Chief Martin Agbaso has of recent not said anything political without
sounding regretful for the now humiliated-assistance he said that he
bestowed to Governor Rochas Okorocha, which tremendously saw to the success
of the later on the platform of All Progressives Peoples Alliance (APGA),
in the 2011 elections.
In that regard, Agbaso has said that he wants to succeed Governor Rochas
Okorocha in 2015. It could be known that, to a certain extent, the name
Agbaso rings a bell in Nigeria, but many only came to know about the
Agbasos, when Sir Jude Agbaso, the former Deputy Governor of Imo State, was
in political skirmishes, over an undefined contract awards, with the
authorities of the Imo State Government.
It is believed that it was Chief Martin Agbaso who made the Agbasos to be
enunciated and on whose political wizardry Jude his younger brother emerged
as the deputy governor. The elder Agbaso had contested the gubernatorial
elections in the state in 2007, but did not show up in 2011, hence the
choice of his younger brother to be the running-mate to Okorocha.
Jude it was believed was later set up with the blast of a contract that
nearly brought the name of the Agbaso family to wreckages; but for the
elder Agbaso who put his head, it was later learned in a well publicized
correspondences that Jude was cleared of all the allegations against him.
Much of the elder Agbaso’s worry today is not about the circumstances that
led to the reprehensible ouster of his brother as deputy governor, but the
belief that the present crop of leadership in the state is not doing enough
to assuage the fester in road infrastructure, education, health, water and
recreation, amongst others.
According to him, it was his profound belief to support Okorocha in the
2011 elections with regards that the distribution formula would elevate in
reality the status of teachers, civil and public servants in the state, but
he was deceived to be reading such elevations only in the media.
Those who have come in contact with Martin Agbaso know him as a man of high
self-esteem and principle, so it was not out of place when the people of
Imo State marshaled out *en masse* to support Okorocha perhaps, because
Agbaso was there, which was a decision that Agbaso said was not an easy one
for him to take.
His unenthusiastic ordeal in the 2007 elections and the loss to court
proceedings to reclaim the mandate he believed that he was robbed of that
saw to the emergence of Mr. Ikedi Ohakim as governor, Agbaso would say that
he was not prepared mentally, physically, or financially to contest the
2011 election, therefore he allowed Okorocha to do so in APGA.
Regretting what he feels has become of Okorocha today against him, Agbaso
says that he cannot believe that this is the same man who was pleading to
him to allow him to run the Imo guber in 2011 under APGA and would be
governor for just four years.
Agbaso says that his conviction to support Okorocha was that since Okorocha
was training other people’s children with his (Okorocha’s) own funds when
he was not governor, he could do a lot more if given the chance to be in a
position of authority. However, no told Agbaso that not all that glitters
are gold!
Agbaso would say that Okorocha is still miles away from keeping to the
promise he gave to the people of Imo State during the electioneering
campaigns, there is today hardly that promised-industralised Imo State and
the windows of opportunity are farfetched. Agbaso also believes that it is
very shameful for one to lie to his or her people of putting in place
development whereas the outcome becomes ruse.
This is also the thought of many Imo people who have said they thought that
they knew Okorocha very well and acted upon their ‘little’ conviction of
his philanthropic gestures to give him their support; nevertheless it has
dawned on them that an insignificant number of Imo people today know who
the governor really is and this number is still hyping his name to where it
gets.
The regrets of Agbaso which are in piles are that Okorocha gave them a
glimmering light before 2011 that he would be succeeding the biblical Moses
who led his people to the Promised Land, but the song on the lips of
majority of Imo people like Agbaso is that Okorocha is not far from being a
shame, a sham and a scam.
One thing that observers could notice that is working for Okorocha is his
sugar mouth, which may not have been adequate with the much hyped-works
Nigerians are being fed with that dot the crannies and corners of Imo
State.
While Martins Agbaso has shown that he is licking his wounds in the hands
of Okorocha, there is a school of thought which suggests that Okorocha
should diminish his tales by moonlight in the cause of governance, which
invariably has not helped the state to come to abreast the Utopian
environment that many Nigerians have the mindset that Imo State has become
under Okorocha.
Conversely, some of the observers of the politics of Imo State are of the
viewpoint that Agbaso should stop deafening their ears with his regrets of
what they believe was a ‘business agreement’ between Okorocha and him that
later went the sour.
As the elections of 2015 are but months away, it is not certain if Agbaso
will liberate the state if given the opportunity just as Okorocha was given
this rare opportunity many are regretting today that they did not know
Okorocha would later abandon them to their old fate of suffering in high
profile dishonesty and politicking.
Whether Agbaso would be the light that Imo people are really in need of
owing to their statements in different quarters, Plato once warned mankind
that we can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real
tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.
Whichever way, Imo people should accept the apology of Agbaso that he did
not know that Okorocha would betray him by not living upto his promises.
They should despise the rituals of fake friendship, like Agbaso has said
that he has suffered in the hands of Okorocha. After all, Henry
Kissingerwarns that corrupt politicians make the other ten percent
look bad.
