HON DR FABIAN IHEKWEME: HOW NOT TO ATTACK A LEADER BY MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION IN IMO STATE

-Hon Dr Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha Fcai

As A Sociopolitical Crusader, Facilitator, Human Rights Activist And Notable Writer And Indeed, Commentator, I Have Seen It As My Duty, Right And Responsibility To Fight For The Less Privileged In Our Society, Human Abuses And Other Cases Of Injustice Through My Published Articles And Viewpoints In Newspapers And Social Media Platforms. This Is Specifically To Attract And Draw The Attention Of Governments And High Profile Individuals, With Hope And Faith To Get Justice And Correct Whatever Abnormalities That May Have Taken Place.

Let Me Therefore Thank Almighty God For His Grace Upon Me, And Enabling Success So Far Made.

Opposition Is The Beauty Of Democracy. An Effective Opposition Makes It Compulsory And Necessary For Those In Government To Be On Their Toes, And Ensure They Provide The Much Needed Dividends Of Democracy. I Have Played Opposition Before And I Did So In A Remarkable Manner, To The Extent That I Was The Determinant Factor. Presently, I Am Not In Opposition, But It Does Not Mean I Will Not Call The Imo State Government To Order Anytime I Notice Some Discrepancies And Issues Of State Concern.

I Am Not Happy With The Way And Manner The Opposition In Imo State Are Plying Their Trade. Rather Than Attacking And Condemning Policies Of Government That Appears (If Any ) To Be Anti-people And Proffer Solution, Members Of The Opposition Have Taken It Upon Themselves To Attack, Denigrate And Attempt To Incinerate (Through Blackmail) Prominent Leaders Who Are Supporters And Operators Of The Engine Room Of The Government Of Governor Hope Uzodinma. The Idea, Perhaps, Is To Bring Down Arrowheads Of Government, In Its Clandestine Plot To Discredit The Achievements Of Government, And Thereafter Incite The Masses (Through False Alarms) Against The Leadership.

Recently, The Immediate Past Commissioner For Foreign And International Affairs, And Soon To Be Reappointed Commissioner, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Has Been The Pummelling Face Of The Opposition. For Reasons Best Known To Them, The Opposition Has Singled Out Fabian Ihekweme To Be Stripped Of His High Profile And Towering Credentials, Perhaps, Despite Being Affected By The Dissolution Of The State Executive Council By Governor Hope Uzodinma, Still Control A Larger Chunk Of The State Government Media Machinery.

Few Days Ago, Dr Fabian Ihekweme Came Under Heavy Attack By The Opposition, When He Had What Could Be Described As Minor Media Altercation With A Journalist And Younger Brother, Mr Chidiebube Okeoma, Over An Issue Of A So-called N250,000 Which Was Said To Have Been Paid Into The UBA Bank Account Of The Said Journalist. Whether Real Or Apparent, A Matter That Could Have Been Resolved Amicably Between Dr Fabian Ihekweme And Chidiebube Okeoma, Appears To Have Been Hijacked By The Opposition, With The Sole Aim And Goal To Ridicule A Man Of Integrity, Credibility And Dignity, Which The Former Commissioner Represent.

It Should Be Noted That Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Is Not A Man That Could Be Intimidated By The Opposition, Neither Will A Roadside Lawyer Parading As Legal Counsel Intimidate And Harass Him Into Frightened Submission. This Is Because, As A Man With Vast Knowledge, Experience And Contacts, He Has Seen It All In Life. No Wonder, He Is Selflessly Contributing His Quota To Move Imo State Forward.

The Question That Should Ordinarily Come To Mind Is ; Who Is Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme? And Why Is He A Moving Factor To Reckon With? Find Out Who He Is Before Attempting To Fight Him.

In Trying To Respond To These Questions, We Have To Go Back To Genesis And Basics……… This Is Because An Amateur Boxer Who Wants To Jump Into The Boxing Ring To Fight, Should First Practice With A Bag Of Sand…….. Ya Wuru Uka Wuru Kwa Ilulu.

Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Is A Seasoned Technocrat With Vast Knowledge And Experience In Organizational Change Management, With Skills To Harness Human And Material Resources Effectively To Achieve Set Targets And Broad Corporate Objectives, Both In The Public And Organized Private Sectors. He Has Keen Interest In Political And Community Development Which Has Resulted To Very Commendable Accomplishments. His Life Objective Is To Add Geometric Value In Solving Cross Functional And Complex Challenges That Confront Organizations By Deploring Cutting Edge Technology, Innovation And Most Importantly, New Knowledge.

The Academic Qualifications Of Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Is A Confirmation That He Came Prepared, To Dominate His Environment, Despite Sociopolitical Obstacles Placed On His Way By Those Who Do Not Wish Him Well.

Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Attended St Theresa’s Primary School Ikenazizi Obowo And Took His Common Entrance Examination And First School Leaving Certificate In 1982. He Gained Admission Into St Paul’s Secondary School Ikenazizi Obowo (Imo State) And Graduated In 1987, With Excellent WAEC Result. Thereafter, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Gained Admission Into The Prestigious University Of Madras, India And Graduated In 1992 With Bachelor Of Arts In Political Science (BA). Thereafter, He Enlisted And Obtained His Master Of Arts In Political Science (MA) At The Same University Of Madras, India.

In His Consolidated Desire And Quest For More Knowledge, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Moved Over To The University Of Goettinge, Germany, And Obtained His Advanced German Certificate In 1997. This Was After He Had Acquired His Certificate In Spoken German, From The Same University Of Goettinge, In 1996. He Capped His Quest For Knowledge With A PhD In Political Science From The University Of Hamburg, Germany, In The Year 2000.

With The Above Academic Credentials, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Was Very Set To Explore The World And Its Sociopolitical And Economic Environment. And True To His Dream, Vision And Ambition, He Conquered His World. First, He Returned To Nigeria In 1994 And Did His Compulsory National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, As A Public Relations Officer. Later, He Became A Lecturer In Political Science At The University Of Hamburg, Germany, Between 1999 And 2001.

Moving Forward, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Became Assistant Director, Centre For African Research And Political Development At The University Of Hamburg. It Was At This Centre That He Became Renowned For His Political Initiatives, Wizardry And Ingenuity.

Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Returned To Nigeria, And Became The General Manager Of Tayodek Group Of Companies In Abuja, Between 2003 And 2004. Having Firmly Established Himself As A Political Genius Through His Various Political Initiatives At The Top Echoloen Of The Nation’s Leadership, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme was Appointed Consultant Senate Committee On Rules And Business, National Assembly, In March 2004.

Although He Was Never An Elected Senator, Most Of The Bills, Motions, And Matters Of Urgent State Importance Were Initiated And Formulated By This Political Operative, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme, And Were Given To Elected Senators For Formal Presentation At Plenary. This Culminated To His Being Appointed Senior Legislative Aide By The Leadership Of The National Assembly (Office Of The Deputy Senate Leader, Between 2004 And 2006.

Between 2008 And 2010, The Imo State Government Appointed Him Chairman, Board Of Directors Of Imo Newspapers Ltd, Owerri, Publishers Of Statesman Newspapers And Government Press Bulletins. It Was During His Tenure As Chairman Board Of Directors Of Imo Newspapers Ltd That The Moribund Statesman Newspapers Was Reactivated And Given A New Breath Of Life.

Between 2019 And 2020, Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Served As Special Adviser To The Deputy Senate President Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria. As A Man Who Is Always Ready, Willing And Able To Impact Knowledge, He Was Also Senior Lecturer At The National Open University Of Nigeria, Between 2019 And 2020, When He Was Appointed The Pioneer Commissioner For Foreign And International Affairs By The Governor Hope Uzodinma Led Imo State Government.

As Commissioner For Foreign And International Affairs, Dr Fabian Ihekweme Saved Funds For The State Government. Previous Governors In The State Travelled Overseas To Search For Foreign Investors. This Approach Ate Deep Into The Finances Of The State Government, But With The Coming Of The Hope Uzodinma Led Leadership In The State, In January 2020, A Different Method Was Adopted, Which Was The Creation Of The Ministry Of Foreign And International Affairs, And Fabian Ihekweme Was Named The Pioneer Commissioner In March 2020. He Used His Vast Knowledge, International Networks, Exposure And Contacts To Attract Foreign Direct Investments, FDI, To The State, At Little Or No Cost, And Without Even Traveling Overseas ; Thereby Saving Huge Resources For The State Government.

It Should Be Noted That While Other State Governors In The Country Are Busy Junketing Across The Globe, Looking For Foreign Partners To Assist In Taking Their States To The Next Level, Governor Hope Uzodinma Has Remained With Us Here In The Country And State, And Still Achieving The Same Attraction Of Foreign Investors To The State, At Little Or No Cost. This Became Possible Through The Dexterity And Connectivity Of The Fabian Ihekweme Led Foreign And International Affairs Ministry. The Effects Can Be Seen In The Road Revolution Going On In The State, Oil And Gas Sector, Agriculture, Science And Technology, Manufacturing, Etc.

Having Come This Far, I Humbly Ask ; Is It Right And Fair That A Man Who Invested His Ingenuity To Geometrically Move The State Forward Should Be Paid Back With Ingratitude Through Social Media Insults, Assaults, Abuses And Blackmails? Indeed, The Social Media Has Become A Leveller, Where Agents Of Positive Change Are Not Given Their Due Respect And Recognition. It Has Become A Platform Where Foul Languages Are Freely Used To Assault And Desecrate The Credibility, Dignity And Integrity Of Leaders, Just Because Some People Are Playing Opposition Politics. This Is So Unfortunate.

Let Me Therefore Appeal To My Brothers And Sisters Not To Allow Themselves To Be Used As Weapons In The Hands Of The Opposition……… When People Are Fighting, Refuse To Take Sides. Rather, Observe Deeply Before Making Conclusions. To My Brother, Chidiebube Okeoma, I Appeal To Him To Sheathe His Sword And Calm Down. After All, We Are All Brothers And Sisters In Imo State, Despite Our So-called Sociopolitical And Economic Differences And Interests.

Hon Dr Fabian Ihekweme Is A Leader In Imo State, And Therefore Deserves Commendable Respect From All Of Us.

9News Nigeria (Owerri)
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