You Articulated Our Problems Better… Monday Ubani replies LP’s Aguocha On Ikwuano’s Enslavement Allegations
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By Charity Uwakwe
The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section of Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Monday Ubani (Esq.) has admitted to the alleged protracted enslavement and subjugation of the people of Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State by the Umuahia counterparts.
The prominent son of Ikwuano land reacted to the statement when the candidate of Labour Party, LP for Ikwuano/Federal Constituency in the forthcoming general election, High Chief Obi Aguocha, paid him a homage at his Awomukwu country home, to solicit his support and that of his kinsmen, to enable him thrive in the election.
Famousreporters.com gathered from reliable sources that the statement of the frontline candidate for the Federal House of Representatives has been raising dust among other prominent sons and daughters of the Council, who without hesitation took serious swipes to the statement which is according to them, a perceived derogation to the image of the Council and her illustrious sons and daughters.
Reacting to the statement, the proud son of Ikwuano stated unequivocally that the local government had over the years suffered from downright oppression, subjugation and victimization instigated by their Umuahia counterparts, which he regretted was evident in the absence of notable Government projects.
In his words:
“Chief Aguocha articulated our problem even better than an Ikwuano man. You have done a great work. You must analyse a problem first and foremost before stating what point you are coming from, to remedy the situation.
“You must understand the problem first of all before analysing it. Aguocha really understands the oppression, subjugation and the way we have been flattened on the ground by almost everyone overtime. But, I know it will not continue.
Speaking further, Barr. Ubani who was the chairman of the 2023 Socio- Economic Summit of Ahamefula Development Initiative Ikwuano (ADII), with the theme: Sustainable Economic Development For Ikwuano: A Road Map In the 21st Century said:
I was the chairman of the Summit yesterday and I told them that if we follow the steps I had outlined, we may get out of our problem. We’re in a quagmire as a local government. As you rightly pointed it out, what you said about no any viable project that has been undertaken by the State Government that has any economic value of up to N10m is true. No budget at all. And I asked them yesterday in the hall whether there was any particular infrastructure that affects all the four brothers in Ikwuano and the answer I got was no.
“The road network is the worst ever except for these ones now that some of the Oboro brothers like Emeka Atuma and Henry Ikoh have embarked on. The road network is as poor as anything even in Oboro. So, we can’t continue like this.
“I also told them that there are two ways through which we can develop our environments: one is private initiative which implies Community based strategies to develop our environments.
“Now, if I’m living as an abroad person, when I come home, I take a look at my Community and I say, with my little resources, in which area can I be of relevance to the people. Then, with that your little resource, you impact positively on your environment. That was how some rural areas like Abriba, Ohafia metamorphosed into small London where people go for tourism. For instance, light is gradually coming into my Umusoko Community still through that singular process.
“The second one is that Government does intervenes in building infrastructure.
“Now, the kind of Government that will do that is a responsible Government because it is individuals that make up the government. And the question is: which kind of representatives are you putting into governance? Who are you electing, either at the executive or Law making level, that will go there to represent you. Like if you don’t elect someone that is Community minded, he won’t do anything. We have had people who will be there for eight years, when they finish, the road to their village was not even graded. How can I be a Governor and the whole of this my village will not be tarred; Am I mad? Am I mentally deranged?
“I went to Okezie Ikpeazu’s village, the Governor of Abia State, in Obingwa. They said “this is his village. God knows what I’m saying. I went for a burial and was shocked that for eight years, the side of the road that leads to his village is not tarred. His own village! I saw it and I said God forbid! How can you do that? Why are people praising Ibori of Delta State? It is because Ibori changed Ogara. Ogara is now a small London. There’s no infrastructure that is not in Ogara and that’s why they keep on believing in him up until Jesus’ comes. The same thing with Akpabio. Do you know that Ikot-Ekpene is more developed than Umuahia?
The renowned Human Rights Lawyer, therefore, warned sternly the people against re-electing underperforming politicians in the area, reiterating that “if we can’t get people we can hold accountable, who will, after four years tell us, these are the things that I have attracted to my Community, to all the people I’m representing. If you can’t point out anything that is very very significant, then we have no right to re-elect that person. That’s what I’ve told them.
“And if you don’t fix this Ikot-Ekpene road, there’s no meaningful thing that can come to Ikwuano so we must fix it. They say Sam Onuigbo attracted it and I say thank you for attracting the project but you must see to the finishing it because under Obasanjo and President Jonathan, it was awarded and abandoned. So, we’re now in Buhari’s Government that will soon leave in May. So, it must be completed.”
On whom he would support vigorously to ensure their successes in the forthcoming general elections, Ubani said without mincing words that:
“Openly, I am identifying with Peter Obi and Alex Otti. I’ll vote for Peter Obi, for gubernatorial election in Abia, I’m going to cast my vote in favour of Alex Otti. My brother has just talked to me tonight and we’ll evaluate him; it’s very important, we’ll evaluate him and then make a pronouncement.
“I’ve seen him for the first time and like I told you, I’m impressed. For understanding what the problems are is a starting point because if you don’t understand what you are going there to do, you would not know what to do. But, he understands what the problems are and I’m impressed”, he added.
Earlier in his remarks at Ubani’s, the former President-General of Ohuhu Development Union, whose crusade has overtime remained a possible way to liberate Ikwuano from their “prolonged marginalization by the people of Umuahia” and make better the lots of the Constituents, wailed that none of the candidates who spoke at the second day of the summit outlined the fundamental issues bothering the area.
He said: “I listened attentively to the various candidates as they addressed the people during the Summit but no one addressed the fundamental issues as it pertains to Ndi Ikwuano but my own view is that this summit will help awaken Ndi Ikwuano to be conscious enough of their economic and political developments.
“On Political development, I personally observed that Ikwuano have been so dependent on Umuahia to the extent that it now looks like they’re mere Servants to the people of Umuahia when they have the likes of you and many others.
“Ikwuano had produced formidable men and women but when it comes to issues pertaining to the local government, it seems like they are on the run; looks like their tongues are twisted with a string. Well, who can speak to them when majority of them are domiciled in Umuahia? When they call for Ikwuano’s meeting, they converge in Umuahia? Obviously, the problem of Ndi Ikwuano is Ndi Ikwuano and then we of Umuahia contributed more immensely.
“I told them also at the Summit that we once had a local government called Ikwuano/Umuahia which was eventually split into three: Ikwuano has one while Umuahia has two. That same local government has five State Constituencies, Ikwuano has one while Umuahia has four; it has 32 INEC Wards, Ikwuano has just 10 whereas Umuahia has 22. That same local government also has six functional Commissioners, Ikwuano has one, Umuahia has five. And in the current Abia State budget, of 32 stipulated projects, Ikwuano has just five whereas has 27. And the list is on and on. No Ikwuano person can be anything politically without the influence of the people Umuahia. It’s Ndi ((the people of Umuahia) Umuahia that determine their political realities/destinies and they have so made it like that such that the people themselves are voiceless.”
Famousreporters.com reports that the Ogwumabiri Umuahia had, earlier at the second day of the Summit, decried the penurious state of the Council and its inhabitants, which he blamed on poor representation and the quest of her sister-community to deprive the people of their rights, which he lamented had left the community in abject poverty.
He, therefore, pleaded for the unalloyed support of the scholar and his people to enable him emerge as the next Federal Legislator, while promising to change the economic and political narrative of the people, through among other things, the creation of an additional Council, as well as making the people independent of their Umuahia counterparts.
