Gov Ikpeazu and JOK, (r)


I know and work with Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, PhD, and believe that I am probably among those that know most of what he did and why he did them.  I can testify to his strengths and weaknesses as a leader while also understanding the array of forces against him from May 29th 2015 to date and how he navigates them. 


Governor Ikpeazu is not perfect as a leader or human being but personally when I add and subtract everything about him I feel very proud to call him my Oga. He will always be my Oga no matter what you say or do because you can’t change what I witnessed first hand and internalized. 


Indeed, I  know that his “personal imperfections” may have cost him the elections because he won’t do what others do to win even when his personal interest is threatened. Ikpeazu will never be wicked to achieve any good objective. He defines his own standard and follows through even when it makes some of us uncomfortable, at first at least . 


Many times we are disappointed and angry that he didn’t do things one way or another but once we give ourselves the time to think,  we will see the purity of purpose and humanity in him. Even when it seemingly hurts the overall political objective. 


As his then commissioner for information I recall facing pressure to ensure that his projects are not claimed by his opponents as they were already doing , and even more will still do with time, and I went to him to present a simple proposal to erect two units of 20 x 10 billboards at two ends of his road projects and clearly mark them as his administration’s work. Those in the advertisement industry will know how much it costs to erect new 20x10 boards with appropriate prints. So we calculated all his road projects, then at about 146, multipled by the unit cost of each board multiplied by two to get a figure. 


The Governor who was with the calculator looked up and said “JOK this money will do one more kilometer of road in Umuahia and we will have change. Let the people enjoy the roads and later we talk about who did what,  after all God knows who did it and as long as Abians can use the roads I am happy”


That was the end of that media project until I left the ministry of information but obviously not the end of IKPEAZU’S projects. 


In the coming days,  I will volunteer some videos including interviews with Governor Ikpeazu as well as pictures and videos of his projects known to me. All I need from all Abians, especially those living or regularly visiting our dear state before and after 2015, will be to confirm if there is any captured project Governor Ikpeazu did not do wholly or at least in reasonable part. 


After the good people of Abia State have verified (as Peter Obi will insist) and confirmed the captured projects I will continue this note on the real Governor Ikpeazu I know. But not before I also release the full list of all Ikpeazu projects known to me across the 17 LGAs of Abia State for further independent verification. Prepare for shock and awe!!!


I understand what Gustavo Le Bon meant when he said that “The masses have never thirsted after truth. They turn aside from evidence that is not to their taste, preferring to deify error... Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim." 


So , i expect the real and sponsored attacks but I personally feel a duty to place the truth I know before the masses and allow them to decide one way or another. 


Nobody should feel bad about my sharing what I know hence nobody should also question my right to do so unless the person is afraid of the truth. 


Governor Ikpeazu is not the best Governor in the world so I pray his successor will do much more than him, including bringing JB to fix as much Abia roads as possible, but I Nwandugbom John Okiyi Kalu remain convinced that Governor Ikpeazu has positively changed the narrative of Abia State all round. His successor should not and must not fail as he only need to build on IKPEAZU’S efforts to take us higher. 


Even the fact that elections held peacefully in 2023 and a winner emerged speaks to one of the intangible legacies of Ikpeazu that might be difficult to replicate in future because people now see “do or die” as the preferred route to electoral success. 


-TO BE CONTINUED 


-Nwandugbom JOK