I have read online and other media of communication, the subtle begging by Alex Otti and his band of “Hearsayers” for Okezie Victor Ikpeazu PhD, the scholar in Governance, the Chief Promoter of Made in Abia goods and by the ultimate grace of God; the pragmatic Governor of Abia State to respond to tissues of lies which they conjured, as usual to hoodwink unsuspecting members of the public. I have said it severally that Ikpeazu has the most redundant and retroactive set of opposition. These people in their subtle display of idiocy of opposition inadvertently make Ikpeazu look more than the champion he is. With every sense of responsibility, I dare say that Alex Otti’s opposition is perhaps the most sterile and most uneventful in the history of Abia politics.
When the Governor flags off a project, they go to town to say how impracticable it is. When he commences and deploys State funds to deliver in record time, they accuse him of seeking cheap popularity. When the Governor delivers on his promise of quality infrastructure evenly across the State, they remind him that because their own man is not Governor, they will not accord those lofty projects the desired applaud. One would have thought that they would improve with time. Yes! They did but merely improved on their capacity to leave substance to pursue shadow.
While I respect the right of the Government to ignore rumour mongers, I have elected to do this work of charity just to massage Otti’s ego and in the interest of his choristers who have the skill of telling white lies. Okezie is way too busy to pay attention to fabrications and mindless grandstanding As a prelude, it does appear, Otti and his hardly informed band of “Hearsayers” led by Ferdinand Ekeoma either do not understand the philosophy behind the concept of Social Contract or have refused to give heed to wise counsel. I will help them by adverting their minds to the consensus agreement of classic scholars on the real import of Social Contract.
“In both moral and political philosophy, the social contract is a theory or model that originated during the Age of Enlightenment. Usually, the social contract concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual.[1] Social contract arguments typically posit that individuals have consented, either explicitly or tacitly, to surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the ruler (or to the decision of a majority) in exchange for protection of their remaining rights”.
Truth is, the proponents of Social Contract did not envisage that citizens could bandy unverifiable facts, revel in beer parlour narratives and make accountability look like rocket science. Otherwise, Otti and his 5th Columnists should know that no “unnamed bank” can ever give an imaginary loan of an amount as staggering as over N42b naira to a State government. I don’t know how to inform these fellows that government is a serious business and cannot be run on social media. I don’t know how to tell Otti and his hirelings that there are laid down procedures for doing things decently. If the explanations given by the Finance Commisoner is not enough to show procedurial responsiveness, there are still other decent options open to our friends both at law and commendable practice to seek redress. Which serious government would pay attention to senseless conjectures like ever imagining that monies are paid out to silence a Legislature made up of even their own party members? You see why I said that these people are either without sense or that they revel so much in vainglory?
I am aware that Okezie Ikpeazu cannot be dragged to a circle of doom. May be, Ikpeazu has mystic powers to also be the architect of their misfortune including having the rare privilege of planting a mole in their own party. Anybody who thinks straight should appreciate that these agents of backwardness do not deserve any further reply. They only need to activate their thinking cap to know that a governor who has severally received commendations from regulatory bodies and anti graft agencies is set on progression and not on reverse gear which propels Otti and his defeated warlords.
At the risk of repeating myself, I urge Alex Otti and his yes men to give us quality opposition, stay away from facebook hypotheses and begin to give their lives a meaning. Abia will be better if we have an opposition that is focused, smart and informed.
Udechukwu writes from Umuahia
