The Southeasterners in Nigeria have always had it bad with their leaders and those that they elect or nominate to be in power. It is something that is completely unfathomable and ridiculous seeing that the Southeastern region is made up of States that have been blessed with a lot of wonderful natural resources, people of sharp, above-the-average human minds, intellect, numerous avenues and opportunities for these resources to be put into good use and converted to wealth. These advantages have not stopped the Southeastern region from having mostly ‘EFULEFU’ as Governors and leaders with very few exceptions since the independence of Nigeria.
For the benefit of understanding, an ‘Efulefu’ is an Igbo derogatory term used to signify a moron or someone who possesses moronic, stupid behavior.
Sticking true to the definition, the events of the past few years has shown that the current Governors of the Southeastern region which comprises of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Governor Ikepazu Okezie of Abia State and Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has shown that these leaders are nothing short of morons who display moronic behaviors, make moronic laws and take moronic aides as their cabinet members further degrading the Government of the Southeastern region into a theatre filled with hardcore, unreedemable Efulefus or Morons.
One thing that is synonymous with these Southeastern leaders is that they make it seem like they are trying to surpass their predecessors, not in terms of development or infrastructure but in their Efulefu (Moronic) legacies which they left behind and are most hated for. They seem to be in a hot race on who to outdo each other in who has the most terrible administration, the least infrastructural development, corruption statistics and poverty quota in their respective States.
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Take for instance, Imo State. A state which has been blessed with a lot of natural resources which comprises Crude Oil and Palm products has been stripped of all her former glory and left dishevelled because of the way she is being handled by the present Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma and his predecessor, Senator Owelle Rochas. The two Efulefu who are currently in a running battle for who has most dominance and political power in Imo State have played a huge role in the disastrous state which Imo State has found herself in right now. Imo State is currently on the headlines of every Nigerian news outlet for bad reasons and this can be attributed to Governor Hope Uzodinma’s stupidity and short-sightedness. Imo States’s backwardness began the very day the Supreme Court of Nigeria announced Senator Hope Uzodinma the Governor of Imo State. From shady Government contracts, neglect of infrastructure, owing of salaries to orchestrating high levels of insecurity in the State and abandoning his State to burn.
On May 30, Ahmed Gulak, ex-aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was killed, in cold blood, in Imo State; en route to the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport. This happened during the unrest in Imo State which was triggered by the menace of the Unknown Gunmen and other bandits who have been affiliated with Nnamdi Kanu’s Eastern Security Network, the security outfit of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group. These unknown gunmen have been holding Imo State at ransome and sending security officials scampering away for fear of their ruthlessness and thirst for bloodshed and this was orchestrated in an open show for dominance when they ran down the central Prison in Imo State and released over 5000 inmates who have not been recovered till date. What did Governor Hope Uzodinma do? He borrowed a leaf from his other Efulefu brother, Governor Ikpeazu of Abia State and flooded the state with Nigerian security officials. This turned out to be an own-goal as no particular arrests have been made in the State and the unknown gunmen still ravage the State as often as they can. The security officials in a ploy to look like they’re making an input have taken to cowardly killing innocent youths in Imo State and shedding innocent blood to dispel the unknown gunmen since they don’t have the liver to face them in an open gun battle. What did Governor Hope Uzodinma do admist all these? He is either in his military bunker situated deep in the heart of the Obinze Barracks or he is in Abuja issuing useless threats while his State burns with insecurity and hunger from unpaid pensions and salaries.
Anambra State as compared to Imo State is not worse off, but she isn’t better either. Efulefu Governor Willie Obiano whose tenure expires this year is in a fast bid to siphon as much State funds as he can before he vacates his position as the Executive Governor of the State. Anambra state was unarguably the most peaceful and secured state in Nigeria before now.
Nowadays, the activities of Cult clashes by different fraternities and the menace of the Eastern Security Network which were triggered by the subject of the Fulani herdsmen and their encroachment have thrown Anambra State into a place of unrest. This is why a majority of Anambra indigenes are in a cold war with their State Government who for a myriad of reasons believe that they are responsible for their ordeals in the hands of these herdsmen and ESN officials alike. And why will they not adopt that mentality when the Government of Anambra State under Willie Obiano is technically nothing to write home about.
Other Southeastern states like Abia State, Enugu State and Ebonyi State have had their own shares of the challenges of Insecurity in their respective States with Police commands and military checkpoints being attacked and razed down and other killings that have been going on in their states. Sometime last month, some armed men attacked a High Court in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, setting ablaze sections of the court building. The attack did not end until some two policemen were killed at a checkpoint. Amidst all these, these Governors have done little or nothing to salvage the situation.
Governor Ikpeazu of Abia State for example is well-known for leading the bandwagon of looters in the Southeastern region. That is his forte and what he is known for all over the country. He siphons Abia State’s resources and funds while running the State into huge debts that would not be redeemed in a very long time. Another thing he is known for is the use of military might. Right from Nnamdi Kanu’s saga in 2017, Governor Ikpeazu has always believed that the solution to insecurity in Abia State is the influx of soldiers and more security officials in the State. ‘And if soldiers won’t salvage the situation, more soldiers will surely get the job done’ – that is his where his intelligence quota ends. And he does this at the peril of his wards who are being manhandled and oppressed by these Nigerian security officials who are unqualified and unfit to don the uniform.
Lastly, Governor Dave Umahi is an Efulefu who believes more in his political standings and formations than in the Governing of his State and sadly, Ebonyi State is now the bedrock of Fulani herdsmen who rape, maim, kidnap and kill with reckless abandon, and without the fear of repercussions.
Southeastern Governors always believe that the path of peace is by using force to subdue these individuals who are causing these menace in the region and they don’t give two hoots about any innocent bloodshed whilst achieving this. And to worsen the situation, the role of the Nigerian security agencies, whether police or army, in the Southeast, seems more like a force of occupation. Of course, one has no doubt that there are still good men and women in uniform doing their best, but such individuals now exist only on the fringes. Their good efforts have been submerged in a sea of criminal activities of the mainstream, which thrive in the business of operating an elaborate extortion scheme in most parts of the country, but more so in the Southeast region with the go-ahead and blessings of the Efulefu State Governors.
Governors from other regions, no matter their political parties, boldly criticise the killing of their indigenes. But governors from the Southeast prefer to please Buhari’s maladministration and embezzle funds which are actually the things that make them Efulefu. Southeasterners have to come to an understanding that their governors are a bunch of Efulefu who have other Efulefu as cabinet members and supporters. These sinister acts will still be the norm in the Southeastern region until Ndi Igbo rise up and resist the marauders parading as State Governors.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK