ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
The Imo media habitat is currently saturated with some toxic campaign materials from those seeking to curry the attention of the governor and those seeking to retain them. Many of those who served the last administration have become more media friendly than many of us thought they could be, while some of those who joined the 3R camp in the run-up to the last governorship election are beginning to advertise some sense of entitlement for critical offices in the coming cabinet.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with people expressing interest or even lobbying for appointment, but I would feel highly disrespected, if as a governor, I read or hear people trying to influence my choice on the individuals to constitute the inner circle of my cabinet. I should be trusted to know those who fit my requirements for such posts.
One of Uzodimma’s aides that has faced the most criticism by those I choose to describe as job hunters is Hon. Declan Emelumba, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy and one of the oldest members of Uzodimma’s political family. They have found all sorts of things to say about the ex-commissioner and some have even gone ahead to present themselves as more competent alternatives to him.
Those pursuing this agenda and believing that Governor Uzodimma would ditch the men who stayed in the wilderness for him, for some fair-weather friends who joined him when they realised that there was no stopping him, are either dimwits or they consider the governor, not very intelligent. It would only take a gullible leader to dispense with those who fought with him to get power just because there are new people who consider themselves more competent than his original circle. The truth of the matter is that nobody can be more competent than those who participated in the making of a successful political group, and none can be more honest than them who stayed on when there were serious doubts about the survival of that team.
Labelling the governor’s original team as incompetent and corrupt is unfair on the governor, because a leader is not very different from his team, and the truth is that there are no saints in politics. Even if the governor goes outside Imo State to recruit people into his new cabinet, he won’t find angels, and it will be a matter of time for him to realise that he is better off with his original team.
The governor is the best person to determine the efficiency and honesty of his appointees and if there are areas he feels that there is need for improvement on the part of these appointees, he is the best person to advise them on the need to improve in those areas. Those of us who joined the governor’s camp newly, must learn to wait in the wings and not expect too much. We must not approach any ambition to be appointed into his cabinet with any sense of entitlement and we must show respect to those who have been there before us. The only time, new entrants like us should feel entitled to some valuable rewards is after 2027, if we are able to endure and participate actively in achieving a successful outing for the CampHope. For now, it should be at the discretion of the governor to give us whatever he wants to.
The governor has a bigger challenge on his hands now than during his first term. In 2020, he had fewer people to select from, but this time around, his camp has more than quadrupled in size, and with this inflow of support also comes both good and bad. It is therefore at this time that the governor needs his real men closer than at any other time.
Many will argue that the governor is faced with choosing between longstanding loyalty and tested competence, and I will reiterate that there can hardly be a more competent person than the individuals who loyally piloted the camp to Government House in the first place. However, there might be need to bring in fresh hands in some areas in the government, but that would not be entirely because the previous people were incompetent or dishonest, but because the governor wants to give an impression of “political balance” and accommodation of new converts. Disbanding his first term cabinet entirely, as some people have suggested would be playing into the hands of his critics, and confirming their allegations that his first term wasn’t a success.
Let me specifically state here that Hon. Declan Emelumba, whom I have not even met in person before, is a very competent communicator and the governor might not get a better person than him to fill the position of Commissioner for Information and Strategy. Nobody would have a better magic wand to sell the governor’s image and policies than the man who has known Onwa Oyoko before he became governor and who enjoys the confidence and access to be able to tell him some things that a “professional” politician who assumes that position might not be able to tell him.
MAY IMO PROSPER!
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