By Eddie Onuzuruike
‘How sharper than a serpent’s tooth is it to have a thankless child.’ The above wise words from Shakespeare, a world acclaimed writer, whose works have infested the literary landscape like a virus, typified the interview granted by Stanley Ohajuruka on page 43 of Tuesday Sun, October 6th, 2015. The Sun according to one Alozie O. Chikatara on the Daily News Review, has no doubt become the hotbed of lies and calumny. The world and Abia people in particular are used to the sworn negative stance of the Sun in serially defaming the person of Senator T A Orji. It has equally become a sport of the Sun to shop for anybody who is ready to fabricate lies against Senator T A Orji, a man, who by all standards is the best thing to happen to Abia State in recent times.
The Daily Sun on Tuesday, Sept 22, 2015, page 44, featured a renegade PDP trustee member, Chief Apugo, whose fame in politics was chiefly characterized by thuggery, until Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, then a protégé, demystified him in NRC. He took the disparaging Tuesday interview slot, aimed at tarnishing Chief T A Orji with the many lies he told. It was a sham interview where some minions were portrayed to be soliciting Apugo’s intervention in their EFCC petition. They hardly knew that Apugo is an EFCC fugitive chased by a land grabbing case he is yet to clear.
Now Stanley Ohajuruka has taken the stand and we expect more of such blackmailing ragtags and political failures to be slated in the sham trials. Shamelessly, these black sheep are joining forces to fight the Lord’s anointed Chief T A Orji.
I pity them for so many reasons: if they do reason, they would have saved their strength as previous negative efforts have not stopped the political fortunes of T A Orji. Taking a deep survey of the claims of Ohajuruka, you will see boldly his desperation and contradictions, typical of an exercise done in a hurry. The big question is; why would someone who has publicly praised T A in the past turn around to curse him? Why would a constant beneficiary turn around and manufacture lies against a benefactor? Is it all for politics?
In the first place, Ohajuruka couldn’t have become a member of the house, having emerged from the school, a fresher in politics in 1999. Those who helped him to be nominated and subsequently elected regretted too soon as he viciously bit the fingers that fed him. When Orji Uzor Kalu was embattled with the then Abia House of Assembly, having got wind of an impeachment plot, he reacted promptly sponsoring counter impeachments and quick successions of speakers and the house functionaries from Nkem Ike, Enweremadu and others. It is public knowledge how a majority of the house members took refuge in Abuja, and the Fed House of Reps according to the constitutional provisions nearly took over the Abia Assembly.
It was Senator T A Orji, then Chief of Staff that guaranteed Stanley Ohajiruka to be an acceptable candidate as OUK was suspicious of all. Through out the tenure of Orji Kalu as the Governor of Abia State, he did not trust anybody to act on his behalf during his frequent shuttles in and out of Nigeria. His endless frosty relationship with his deputies from Abaribe, Nwafor and others is a story for another day but undeniably, it was Senator T A Orji who surpassed all records of endurance and steadfastness in service for 8 uninterrupted years, guiding the green horn on policy matters. It was the same man of history that put a word for Ohajuruka to be allowed to act in Kalu’s era. Let Ohajuruka be reminded whenever he spawns his CV as onetime acting governor of Abia that it was T A who single handedly made it possible.
This unsurpassed big brother protection of Ochendo on Ohajuruka did not end there until T A Orji engineered Ohajuruka to be the candidate and Rep of House of Reps under PPA.
Came 2011, Ohajuruka had the gumption to contest for governorship against incumbent T A Orji. This affront, though guaranteed by the constitution initially was on the platform of PPA but took a funny twist that got Ohajuruka scampering to Labour Party overnight. It is only Ohajuruka who can tell the world why he skedaddled from PPA by night to Labour party. Today, sharper than the serpent’s tongue, as Shakespeare said, Stanley has gone into alliance with the Sun whose patron, put Ohajurukka on a night flight and he has taken the liberty to cast aspersion on Chief T A Orji.
Now for the records, Stanley has made himself a big liar by denying that there are no legacy projects in Abia. Stanley’s words cannot be more authentic than those of Mr. Labaran Maku, Dr. Onyebuchi Chukwu- former Ministers. The present Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamindo Sanusi witnessed the Legacy projects when he came to Abia to give a lecture and declared one of the youth projects open. Stanley cannot rub shoulders with Garba Muhamed, erstwhile NUJ president, Yemi Bamgbose, the RATTAWO boss, Nkechi Chukwu Okemiri of the NCWC, all who came to Abia and witnessed the wonders under the auspices of The Good Governance Tour of 2013. His tiny mendacious voice cannot drown the voices of teeming Nigerian journalists who wrote what they saw in many of their visits to Abia. I can proudly mention that media and political oracles like Dele Sobowale, Ikeddy isiguzo, Steve Osuji of the Daily Nation, public opinion impresarios like Femi Fani-Kayode witnessed and
testified, so what is the opinion of Ohajiruka worth as he had failed in all electoral contests that were not nudged by the benefactor he is now denying?
I have nothing but pity for such a person who despite T A’s supportive fingers and continuous shielding has the boldness to credit some road construction works done by Ochendo to OUK. If only for the above, Stanley is invoking the curses of the gods of the founding fathers on his head because no governor be it military or democratically elected elevated the social, educational economic and political landscape of Abia like T A Orji did.
Good a thing, the legacy projects are on ground and could easily be located on the map of Abia State and will continuously be chronicled by historians.
Among these, the e-library, twin tower secretariat, International Conference Centre, new Government House are few examples. There are numerous schools, some newly built and others renovated. The free education and free busing for the 8 years of Ochendo would not impress Stanley but there are living beneficiaries, especially the students who enjoyed this for the six years they were in school. Oh piteous Stanley! He admits that there is a 50 % completed Government House, but denies the ubiquitous legacy projects. Ohajuruka disdained our hospitals, forgetting that the internationally modeled Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Center that attracts people from neighboring states is just a stone throw from his Afara family house.
Boasting about the new influx into APC tells one story- that the APC in Abia State going by the last election couldn’t muster any votes as they came a distant 3rd yet Ohajiruka, Onyemobi, lkechi Emenike and redundant Apugo were in the party and could not lift it by one inch of votes.
Now the likes of Adighije, Tony Ukasanya, Nkechi Nwaogu and others with due respect are former PDP members. It only suggests that APC cannot make it in Abia without recruiting from PDP. Shocking enough, all these political drifters have received one favour or the other from Ochendo. There is God oh! Let any of them deny this.
I urge these allied forces of political renegades to take some introspection in all their negative efforts.
Ochendo governed Abia for 8 solid years and despite the multiplicity of court cases distracting him, he led a resounding and long lasting peace process that united Abia PDP and led them to a successful political outings. For six years he triumphed over the calumny of the Sun and other hideous, clandestine groups and now in the senate with a popular mandate of Abia Central Senatorial District. Do they need a heavenly voice to call them to order? T A is atop the political Iroko tree and cannot be perturbed by hooting from idlers that neither have any phonetic value or acoustic effect.
The hand of God is on Ochendo and no human has been known to bring down the hand of God once lifted.