Preamble:
The forthcoming general election will define two things for the good people of Imo state:
(1) Whether Imo People shall continue on the path of sustainable development. Or
(2) Return to an era of political jobbery, god-fatherism and treasury looting.

Today, there are two individuals who, for all practical purposes, want to foist the latter scenario on the state and its people. The two men are:
(1) Chief Ifeanyi Araraume and
(2) Chief Rochas Okorocha

TWO OF A KIND
There is a disturbing similarity about the antecedents of these two fellows. Imo people may not know that both men showed up in Imo State during the Abacha era with incredible bags of money. Araraume arrived from Benin with two distinct marks on his face raising questions about his origins. So did Okorocha who suddenly arrived from Jos, amid doubts about his origins in Ogboko in Ideato South. Both men always talked about their mothers, never their fathers. Both appeared in Imo political scene suddenly in not more than 15 years ago. These facts have troubled most discerning Imolites who cannot gamble their future in the hands of two political speculators without proven pedigree.

It is, therefore, not a surprise that it is these two same fellows who are swimming against the political tide in Imo state. If these two men have Imo blood running in them, why are they bent on doing things that run contrary to the wishes and aspirations of the generality of Imolites.

Zoning:
Undoubtedly, nothing else demonstrates the fact that both Okorocha and Araraume are aliens among Ndi Imo than their penchant to destroy the zoning arrangement for throwing up the governor of Imo state and which arrangement has made it possible for Ndi Imo to elect their governors in the past almost effortlessly. By that zoning arrangement, Orlu zone took its full turn of eight years through the immediate past governor, Chief Achike Udenwa. Which means that Orlu zone will have to wait till 2023 before the governorship would get to it again.

Meanwhile, Okigwe zone started its turn in 2007 with the incumbent governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim. The zone (Okigwe) is expected to complete its turn in 2015 after which Owerri zone will go in for eight years till 2023 when it will return to Orul zone.

ENTER THE TWO JOBMEN: OKOROCHA AND ARARAUME
ARARAUME
Araraume, who is the governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for the April 16, 2011 elections, is from Okigwe zone.

Now this man, as if to tell Okigwe people that he is not one of them, has rebuffed all entreaties by his people to support Ikedi Ohakim to complete Okigwe zone’s turn by returning for a second term. In response to the entreaties, Araraume says he will run for only one term of four years, to enable Owerri zone begin its turn in 2015.

But Owerri zone people have rejected this completely, insisting that he, Araraume, will never keep to that. Already, prominent Owerri zone indigenes have told him in black and white that his candidacy will not fly because it is a calculated attempt to rub the zone (Owerri) of its turn in 2015. Araraume has been asked by the people Owerri zone to return to his village, Isiebu, (really?) to allow Governor Ikedi Ohakim complete the turn of Okigwe because Ohakim’s second tenure is the only guarantee that Owerri will takes its turn in 2015.

In a recent letter addressed to prominent stakeholders in the state, a notable son of Owerri zone and Speaker Emeritus of the Imo State House of Assembly, Barrister Kelechi Nwagwu, wrote, among other things “…The people of Oweri zone are currently very passionate about the governorship seat coming to Owerri in 20115. Governor Ikedi Ohakim is the only Okigwe zone contender that is constitutionally bound to relinquish power in 2015 when he would serve out his constitutional eight years limit. Other contestants, who have been feebly promising to hand over to Owerri zone in 2015, have a constitutional right to run in 2015 for a second term. They will surely fail Owerri zone because they do not keep promise and do not respect agreements …”

Agreed that there are at least two other governorship candidates from Okigwe zone, even the least discerning reader knows that Nwagwu is referring to no other fellow than Araraume. Nwagwu’s letter was titled: “Why Governor Ikedi Ohakim Should Be Returned To Government House On May 2011”.

In case Imolites have forgotten, Kelechi Nwagwu was one of the brains behind the notorious Alliance which had Araraume and Udenwa also as leaders. Nwagwu has since left that camp even as Araraume dragged the rest to the ACN.

To demonstrate the fact that Araraume will NEVER keep to his ‘promise’ of serving only one term of four years, he carefully made sure that another kin pin in their that camp, Alex Obi, did not emerge as his running mate. The reason is simple: He believes that Obi, who comes from Owerri zone and is believed to nurse a governorship ambition, will be too strong for him to manipulate in 2015 to facilitate his continued stay till 2023. Hence, his choice of Noel Chukwukadibia who is known in the state as a ‘YES’ man.

Assuming that Araraume has his way and finds himself in Government House in May 2011 and then fails to keep to his promise in 2015, as he will surely do, the political equilibrium that exists in the state would have been altered because once Owerri zones fails to get its turn in 2015, the contest will become open once more.

ROCHAS OKOROCHA
Rochas Okorocha’s candidature proves even more fatal to the zoning arrangement and peace and stability of the state. What is more, Okorocha’s case smacks of total impunity if not a deliberate insult to the people of the state. If Araraume could get just a listening ear because he is talking about “completing” Okigwe zone’s tenure, Okorocha’s ambition beats the imagination of even the worse enemies of the state, save, of course, the few individuals who are currently in his pay roll. Orlu zone, where he comes, from took its full turn between 1999 and 2007. And the entire Orlu political establishment has told him in black and white that the zone is not interested in the governorship again until 2023.

The question on the lip of every Imo citizen has been, where is Rochas Okorochas coming from? Put in plainer language, who is beating the music he is dancing? Before February 23, 2011, this man, who is better known by what looks like a nickname (Rochas), had been going about with the tale that it was President Goodluck Jonathan that has asked him to go to Imo to “chase” away Ikedi Ohakim.

Of course, nobody believed him but typical of his con nature, he quickly printed posters carrying his photograph together with that of the President. Until the eve of Tuesday February 22, this tale bearer of a fellow was still going about telling hapless Imolites that President Goodluck Jonathan, who was billed in the state the next day to flag off his campaign, was coming to present him to the people of Imo state. Even as nobody believed him still, what happened while the President was here merely went further to prove to the deeply conservative people of Imo state that Okorocha, who claims to come from Ogboko in Ideato South local government area but believed to have his roots somewhere in Plateau state, is yet again in another political jobbery.

If Araraume’s quest for the governorship is feared as capable of altering the political equilibrium in the state, Okorocha’s entry into the gubernatorial race this period is seen by all and sundry (within and outside the state) as a complete negation of the sophistication for which the people of Imo state are known. The question has been, have things because this bad for the people of Imo state that known con men and political jobbers have descended on them with such impunity.

HISTORY OF POLITICAL JOBBERY
Rochas suddenly arrived the political turf of Imo State about fifteen years ago. Displaying an unusual ostentatious lifestyle but a questionable pedigree, the deeply conservative political elite in the state did not hesitate in throwing him out of the gubernatorial contest in 1999. Despite coming tops in the governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leaders of the party roundly rejected him in preference for Achike Udenwa. This was even as he flaunted a level of affluence that thoroughly embarrassed leaders like the late Senator Emeka Echeruo, Innocent Nwoga and a host of others who kept on asking, “Where is this boy coming from?”

He returned to Orlu zone where he managed to pick the senatorial ticket of the party but was trounced by Chief Arthur Nzeribe at the 1999 general election. Since then, Rochas has been on the path of political prodigality. He always makes himself available for any high stake political jobbery involving mega money. After his disastrous outing in 1999, his sponsors recalled him to Abuja to await further assignments which came four years later.

He was conscripted into the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for a major political jobbery in 2003. At the general elections that year, he single handedly rendered the ANPP impotent, cleverly achieving what his sponsors sent him there for.

In 2007, the same Rochas Okorocha was again recruited for yet another mega political jobbery. This time, it was the PDP where, to the surprise of all, he came second at the party’s presidential primaries in an arrangement authored by those who wanted to frustrate the transition from one elected civilian administration to another, the first of its kind in the history of Nigeria.

In between this major political heist, Rochas Okorocha floated a party by the name Action Alliance, a party he abandoned without the slightest consideration for some decent Nigerian’s who, as usual, were deceived into believing in him through his uncommon lying skills.

OKOROCHA’S CURRENT MACABRE DANCE
Today, he has landed in Imo state to execute the brief of his sponsors who do not wish Imo people well. This is how he, Rochas, came to the current macabre dance he is staging before Imo people.

The Emekuku political tradesman, called Martin Agbaso, shares many traits with Rochas Okorocha. Both worship money. And it happened that Okorocha was shopping for a political shop front to execute his latest brief when his sponsors alerted him that Martin Agbaso had already put out words that his All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) was up to the highest bidder. Together with his sponsors, they quickly reckoned that APGA enjoys substantial Igbo sympathy and will be a perfect tool for accomplishing the dis-stabilization of Igbo political cohesion in the nation’s political mainstream. It was after he met a stiff resistance in the APGA supreme leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu and Governor Peter Obi, who are today President Jonathan’s ardent supporters, that he beat a quick retreat and went to print posters showing his photograph and that of President Jonathan.

A CRONIC DEBTOR
As things stand today, Rochas Okorocha is indebted to those who wanted to sponsor him for this latest political jobbery. How he will refund the money he collected for this failed bid to destabilize Igboland is just a part of a bigger headache of how to offset bank debts totaling over N25 billion (Twenty Five Billion Naira). At the last count, Rochas Okorocha is allegedly being trailed by six banks to pay up. So bad is the situation that Imo sons and daughters in the banking industry and who are in a position to know have been grieving at the prospects of this political buccaneer becoming the governor of their dear state? As a stop gap measure, he has surrendered some of his properties to the creditor banks pending the time he mounts the saddle as governor and start repayment. The properties include.
1. Property at Area 11, Garki, Abuja worth N2 billion.
2. A 40 bedroom Hotel at Wuse 11, Abuja worth N1.2 billion
3. A 48 bedroom hotel located at Garki, Abuja worth N1.5 billion
4. An office complex at Garki, Abuja worth N1 billion
5. A housing estate of 60 units at Life Camp Abuja worth N1 billion
6. A Housing Estate of 94 units located at Nyanya, Abuja worth N7 billion
7. A Guest House located at Maitama, Abuja worth N2.5 billion

Unfortunately, the total collectable from these properties add up to only N10 billion leaving a balance of N15 billion. Imo people can now see why this man called Rochas Okorocha is chasing the governorship of Imo state using all kinds of tricks in the devils book and defying the very zoning arrangement which Imo people hold so sacrosanct.

It should now be clear to Ndi Imo that the fellow who has been inundating them with sweat talks about FREE EDUCATION is a BANK INVADER, an expert in bank loans that have no plans of paying back, who will turn the state over to debt collectors from day one.

BACK TO ARARAUME
It should also be clear to Imo people why Ifeanyi Araraume is also as desperate as Okorocha in his quest for the Imo governorship seat. Both share this common trait as CHRONIC BANK DEBTORS. Not long ago, the Central Bank of Nigeria published the list of debtors who were indebted to the troubled banks. The list contained EXCLUSIVES STORES LIMITED owned by Araraume. The debt was to the tune of over N250 million. The case of N25 million between him and Chief Ferdi Achom over shares in a bank is also well known.

BOGUS CLAIMS ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
This is another thing the two men share in common. Their educational background remains a mystery. Araraume claims that he graduated from a University in the United States of America. But investigations have since shown that the University he mentioned has denied ever having a student with the name, Ifeanyi Araraume.

Characters like Rochas Okorocha who have something to hide will always claim to have studied in Universities located where Imolites cannot trace their school mates. They will never mention UNN or FUTO. It is always University of Jos or Maiduguri or Sokoto. A complex state like Imo requires someone with demonstrable track record of University education; not adult evening programme or part time programme. That is not to say that late starters have no chance but to lie about it is the moral issue that is quite reprehensible.

ROCHAS AND PHILANTROPY
Rochas Okorocha pretends to be a philanthropist but his brazen exploitation of the less privileged or physically challenged people whom he uses for personal gains is well known. All over the world, well known philanthropists do not go into politics. There is no written rule on this but the belief is that going to ask for votes from the same people you make philanthropic gestures to is like giving with the right hand and collecting with the left.

It is now a well known fact that Rochas hinges his philanthropy on political patronage. Of recent, the Owelle of Ideato asked parents and guardians of pupils in his Rochas Foundation College to sign an undertaking to support his governorship project.

Unknown to many Imolites, Rochas Okorocha does not run his philanthropy with his own funds. The sources of his ‘philanthropy’ is money donated by Foreign and Overseas Charity Organizations which give huge sums of money to Local Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to tackle vital social issues in the areas of education, health care delivery, Human Rights, Gender Equality etc.

Okorocha owns one of such NGOs into which these overseas charity organizations pour huge sums of money. Cleverly, Rochas Okorocha does not let knowledgeable people into his NGO and today, he has embarked on a political programme to exploit the best intentions of those foreign charities.

This is why today, he is exploiting the fact that Imo people pay great premium on education. Hence his glib talk about FREE education even when the schools he claims to personally own at Ogboko and Owerri are not free.

AGAIN IFEANYI ARARAUME
Ifeanyi Araraume’s claim to fame is that he was a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Astonished by such an unexpected achievement, given his questionable background and criminal records, he soon convinced himself that he can go for the ultimate prize of the governor. Consumed by that obsession, he has set out to obtain the Imo governorship by hook or crook and by all means imaginable.

His waterloo, however, is that the good people of Imo state have laid before him his performance as a senator:
(1) Out of the required 1665 sitting days at the Senate, Araraume could only be present for 650 sittings.
(2) In other words, he absented for 1,140 days, to the utter disappointment and detriment of the Okigwe Senatorial zone that sent him to represent them.
(3) Araraume presented only two Bills for eight years and none of these went beyond the first reading.
(4) He did not sponsor one single Motion.
(5) The only two water projects he attracted were never completed.

What his candidature portends for Imo state is grave danger as he is not even qualified to seek public office because he is not public service oriented. His poor performance in the Senate is not surprising because this is a man who never worked in any organization all his life. And he had never carried a file his life. He never knew what it meant to report to work. He never received a query; neither did he ever give one. The highest Araraume got to was to man provision stores stocked with milk, bournvita, sugar, biscuits, soap, and condoms.

Then suddenly, he found himself in the Senate of a country like Nigeria. And the result was that disastrous outing which his people in Okigwe zone will regret forever.

ONCE BEATEN TWICE SHY
To be fair to the people of Okigwe zone, they had initially resisted his going to the Senate to represent them.

On February 4, 1999, a few days after he had been nominated as a Senatorial candidate, a group which went by the name, Okigwe PDP Youths Forum, represented by one Nkeiru Ohedinma and Innocent Nwanosike, filed a three-page petition against his nomination.

In the letter which was addressed to the national chairman of the PDP, chairman of Board of Trustee and others and copied to the INEC Commissioner in Imo, the Director-General of the State Security Service, the group wrote; “Your nomination of a known criminal as the Senatorial candidate of Okigwe Senatorial zone (Imo North) is scandalous, shameful and unacceptable”. (See, for example, The Source magazine, October 28, 2002).

One of the group’s grouse was that Araraume was sacked as the then APP chairman in Imo State for embezzling about N32 million. The group wrote: “Araraume was the Imo State chairman of APP before they sacked him for embezzlement and he crossed over to the PDP and bought his nomination with embezzled APP funds. You can confirm this allegation from Arthur Nzeribe or Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu or any other Imo son or daughter”.

Again, sometime in August of the same year, another group, Okigwe Renaissance Movement, in a letter addressed to the National Assembly leadership expressed shock that while the then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Buhari, was disgraced out of office over certificate forgery and perjury, Senator Araraume sat pretty well in the Senate. Their words; “Chief Godwin Ifeanyi Araraume, the Senator representing us (Imo North) at the National Assembly used fake documents for his elections as the various certificates he presented to both PDP and INEC were all forged. He never attended or matriculated or graduated from any University in Nigeria or abroad yet he parades B.Sc, M.Sc. among his several qualifications”.

Amazingly, Araraume scaled through all these and remained in the Senate for eight years and even attempted to be governor. Little wonder, then, his very poor outing in the Senate because as the saying goes, you do not give what you do not have.

Is history about to repeat itself? Today, well meaning Imolites have expressed disapproval over Araraume’s governorship ambition. Yet he remains undaunted. Will Ndi Imo be taken for a ride for a second time?

IN SUMMARY
The above, then, is the story of the duo who are making spirited efforts, albeit under different platforms, to govern Imo State. This is the story of two fellows whose pedigree gives no one, no matter how lowly placed, any confidence. From the above, it is clear to all and sundry that:
1. Both Rochas Okorocha and Ifeanyi Araraume are agents of those who want to destabilize Imo State, nay Igboland. The ACN Araraume is flying its flag was promoted by people who ancestors subjected Ndi Igbo to untold hardship and the worst humiliation ever known in mankind
2. ACN is an off shoot of Action Group owned by the late Obafemi Awolowo, the man who said that starvation is a legitimate instrument of war; and as the then Minister of Finance made sure that Nigeria slammed a three-year old economic blockade that led to the death of millions of Ndi Igbo.
3. After the war, the same Awolowo froze the Accounts of Ndi Igbo in the banks and gave only twenty (20) pounds even if you had millions in your bank account.
It is the children and political godsons of this same man that Araraume and his ilk have brought to Ala Igbo to colonize our people.
4. Okorocha is a born con man who is out to destabilize the state. There is the rumour that what he is actually looking for is a Ministerial appointment and that the only sure way is to cause as much confusion as possible. Ndi Imo, was that how others before him got their Ministerial positions? Why must he defy all well meaning citizens of Imo State to run for the governorship election when he does not fallen into the template.
5. To illustrate how grave Okorocha’s candidature is to the polity of Imo state, even his co-traveler, Ifeanyi Araraume, told him recently that he can never be governor, describing him as an “incredible optimist”. Imo people can see that they are already quarrelling over the loot even before they get it.
6. Ndi Imo, a vote for Rochas Okorocha and Ifeanyi Araraume means a vote for backwardness, lies, political jobbery. The Choice Is Ours

First of all, Mr. TobechukwuC is not correct about Rt. Hon. Noel Chukwukadibia being a YES man. Senator Ararume if context was an end to a means. We all know that Rt. Hon. Noel Chukwukadibia in any life time will win anybody including the incumbent governor Chief Okorocha if given the opportunity to service. He's service has always been demanded both in the state and in the nation. if you don't believe me check this link http://allafrica.com/stories/200711010282.html . But we all know the way politics is played in this country. Rt. Hon. Noel Chukwukadibia is the best candidate for Imo State, representation of Ambassador or even minister.