By Val Igwebuike
The recent and still ongoing Political skirmishes between former governor Rochas Okorocha and the incubent governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State did not come as a surprise to many Political actors in the state. The unguided and shameless fray was long expected. From the opinions of many Political events watchers and public affairs analysts, the long awaited spat didn't come from the angle initially anticipated.
Clever observers of Political rigmaroles in Imo state believed that the immediate cause of the current fight as tactically portrayed was a mere camouflage. It was a hard product to sell to the members of the public as to why the ordorus noise was made by the two respected gubernatorial Personalities in the Eastern Heartland.
The open confrontation and physical combat in the estate of the former Imo State first lady, Nneoma NKECHI Okorocha was a carefully orchestrated plan to distract the attention of Imolites from getting to know the true account of the story.
From a critically authentic source, the main reason for the whole brouhaha in the state has got nothing to do with the good of Imo State and the welfare of her citizens.
The major cause of the entire Political altercations in the state is believed to be powered by undercurrents from some powerful Political individuals outside the South East Political enclave. The desperate Political disposition of the fulani Political hegemony to still retain the presidential powers, and the conspicuous and unpretentious ambition of the Tinubu Yorubas to take over Nigeria's biggest Political seat in Aso Rock come 2023, is the inarguable cause of the war between the Rochas men and the Uzodinma camp.
Respected Igbo Political affairs analysts in the state all agree that both the northern Political gladiators and their South West counterparts fear, the persistence clamour for Igbo presidency in 2023 may jeopardize their chances to actualize their personal presidential ambitions. Neither the fulani Political hegemony fronting Rochas nor the Tinubu Yorubas using Uzodinma wish for the ACTUALISATION of a President of Igbo extraction in Nigeria.
The trouble didn't start recently, but only manifested recently. The political intrigues and intricacies at the federal level, and the ever changing Political romance between the fulani Political gladiators and the politicians In the South East was the potent factor that necessitated the not meticulously articulated fight on the side of the incubent governor, Hope Uzodinma.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the unseen man, behind the current Imo Political fued, had thought his clandestine antics to disorganise the Igbo sociocultural leadership for his presidential ambition did not yield expected result. And seeing Rochas as the man doing everything possible to mend the falling walls of Ohanaeze Ndigbo sociocultural leadership, decided to continue the fight through Hope Uzodinma, his Political eye in the South East. To deflate the widening balloon of Okorocha's presidential support base in the country, so as to position himself as the biggest presidential Personality from the Southern Nigeria, Tinubu decided to harvest his seeds from the political farms of Uzodinma as benefits of his investment in Uzodinma's gubernatorial ambition success.
To actualize the above target for Tinubu, Governor Hope Uzodinma chose the option of using Okorocha's known weak point to attract the public sympathy and support to deal with the former governor. In Imo state, it is a well established public knowledge that the former governor's greed for land ownership is to a superlative degree.
During his time as Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha was notorious for using the state's gubernatorial authority to covert People's and state government's landed property to himself. There were many land disputes and court cases as a result of his rapacious quest for land grabbing.
Gov Hope and his men saw that area of public interest against the former governor as the best pathway to reducing his Political clout and possibly scuttle the chances of actualising his presidential ambition.
According to these Political permutations observers, the camp of Uzodinma, who are jealously protecting the presidential ambition of Tinubu in the South East, were grossly infuriated by Rochas' visible capacity to challenge and prevent the free realisation of Prof George Obiozor's lifetime ambition to be the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo from Imo State.
Knowing Prof George Obiozor as the right-hand man of incubent governor Hope Uzodinma, and fearing that his emergence as Ohanaeze President General may tamper with his presidential dream, Sen. Rochas Okorocha aided in the establishment of a formidable faction that formed a parallel Leadership in the Igbo Apex sociocultural organization. That formidable and vibrant factional leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is headed by a young technocrat, Engr Chidi Ibe.
That was the last sin of Rochas Okorocha that broke the camel's back. His perceived involvement in the creation of parallel Leadership to challenge the sociocultural authority of Prof George Obiozor was the remote cause of the spat in the estate on Akachi road. It was surreptitiously orchestrated to hide the roles of powerful influence from the north west and south west geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
Of course, the northern Political friends and associates of Sen. Rochas Okorocha didn't live the delicate situation unchallenged. Their retaliation was the EFCC going after the properties of the Jagaban in Lagos State. The immediate reaction from the political bigwigs in the north, who are strong supporters and protectors of Rochas' Political strategies checkmating the entire south brought the power equirunbrum that halted the malady in the interim.
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