RECENTLY a fabricated story went viral on social and traditional media alleging that the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, was booed at a Town Hall forum organised by the Federal Ministry of Information in Enugu while trying to defend President Muhammadu Buhari’s alleged lopsided appointments. Now, who booed Ngige and why? Why not other ministers at the forum which included Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who is from Enugu or Minister for Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed who is the image maker of the Buhari government? This question underscores the purpose of the sponsored story against the personality of Ngige, a man who has never shied away from the truth and what he believes is right no matter the circumstances. There is no doubt that among the wailing Igbo political elites today who were majorly responsible for the political and economic woes of the South East zone in last the 16 years, Ngige stands shoulder high above them, with his unprecedented track record in political leadership and vision. Politically, Ngige has already carved a niche for himself and avoided bandwagonism like a plague. Ngige’s foray in Nigerian politics after an outstanding public service career spanned over a decade. It all began for him as a foundation member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 1998. Becoming the governor of Anambra State in 2003, Ngige redefined governance and leadership through his verifiable and unparalleled infrastructural development in the state. Even at the risk to his life, he dared the powers that be, and in the process liberated the state from the stronghold of the notorious political godfathers that have held the state down for years. That singular action of Ngige marked the beginning of a new, responsible and responsive leadership in the state and the rest of the country. After defecting from the PDP, he co-founded the defunct Action Congress, AC, in 2006 alongside the likes of Ashiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others. Ngige was not swayed to retrace his step by the lure of the locust years of the PDP led-government that benefitted majority of the South East PDP elites at expense of the rest of the Igbos. Instead, he remained steadfast, focused, patient and dogged, despite several efforts by these elites and their cohorts to pull him down by all means. To prove his popularity and acceptance in the South East, Ngige contested and won the Anambra Central zone senatorial election in 2011 on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria, defeating the candidate of the ruling APGA in the State, the late Prof. Dora Akunyili. His party also won five House of Assembly and one House of Representatives seats in the State to the surprise and disappointment of the PDP and APGA apologists in the zone. While in the Senate, he attracted infrastructural and manpower developments to his state and the zone in general.    Ahead of the 2015 polls, the South East PDP elites who lacked political sagacity to read the country’s political barometer and for their own selfish interests deceived the Igbos into voting for President Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP, against Muhammed Buhari and the APC. Ngige had fervently appealed to the Igbos to reconsider their stand and avoid putting all their eggs in one basket, because the odds favoured APC and Buhari. But nobody believed him, instead some sponsored and disgruntled Igbos called him all sort of names. Again, when these political jobbers and merchants who have continued to parade themselves as Igbo political leaders heard that APC has zoned the Senate president to the South East ahead of the elections and Ngige was the favourite, they deployed everything at their disposal to ensure that Ngige did not win re-election to the Senate. That was a typical Pull-Him-Down political practice that has held the Igbos down since 1999 till date. Immediately after the 2015 presidential poll, which was won by Buhari and the APC, it was dawned on the Igbos and their merchantile PDP leaders that they have misfired politically. These were the same leaders who have occupied all the positions in the PDP led-government for 16 years, won all the contracts, cornered all the funds meant for the zone without  tangible thing to point at as their achievements for the Igbos. But instead of keeping quiet and re-strategising for a better political alignment with the APC-led government to attract federal presence to the South East zone, one of the PDP leaders, who is also a ranking senator, boasted that Igbos have no regret voting for Jonathan and the PDP in the 2015 elections, stressing that if the opportunity comes again, Igbos would vote the same way. What a political gaffe.  As if that was not enough to show the South East zone’s belligerence to Buhari’s government from the onset, Nnamdi Kanu and his sponsors commenced the nefarious activities of the Independent People of Biafra, IPOB, all in a bid to distract the Buhari’s government. Not long after, it emerged that  the IPOB and the Niger-Delta Avengers are allies, a clear indication that they are working together to bring down the Buhari government by all means. Instead of the continued lamentations over alleged lopsided federal appointments by the Buhari government, the Igbos should ask their leaders who had been appointed and awarded contracts in the last 16 years of the PDP rule to account for their stewardships. This is the time for the Igbos to take stock and hold their leaders responsible, because they have always been the bane of progress in Igbo land. They have neither shown nor provided leadership for the people of the zone. Rather they have continued to exploit the gullibility of an average Igbo person using the Biafra sentiment. That is why the lamentations should be more on the terrible state of basic infrastructures in the zone, than federal appointments, considering that past appointees from the zone cornered public funds for their personal use without rendering account. Has any Igbo man asked who embezzled the Enugu-Onitsha road contract fund during the Jonathan  administration? What about the Enugu-Port Harcourt road and other federal roads across the South East zone that have become death traps. They are the same people who are today sponsoring media attacks on Ngige and the Buhari government. Their major motive is not about the well being of the Igbos or development of the zone, but for them to be appointed into government positions to continue with their looting spree. But unfortunately for them, they have met a brick wall in Buhari’s government because of its pragmatic and transparent style of governance that has made easy money difficult to come by these days. With  2019 fast approaching, I say enough of political deceit, self-aggrandisement, political jobbing, greed, vindictiveness and political differences the among Igbos. Once bitten, twice shy. A world is enough for the wise. Today is not too late for the Igbos to have a rethink, do away with their merchant leaders who have misled and held them down before now, support their genuine leaders and constructively engage Buhari’s government for the development of the zone. Igbos should not cry more than the bereaved now or throw away the baby and the bath again as it is becoming obvious that the Niger-Delta region, whose son was defeated in the last presidential election is already engaging the Buhari’s government for their betterment. Enough of political deceit, self-aggrandisement, political jobbing, greed, vindictiveness and political differences the among Igbos for 2019 is fast approaching. Once bitten, twice shy. A world is enough for the wise.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/08/igbos-ngige-and-the-buhari-government/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter

Cc Lalasticlala, Mynd44

tired of commenting

Okay

when you see a pay writer you will know them.

Orjioorji:
when you see a pay writer you will know them.

Must you guys taint everyone who isnt in support of your shared belief. She made a valid point and it stays that way. Those who cannot stomach it should throw themselves off the cliff.

Chiwude:
Must you guys taint everyone who isnt in support of your shared belief. She made a valid point and it stays that way. Those who cannot stomach it should throw themselves off the cliff.

Fall in line - and be a true Son, or fall out of line - and be banished!
Help me ask him o?! But be prepared to be called; a Yoruba Man!

How much the pay this ashi to write this trash?
Propaganda dead on arrival

Oasis007:






Fall in line - and be a true Son, or fall out of line - and be banished!
Help me ask him o?! But be prepared to be called; a Yoruba Man!

Coming from the same people who said any yoruba individual that votes for Jonathan is a bastard.
The likes of fayose and jimi agbaje have been rendered pesona non-grata in yorubaland bacause they do not woship thief,nubu
You and your buhari chanting yoruba hordes are not better.

Noted

Is it the same Ngige we all know or there is another?

Poor propaganda write up. We yoruba muslims can do better than this na. Ngozi and Ezeh are two of the most commonest Igbo names that can be conjured by my yoruba muslim brothers to write an anti-Igbo article in a bid to paint it as objective.

I was expected this type write up some days after the hall meeting. Though I think it came out later than i expected but You guys are getting predictable. Truth be told Ngige is not even in top 20 politician or elder spokesman in south east. I watch how he turned himself to non entity in the town hall meeting.