GOD FORBID! CHIMAROKE CANNOT KILL ME

By Mazi Omife I. Omife
Mbuze Mbaukwu
[email protected]

I listened to Chimaroke Nnamani many times in recent times.

I like the former governor for one thing.

During his tenure as governor, he empowered so many young people.

Ike Ekweremadu
Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi
Ken Nnamani
Frank Nweke Jr.
Sullivan Chime
Peter Mbah
Dan Shere
Festus Uzor
USA Igweshi
Ment Nomeh
Offor Chukwuegbo
Max Ngene
Gil Nnaji
Ayogu Eze
Ben Alukwu
and many others.

After this, there is little else that excites or inspires me about the former governor.

In the early period of the current political dispensation, Nnamani perceived himself as the Lord and king of Enugu politics. And why not?

After his eight-year tenure in 2007, and a one-term tenure in the Senate from 2007 to 2011, and after his further attempts to return to the Senate in 2011 and 2015 failed, he went into self political exile to America where nobody knew what he was doing for a living.

That was how Sullivan Chime retired him from politics, just like Chimaroke retired his former godfather, Jim Nwobodo from Enugu politics in 2003.
The name Chimaroke Nnamani became virtually forgotten in Enugu politics.

Soon after one of his benefactors, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi became governor of Enugu State, the governor, who perceived Nnamani like Zk of Africa, plotted his return in Enugu politics and his restoration to his former throne as the King of Ebeano political dynasty as it used to be called.

The story had it that then governor of Enugu state Ugwuanyi not only bought a form for Senatorial election primaries for Chimaroke in absentia but also went ahead to hold senatorial primaries for Enugu East senatorial zone where Chimaroke was elected also in absentia and subsequently elected to the Senate.

So having received such royal & unprecedented political honour & privilege, Chimaroke now saw himself on top of the world and rightly, you might say, as the re-established king of Enugu and PDP politics which for all intents and purposes was centered on PDP as at then.

It was a similar scenario with former governor Theodore Orji in Abia State for whom then governor Orji Uzor Kalu bought governorship primaries form while the former was in detention, and was eventually elected governor while in the cell.

Thereafter, like Chimaroke in Enugu, Theodore Orji now saw himself as superior to every other politician in Abia State and grand commander of Abia politics.

Soon after Theodore was sworn-in as governor under PPA, he changed camp to APGA. Soon after he crossed carpet, he decamped to PDP. I do not know whether he has reconciled with Orji Uzor Kalu since then.

The same fate has happened to Gburugburu. At once Chimaroke became Senator again, he could not agree that any other person was greater than him, not even the governor and leader of the PDP in the State. Coupled with and perhaps emboldened by his newly customized grey hair and beard identity symbol, Chimaroke now saw himself as the father figure of Enugu politics. The governor says one thing, he says another thing.

Who can imagine that his party presented a presidential candidate of the party and Chimaroke, instead of supporting his party’s candidate, Atiku, chose to support the candidate of another party, Tinubu. This is something that other people could have secretly done, but Chimaroke did his own openly, to the extent that his name was listed among Tinubu’s campaign team.

It is on record that when Chimaroke was governor of Enugu State, Tinubu was governor of Lagos and both were members of Southern Governors Forum then. But even then, it is doubtful that Tinubu has as much regard for Chimaroke apparently as he Chimaroke has for him. If Tinubu had much regard for him, he couldn’t have lumped him among the over 400 members of his campaign team and among the very last names in the list, showing he was added as an afterthought, just to fill up the list. But this is by the way.

Actually, I did not want to write anything about Chimaroke and his recent politics which is not worth my time, if not for his post election jokes, which I enjoy so much.

First, he said it was Gburugburu who caused his failure in the election which made me laugh and laugh.

Chimaroke’s problem was that he did not know or understand that you can’t be a king and a king maker at the same time. His problem and the cause of his failure was that he sees himself as king of Enugu politics and overrated himself.

Two, Chiamroke said that Peter Obi has set the south east back politically. Why is it after he lost election that he is saying this?, that he became interested in Igbo political welfare? If he was truly concerned about Igbo political interest, why did he pitch camp with a Yoruba presidential candidate?

That Peter Obi has dragged Igbos back, I ask how.

When Zik contested for the presidency in 1979, he won three states out of 19 states for the NPP and used the three states to enter an accord with the ruling NPN from which so many benefits came to Igbos.

Awolowo throughout his life time operated within the confines of the West under the Action Group in the first republic and UPN in the second republic which he also used to secure many benefits for the Yorubas.

So what is the crime in Peter Obi contesting the presidency and winning in over 20 states for which he Chimaroke should applaud rather than impugn him.

That is why I don’t take Chimaroke serious any longer, except for his jokes. I see him now as a political joker and the only reason I will not stop reading his tweets because they make me happy and help to relax my nerves under the current social, economic and political tension in the country.

So for all his jokes, Chimaroke cannot kill me. He makes me happy.