The political persecution of Charles Ogbonnaya by Alex Otti: Facts are sacred

The growing culture of political intolerance by Abia State Government exemplified in its hounding of the opposition has exposed a deeper frustration bordering on fear of losing the 2027 governorship election to the opposition All Progressive Congress ( APC).

For a government that thrives on propaganda and claims 90 percent popularity among the electorate in the state, it is worrisome how it inches towards stifling free speech and criticism under the guise of protecting the integrity of the governor, Dr Alex Otti. When the current desperate haste to bully opposition figures is contrasted with the activities of the same Otti as an opposition figure between 2014 and 2023, it becomes glaring that some people have an illusion of haven conquered the state. The use of state instruments of coersion, including frivolous lawsuits, are meant to cow the opposition, but how that would define the political environment in 2027 is yet to be seen.

In the last 48 hours, hirelings and failed journalists and hungry activists have been recruited by the state government to descend on one man who was bold enough to speak truth to power. This is not the first time that such touts,hack writers, and urchins have been unleashed on Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, a chieftain of APC and elder statesman who has paid his dues in politics in Abia state. It is this same man whom Alex Otti went to his house in 2022 to seek his support for his governorship ambition. Because he has political disagreement with the governor, he is now called names even by charlatans who have neither political pedigree or economic pillars like Ogbonnaya.

Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, the Evule ogu Ibeku, made some claims regarding the private discussions he had with the governor. The government has stoutly denied it ,demanding proof. Instead of dispassionately dissecting the issue with the prevailing circumstances, the government, through its propaganda machine, is demanding the head of the old man in a platter. Even those who used to beg him for favours have been recruited to attack him to the level of describing his actions as the ” folly of an old man “

In the haste to condemn Ogbonnaya, by labelling him a proponent of hate speech and clannish politics, no one has paused to interrogate the issues objectively. What is playing out is an emotional outburst by those eating crumbs from the master’s table and therefore obligated to join the mob baying for the blood of the accuser.

Curiously ,this is not the first time that such a political altercation between the governor and the APC chieftain is coming out to the public domain. Each time that Ogbonnaya speaks against the actions or inaction of the governor, he will be labelled a frustrated man who could no longer feed from the government. Each time he draws attention to any anomaly by Otti, the attack dogs would say that he is bitter that the government’s cocoa farm was taken away from him. But nobody asks questions if such a legitimate transaction between him and the government was determined according to due process. If he was in the wrong, would the government agree to pay him a compensation of N400m?

Our take is that nobody should be convicted in the court of public opinion merely because one side shouts louder than the other. The propaganda, the intimidation, and cyberbullying by the government and its agents against Charles Ogbonnaya have failed to answer a simple question; Did Alex Otti have a private conversation with Charles Ogbonnaya at his Ibeku home? In the course of the visit and conversation, were there witnesses? It would have solved a lot of the riddle behind the allegations and countet allegations if these simple questions were fully interrogated.

In all the chaos presented as writeups to attack the former Commissioner for Local Government, only one was sensible enough to come close to the answer. The writer said that even if Otti said to Ogbonnaya what he has alleged, he ought not to divulge it to the public because he obtained the information under private confidentiality and maybe during a period of deep reflection and frustration on the part of the governor. We may never know what prompted Charles Ogbonnaya to release such sensitive information, seeing that all is fair in war and politics and against the background of betrayal by the governor.

Incidentally, those insulting the elder statesman on social media are not privy to the discussions between the governor and Evuleogu Ibeku. They neither understand the complexities of political arrangements nor the percusor to such relationships. They are only interested in filling their stomachs. It is condescending to link Ogbonnaya with hunger or political frustration arising from being out of government because that would be begging the issue. Even the governor, as the then Managing Director of Diamond Bank, knew their level of interaction. To impute that his actions now are motivated by hunger is a crass display of ignorance.

Similarly, the commentators in a haste to earn their pay have completely failed to comprehend the difference between the politics of pre 2023 and the politics of pre 2027. Of all the politicians in PDP then, it was only Evuleogu who publicly opposed Gov Okezie Ikpeazu’s satanic plan to impose another Ngwa man as his successor His public declaration,through the pouring of libation, against that plan was not against Ndi Ngwa perse but against an unjust system that bypassed the zoning arrangements of the PDP. He vigorously campaigned that power should rotate back to Abia North. Ogbonnaya had before now told the world what Alex Otti told him about his origin before he agreed to support him.

However, the issue now is no longer about zoning. The APC has picked its candidate for the governorship, and it fell on Eric Opah, who is an Ngwa man. Charles Ogbonnaya is bound by party loyalty to support him because he emerged through a transparent process. He never said an Ngwa man should not be governor in 2027. The axe of contention was in 2023.

Be that as it may, the former Commissioner doesn’t hate Ngwa people being that so many of his close friends are from there. He fought for justice and equity in 2023. Now, he is joining forces with true Abia sons and daughters to fight against tyranny and political repression by a bludgeoning dictatorship whose ego would not allow him to realise that we are in a democracy. Charles Ogbonnaya insists that what he said is what Otti told him. People are demanding proof.

Governor Alex Otti is alive. Ogbonnaya said he visited him in the company of his wife and Chomen when the contentious statement was made. Did the governor embark upon such a visit? This is entirely between him and Charles Ogbonnaya. However, knowing what this governor has done to his critics, slamming billions of Naira defamatory lawsuits against them, we believe that if Charles Ogbonnaya had defamed him, he would also have taken him to court. It is only the court that would demand the evidence, which we are sure that Evuleogu would gladly present it.

Ogbonna and Dimgba are Chairman and Secretary of Umuahia Political Forum