The Wolves Surrounded by One Good Man

Our lifestyle; the things we accommodate and tolerate make up our collective burden in the political landscape of the eastern region. The return to democratic rule from the military in 1999 came with a lot of suspicion and participatory apathy from the masses. Most sound minded, decent and people-oriented individuals were being begged to contest for positions in order to set our democracy right but a good number of these individuals turned those offers down for different reasons ranging from; (1) not being sure how sincere the military was in their promise to return power back to democratic rule after the reckless and callous June 12 experience. (2) Those that saw friends, relatives and loved ones suffer from deep financial difficulty after their political outing of running for office which was annulled by the military without any form of financial compensation. (3) The majority of the population were also suspicious of the military so they advised wards and relatives to stay away from the process to avoid had I known.

At that period of our history as a nation 419ners were loud and flamboyantly showcasing their illicit and ill-gotten wealth all over the country. In the eastern region their rise were gorilla-like; forceful, callous and in most quarters the people accommodated and celebrated them while those that frowned against their activities became their enemies and targets. At that period of our national governance baton change from military to civilian rule; they were mostly the people that had money to venture personally or sponsor their type. They also had the courage to overlook the suspiciousness of the military because they knew how to take advantage of opportunities amidst the risks that come with them. They ventured, got charge of the political vehicle and got it polluted as bad as they could from building structures, insincerely wooing people to run for office with just the remote intention of having their way into the individuals finances, to the do or die attitude to winning elections. They polluted the political space so badly; especially within the eastern region with Imo as worst hit; they brought their signature into the political structure of the region. The scars their participation brought on the people are still so evident as they indulge more in flamboyant lifestyle, public show of womanizing and partying with gross neglect of their legislative or executive responsibilities. Because we as a people have allowed these activities they have not left the system rather they call on their likes to join in the rape of our region as they desperately make way for them.

The genesis of our political burden has been the influx of 419ners into the political landscape of our region and state. Only if we can purge ourselves of these vices and their perpetrators through the power of our votes; only then will we breathe a refreshed air of political wholesomeness. Let us be smart and objective enough to see beyond the image laundry and emotional blanket charity spray activities. Let us look beyond the quick-gift benevolence they use to draw the unsuspecting masses to themselves. Let us be courageous enough to review their involvements of the past and dealings of today. Let us say no to 419ners and looters of our common wealth in our political environment.

In the brevity of one good man and the underestimation of the power of the wolves, overtime in our political landscape; the wolves have been surrounded by just one good man. In the sincere and objective evaluation of the vicious strength possessed by the wolves; one good man is not enough though may look okay and courageous in the subjective attitude of a people not ready to take responsibility of their collective wellness but still wishes that things should get better.

Just one good man is not enough to surround the wolves because he will bleed from all sides, become endangered and pressured to lose his voice. Over these years one good man has never been enough to fence out the wolves in our political space. So I call on an alliance of sound minded progressives to change the political misfortune of our state to practical fortunes for the development of the eastern region.