Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, being removed as the Executive Governor of Imo State when he least expected it and Senator Hope Uzodinma taking over, only shows that we are all pencils in the hand of the Creator. We cannot make both ends meet except the LORD allows that. Nobody is incharge except God. The Creator of heaven and earth and their Contents. Our forefathers understood this “Chineke” (The God that Creates) and also appreciated his divine nature and his gift to mankind through the names they gave to their children which have also inherited. Chukwudi (there is God), Chukwunyere (God gave), Chineye (God gives), Onyemaechi (Who knows tomorrow), Onwudi (Death is real), etal. A highlife maestro, Dr. Sir Warrior in one of his albums, said “Onye na eme nke onaeme, cheta Chi” (In whatever you do, remember God). But some elements behave as if they were with God when he was Creating the world and they made certain contributions to that effect. By now, Rt. Hon. Ihedioha must have recalled all that he did, which he should not have done in the first place. We shall continue to clap for Jesus.
Two months into Chief Ihedioha’s governorship, a group called Ikoro Mbaise used their hard earned money to sponsor an Igbo music (video) threatening to slaughter me because of my failure or refusal to support Ihedioha. Two weeks after that, the Transition Committee Chairman of Aboh Mbaise LGA, Chief Jonathan Onyeneke called what he branded, enlarged Stakeholders Meeting with Political leaders, traditional rulers and security Chiefs in attendance. At the end of the meeting held at the Council headquarters they came up with 7 – paragraph communiqué. They announced to the World that they had banished me and also declared me persona non grata. One week after that shameful outing, a group of traditional rulers in Mbaise gathered and not only poured libation but invoked their gods to kill those of us from Mbaise who were not supporting Ihedioha. Infact, they gave the gods a specific market day (Eke) to carry out the killings. The final one was the traditional ruler of my Mbutu Nwenkwo Autonomous Community, Stephen Ugochukwu withdrawing the “Okangaoziri” Chieftaincy title he had pleaded me to take in 2006. In all these, my offence was that I was not supporting Ihedioha. They had also banned the sale of Whitepaper Newspaper Published by me in all the Mbaise areas. All these have become history.
To the traditional rulers who poured libation and invoked the gods, I made them to understand that some of us only know about God and do not know anything about the gods. And I strengthened that position by Contending that if the gods they had invoked or talked about exist they would at best be seen as balloons and could be deflated at the mere mention of the name of Jesus Christ. And I likened the whole drama to the biblical contest between Prophet Elijah and the 450 Prophets of Baal. The traditional rulers (Prophets of Baal) and Sam Onwuemeodo, Elijah, perhaps of his generation. I told them that I would defeat them from my Bed room. They might not have understood that claim. They could not have Comprehended because I took the Contest out of Ahiara Mbaise Junction where they poured the libation and invoked the gods into the Spiritual realm. And I began to position things, as God pleased and still pleases. Brothers and Sisters, only a fool would say, there is no God. Or that God does not exist. I am being frank here. Continue following me closely. I am yet to anchor. Or alight. Elijah and the 450 Prophets of Baal. Sam Onwuemeodo and the traditional rulers from Mbaise. Read my lips.
“Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a Prophet of the LORD, but Baals are four hundred and fifty men” (I Kings 18:22). In other words, number does not count much or even at all, when it comes to God making a name for himself. Continue reading my lips, “And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD. And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken” (I Kings 18:24). By the time the traditional rulers talked about the gods of Mbaise, I knew they had lost it all. I knew they had played into my hand. To cut the long story short, God answered Elijah by fire but Baal didn’t even respond to the repeated calls by his prophets. And at the end of the Contest the Spectators declared, “The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God” (I Kings 18:39). It is therefore correct to argue that, the gods the Mbaise traditional rulers said that gave them the governorship of Ihedioha didn’t answer them. The gods rejected the libations done with plastic cups and also rejected the invocations, because they do not exist. They only existed in the imaginations or sub-consciousness of the traditional rulers. But God made a name for himself. You do not give the glory of God to non-existent gods and expect the best or anything positive. Elijah not only mocked the prophets of Baal but also slew them. He killed all of them. (I Kings 18:27 & 40). But for me, I won’t mock the traditional rulers from Mbaise including my own. I won’t also order for their “slaughtering”. I have forgiven them. May the good Lord keep them and sustain them. And above all, give them a better understanding. If they had known better they would have acted differently. Let them go and sin no more. Let them bear fruits worthy of repentance and emulation. And it might also interest you to read that I was not at the inauguration or swearing-in ceremony of Senator Hope Uzodinma, but one of the traditional rulers who played key role in the libation and invocation episodes was there live and sat in front. May God give them better understanding.
I repeat. Let them bear fruits worthy of repentance. And there are inbuilt or innate lessons in all that happened. Before you declare war against anybody, first find out what is beating the drum for the person. Because you shoot yourself on the legs when you declare war on somebody whose trust is in God. Whose faith is in God. Whose belief is in God. You fight such person at your own risk or peril. You do not look at such person the way you see every other human being on the street. There are people who have established personal relationship with God both by commission and by omission and they are the ones God had in mind when he said, touch not my anointed and do my prophets no harm. If you ask me, all those who acted such nauseating films in Mbaise especially the traditional rulers contributed immensely to the exit of Ihedioha as governor. One was repeatedly attacking me on social media over the money I spent in renovating my home Church, Assemblies of God, Mbutu I. He was not attacking me, he was attacking God especially when the money used on that project was part of my legitimate earnings. He had expressed envy against God. And in all these, Ihedioha kept quiet. In other words, he approved their actions.
I told them to read the handwriting on the wall, Mene, mene, Tekel, Urpharsin”. They refused or failed to do that. I told them that there are toes you step on and your own toe would begin to peel. The best option therefore was for them not to step on anybody’s toe. They also didn’t listen. I told them that in Igbo context, someone selling red oil in the market does not cause stampede in the same market, for the sake of her oil. They also failed to take heed of that. I told them so many things which they ignored because, where bias has already taken place, honest study or honest analysis becomes invariably impossible. In our actions and in our inactions, let us all know that there is always an unseen hand that rocks the cradle. He has the whole wide world in his palm. In the hollow of his hand. If you ask me, I would tell you that Rt. Hon. Ihedioha came, saw, but never conquered. However, we Shall Continue to Clap for Jesus.