Professor Obiozor’s ‘Ndigbo Will Never Speak With One Voice Manifests
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Professor Obiozor’s ‘Ndigbo Will Never Speak With One Voice Manifests
By Onome Naomi
Reports that Chief Thompson Chinenyeeze Ohia, two time secretary, Lagos Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and current ex officio of Imo State in Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos State reflects on the attempts by the Enugu national headquarters of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to cause chaos in the Lagos Chapter of the socio cultural organization and cautions that Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, President of the Lagos chapter should not be distracted.
Chief Thompson Ohia says:
During last Ohanaeze national election in Enugu, it was unfortunate that because of politics, they co opted people who don’t know anything about Ohanaeze to be the leaders of Ndigbo in Ohanaeze especially the secretary General, Ambassador Okey Emuchay.
Most of the leaders have never registered as financial members before now but were imposed on Ndigbos as their leaders by politicians. This can never happen in Yoruba Afenifere or northern Arewa Peoples Congress because Ohanaeze Ndigbo is a socio cultural organization that governs the people traditionally but highly apolitical.
These men only attend meetings whenever top personality is coming. For example, if I may ask, when did the current Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Ambassador Okey Emuchay attend any of the Ohanaeze’s meetings?
I am sure that for over 30 years, he has never attended Ohanaeze meetings or any gathering that has to do with Ohanaeze whether in Enugu or any State chapter.
He was co opted from the bed of retirement to become the Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide by politicians who do not have sympathy for their people.
So, he is completely a novice in Ohanaeze leadership and that is the reason he is acting in accordance with what he will benefit and not for the interest of Ndigbos.
They are moving from one government house to another including top politician’s houses for their personal interest.
Close to two years now in the office, no single achievement has been recorded.
Their first achievement is to come and sell forms for Lagos Ohanaeze local government election and make millions of Naira, set members on fire and go back to Enugu and continue to answer national body.
Since Nwodo tried it in 2018, the young man who has made Ndigbo proud in all areas of leadership, Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, is still in court till date.
Enugu Ohanaeze members have no constitutional rights to conduct any election.
It was a privilege that they came to observe and that is what the constitution says. They tried it in Rivers State to conduct election for the chapter and they were pursued away. They also tried it in Abuja and failed. So, Lagos is now the next target.
Even if President Solomon accepts Enugu to conduct election, we, the founding fathers will never allow that because we are not fools.
We believe in the constitution and the bye laws that govern Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos.
What they are coming to Lagos to do is for monitoring interest. It is only fools without job that will doubt the truth.
High Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos has done better than any other president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo both home and Diaspora.
When Chief Solomon raised the hand of governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu during campaigns in 2019 in front of over 15 ,000 Igbo people at Ojo Alaba International market in Lagos, they almost crucified him and labelled him all kinds of names.
Some said it is only an Ebonyi man that can do such.
And still, they ganged up with few Ebonyi people to fight and remove him from office, promising one Mr. Alo from Ebonyi that they will use him to replace Chief Solomon because it is still Ebonyi tenure.
But the foolish Ebonyi man forgot that when they remove the President, he will be replaced by his deputy who is from Imo State, Vitus Uzor.
But they finally failed through the help of former military Vice President, Commodore Okoh Ebitu Ukiwe and late Ndubuisi Kanu, former military governor of Lagos State and the grand patron of Ohanaeze Ndigbo , Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii including the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo -Olu who were supporting Chief Solomon with finance to hold Lagos Ohanaeze Ndigbo meetings regularly.
One thing I like my President Chief Solomon for is his level of appreciation of whatever anyone does for him or to Ndigbo in Lagos.
He cannot say a word in any gathering in Lagos without praises to governor Sanwo-Olu. In short he holds governor Sanwo-Olu like a small god.
All these men are strongly behind the president Aguene.
There is nothing he does that is right before them especially in the hand of the former President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo based on the level of blackmail against Chief Solomon by some of the hungry men in Ohanaeze who believe that is the only way they can get favour from the President General.
He then began to see Chief Solomon as his competitor not minding the distance, life achievements and age difference.
According to Nwodo “The young man is growing wings.”
I, Chief Thomspson Ohia will never insult any leader in any kind but I will always stand to say the truth because the truth is bitter in the ears of the wicked who see negative as an instrument to achieve things.
I love Chief Solomon Ogbonna. He is a man of wisdom and he enjoys the grace of God. When you think that he cannot do anything, that is when God will give him victory of all kinds including finance, new contacts and other opportunities.
I have never seen a man God loves like Chief Solomon.
With all the blackmails by some leaders of other Igbo associations in Lagos who believe Chief Solomon Ogbonna has silenced their viability, they sponsored some few Ohanaeze members as an instrument to destroy Chief Solomon, the best leader Ndigbo has ever produced in Lagos State and his reputation before governor Sanwo-olu, including his brother who is the grand patron of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos State, High Chief Dr Ifeanyi Odii. Yet, the love from the governor to Chief Solomon is growing from strength to strength.
What a grace of God in Aguene, the president!
Chief Solomon told the former President General , John Nwodo, in Igbo proverb in the same 2019, “When a man wears a shoe, he knows where it pinches. We reside in Lagos State and we know what we have been suffering. You can be busy pursuing presidential candidates in Enugu while we are in Lagos protecting life and property because Enugu which stands as national body does not give any chapter allocation or come to our aid whenever there are challenges.
We use our personal money to transport ourselves when we are attending any meeting in Enugu.
All your ambiguous words of English and compiling of profile that we listen to on television cannot save us in Lagos if I don’t do what I did by accepting the government of the day in Lagos in 2019.”
One thing I like president Solomon Ogbonna for is that no matter who you are, he will tell you his mind and that ends it.
Since the era of Shehu Shagari government, no leader has brought Ndigbo close to the government of the day in Lagos State until Chief Solomon came on board and made it possible.
It is a legacy that no enemy can erase.
The young man has given Ndigbo leaders embarrassment of good leadership. So, he should be expecting any challenge, no doubt.
He shows that as an art collector and dealer, he is dealing with men of western world who go straight to the point instead of rigmarole.
So, he quickly let Nwodo know that Ndigbo will protect themselves by working with the government of the day in Lagos and if possible with the national.
That was the atrocity Chief Solomon committed but today, we are enjoying it. For instance, all the markets headed by Ndigbos are no longer shut down.
I chief Thompson can boast that I am one, among the most experienced persons, in Ohanaeze Ndigbo and I can say authoritatively that no one has done one quarter of what Chief Solomon has done as Lagos president of Ohanaeze.
If we don’t accept this fact, then, there is no doubt that Ndigbos are the enemies of themselves.
Chief Solomon also told Nwodo that whatever he was doing with his own system of politics, he should concentrate on that. But allow us to concentrate on our stand in Lagos State. Nwodo insisted that he should write apology letter to him.
Meanwhile, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, the Secretary-General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, wants to organize a trip of elders council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Enugu, to meet the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to come and play politics on his head in his own soil that Chief Solomon Ogbonna has done so well but his tenure has ended.
Emuchay, is it now you know that there is need for Ndigbo elders statesmen to organize themselves to thank the governor?
Who is fooling who?
Secretary Emuchay, we need a common sense if pride and compiling personal profiles that will never put food on our tables will allow us.
This young man, President Solomon, has shown that leadership is by birth.
First, you are supposed to organize this courtesy visit to Chief Solomon Ogbonna for all the good things he has been doing for Ndigbos in his leadership especially bringing Ndigbos closer to the government of the day in Lagos State.
No matter the amount of jealousy we are nursing in our heart, area boys no longer molest Igbo men and women in Lagos and other benefits that cannot be mentioned here.
Enugu members, do you want to come and destroy the relationship we have built as your contribution for the chapter? There will be serious problem.
Then, when you are playing the politics you want to play, there will not be much questions on the tricks you want to use for Lagos politicians especially Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This trip you are planning to organize and claim it is a unilateral decision by the Ohanaeze national body is a politics that even a baby knows that you and your political agents are thinking that if they allow Solomon, he will give Ndigbo to APC in the coming election with his contacts.
I know you don’t know anything about the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
Therefore, I will give you few points
{A} 90 percent of those who have Ndigbo interest in their hearts is supporting Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene, the president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo for tenure elongation and not for second term.
{B} With Chief Solomon Ogbonna, we will have permanent secretariat of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos either from the governor or from the grand patron, Chief Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, or through his friends because he has contacts.
Since former governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State stopped the Ohanaeze Ndigbo national building project in Enugu, it remained like that till date.
You are just coming from nowhere and want Ndigbo in Lagos to go back to Egypt. We will not allow it. What do you know about Lagos Ohanaeze?
You and Professor George Obiozor set up electoral committee from Enugu to conduct local government election in Lagos, a chapter that never got allocation from Enugu.
Aside constitutional right, Enugu can only come to Lagos to observe and not to conduct election.
Looking at the electoral committee, the chairman, Nze Fidelis Ozichukwu Chukwu, who is from Imo State is the former PDP national Vice chairman.
The personal assistant to Professor Obiozor, Ambrose Obiora, an admin staff, who has been appointed as the secretary of the electoral committee that is coming to conduct election in Lagos State is also from Imo State. He is not an elected NEC member.
Is it that there are no elected NEC officers in Ohanaeze Ndigbo national, Enugu?
Do you know that you people have shot yourselves in the leg?
You can now see that you are not working with the constitution or the bye law of any chapter but applying intimidation to know if it will work or not.
For a personal assistant to be in the electoral committee means the aim is to protect your interest in the area of money that is going to be realized.
In 2018, Enugu Ohanaeze came here and made millions of Naira from the sales of forms and left us with problems till date.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos is now a centre of abuse with all the good work Chief Solomon has done.
Even a fool will simply know that it is going to be PDP versus APC. You can use any adjective to defend this but it cannot scale through. It is simply just APC versus PDP.
Over 20 years that Ohanaeze Ndigbo was formed , no Enugu member has ever conducted election in any chapter until the election of 2018 which Chief Nwodo came with his intimidation as an orator and profile as an old time politician.
Since the election, the immediate past president of Lagos Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Barrister Fabiam Onwugholu took president Solomon Ogbonna with his executives to court which is still on till date simply because the election, conducted by Enugu people, produced Chief Solomon Ogbonna Aguene as President Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos.
The young man has spent millions of Naira for the court case till date.
We are in court and Enugu Ohanaeze are busy organizing another committee to conduct election in Lagos when the first one has produced two factional presidents namely: Nnamdi Wigwe and Colonel Reuben Nwankwo Rt’d, outside the duly elected President, Solomon Ogbonna.
And you people happy?
You are coming to play on the intelligence of Lagos governor and you are not thinking of defending your mission?
Who is fooling who?
Do you think Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban and Mr governor Babajide Sanwo Olu are dumbs in politics?
Ndigbos in Lagos, we must give Chief Solomon tenure elongation. If not, we will divide Ohanaeze. That means Lagos Ohanaeze will be destroyed and taking back to what it used to be before President Solomon emerged and transformed it from analogue to digital.
We cannot allow our old men in south east who are interested in building their profile to destroy Chief Solomon’s legacies.
Whenever we have meeting on matters that will benefit us as Ohanaeze Ndigbo, they would disrupt the discussions with their profile until the main agenda develops into thin air and postponed to another day.
Most annoying is that their children are in overseas. They are not participating in the interest of Ndigbo. They don’t understand the language but they know that their fathers are from Nigeria in West Africa. Yet their fathers are here suppressing other people by actions that cannot help our goals.
We must therefore, emulate the life system of the Yorubas and Hausas and their respect for their culture and tradition that govern them.
For example, Bola Tinubu has been visiting Yoruba socio cultural organizations as well as the traditional rulers to sell his ambition.
But in our case, we are working hard to intimidate one another.
In no distant time, Yoruba and Hausa presidential candidates will begin to promise up to 80 Igbo men and women vice presidency position so that they will start killing themselves before the election.
This is because they know that if you want to kill an Igbo man in and outside Nigeria, you must pass through his brother for soft landing without penalty.
Professor Obiozor’s quote that Ndigbo cannot speak with one voice, is not a mistake no matter the angle you try to analyze it.
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