From: njoboy@yahoo.com
Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 18:56:08 -0700

Folks,

I have been reading all the banter going on in these fora regarding the upcoming election in Imo State. It seems like the loudest has been the throw Ohakim out gang. It is very unfortunate that these anti-Ohakim gang are so adamant about their cause, but then tend to rally around other career politicians ie Rochas, Ararume, Ibe, Nwajuba etc. One would think that if we are so concerned about Imo State, we would not fight to wrestle it out of Ohakim's hand and turn around and hand it right back to another Ohakim that goes by a different name.
This is why I am endorsing the forwarded email below and throwing my support to my good friend, fellow diasporan and actually a registered member of an ISCA affiliate Attorney Nnanyereugo Francis Ononaji as the next Governor of Imo State.
Please read the forwarded email and I am sure you will agree with me.

Sir Chima Njoku
Atlanta, GA

Published here,
http://www.imostate.gov.ng/forum/politics/516

Subject: MY VOTE GOES TO ONONAJI (AGENT OF CHANGE)

Date: Thursday, 31 March, 2011, 9:37

MY VOTE GOES TO BARRISTER FRANCIS NNANYEREUGO ONONAJI (Agent for Change).
I was in the US during the early days of Obama campaign. In fact, I was in South Carolina when he came to South Carolina State University, in the city of Orangeburg where I was staying. An Igbo lawyer, Pam, in those early days, was highly optimistic while many blacks gave Obama no chance because they considered him an outsider in the Presidential race. Well, perhaps, he began as an outsider but ended up in the White House as the President of United States of America, the first black President. Many did not give him a chance but he took his chance because he believed that seagulls can fly well high beyond sea level.


In the race for the governorship of Imo State, if your name is not Ikedi Ohakim, Ararume or Rochas, a lot of people consider you an outsider.  Nnanyereugo Francis Ononaji, like Obama, is considered one of the outsiders but he is the young man who has my vote. My reason is very simple: I want a servant not a ruler. Imo state more than any other state in Nigeria needs a servant not an ‘Oga’. That is why, after considering their backgrounds and dispositions, I am in no doubt that Ononaji is the one that can serve the people of Imo State.

Ononaji hails from Uzoagba in Ikeduru, the second son of the Parish Catechist, Innocent Ononaji. He attended St Peter Claver Seminary, Okpala, before going to study law at Rivers State University of Science and Technology.  He has maintained the spirituality of his family and works as a volunteer catechist at his parish church in New York. Deciding to join the race for the governor of Imo State, he is responding to the clarion call for people in the Diaspora to come home and change things for the better. This is a race that springs out of compassion for the Igbo and, of course, out of the disillusionment being felt in the Diaspora over Igbo land and Nigeria. Life for the Igbo in the Diaspora has been financially gruesome, basically, due to over-dependence of relatives and acquaintances back home. Most of these dependents are capable of taking care of themselves given a good government. For the little minds, the man in the Diaspora should remain there and be sending money instead of getting involved in politics at home. However, those who really seek to lead good lives know that it is better to be taught how to fish than to be given fish. The best support anyone can give to our people now is to create an atmosphere and an economy where every individual can realize their potentials, become self-dependent and happy. This is the reason Ononaji has decided to come home and vie for the governorship of Imo State.

Ononaji’s choice of the Democratic Front for a People’s Federation (DFPF) as the platform for his aspiration makes him all the more reliable to deliver the fruits of democracy to the people of Imo State. DFPF was formed by no other than the Nobel Literature Laureate and human rights activist, Wole Soyinka. His pedigree cannot be compared with any in Nigerian politics today.  Soyinka, in recent times has become the conscience of Nigeria. Everyone, especially the youths look up to him for leadership and he has not disappointed. If there is only one person who formed a political party for the purpose of finding a way out of this mess we are in, it is Soyinka. He is one person you cannot buy over. Ononaji is in Soyinka’s party because they share the same ideals. He is a foundation member of Nigerian Lawyers Association in the USA and a human rights advocate like Soyinka. Belonging to Soyinka’s party is a declaration in itself that one is ready for public accountability while in office because that is what the party is all about. With Soyinka, there is no hiding place for a corrupt politician.

Ononaji’s mission is to cleanse Imo State of corruption; to free the people from the terrorist atmosphere that has engulfed the state, heightened in the past four years of Ohakim’s regime; to provide the basic amenities – good education, health care system, security, water, electricity and good roads – for the people.  It is the general mission of the Democratic Front for a People’s Federation to make the federation belong to the people. Let us put it another way: this party has come as a platform for the ordinary men and women to stand and fight  with human rights activists against the anomalies in the government and take over power for the good of all. For those who have been following Soyinka’s lectures from the time of Obasanjo’s regime and his activities to this moment, the message has been consistent, calling on the people to stand up and take back the power which belongs to them. Going through the ballot box to take over power instead of taking to the streets or using violence is the most legitimate and peaceful process. It is an opportunity, which sensible people will not let slip away. We are all crying for an agent of change. An agent of change has come and we must recognize his presence.

This is the time for us to know if Imo State is the home of sensible people or not. Our politicians have been taking us for granted and have been using all manners of politicking – parochialism, zone sentiments, bribery and terrorism – to disable the populace. There are talks all over the place that Imo State will probably remain the most backward state in Nigeria because its citizens are laidback, they want the money for the here and now, they worship criminals who steal from them, they are easily bought over, they are full of fear, and they are full of nepotism.  Is it not time we say to the rest of the country and those who see us as lame ducks that they are wrong and to them who now think that the State has become their personal property that ‘enough is enough?’

Use your vote to free Imo State from slavery. Nnanyereugo Francis Ononaji is our chance.

Chikwendu Anyanwu