{"id":4573,"date":"2013-02-20T16:15:20","date_gmt":"2013-02-20T16:15:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/?p=4573"},"modified":"2013-02-20T16:15:20","modified_gmt":"2013-02-20T16:15:20","slug":"the-many-sins-of-rt-hon-benjamin-uwajumogu-yes-it-is-true","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/?p=4573","title":{"rendered":"THE MANY SINS OF RT. HON. BENJAMIN UWAJUMOGU ——- YES IT IS TRUE"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Throughout last week, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu, Speaker, Imo State
\nHouse of Assembly was the hottest news item. Owerri based newspapers
\nchurned out incredibly eye popping captions to try to depict\u00a0the mess
\nin which the lawmaker is in. One or two even elected to take up the
\nrole of the electoral umpire by declaring his seat vacant. It was
\nindeed, a hectic week for the press with regards to Uwajumogu
\nconundrum.
\nOne question that recurred in many quarters last week in the midst of
\nthe media bombardment was what is\/are the sins of this easy going
\ngentleman of a Speaker? What did this man do that should precipitate
\nthis kind of incalculable heat capable of melting even the hardest of
\nmen. Did Speaker Uwajumogu kill anybody? Did he steal billions of
\npensioners fund? What exactly did this man do that is so weighty and
\nabominable to warrant his extra-judicial \u201cpen execution\u201d
\nWell, the home truth is that the man did not do anything. He is a
\nvictim of political desperation, the fever of which spread round media
\nhouses in Owerri. And having caught the fever, most of them became
\ndiarealic and started vomiting and stooling uncontrollably.
\nNo doubt, this is a serious situation that requires urgent attention.
\nHow come members of the revered 4th Estate of the realm, the watchdog
\nof the society are now willfully abdicating their responsibility to
\nthe society? Instead of putting a little effort on investigative
\njournalism for accurate, balanced incisive and fair reportage many
\njournalists today indulge in what i call \u201chear and write\u201d rather than,
\nhear and ask and investigate. This ugly culture is slow and steadily
\nmaking nonsense of the age old ethics of the profession, the type that
\npreempted Franklin Roosevelt, one time President of the United States
\nto argue that,\u201d it is better society stays with the press rather than
\npolitician\u201d. For so long now, over one year to be exact, the Imo
\npolity has from time to time been awash with the issue of Imo
\nspeaker\u2019s so called defection to APGA. Which everybody knows is a
\nPolitical Gimmick designed by some members of the PDP cabal\u00a0 to
\npolitically put the speaker in check..These same leaders mobilized and
\nwent to court to seek redress, through Barr. COC AKAOLISA, the state
\nlegal\u00a0adviser of PDP at the federal high court Owerri
\nThe matter of course has been on-going and both sides I am sure have
\nbeen attending sittings and dishing out evidence and exhibits to
\nauthenticate their respective positions to the court. To the best of
\nmy knowledge, the court hearing this matter is yet to make formal,
\njudicial pronouncement. Again, am unaware if any date has been fixed
\nfor the judgment that may or may not bring an end to the issue at
\nstake.
\nIn saner climes and democracies, the mere fact of this matter still
\npending in the court of law presupposes that all parties must allow
\nthe rule of law take its course. In Nigeria, our own understanding and
\napplication of that hallowed principle is to the contrary. Nigerian
\npoliticians are always, arising from uncontrolled desperation want to
\ndrag the rule of law to the mud. They have a condemnable unquenchable
\npenchant for messing up the law. This to me is why the electorate
\nholds the view that our politicians are above the law. The politicians
\nare wittingly foisting a reign of impunity on the polity, oblivious of
\nthe fact that when its dare consequences cascade down a larger chunk
\nof\u00a0 it would hit then. If the PDP, INEC and other interested groups
\nfeel that speaker Uwajumogu left the PDP for APGA, then only the courts
\ncan answer their prayers. INEC and Prof. JEGA cannot answer them.
\nPresident Goodluck Jonathan and even the National Assembly are totally
\nhelpless on this. Like it is said, the court is the final arbiter on
\nthis matter, No more, no less.<\/p>\n

So, instead of dissipating energy, time and resources seeking backdoor
\nor short cut, these aggrieved parties should rather inundate the
\ncourts with water tight proofs. With this the court would now decide
\non whose side justice stands.<\/p>\n

But, I have an inkling that these desperadoes lacks convincing\u00a0 and
\nweighty
\nevidence that could tilt the pendulum to their side. Obviously, this
\nis the only explanation for the maddening frenzy about declaring the
\nseat of the speaker vacant. It is a do or die tango and all means fair
\nor foul must be explored and tried. After all, it is the end that
\njustifies the means.<\/p>\n

Anybody who takes a little time to ponder this macabre dance would end
\nup with just one impression. And that is that the huge lie and cry is
\nnothing but a maelstrom of desperation. Assuredly, it would one day
\ncalm down, coalesce and purer into nothingness like earlier storms
\nthat have arisen from the PDP against the person and
\noffice of Hon. Uwajumogu.<\/p>\n

Honestly, these desperadoes are indeed lucky. They are lucky because
\nthe man they want to nail by all means is a gentleman politician. He
\nbelongs to the class of the very rare but urgently needed breed of
\npoliticians that can rise above base politicking, which has,
\nunfortunately become our albatross in this nation.<\/p>\n

What is happening to speaker Uwajumogu never happened to his
\npredecessor but heads rolled like flowing water during his time. The
\ndictatorship was so bad and disgusting that even mere rumors and
\nsometimes, figments of imagination proved enough evidence to net out
\nharsh treatment on other House members.<\/p>\n

Uwajumogu is not that kind of leader. He believes that variety is the
\nspice of life. So, under him there is no kind of discrimination or
\ndivide and rule policy. What were sworn in are 27 lawmakers and of
\nevery given time the decisions and actions of the House must reflect
\nthis structure. This open door policy is at the root of the high level
\nof camaraderie existing amongst\u00a0 \u00a0 the lawmakers. It also explains why
\nalmost two years into their tenure no serious friction that could
\npolarize the house had occurred. No lawmaker has been subjected to the
\nindignities of physical manhandling or suspension. And to crown it all
\nthe speaker has said it for the umpteenth time that nobody would be
\npersecuted based on his political opinion or affiliation.<\/p>\n

Surely, this worthy style of leadership has brought stability and team
\nspirit to the House. Just last week members of the House took up space
\nin newspapers showing their support and loyalty in a vote of
\nconfidence for the Rt Honorable Speaker. Knowing the kind of dirty
\npolitics played here, the current war being waged against the speaker
\nwould have provided enough alibis for his colleagues to upstage him.
\nBut, as we saw last week they shunned that option. They chose to stick
\ntogether as one indissoluble entity thereby confounding their critics
\nand enemies.<\/p>\n

It needed to be pointed out that this love for the speaker has deep
\nrooted foundation. It never came overnight. Any regular visitor to the
\nparliament would have noticed the sorry state of that complex before
\nthis House came on board. Infact, the embarrassing dilapidation in and
\naround the complex informed the first motion moved by Hon Luke Chukwu
\nof Ohaji\\Egbema calling for the immediate renovation of the place to
\nmake it habitable for human beings.<\/p>\n

As a listening Speaker, Hon Uwajumogu promptly took up the challenge
\nand in less than one year posted some astounding results.
\nThe House chamber has not only undergone complete renovation but also
\na new executive chamber\\VIP Lounge has been added, boasting of state
\nof the art facilities and furniture.
\nOne Major positive side of this new addition is that it has opened the
\nlegislative space as any principal officer can how chair executive
\nsessions unlike in the past when the office of the Speaker served that
\npurpose. No doubt it made him the be-all and end-all and we were
\nliving witnesses to what transpired then.<\/p>\n

It would sound unbelievable but it\u2019s true that most lawmakers lacked
\noffices prior to\u00a0the current\u00a0leadership in the House. For the staff
\nand other categories of workers, the case was even most embarrassing.
\nDaily they milled around the corridors and walkways of the complex
\ncreating a scenario of a market in full swing. Today these manmade
\nproblems have become history as honourable members and their staff and
\naides can now boast of good offices.<\/p>\n

Above everything, Hon. Uwajumogu has instilled a reign of
\naccountability and transparency never before witnessed in the
\nlegislature. At the beginning of his leadership, I guess there were
\ninitial hiccups of gaining members confidence because many of them
\nnever knew his background very well. But, as time went on, the
\nconfidence and trust was won and the result is what we are seeing at
\nthe moment.<\/p>\n

These and many other innumerable good gestures at the Imo State House
\nof Assembly and okigwe zone are the sins of the\u00a0 Rt. Hon Speaker. That
\nis why the hounds are baying for his blood. From all indications, they
\nare in for a shocker as the man in the eye of the storm is poised to
\ncontinue on this path of bequeathing lasting legacy to posterity. YES,
\nIT IS TRUE<\/p>\n

Samuel Emeka Chukwunonye<\/p>\n

Imo State House of Assembly Correspondent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout last week, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Uwajumogu, Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly was the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-discourse"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","elegant-magazine-featured":"","elegant-magazine-medium":"","elegant-magazine-medium-small":"","elegant-magazine-thumbnail-small":""},"author_info":{"info":["Imo Trumpeta"]},"category_info":"AgwodInuju<\/a>","tag_info":"AgwodInuju","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4575,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4573\/revisions\/4575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}