Elechi’s new marriage with APC and his misconception of democracy EMMA UZOR

IN what looked like the marriage of the snake to the monkey, Chief
Martin Nwanchor Elechi, the immediate past governor of Ebonyi state
entered into a late relationship with the All Progressives Congress,
APC. It was not just bad enough that the 76 year old man after
announcing his retirement from partisan politics made such suicidal
political move, it became worse that of all his trajectory speeches,
he chose to cast aspersion on the quality of leadership which he
brazenly denied the people of Ebonyi state during his unpopular reign.

Without coming personal on Elechi who is an elder, I would want to
take him one on one based on the issues he raised or was alleged to
have raised during his purported visit to the residence of the
national Chairman of APC alongside his co-travelers.

I don’t want to believe that Elechi actually said that there is no
democracy in Ebonyi state for obvious reasons which I know for sure
the old man either lacks knowledge of what democracy really is or that
age is telling on him, hence such fallacious claim. In his eight year
reign as emperor of Ebonyi state, Elechi never practiced democracy. He
was so autocratic that he messed up the peace move to end the Ezillo
and Ezza Ezilo war through his nakedly noxious pronouncements that
further escalated the war. Today, the crisis has been finally laid to
rest through dialogue and commitment to tenets of democracy. Thanks to
Governor David Umahi.

Elechi in various occasions had equated himself with God. One typical
example of his understanding of democracy was his charge on his newly
appointed commissioners where he said and I quote “I am the god who
brought you out of Egypt, only me you shall serve, for I am a jealous
god, you are forbidden from holding town hall meetings in your
respective communities” this statement above was made by same Elechi
at the Women Development Centre, Abakaliki in 2010 yet, he claims to
have practiced democracy. Haba!!!

With the above statement credited to Elechi, Nigerians should now know
between Elechi’s era and His Excellency, Chief David Umahi’s regime,
where democracy is domesticated, which one is better?

Apart from Elechi’s arrogance, he had lived like king Nebuchadnezzar
and had in so many places described himself as god. Another typical
example of Elechi’s arrogance and negative disposition to rule of law
and democracy was when he described himself as the Pontiff of Ebonyi
State and each time he made any autocratic statement or pronouncement,
he would say “the pontiff has spoken” in a democracy?

However, Chief Martin Elechi’s confetti of lies, malice and cheap
propaganda which he served the people during his visit to the APC
national chairman in Abuja and which he instructed his e-rats to
circulate on social media and published in some national dailies is
confirmed dead on arrival and could be simply put, statements born out
of envy and jealousy especially when he found out that Governor
Umahi’s achievements within two years in office has dwarfed his
abysmal eight years of reign of terror as governor.

His statement about democracy not being practiced in Ebonyi state
suddenly after he left office two years ago came as a tragic
disappointment on so many fronts. He failed to deliver on its core
mission of misleading the populace and branding a new era of political
fortune and achievements we enjoy in the state bad and bending the
minds of the people into believing that at his age, he cannot tell
lies.

The tragedy here therefore is that while Ebonyians are yet to forgive
Elechi for all his failures and tyranny while in office, he came out
of his retirement to stir the hornet nest thereby bringing the anger
of the people on himself for his inability to deliver democracy
dividends to the people of the state throughout his eight year tenure.

Now that Elechi’s tirade is a colossal failure as it failed to offer a
new insight into his failure to impose his brother-in-law on Ebonyi
state as governor in the last governorship election, his new found
love and possibly ploy to evade prosecution in the hands of the anti
graft agencies are all aimed at misleading the people and tarnishing
the image of the present administration under Chief David Umahi.

I have read his statements over and over again to know if there was
any concrete allegation of under-performance by Governor Umahi but I
didn’t see any. Thank God Elechi knows that Umahi has performed beyond
explanation within just two years. The only crime Umahi committed
according to Elechi was his anger over underdevelopment, doggedness
and his disposition to change the fortune of Ebonyi state for better
which was kept in darkness for eight years by his predecessor.

The infrastructural development and the fly over bridges that adorn
the landscape of Abakaliki, the beautification and construction of
internal roads across the state capital, construction of roads in all
the 13 local government areas and lighting of Abakaliki to meet
international standard and many other projects may have elicited this
envy but, one can just say, “Umahi” has done well.


It has to be said though, that it is deeply disappointing to note that
the only difference between Elechi’s current hate speech and
exhibition of jealousy from his earlier statement about the reason why
he left Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, a platform that offered him
opportunity to write his name in gold and join the league of founding
fathers which he misused is that his tireless efforts to blackmail the
transformational hardworking Governor Umaht by misleading the people
into believing that there is no democracy in Ebonyi state failed in
its entirety.

His statement on democracy in Ebonyi state is a tragic slip caused by
an unbridled ill will, jealousy and desperation to rake up bitterness
towards Umahi evident in the sadistic nature of his media attacks
which he sponsors alongside few elements in his new political party to
smear the image of the governor of Ebonyi state.

While it is still a wonder on whether the prolonged campaigns against
the developmental strides of Governor Umahi hasn’t run long enough,
Elechi took up the challenge and opened a rather pitiable pathway to
rancour and prejudice in his puerile statement where he allude that
the people of Ebonyi state were not given chance to choose whom their
leaders should be whereas Elechi at his age should have known when the
masses make their choice and stood by it.

That the Ebonyi of Ebonyi state rejected his imported godlike party,
LP and all attempts to foist his brother-in-law on the people as
governor should have been enough lesson on the elder statesman to know
that the people have their right to choose their leader through the
ballot and that they have done and they are indeed happy they did.

In fact, Elechi’s epistle on how and why he left PDP which brought him
out of retirement and revived his political fortune by giving him hope
when it seemed in his entire political life that all was lost is so
empty of meaning.

His seeming fixation with the blatant lie that his people have moved
to APC  as a result of lack of internal democracy could not fly
because even at the moment, almost 90 percent of his former aides are
back to the fold of PDP. Then one wonders which of his so called
people have moved to APC”

He did not say the obvious fact which is that Ndi Ebonyi and Nigerians
in general know that since inception of Governor Umahi, that the state
has become one of the fastest if not the fastest growing economy in
the country and has attained unprecedented height in development which
were hitherto lacking in Elechi’s eight year administration.

As if that was not enough, he quickly contradicted himself while
interacting with Chief John Oyegun when he said “PDP was the party
that brought me to power which I had great respect for and even more
so for the founding fathers”. It is now therefore very tragic to
believe that Elechi with his experience and age was speaking from the
both sides of his mouth.

Honestly, one does not begrudge Elechi’s new obsessions and
hero-worship for APC, a political party he once called, described and
still believes is a “Boko Haram party” but it is necessary to note
that his hate speech borne out of anger and envy especially having
been overwhelmed by the visible development in the state under Umahi
elicit profound pity from wise folks who shudder at how an elder
should chose to dance naked at the market square.

At this point, it may be fatal and labourous in asking him hard
questions on some of his wild allegations which rather indicate either
a knowledge gap or character deficiency as contained in his statement
when he went to seek political asylum in APC.

It is also not wise on the other hand to ignore his preposterous
allegations and claims that democracy lived with him and died after
his exit from office in the state especially when one remembers that
Elechi, a man from whom you would ordinarily expect a degree of
circumspection on issues of this nature gleefully levels charges after
brazen charges against his successor.

However, his claim that his brother-in-law whom he emptied the state
treasury to pursue his governorship ambition in Labour Party won the
election as governor of Ebonyi state even after all the legal actions
and blackmail against Governor Umahi failed offers us another insight
into his inconsistencies and lies from an old man of his standing.

He has unfortunately continued on his trajectory of lies when he
reeled out a whole barrage of it; claiming that Umahi has abandoned
all the projects he left in the state and has initiated new ones which
according to him do not have direct bearing on the masses but one
could be tempted to ask Elechi the condition of the only road that
leads to his own community in Echialike Ikwo which was constructed by
Governor Umahi even when he (Elechi) failed to build his own road
after eight years in office.

Again these claims are just plain ridiculous and undeserving of
serious scrutiny especially when he tried to blackmail Governor Umahi
with the claim that he sponsors petitions against him (Elechi) to the
EFCC whereas Governor Umahi has never thought of it but had in
different occasions told the people that though the state was
criminally cannibalized before he took over in May, 29, 2015, he had
no intention of probing his predecessor because of his age and would
not like to be part of his trouble but handed over everything to God.

Indeed, since he left his political office as governor two years ago,
his political relevance has continued to deteriorate and his new move
into APC serves no purpose since he was already going into political
oblivion. In the word of Thomas A Kemps, I quickly said that Elechi
does not know that as often as you out amongst men, you come back less
a man!

His case as a new bride in APC could be likened to the Igbo adage that
says odikaodi kpoba, odikaodi egolu meaning, when the bad seller
displays his wares, the bad buyer will buy. This illustration explains
the gains and pains of APC in Ebonyi state and what they think they
have gained in Elechi acquisition.

A political party that cannot put its house in order cannot be said to
be practicing democracy, that is the final word Elechi should take
seriously that before coming to launch campaign of calumny against
Governor David Umahi, he should first of all look at the sorry state
of APC in the state via the intractable factions and put it in order
before he can be said to have got moral rectitude to criticize.

In conclusion, one does not need anyone to remind him that his new
party is in labyrinth of crisis and cannot be taken serious by Ndi
Ebonyi who presently enjoying dividends of democracy from Governor
David Umahi. He needs to be reminded that Ebonyians will not be
deceived by him and his group of politicians with outdated ideologies.
Ends

EMMA UZOR writes from Abakaliki
Elechi’s new marriage with APC and his misconception of democracy EMMA UZOR Elechi’s new marriage with APC and his misconception of democracy EMMA UZOR Reviewed by Unknown on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Rating: 5

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