“They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” – Matthew 23:4
The above Bible passage succinctly captures the character of those who constantly seek to portray the benevolence of public spirited men and women in bad light just so they score cheap political points. Those who make sport of attempting to turn good deeds of men to bad ones never usually end up well. Like Judas Iscariot, their evil deeds lead them to their waterloo.
The Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chinedum Enyinnaya Orji, recently joined scores of philanthropic Abians in their support for the poor and the needy in our State to distribute relief items and other palliatives to cushion the effects of the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19. First, the Speaker embarked on some enlightenment campaigns and free distribution of sanitizers to the people and subsequently followed that up with a generous distribution of bags of rice, garri, noodles and other food items to people of his constituency. In order for people not to hijack the relief items either for political purposes or for other selfish reasons, the Rt Hon Speaker decided to distribute the items through apolitical institutions like Churches and charity homes to ensure they really got to the needy. Close to 70 of such Churches and charity homes benefitted from the donations.
It is therefore inhuman, wicked and evil for anyone to have made a caricature of the poor and the needy by manipulating images and grossly misrepresenting facts by putting up false pictures as the content of the palliatives all in the name of politics. Such people should know that it is not the Speaker that they are undoing, rather it is the benefitting poor and needy that they are mocking, and anyone who mocks the poor, even if to get to someone else, mocks God, and the consequences are usually dangerous if not fatal. Sadly, these elements, just like the Scripture above says, have not lifted even if just a finger to help the people, yet, they maliciously mock the poor and their benefactors. Ignore them and their mischief!
While the mischievous propaganda was meant to get at Mr Speaker, he remains ever undaunted, unfazed, uncowed and unbowed. He remains unapologetically and unrepentantly philanthropic and public spirited in providing quality legislative leadership to the State and benevolent gestures to the people.
His name is IKUKU OMA ABIA! And so shall it remain! Haters can follow the path of Judas Iscariot, take hold of the nearest rope and do the needful!
