By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
If Christ tarries to come for the second term, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu will cease to be the governor of Abia State after May 29, 2023 when his two terns of eight years expires. Like the Magi(the wise men in Thomas Steams Elliot’s ” The Journey of the Magi”) the reign of Gov Ikpeazu these eight years have been characterized by multiple challenges, giving credence to the quote that”Uneasy Lies The Head that Wears The Crown”.
Like Magi still whose adventure to discover the birth location of Jesus Christ was characterized by very crucial experience which is aptly captured in the first two stanzas of the thusly” A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp ,,The very dead ifbtge winter, And the camels galled, sore footed refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There were times we regretted. The summer palaces and slopes, the terraces, Gov. Ikpeazu”s experience as the Governor of Abia State has not been paltable rather littered with hiccups.
It is a journey that has experienced several court verdicts aimed at truncating its reign. One of such was when Abians were treated to a round of shock l when Justice Okon Efreti Abang of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court delivered a judgment which ordered that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu vacates office on account of allegedly giving false information in the form submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission by the Peoples Democratic Party nominating the governor as the party’s candidate in the April 11, 2015 governorship election.
The judgment generated widespread controversy and like Glamis in Shakespeare “Macbeth” murdered sleep and shall sleep no more until justice is done. The judgment agitated minds in several quarters, especially prominent legal minds, and generated widespread criticisms. Just like the December 31, 2015 Appeal Court ruling on Abia Governorship election where over 300,000 voters were disenfranchised and Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s mandate which was initially upheld by a lower tribunal nullified.
One of the prominent issues which even formed the basis of the five- grounds appeal filed by the Governor Ikpeazu was who issued the tax certificates? The issue sought to address the following questions: Did the issuing authorities, Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services declared the certificates forged? Did the trial court invite the issuing authorities to give evidence in the course of the trial?
Another issue that begged for attention then was: Does the Federal High Court possess the jurisdiction to remove the governor. According to the Notice of Appeal: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office as the Governor of Abia State immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and swearing in of the appellant as the governor”.
It is a common knowledge that the tax of a public officer is under Pay As You Earn scheme where tax deductions are from the source of his monthly salary by the tax authorities who issued all the tax receipts and certificates. Also, Section 141 of the Electoral Act 2014 (as amended) stipulates that somebody cannot be declared winner when he did not participate in all stages of the election yet, the judgment in contravention of the said provision, declared the plaintiff, Dr. Sampson Uchechukwu Ogah, who no evidence was led participated in the 2015 Governorship Election in Abia State, winner.
These and other issues captured in the notice of appeal. Others such as the accusation that Justice Okon Abang violated the right to fair hearing of Ikpeazu by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him (Ikpeazu) the opportunity to address the court on the issue, are warming up for a crucial legal scrutiny when the fireworks begin at the appellate court.
Unfortunately, however, despite Gov. Ikpeazu’s victory in the above instances and other challenges that followed suit, the distractions have not ceased rather they are unleashed in torrents.
But what the detractors failed to understand was that those trials were indeed subjecting Governor Okezie Ikpeazu to a more refined leader, alike the quote by Haruki Murakami opines: “And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about”.
It it a tested theory that history is replete with disgruntled elements who oppose the good works of visionary leaders. No matter how noble the works are, there are bound to be men who will oppose it. But visionary leaders are not daunted by the antics of these men. They neither cave in to the American quote that ” if you cannot face the heat, leave the kitchen “.
The case of Nehemiah is a classical case. It will be recalled that Jerusalem came under serious sieges in 606, 597, and 586 B.C and was conquered and destroyed by the great Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar. The temple, palace, houses, and wall around the city were razed by fire. Many of the elite upper class of the Jewish people were taken captive to live in Babylon in 606 B.B, and most of the rest of the population were either killed or taken to Babylon in 597 and 586 B.C.
Nehemiah story had everything to do with his vision of a preferable future for his people and their beloved city of Jerusalem. Despite strong opposition he fulfilled the vision process, implementation, opposition, and completion.
Nehemiah was attached to the Persian court- he had been the king cupbearer. He was appointed governor of Judah and authorised to rebuild its fortifications. He demonstrated his organisational skills and had the walls of Jerusalem up in 52 days. He was greatly hampered by the opposition of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Tobiah, governor of Ammon. He divided his forces into two shifts- one to stand at arms, the other to build.
In the same vein, the laudable exploits of Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu have been strongly opposed by some elements who would not see any good thing in what the governor has done.No wonder, his exploits were so much endeared to the Men Ministry of the Assemblies of God, Ukaegbu Road, Aba, that they conferred him with the award of “Nehemiah of Abia” some time in the recent past. Gov.Ikpeazu is a Philosopher King as conferred on him by a Catholic clergy. Plato opined that a Philosopher king is a ruler who possesses both a love of knowledge, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life. Such are the rulers of his Utopian City, Kallipolis. For such a community to ever come into being, philosophers (must) become kings or those now called kings (must)genuinely and adequately philosophise (The Republic, 5.473d).
It is also a tested theory that leaders who propose to go far in life are not given to vengeance. Rather they resort to Martin Luther King Jnr’s quote “When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love”.
