The Holy Book particularly enjoined Christians to be wary of those who have mud in their eyes but are very much worried about the speck in their neighbours’ retina. This category of people, the Bible noted, are wolves in sheep’s clothes. They are the hypocrites represented by the Sadducees and Pharisees.
These were the people who made laws but never kept them. They decreed ordinances but never observed them. Most of them were the rulers of their time and task collectors of their respective generations.
Since the biblical days till now, there have been many hypocrites in various forms and dimensions. Some of them are military leaders who came to power through the barrel of gun rather than the ballot box. There are also civilians, the politicians, who after canvassing for the people’s mandate, will go to public offices to entrench illegality, oppression, injustice and disorder.
In Imo State, one man that has so far been moulded into a tragic image is certainly Hon. Ambassador Uche Ogbuagu, representing Ikeduru State Constituency in the Imo State House of Assembly. For a recap, Ogbuagu, an accomplished and renowned comedian, got appointment into the administration of then Governor Rochas Okorocha administration. He promoted Okorocha’s government and described it as a people’s oriented government. However, the romance did not last the distance. Ogbuagu resigned and pitched his tent with the masses that viewed Okorocha’s administration as evil, anti – people and undemocratic.
It was within that period Ogbuagu, released his popular K’opuo hit track that shook the entire Imo State. It was a satire that really came in a form of poetic dirge. In a graphic but sonorous tune, Ogbuagu systematically rendered all the ills that crept into the Okorocha’s administration and made the once popular government very unpopular. It was very close to the 2015 general elections and Imolites were unhappy with their governor, Okorocha, who had dumped APGA, believed to be an Igbo party, for APC, then regarded as Hausa/ Fulani and Yoruba party. With that, Ogbuagu was the true face of freedom struggle in Imo. His name was synonymous with democracy reforms and K’opua became the slogan, the anthem for all opposition parties in Imo against Okorocha in 2015. It almost led to Okorocha’s defeat but he survived it.
Following the encomiums that poured in at the instance of K’opuo, Ogbuagu thereafter dreamed of throwing his cap into the political ring. Almost immediately, he started identifying with PDP. He became the songwriter of PDP. He sang the party’s praises and promoted its bearings, even when and where it did wrong. It was not long before Ogbuagu, using his My Radio as a spring board, played himself into full bloom political activism, condemning and tearing into shreds almost all what Okorocha was doing as a governor. Many believed him. And so, with huge support from Rt Hon. Emeka Ihedioha who had emerged as the PDP governorship candidate in Imo State, he picked the PDP’s ticket for Ikeduru State Constituency, beating the equally popular Sweet Apple and who was backed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu, Samdaddy. He easily won the election proper, defeating APGA and APC oppositions.
Even while he was still in PDP, Ogbuagu made fuss about bad roads, particularly Ekemele. He questioned why refuse dumps should overtake the state. Ogbuagu wanted to know why the payment of pensioners was delayed in the name of verification. As a matter of fact, Ogbuagu queried everything Ihedioha did. It was surprising. Most people were shocked. An investigation revealed that Ogbuagu had schemed to be the deputy speaker of Imo House of Assembly. His case was presented to the floor of the house by those he approached for that purpose.
However, his fellow house members refused. From that moment, he went against Ihedioha and PDP.
Meanwhile, on January 14, the supreme court sacked Ihedioha. Without thinking twice, Ogbuagu, alongside others, jumped over to APC. And this is at the root of the matter. Ever since Ogbuagu joined APC, he has lost his voice. He does not see anything wrong with pensioners not being paid. He says nothing again about the terrible state of roads in Imo even as Ekemele is now in worse state. Ogbuagu is now blind to all the disturbing loans, running into multiple billions of naira, that the Governor Hope Uzodimma is taking from banks and other financial institutions. It is quite alarming.
Ogbuagu, like the Bible Sadducees and Pharisees, has mud in his eyes but, without seeing clearly, he wants to remove the speck in his neighbour’s eyes. This is where he is getting it wrongly. Ogbaugu is among the Imo politicians who climbed to positions riding on the back of the masses. The moment they get to the top, they remove the ladder. Ogbuagu, the once popular voice of the masses is now dumb. Why? It is simple. He has compromised. And it is a betrayal of a people’s trust. Most Imo youth had believed in him. They thought he was their Man Friday. They took him as their new face, at least he is not yet 50. Imo youths thought they had found a John F. Kennedy, “that the torch has been passed to a new generation”, born not up to 50 years ago, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter anti Igbo sentiments, proud of being Igbo, and Imo in particular, and unwilling to accept anything but progress, performance and uprightness. But Ogbuagu, like many other Imo politicians, betrayed this trust and confidence. It is sad.
It’s mud in the eyes of the bad condition promoter.
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