By Sir Ezekiel Madu
Last week, the good people of Enugu State, also known as Waawa Land, woke up to a shocking video of the senator-elect for Enugu North senatorial district, otherwise known as Nsukka zone, Chief Okey Ezea of the Labour Party, declaring war on his Nkanu brothers and sisters. He unequivocally proclaimed that the forthcoming governorship election *is* a “do-or-die game” for Nsukka zone against Nkanu land.
Ezea said: “The March 11th election is about Nsukka. It is a straight fight between Nsukka and Nkanu to know who is bigger than the other because Nkanu people want to turn us, the majority, to minority. So, you must prepare very well. You must make sure the directive goes round. This is about Nsukka. Young men, please, you must prepare yourselves very well. We are going into a war on March 11th and it is a do-or-die game”.
For those, who would be wondering how an election among candidates from Enugu East Senatorial District became a duel between the Nsukka and Nkanu people, the background to this is that while the constitution recognises three senatorial zones in Enugu State as others, namely; Enugu North, Enugu West and Enugu East, the likes of Ezea, Nnia Nwodo, and the rest of Nsukka irredentists brainwash their people into believing that Enugu State is made up of just two zones in reality. They are the old Enugu senatorial zone (comprising the present Enugu West and Enugu East senatorial zones with the exception of Isi-Uzo, which was carved into Enugu East zone ahead of the current democratic dispensation) and the old Nsukka senatorial zone (which comprised the present Enugu North, plus Isi-Uzo LGA) is one. Abakaliki zone used to be the third zone before the creation of Ebonyi State.
However, the charter of equity instituted by the founding fathers of the state has seen power seamlessly rotate among the three constitutionally senatorial zones, starting from Enugu East senatorial zone, predominated by Nkanu people, which produced Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani in 1999. Nnamani picked Sullivan Chime from Enugu West senatorial zone as his successor in 2007; probably because the first civilian governor of Enugu State, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, hails from Enugu North senatorial zone. Chime handed over to the incumbent, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi from Enugu North in 2015.
Ahead of the 2023 general election, it was a given that power would revert to Enugu East Senatorial zone, which started the first round of rotation in 1999. Although there were those like Senator Ike Ekweremadu (Awgu cultural zone of Enugu West), who argued that having gone round, the next round of power rotation could start from any senatorial zone, possibly with the exception of Enugu North zone, which currently occupies the Lion Building. But those who wanted a clockwise rotation with power reverting to Enugu East zone carried the day.
Meanwhile, to brighten their chances ahead of the PDP primary election, the traditional rulers of Enugu East senatorial district brokered a written pact signed by all the 16 or 17 aspirants from the zone wherein they covenanted to support any among them endorsed by Governor Ugwuanyi. By that written pact, the PDP primary election should have been a confirmation of a consensus. But Chijioke Edeoga, who hails from Isi-Uzo contested and lost to the governor’s preferred candidate, Dr. Peter Mbah 790 to 9 votes. But following Mbah’s overtures to him, Edeoga issued a personally signed statement on 8th June 2022 where he unambiguously endorsed Mbah.
It was at this point that the likes of Nnia Nwodo, who is more like his father-in-law stepped in to insist that the old Nsukka zone (that is the present Enugu North in addition to Isi-Uzo LGA) must produce the next governor; their argument being that the old Enugu senatorial zone (present Enugu East and Enugu West senatorial zones) had done 16 years vide Nnamani and Chime, hence the old Nsukka zone must do another eight years after Ugwuanyi to equalise it. And it is instructive note that, although Edeoga wanted the governorship seat which was zoned to Enugu East, he has always made it abundantly clear by his body language and strategic moves that he wanted it in order to exercise power on behalf of the old Nsukka zone. Even his choice of a deputy from Enugu West instead of Nsukka is an admission that he is an Nsukka man. Now Ezea has confirmed that Edeoga’s ticket is Nsukka’s ticket and that they needed another eight years to do their infrastructure.
It doesn’t matter to them that all the traditional rulers, leaders of thought across the political parties, etc. in Enugu East senatorial zone have adopted Peter Mbah as the zone’s sole candidate. It doesn’t matter to them that Udenu LGA where Ugwuanyi hails from was created out of Isi-Uzo LGA. And it certainly doesn’t matter to them that Chijioke Edeoga is Ugwuanyi’s first cousin.
They believe that might is right. They believe that with seven LGAs and a profound voting strength, they are in a position to dominate the governorship of the state against the dictates of equity, justice, and common sense. They are also emboldened by the fact that hey have strategically stoked the division in Nkanu land be entering into a pact by the Prof. Bath Nnaji-led Odenigbos, as they want to be called. Interestingly too, Prof. Nnaji was also a signatory to the 19th May 2022 Nike Lake pact among Enugu East senatorial zone governorship aspirants on the platform of the PDP.
However, the people of Nsukka must note that you don’t always have to do some things because you believe you have the power or resources to do so. In 2015, a combination of Ekweremadu and Chime could have probably denied Enugu North the governorship seat if they wanted. All Ekweremadu needed do was to relinquish the senatorial ticket to Sullivan Chime in exchange for the governorship seat. But he didn’t. Chime could also have traded the senatorial seat in exchange for the governorship seat. But he didn’t. Both men respected the principles of justice and equity. Thus, an incumbent governor, Sullivan Chime, went home empty-handed.
It is recalled that other parts of Enugu State respected Nsukka’s choice in Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, whom they presented to Chime, and he in turn adopted him and presented to Enugu people. Ugwuanyi recorded an unprecedented victory by securing 482,227 votes to defeat his closest rival, Chief Okey Ezea of the APC, who got 43,839 votes. In 2019, Enugu people gave Ugwuanyi 449,935 votes (95.54 per cent of valid votes cast) to defeat APC’s Senator Ayogu Eze, who polled 10,423 votes (2.21 per cent of the votes).
It is therefore a sad commentary on Enugu politics that some leaders of Nsukka are bent on destroying the table of equity on which the peace and prosperity of Enugu State stands. For preferring an Nkanu East man, they ensured Ugwuanyi was handed a humiliating defeat in the last senatorial election, even down to his poling booth. Notwithstanding that Nnamani ensured that power mmoved out of Nkanu land in 2007, even though he could have done otherwise, all hell is being let loose, we are being plunged into a “do-or-die game”, as Okey Ezea declared it, simply because its time for power to return to Nkanu land.
Just to grab power, Nnia Nwodo and Barth Nnaji have jointly reawakened a fading fault line in Nkanu land and small children are now hearing what they never heard; Nsukka man is now made to see his Nkanu brother as his enemy and vice versa; voices of reason in Nsukka are being harassed and intimidated into submission; and even the clergy have been drawn into the election battlefield, with most of them in Nsukka zone abandoning the oneness of the body of Christ and the universality of humanity to champion a clearly clannish agenda of a few Nsukka elites.
Unfortunately, it is given that a man, who feels unjustly treated will never be interested in peace. So, when all this toxic dust settles, one hopes that these Nsukka supremacists will still find fresh air to breath if and when they achieve their additional eight years for Nsukka. It is s one thing to win the war that Nsukka zone has declared on the rest of Enugu State, but it is yet another to win the peace.
Above all, we hope that the likes of Nnia Nwodo, Chief Okey Ezea, etc. and not excluding Bishop Igwebuike Onah (by commission or omission) will one day stand before their Maker, proud that they put a knife on the things that held us together as Ndi Waawa and now we are irredeemably falling apart.
I believe we still have elders in Nsukka and Enugu State. But why are elders sitting indolently at home while the she-goat suffers the pains of birth tied to a tether? Now is the time to speak up before some greedy power mongers break our table of equity and justice. And I pray that reason prevails.
Madu writes from Oji River, Enugu.
