylord Nelson once said that the ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.
I hope Apugo might have come across that statement made by a C.G. Jung which is that through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, something is out of tune.
I decided to bring up the wise quotes for Apugo to read and maybe reflect on them concerning his chosen career in fighting right, back, left and front against Senator Orji. How right Apugo’s fight is does not meet the eyes. He makes me to see Senator Orji and he in the work of Thomas Hardy titled “Jude the Obscure”.
Hardy writes, “Sometimes a woman’s love of being loved gets the better of her conscience, and though she is agonized at the thought of treating a man cruelly, she encourages him to love her while she doesn’t love him at all. Then, when she sees him suffering, her remorse sets in, and she does what she can to repair the wrong.”
I have noticed that while Apugo was entitled to his opinions, his opinions against Senator Orji about when he was governor, are not necessary now. Apugo’s opinions on Orji, to me, belong to the past.
Perhaps, Apugo has been weeping because the government of Orji as governor then did not favour him. I think the best thing he should do as an elder statesman he is called, is to forge ahead.
I’m saying this because when you read the comments of some other persons, their comments are that Orji worked creditably well when he was governor. So, Apugo should embrace the fact and forge ahead.
As a respected personality in Abia State and across Nigeria, Apugo’s tornado of vituperations and venoms against Orji will never bring him back as governor. Rather, what Apugo is doing now and talking against Orji is to cause earthquake of thoughts in the camp of Orji and himself. But this is not necessary.
Apugo has to embark on a campaign of honey and kindness to move Abia State forward and eschew being in the trenches of un-necessary media war against Orji. It is not always right that you turn the pages of the newspapers and what you see is Apugo being plagued by the ghost of the past that only him sees.
It is essentially bad to note that everyday, Apugo is portraying himself in the light of one not dreaming hard and not working hard for a better Abia State. At his age, it is expected of him to take a position that does not promote political aspirations but the welfare of Abia State.
Apugo should check where he falls in this statement by a George Bernard Shaw, “A Native American elder once described his own inner struggles in this manner: Inside of me there are two dogs. One of the dogs is mean and evil. The other dog is good. The mean dog fights the good dog all the time. When asked which dog wins, he reflected for a moment and replied, The one I feed the most.”
The truth is that as a human being, Senator Orji will never be perfectly well. But as ‘immortal’ that Apugo is, he is always right. I’ve come to realise what a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “I do not believe anyone can be perfectly well, who has a brain and a heart.”
Nobody is perfectly well. Apugo should leave Senator T.A. Orji alone. Enough is enough.
Madubuko Hart wrote in this article from Umuahia, but lives in Lagos
