The elections held over six months ago, but ugly abusive culture of mob attack deployed by certain folks during the elections are getting difficult for my people to shed off. At times like this, silence becomes acquiescence. The unrestrained, mostly unjustifiable mob attack of insulting anyone with contrary political views, associated with the past election, is dangerous, unhealthy and unhelpful. Hurling insults on highly respected clerics for no other reason that they called for respect and support for our political leaders, will isolate my region and make it difficult for us to find allies in our hour of need.
Great man of God presently ruthlessly pilloried by my people, does not deserve the insults rained on him for standing on God’s word that we should respect and pray for our leaders. This new age 2022/2023 culture of descending on anyone with contrary views, is strange and not Igbo. We are frightening other Nigerians, we are unwittingly suggesting that we are desperate for power. We didn’t insult, attack and abuse Shagari when he defeated the great Zik in 1979. Neither did we rain ceaseless invective on Obasanjo when he was announced winner of the 1999 elections. This unrestrained mob attack on compatriots with different political views, will not take us to Aso rock. Nobody ever acquired political power by raining insults on those with opposing political views. Rather, you only make it difficult to earn their trust and support when you need them.
Alliances are needful. Respect for other’s views are important. Sounding desperate for power and disrespectful to others, frightens fellow citizens. We are only sadly establishing a terrible image of our selves, image of a desperate horde of desperadoes, unmindful of other people’s feelings. That’s not who we are. 2022/2023 election season cannot redefine us from the hardworking patriotic Ndigbo who reside and develop everywhere getting along with other Nigerians, sadly transforming us suddenly into abusive monsters, attacking fellow citizens whose only crime is preference for other candidates.
We could be digging our political grave. We need the support of others to succeed. It is wrong to make ourselves reprehensible by terrorizing and intimidating others into submission that our political choices are the only choice available. We need to retrace our steps, if not, we’ll be hurting our tomorrow and giving others reason to gang up against us tomorrow. We should rather redirect this fearsome misplaced energy, towards addressing sickening appalling and atrocious inanities disfiguring our once admirable region. Such as spiritual immorality, shameful sinfulness and satanic wickedness such as teenage mediums reigning as overlords teaching our youth that education and hardwork do not pay, rather that fetish rituals will turn any one into an instant billionaire as the way to go. Destroying the future of the region.
We should urgently save these lost souls by redirecting them from the pervasive ignorance since our political leaders by their silence seem to suggest that they themselves could be secret patrons of these later day emergency spiritualists. We must also redirect our energy towards insisting that the right thing be done in politically healing our bleeding region.
What is the right thing: That we should stand up as one and present the truth:
A: That the thick smoke covering our region cannot be removed by importing helicopters to spray water in the sky to chase away the black smoke covering our region for 24 years.
B: That searching out the burning coal and lit firewood responsible for the thick smoke choking us to death and quenching the raging flame of fire responsible for the black smoke enveloping our region, will release our land quicker from the ongoing misery destroying our region.
C: That the minute we identify and put out the source of the fire, the blanket of smoke will dissipate and we’ll breathe fresh air again. Addressing the problem from the root will heal the land. The right solution to the agitation threatening our region is addressing the foundation as opposed to the fall-outs.
D: Why do millions of young folks seem to loose faith in their country and dream of a separate country?
Have we tried true federalism, power devolution, infrastructural development of the region and demanding to see the list of grievances driving the agitation? We will do better, addressing our own regional challenges from the root, instead of insulting and abusing other Nigerians with different views.
Evangelist Elliot Ugochukwu-Uko Founder: Igbo Youth Movement (IYM)Secretary: Eastern Consultative Assembly (ECA)Deputy Secretary:Igbo Leaders of Thought (ILT)
