Time to save Fabian Ihekweme from self 

By Oguwike Nwachuku

I was not particularly keen about intervening in some of the things I read of late that were credited to the former Commissioner for Foreign Affairs to Governor Hope Uzodimma, Dr. Fabian Ihekweme until I left the Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord (CATOL) on Tuesday for the Service of Songs held in honour of the passing of Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, one of Imo’s greatest mortals. May his soul rest in peace!

During the Homily delivered by the Most Reverend (Dr.) David Onuoha, the Anglican Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, the vanity of life was once more brought to the fore, and what struck more was the reminder that judgement awaits every flesh who goes the way of our dearly beloved Chief Iwuanyanwu regardless of who we are or what we are.

The tributes on Chief Iwuanyanwu from all and sundry were encouraging. The Church, the business community, the political class, the traditional institution, the youths, name it, all had kind words to share on the deceased.

While the sermon was going on, the small still voice in me reminded me about the law of sowing and reaping. Some call it karma while others refer to it as the law of retributive justice.

Therefore, given what was said by the cross session of guests during the Service, I was convinced Chief Iwuanyanwu sowed properly while still on this side of the divide and could as well be on his way to wear the much expected “Crown of Glory” that is the desire of every good Christian.

By the way, this intervention is not on Chief Iwuanyanwu, but about Dr. Fabian Ihekweme who, I have measured respect for.

The things I have read of late that were linked to him are, to say the least, unbecoming of someone of his calibre, and worthy of yours sincerely’s respect. They ooze blackmail, sabotage, betrayal, infantile pettiness, diabolism, et al. Dr. Ihekweme’s (alias Omu) persona, should not be associated with such, even by stroke of imagination any time, any day.

We shall return to that shortly.

The word of God in the New Testament concerning betrayal is deep. Very deep.

The Lord Jesus Christ knew he would be betrayed for the Scripture to be fulfilled.

But what pained Him so much was that the betrayal came from within. From

a trusted one among the 12 persons He chose to be His apostles.

As recorded in the book of Matthew 26: 23-24, Jesus Christ said: “He who dipped his hands with me in the dish will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he has not been born.”

There is a thin line between betrayal, sabotage and blackmail. Suffice it to say that he who has the potentials to betray can also sabotage or blackmail. The fellow can as well subscribe to diabolism.

If you have read Phillip C. McGraw, author of Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out, particularly the chapter on Sabotage, you will appreciate where yours sincerely is headed.

McGraw wrote: “People just aren’t always really happy for your successes. If you let them control you with their jealousy, if you let them drag you down and define who you are, they will define you in a way that is convenient and nonthreatening to them. That’s what I mean by leveling: the attempt that others make to compromise you, to bring you to a level lower than the one they see themselves occupying.

“Subtly, so subtly, and consciously or not, jealous people are going to sabotage you for reaching a higher level than they have. This can be major league fusing, because jealous people flip-flop on you: They work for you when you are failing and against you when you are succeeding.”

Like I said earlier, the pieces I have read recently on the social media linked to the former Commissioner for Foreign Affairs ooze betrayal, jealousy, blackmail, diabolism and sabotage whether he wants to believe it or not.

My initial hunch after perusing through some of the copies was to wonder if Dr. Ihekweme had lost his memory or probably on admission for a particular ailment the doctors were not in a hurry to make public. But I was wrong.

It was not until I went further to share my thought with certain persons I consider  Dr. Ihekweme’s allies with regard to his utterances on the Governor and his government, that it dawned on me he was intentional in his recent unbecoming demeanor.

Unfortunately, the feelers I got from those associates of his suggested that they are as embarrassed as any other well meaning, responsible friend or political associate of the Governor could have been. It was on that score that I felt Omu should be helped from himself.

But how do you assist a properly read adult, an academic for that matter who has a doctorate degree, very sociable, from further degenerating into the abyss of orchestrated or willful mischief making, betrayal, sabotage and blackmail?

Why would Dr. Ihekweme be the one to willingly elect to betray the man he dips his hands in the same dish with? What has become of him? Who did this to him? Who is blinding Omu’s eyes negatively to the law of reaping and sowing and consequently hindering him from wearing the much desired Crown of Glory on the judgement day? Questions and more questions saturated my mind.

Let me be clear, the matters Omu raised could not add up when you juxtapose them with all he said not long ago concerning what the governor, with his government of Imo State, has done in terms of infrastructure renewal, payment of salaries and pensions, restoration of public confidence in the conduct of government business, security of lives and property despite all odds, youth and women empowerment, to name but a few.

Could it be that Omu had been recruited by unseen hands the way the son of Simon, who is called Judas Iscariot, was recruited to betray his master, Jesus Christ for pittance for politics? 2027 is still far, I reasoned, but do politicians care about timing?

Yes, pittance because in one of the pieces credited to Dr. Ihekweme he sounded like someone whose vulnerability has got to a feverish level due to lack of money even though he tried to weave his frustration around the populace as their voice.

Let me be clear again. If Omu claims to be a political associate of Uzodimma and was part of those who brought his government in place, why would he destroy the same house he took part in it’s construction because of the idiosyncrasies of the flesh or what I call, the desire for what to eat and drink?  Why would he be at the forefront of hazy tales designed to smear the credibility of the man he delights to call his friend?

There are people who believe that Omu lacks integrity and the ingredients of trust due to his style of politics. I haven’t really carried out a research on his politics to draw similar inference, but some of the things I have stumbled on, and were credited to him recently, are beginning to challenge my thought line.

I don’t want to believe that Omu’s second name is blackmail and that he delights in willing and dealing as people allege.

Mine is that if Omu has not seen the negative characterisation of his person as constituting a huge deficit to his public image, family image and by bigger implications, a minus to his lineage and those who look up to him for mentorship on integrity, loyalty, obedience and trust, then I give in on him.

As the American historian and philosopher, Will Durant rightly pointed out, “to speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.”

By speaking condescendingly against Uzodimma and his government, knowing full well he was not speaking the truth, Omu agrees completely with McGraw that he means no well for the Governor. It means he must have been wired with the same mindset like Judas Iscariot who betrayed  his master for pittance.

I read on a social media platform where Omu boldly said, “I’m up in arms against the governor. Imo government is very, very poor because the wealth of the State is with one person, Hope Uzodimma and I don’t need anything from him because what he has stolen is still not enough for him.”  Did I hear Omu say “stolen?”

There are other claims that border on executive rascality and recklessness, allegations of link to occultism, all of which coalesce into intentional blackmail and preparedness to undermine the person of the Governor and his office.

I do hope Omu will be fully prepared, mentally and psychologically, to substantiate these his wild claims, and that those goading him to rant in this manner for whatever reason(s) will not desert him when he needs them badly?  I have not seen any laurel the characters cheering Omu up have handed over to him before or would want to hand over to him now, other than guiding him to an irretrievable and irreversible perdition. God forbid bad thing!

I hope Omu’s cheer leaders have not inflicted on him the notion of an all knowing potentate, thereby making him forget what Julius Caesar told Brutus in Shakespeare’s play, “the fault, dear Brutus, is not in the stars, but in ourselves.”

The worst thing that can happen to a person who is pejoratively regarded as a lover of okro soup is for the person to come to a public gathering and still demand for the same okro soup.

Dr. Ihekweme must ensure that what appears like a huge baggage, akin to the okro soup scenario, should not be allowed to hang precariously on his neck.

He needs to work so hard to correct such an impression already created in some circles over his political behaviour.

My late mum used to tell me that the plan to kill someone is never hatched once.

Suffice it therefore to say that for Omu’s lips to drip what has recently fouled the environment, he must have been hatching the plan for years from within, taking advantage of his hitherto membership of the inner circle of the Uzodimma apostles to betray him. Did I hear you say enemy within? I think the onus is on Omu to deny he was an enemy within, not a spy and an Uzodimma hater.

Yes, the imperfections of man makes it imperative that Omu, like every mortal, can err. But given his age, social standing and academic attainments, does he need to be reminded about the dangers of deliberate incitement of the people against their government or their governor?  I thought the mark of leadership includes the ability of the so-called leaders to always err on the side of caution, be painstaking in doing things, be considerate, and above all, strive to lead by example? What type of leader does Omu want to be classified?  Or is he not one?

That Omu called the governor Anti- Christ, and insinuated incomprehensible tales is the apogee of pettiness and a deliberate ploy to make a jest of a man, who by all standards, has better understanding of Christianity and the Trinity as encapsulated in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit than he thinks he has.

Uzodimma, like Omu is mortal. But unlike the latter, the governor is one man who is not given to pretences. Omu cannot deny that Uzodimma has this unusual gift of meticulousness, focused, never ever confused or overwhelmed by situations regardless of the pressure, distractions and circumstances he finds himself. So, why conjure things to incite the public against the man?

Why have people like Omu failed to see through Uzodimma’s line of thought and his intention in government? How are they helping him to fulfil his promise to God, via a covenant, to serve Imo people sincerely and with commitment?

Why choose to label your boss via sabotage, betrayal, blackmail, threat, and distorted information by deliberately being a hellion? Absurd, isn’t it?

The tendency for people to be fixated in their beliefs that things must be done in a particular way beats the imagination of those with creative minds. Or do we not know that fixed beliefs reflect one’s only understanding of one’s place in the world?

 It is high time Omu thought deeply about what I call fixed beliefs syndrome which I am sure is ailing, not only him, but many a politicians in our dear State when matters of dispensation of political patronage and the hunger for pillage of the people’s common patrimony are involved.

Methinks the best way for one to predict one’s future behaviour is for one to peep into one’s past behaviour. Nothing says we cannot break the chain of the things that erred us in the past to restart our future. Nothing is late in doing if there is genuine zeal and repentance in us. As Carlos Castaneda, American anthropologist said, “we either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”

I think Omu is one of those who owe Uzodimma gratitude regardless of whether they are still part of those running the government today with him or not. As one who professes a pro-Christ, I expect that Omu should rather count his blessings and name them one by one instead of the recourse to the often lamentation that is in sync with one of the observations of the famous U.S. humourist, Samuel Langhorne Clemence (popularly called Mark Twain) who said, “I was seldom able to see an opportunity until it had seized to be one.”

Those who claim they mean well for our dear State should equally mean well for the man who is on the driving seat of the State and who wears the shoe and knows where it hurts. It amounts to callousness to deliberately plot to undermine the captain of the ship without taking into cognisance those on board the ship and it’s capsizing potential.

If the essence of politics is to cater to the needs of the people how then does undermining the man providing the leadership help the course of the people?

The situation of things today, nationally and globally, is too critical for reasonable fellows to compound things for either the leadership or the follower ship, and under any guise.

Hope Uzodimma has acquitted himself properly these four years and 10 months of being in charge of affairs in Imo State. He has demonstrated leadership despite all provocations and distractions and has proven what Anglo-Irish writer, and Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, Jonathan Swift has always said to be right, “vision is seeing what others don’t see.”

If anything, Uzodimma keeps projecting, unpretentiously, who he is and what he is, and that to me is what today’s Imo State requires. Like him or hate him, nothing will stop him from removing his eyes from what the future Imo State should look like.

Luckily enough, his style seems to align with the thinking of the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Dag Hammarskjold.

Hammarskjold once reasoned: “Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top. Then, you will see how low it is.”

Omu, please wise up.

Oguwike Nwachuku is Governor Uzodimma’s Chief Press Secretary/ Special Adviser