Not In Defence Of Hope Uzodimma

Hope Uzodimma

The Supreme Court on January 14, 2019 nullified the election of Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Imo State Governor, declaring Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 9th, 2019 Gubernatorial Elections. 

The 7-man panel of Justices agreed in their judgement that Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha was not the duly elected Governor of Imo State. The case was the first for the class of 2019 Governors that the Supreme Court has nullified in respect of the removal of a sitting Governor. Emeka Ihedioha assumed office on May 29, 2019, in Owerri, Imo State and has served in the capacity of governor of Imo State for seven months. 

To say that many Imolites was disappointed about the decision of the apex Court is an understatement. For a long time the people of Imo State had looked forward to Ihedioha’s emergence as governor and for him to implement the lofty programmes he had been talking about for years. So his swearing in as governor on May 29, 2019 witnessed a swell of optimism that Imo would get it right under his administration having suffered impunity under the administration of Rochas Okorocha who had perfected the act of running government business like a family business. 

It is therefore understandable that a government installed on May 29 2019 that holds so much promise for Ndi Imo was thwarted by the Supreme Court. As hurt as many had felt and some are still feeling, the truth remains that Nigeria is a nation of laws. Many atimes we may disagree with the way judgement of courts went, but the judgement of Supreme Court in any country is what it is, the final verdict. After the Supreme Court the aggrieved could only take his petition to God. 

A judge of the American Supreme Court, Robert H Jackson, famously said of his court, “We are not final because we are infallible, but we are infallible only because we are final.” This is what our revered Supreme Court Justice, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa of blessed memory said about this, “We are final not because we are infallible; rather we are infallible because we are final.” If we agree that the Supreme Court verdict is final, we should therefore accept the beneficiary of the verdict. In the case of Imo State, those who voted for Hope Uzodimma and those that did not vote for him should join hands with him to stem the tide of violence enveloping the state and likely to spread to other states in the zone if left unattended to by all stakeholders. It was in apparent fear of the mayhem in Owerri spreading to Abia State that the state governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu proactively imposed curfew in the two major towns of the state; Umuahia the state capital, and Aba the commercial capital. 

I write because I have read a lot of comments on social media dismissing the Imo violence as a problem of the governor. Some seemed happy that it is happening in South East and in Imo State in particular because these people are yet to forgive Uzodimma for becoming governor, “through the back door.” Those who reason like that have failed to see the bigger picture. What the enemies of Ndigbo want is to create a ground for insurgency in South East. This is an existential challenge before Ndi Imo in particular and Ndigbo in general. 

This is not time to create division or dwell on existing divisions of political differences. It is time for all to come together to ensure that common sense prevails and peace restored in Imo State and beyond. Those who glamourize insurgency or promote violence, as the solution to the marginalization of Ndigbo should ask the people of the North East about the consequences of insurgency.