Cornucopia on Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone: These too shall pass!

By Odogwu Emeka Odogwu

The Holy scripture stated: “There is a time to keep silent and a time to speak”, (Ecclesiastics 3:7).
For me the recent allegations against the administration of Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS were to say the least mere propaganda tools by lost souls in the university in cohort with estranged bed fellows. People who hitherto held the university community to the jugular with the belief that without them the system will come to a comatose. They distort information and spread malicious and unsubstantiated lies to the benefit of their partners in crime to rouse the system at their relish. Listen to them and be consoled but behind, they are to say the least disgusting. You can take this their double faced lies to the bank; because that’s exactly who they are: Chameleons!

Unizik as an institution shall be silent for now because the ungodly actions of some of the mischief makers shall yield nothing against their expectations. They are already a confused lot. They are trembling and defeated at institution’s studied silence aside clarifications made. These weren’t their expectations.

Henceforth, I encourage the university management to take possession of the land in accordance with Deut 1:6-8 because they have stayed long without action. I pray they advance, take these mindless propaganda against the numerous feats recorded by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone and his hardworking team in the university in the past two years as a wake up call to initiate actions on how best to pro actively showcase the dividends of his tenure in the institution so far before enemies of progress manipulate public perceptions.

The situation on hand is akin to one living by the seaside yet washes his hands with spittle. One is wants to ask why we have so many competent hands yet lack hands? It is worrisome that the office of the Director of Communication, Media, Protocol and Public Relations currently headed by a dynamic lady, Chika Eneh, is seemingly reluctant to showcase these laudable achievements. The office should be mobilized as previously obtainable to muster proper action and strength to meet public expectations. The office which is the engine house of publicity should be given desired empowerment to progress and excell in the performance of it’s functions. The appointed time has come for God’s mercy comes with favour even abundantly.

There is no doubt that those who lost out of power play are still feeling understandably aggrieved over their loss. It’s also not surprising that these fellows who are still licking their wounds could be mischievously destructive to achieve their clandestine motives.

I detest some behavioral tendencies of some who profess Christ yet could not behave like Christ. They pretend a lot. Even when they are responsible for lapses they shift blames and misdirect attention in a bid to score cheap ungodly goals for their selfish interests.

It’s saddening that those who profess Christianity rather than be their brothers keeper have turned wolves in sheep’s clothing desecrating the church. As a Christian by practice and faith, I become agitated when fellow Christians gang up against their fellow Christian anointed in a position of authority. Why this gang up against Prof Esimone’s tenure? Why is this wickedness in holy places, if I may ask?

That’s exactly what’s happening at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka now. Unfriendly friends have started fighting the establishment through the back door by spreading distorted information in their bid to malign the administration of Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS, the Vice Chancellor Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka. The erudite professor recently successfully marked two years in office.

But, as a Christian that he is, Prof Esimone should be encouraged by biblical injunction according to Ephesians 6:16 …..take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one'”. Now, that your enemies have woken from slumber , to distract you from actualizing your project 200 vision of making Unizik one of the best 200 in the world , the university should brace up to the challenge. Chika should pick up the gauntlet and mobilise her experienced team to action to checkmate the aggressors.

Needless praying for empowered consciousness to resist, stop and extinguish these satanic and demonic forces gathered against you, your reputation and that of the university because you are already under the supernatural hand of God. The time for action by all who share in the Vision 200 is now. Our collective efforts must be geared towards attaining the goals of the laudable goals. We must gather in all our elements particularly those who still believe in project 200 and yourself. We must unite not only to defeat, eliminate and obliterate their forces no matter how invisible they might be within our corridors but with flaming fire punches from our combined forces not necessarily as they taught but we know how to. This is because there is no other UNIZIK for us and our children but this we are watching them destroy for utopian reasons. Why now? No man is without sin, unless not human?

Those behind these negative, malicious and obliterating propaganda have seen that you and your team particularly the new blood injected into the system are battle ready to actualize most if not all your projections in line with your project 200. They did not only see that , they saw the stuff you are made of and what God deposited in you. The target is to influence , control, cripple and conquer the expected positive results which you have used these two years in the office to lay the foundation to flourish in the remaining three years.

Against all odds, focus on your vision for the university and start now to unfriend these unfriendly friends masquerading as supporters of your administration. You know them. I don’t! But they exist within and outside the corridors of your office. They rather paint others black yet the real black sheep in the flock go unnoticed for their scheming is super. God knows!

Remember, ‘ surely He shall cover thee with his feathers ,and under his wings shalt thou trust” Psalms 91:4 KJV)

Recently, one faceless character by name ‘ Buchi ‘ who claimed to be from Faculty of Education raised an alarm, calling on Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB to take action against Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka for scheduling exams on May 31st, 2021.

That character claimed the Vice Chancellor Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS scheduled exams in the university on May 31st ,2021, the day IPOB declared national sit at home in memory of heroes of the civil war in Igbo land.

Buchi who later claimed he was told by a student, accused the Vice Chancellor of playing with lives of students. I wonder what Buchi set to achieve with this spurious and malicious propaganda? If Buchi is a student, his interest should be to graduate not to create tension for postponment of his graduation along others. And if he was so concerned about the safety of students couldn’t he have communicated the information using a better channel?

But, going through the release by the University Image Maker , Chika Gladys Ene, the university time table was prepared earlier than January 4th, 2021. The university exams ended on Friday , May 28th, 2021. Though, some faculties like faculty of Education shifted their exams by a week or so but already did not schedule any exams on that day after Nnamdi Kanu shifted his sit at home from 29th to 31st to avoid any unforseen circumstances that could be blamed on anyone.

And the students embarked on holidays immediately till June 11th, 2021. New Academic session 2020/2021 begins on June 14th, 2021. So where is the opposition coming from. The time tables for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 had long been drafted before even the revised Academic calendar ratified on 26th May 2021 by Senate of the University.

As contained in a statement by Acting Head Public Relations, Mrs Ene, the revised Academic calendar was approved and ratified by senate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka on its 207th meeting of May 26th, 2021. Judging from the above, one wonders where the campaign of calumny against the adminstration of Prof Esimone came from.

Not long ago, another faceless individual in an audio clip that went viral claimed Prof Esimone wanted the students of faculty of Agriculture at Ifite Ogwari to be exposed to danger. That poorly presented audio clip laced with insults was the height of impunity by a student or staff against his or her boss, but the management swallowed it.
In his reaction to the mischievous viral audio clip, a senior academic staff from another University and an indigene of Ifite Ogwari, Anselem C. Nweke, dismissed it as a blackmail stunt against the person and office of Vice Chancellor Prof Charles Okechukwu Esimone FAS, the Dean and good people of Ifite Ogwari. According to him, the community which shared boundaries with Igbakwu, Omor, Umunbo ,Umueje and Omasi was peaceful and habitable. He reminded that Ifite Ogwari was not a forest as alleged and that the presence of Fulani Herdsmen in the community could only exist in the imagination of the author. He urged the Vice-Chancellor and his team not to be distracted.

Enemies of the university have continued to fire missiles aimed at distracting the onward march of the university to it’s Project 200. With other spurious wild allegations hauled at the great institution aimed at reducing its ranking and rating to the lowest ebb, one wonders what gives these enemies of progress the kick. But these must not be allowed to continue. The university must not bark at every passing shadow. This is time for a new normal in taking decisive approach to tackling these issues.

Cornucopia is a weekly column of Comrade Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, PhD, JP. Odogwu is a Conversationalist, Journalist, Editor and Blogger@ www.odogwublog.com

He can be reached@ [email protected] or phone number 08060750240