I am undaunted by the torrent of messages and requests I receive daily from those who want to know where I am at and what I do for a living. I know they are people I suspect to be sympathetic to Mr Victor. This post is therefore not made to honour their tiny quests to justify the money they receive by trying to get information about me and report it to their principal. It is intended to appreciate the well-meaning Igala sons and daughters in different communities, homes, statuses and positions who put the land first before their personal aspirations. It is also intended to appreciate Mr Victor Alewo Adoji for responding to the post I made of late, comparing the advantages inherent either in him or in Echocho. The appreciation becomes inevitable in the face of Mr Victor’s reductive treatment of the message about him without using material facts to justify his goodness. He especially proved beyond the finger of doubts that everything my post contained and presented about his lack of tangible records that could serve as testimony to present him fit for the position of senator was no lie.
No man lights a candle and hides it in a bushel and expects it to light the house. Mr Victor relieved me and confirmed to me and to the world that the issue of irresponsibility raised in the post against him and his impending political pursuit is real. If it were not so, what stopped him from laying side by side all that he had done in the past and where?
His response never named one thing he had done for either his community, elsewhere or for anybody. For the record, I want to assure Mr Adoji that the post then was not intended as a personality attack, or intended to besmirch his reputation or rock his political boat. Far from it! I hold no grudge against him, and my stance is not meant to soil his political career.
My quest is more of Kogi State than of personal pursuit. I would fight for him the same way if he had any achievement that justifies support. But as it is, he has no achievement and he will never get popular support. Not from me; not from any rational Igala We have, in Igala land, suffered more than enough on the political landscape, especially at the federal level, and we must take our destiny in our own hands this time, rueing any friendly support for a candidate that may bring to us another unforeseen disaster. Social formation and the good of all is my watchword here.
In his response to the post, Mr Adoji dismissed the post that revealed the fact that nobody had been employed, and no infrastructure was put in place by him as, “slurs, innuendos, blatant lies and insults” without providing evidence of work done or community helped to counter my revelation. Mr Victor further said of himself as,
“… a wonderful piece of God’s craftsmanship yet I’m a work-in-progress[sic] which is why I’m imperfect and still at the Porter’s mercy. Truth is, if you’re looking for an untainted, perfect, faultless and immaculate human being, look elsewhere.”
Nobody, and the post did not question Mr Victor’s perfection, and his failure to address, reveal or explain what he had done for his Okula/Alloma community or Igala land in the past, and what he had done for anyone confirmed that Mr Victor is not responsible enough to lead a political battle that can take Kogi East to a greater height. Charity begins at home. There is no evidence, I still maintain, to prove that Mr Victor has either a home or charity.
He made a claim in his response that his mission was,
… the exorcism of the evil of Inertia[sic] that has bedeviled us and it would be preposterous to assume the demon won’t fight back.
There is no evidence too to prove that Mr Victor has the wherewithal and the gumption to lead or to exorcise poverty and inertia from Igala land. ‘Exorcising inertia’ (that is, driving out the evil spirit of lack of progress) begins with his reconstruction of Okula/Allomaand Alobi/Okula roads; it begins with the repair of the dilapidated RCM Primary School, Okula; it begins with the sinking of borehole in Okula community to ease the people’s stress of going to Okula river to scoop untreated water; it begins with the employment of Okula/Alloma, Igala-Ogba District and Ofu youth. These will act as the testimony that Mr Victor is sage enough to carry out a constituency’s assignment. A Victor that cannot help his immediate, tiny community to me cannot help a larger constituency comprising many local government areas: Ankpa, Idah, Olamaboro, Ofu, Bassa, Igalamela/Odolu, Omala, etc. A candidate who intends to lead Igala land must have first built Igala land in one way or the other. It is a sheer pomp of wealth when we think money can secure us cheap victory. The decision of the people is always paramount.
Mr Victor equally lamentably said,
“We must Realize[sic] that if we stop to throw stones at every dog that backs[sic] at us we may not reach our destination. We shall allow the dogs have their say but we must be focused, resolute and determined to take the ship to safe harbor.”
It is unfortunate Mr Victor resorted to name-calling, taking the issue so personal. His intemperate language and his using religious allusion to curry sympathy is deceptive. I expected to see my would-be Senator roll out his resume of achievements: infrastructural, social and human development; I expected men and women that were blessed of him to indicate by showing their letters of appointment; I expected Mr Victor to disgrace my assertions and prove me wrong by showing a record of many material facts and achievements. His only insulation is the reduction of the revelation, using name-calling and biblical quotations, to paint a vitriolic picture.
While I do not question the place of destiny in the affairs men as Victor stated, I want to assure him that as long as the Igala people are politically mature and are well-informed in modern politics, and they know what they want in a candidate, no ‘strength of the pocket’ will ever make them sell their fortune for a morsel of food. Only a few gourmand will always be at his beck and call. Echocho still remains the preferred candidate for Igala land not because he has the money to give to anybody, but because he has a sterling antecedent that confirms that he will be responsible with the attraction of constituency projects and will be helpful to humanity.
– Odih Daniel N.,
Lord Lugard Road,
Lokoja.
Odih4sure@gmail.com
@odih4sure
