By Obinna Ndukwe in Owerri
■ Uzodinma’s infrastructural development is topnotch
■ Imo can’t afford another experiment in leadership
Following Governor Hope Uzodinma’s recent declaration that he would only support a successor capable of sustaining his administration’s achievements, respected elder statesman and foremost art curator, Chief Paddy Obinna, has thrown his weight behind one name: Dr. Ikedi Ohakim. Speaking from his Emekuku country home in Owerri North LGA, Obinna described Ohakim as the only man with the experience, temperament, and foresight needed to preserve and build on the governor’s transformative legacies.
“With the eye-popping socioeconomic and infrastructural developments Uzodinma has unleashed in Imo, it will take a man of courage, competence, and pedigree like Ohakim to sustain those legacies and even take Imo to the next level,” he said.
Obinna praised Uzodinma’s infrastructural strides, calling them “eye-popping” and a departure from the pattern of political sabotage and abandoned projects that had plagued the state since 1999. He argued that Imo cannot afford to return to the era of greenhorn experimentation in governance.
“Good legacies must not be destroyed or sacrificed at the altar of politics,” he warned. “Ohakim is the key to preserving these populist legacies. Imo is a complex state and needs a man with tested capacity.”
Why Ohakim?
Chief Obinna emphasised that Ohakim’s time away from office has not been idle.
“He has used these holiday periods to add to his knowledge, to upgrade himself, and he has garnered even more experience. Experience is the best teacher—and Ohakim now has it in abundance.”
He described Ohakim as a visionary team player who would approach succession with seriousness, rather than self-interest.
On the Owerri Zone Question
On the issue of zoning and the growing agitation within the Owerri zone for a shot at the governorship in 2027, Obinna struck a reflective tone.
“Owerri zone should allow Okigwe and
Ohakim to complete their second term, which was wrongly truncated in 2011, a mistake Owerri was instrumental in.”
He proposed a four-year transitional arrangement under Ohakim, after which Owerri zone could present a consensus candidate based on proper internal assessment.
Atonement for 2011
Obinna described the smear campaign surrounding the alleged flogging of a Catholic priest by Ohakim as “a fiction and destructive fabrication.”
“Ohakim was and still remains innocent,” he said. “The damage was done before the truth came out. As Catholics, we believe in confession and atonement. That is why we, the Obinnas, apologize publicly to Ohakim.”
He revealed that his brother, Archbishop Anthony Obinna, who led the Catholic Archdiocese at the time, later presented an award to Ohakim as a gesture of reconciliation. Similarly, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka, who had once condemned Ohakim in a widely circulated song, also publicly apologized.
Tinubu and the Bigger Picture
Shifting briefly to the national level, Obinna called on Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Tinubu, noting that he inherited a struggling economy.
“There is suffering, yes. But even in our homes, it is work before pleasure. Let’s not blame Tinubu for problems he didn’t create.”
He urged the President to ensure that those managing economic reforms are patriotic and warned against self-serving appointees.
