The much reported embarrassment, insult, humiliation or whatever you call it meted out to the Executive Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha by the enfant terrible, Charles Oputa alias CharlyBoy at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Oguta during his late father’s (Justice Chukwudifu Akunne Oputa) burial received worldwide media attention and became the toast of most local and National tabloids. Since that infamous incident most articles, commentaries and stories have been written, some from altruistic point of view; yet others from opponents view point but all based on subjective and objective stand point depending on one’s divide. Ordinarily if the incidence was between CharlyBoy and one farmer, it would not have merited media attention. But because a sitting performing Governor was involved and his political opponents were there also, it became a front page or headline news. After all when beggars die, there are no comets seen, but heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.
Being present at the venue, I need not to bother myself with what happened since my professional colleagues have dealt with the subject matter before now. But I am worried and concerned with issues emanating from-that ungodly episode. To be honest, no same person will clap or praise Charles Oputa for that bizarre, childish rascality displayed by a 64year old grandfather. I found it difficult to fathom out what led him to such behavior even in a holy ground where the gospel of respect to constituted authority is preached. However, after taking certain variables into consideration, I reasoned that he may have been under the influence of something. This point of reasoning made me not to bother myself much about his conduct but to ask God to forgive him for he knew not what he did.
However, I felt terribly bad when I came outside the church and heard one young man eulogizing this rascally behavior. In my conclusion I felt that the young man in question is also mad. When I confronted him and let him know that the action of CharlyBoy was a disgrace to the entire Oguta Local Government Area and that he shares in that disgrace since he is from Agwa, the young man replied “Let CharlyBoy insult Okorocha, he deserves the insult and humiliation because he has insulted PDP and the Presidency much”.
Then I saw the angle he was coming from and further told him that the humiliation or embarrassment or insult was not to the person of Okorocha but the entire Imo citizens, being the sitting Governor of the State and the symbol of authority in Imo State. The young man’s level of understanding was very apeish and I discovered that he had academic myopia, so I loft him to wallow in his ignorance.
I know there are thousands of people, especially political opponents, who reason along the same line with the young man. But the truth remains that no right thinking human being will eulogize such unruly conduct. The office of an Executive Governor carries much respectability, dignity and honour and he is the symbol of authority of the state. Whoever is the occupant of that office should be accorded due respect and honour. Okorocha is the number one tenant of Douglas House, Owerri today. Tomorrow it might be the turn of another person. Therefore Governor Okorocha deserves some respect from Charles Oputa. That boyish behavior of Charles, from whatever angle one looks at it, is condemnable and smacks of adult rascality which simply portrayed him as a mad fellow.
The body language and facial expression of many dignitaries in the church sent a message of condemnation. I have no doubt that the departure of Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State and many other dignitaries who left the church immediately after the incident, was a way of registering their protest and condemnation. Perhaps many people forgot in a jiffy that the late legal icon, Justice Oputa was the first Chief Justice of Imo State. And being an illustrious son of Imo State who rose to the apogee of a Justice of Supreme Court, of Nigeria, he was a public figure and deserved a state and national burial. That informed His Excellency’s interest and participation in the burial. Protocol in such public outing demands that the serving Governor of the State who is the Chief host should welcome the President or his Representative and other important dignitaries. Whoever calied upon the president’s representative at the occasion, Senator Pius Anyim to make the first speech committed serious blunder. But even at that, CharlyBoy committed a much blunder when he snatched the microphone from the reverend father and retorted that he doesn’t want Governor Okorocha to speak. His action was bizarre, uncivilized, uncultured and boyish. This naked display of paranoia was provocative and I thank his Excellency for his maturity in handling the matter. He really displayed the character of a father figure.
I have rationalized this uncouth behavior to understand what he intended to achieve but I have not come out with any meaningful answer. Was he on his own or was he instigated by someone else to do that? if answer to the latter is affirmative, what did the person intend to achieve? Does the person understand that the office of State Governor is not all about the incumbent occupant but the symbol of the entire state. Whatever the masterminds of that ugly incident wanted to achieve using Oguta LGA as their scene, was defeated by the applause, and loud ovation that ushered the Governor out of the church premises.
Infact the managing Director of ISOPADEC, Dr. Hlenry Okafor deserved some commendations. As if he had foreknowledge of what was going to happen, he mobilized APC women and youths whose chorus of Owelle. Owelle, was joined by other supporters and admirers of the Governor. So the humiliation CharlyBoy and his sponsors intended to hand out to the Governor was enveloped and eclipsed by the ovation and thunderous cheers the Governor received from his supporters while he was leaving the church premises.
However, based on my experience as a two term Councillor and Leader of a Legislative Council and having been privileged to have hosted the former First Lady of the State, Madam Theresa Udenwa during the 2005 Women August Meeting, the uncivilized behavior of CharlyBoy would have been nipped in the bud if certain individuals of Oguta Local Government Area extraction who parades themselves as apostles of the rescue mission administration had played their role well. The Transition Committee Chairman of Oguta Local Government Area, Dr. Louis Obodo, for instance, demonstrated his inexperience and naivety in handling council administration. Being the Governor’s appointee and representative in Oguta L.G.A he failed to liaise with the Oputa family in planning the burial of the legal icon. According to a member of the burial committee who spoke with me on phone, the TC chairman never showed any enthusiasm or interest in knowing what was happening. That Oputa served as the first Chief Justice of Imo State and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, his burial was to attract dignitaries from the state and outside. The State Governor, from the day his death was made public, made it clear that the late legal icon would be accorded a state burial. This decision even informed the Governor’s condolence visit to the Oputa family and a day of tribute in honour of the Late Jurist. My point of argument is that since the TC Chairman knew that his boss would be attending the burial, he ought to have liaised with the family and the burial committee to know every detail of the programme and report same to the protocol officers of His Excellency. This interaction would have afforded him the opportunity to know where and how to slot in the Governor’s speech. The Transition Committee Chairman, being the Chief Security Officer of the local government failed woefully in his duty and exposed the Governor to ridicule. If he had maintained regular contact with the family or the burial committee the ugly incident would have been taken care of by the protocol department of the Government House. The flimsy excuse that the Oguta Community and the burial committee never wanted lino State government to participate in the burial activities was but a defence mechanism put forward to exonerate himself from blame. Did he not know that whenever the Governor is visiting his domain, his primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of his entourage and the success of whatever programme in hand. If there was obvious sign that the Oguta community or the Oputa family never wanted the Governor to attend the burial, did he notify the protocol department on time? Infact the TC Chairman failed in his duties and if in civilized country ought to have resigned his appointment or
be kicked out of office.
Beside, before the burial date there was what one may term “cold war” between CharlyBoy and His Excellency. The walk out by CharlyBoy on the day of tribute was a clear signal that all was not well. The Secretary to the State Government (SGI), the Apex Leader of Oguta Local Government Area; Prof. A.G. Anwukah, would have seen the hand writing on the wall and intervene immediately, to keep his house in order before that burial day. Whether he did or not, I don’t know; but if he did, he would have succeeded in penetrating the Oputa family, thereby affording him the opportunity to know the funeral programme and make necessary corrections. Or still, even in the church when the priest announced that only two people would be allowed to speak, he would have made a note to draw the priest’s attention that the Governor will speak first. If this note had reached the priest, probably through the mass-servants, this blunder may have been avoided. The priest who invited the President’s representative to speak first may not know official government protocol and therefore absolved himself of blame.
Unfortunately the incident happened, courtesy of human error and we have embarked on face-saving through apology letters, courtesy visits and advertorials. Well, Owelle please forgive us and hold not this sin against us. We promise our leaders will not fail you again when next you visit Oguta Local Government Area. This is our prayer in Jesus name. Amen.
Another side of the CharlyBoy’s soap opera which I find disgusting is the attempt by some groups and individuals to lean on it to pursue personal vendetta against certain individuals they perceived as being on their way. The attempt by some elements from Oguta community to use the opportunity to lay false claims to issues relating to oil production quota in Imo state is unrelated to the sin of their son. Besides, the unwarranted attacks on the person of Dr. Henry Okafor as the Managing Director of ISOPADEC encapsulated in an article titled “Re: Funeral incident during the burial of Justice C.A. Oputa” published in White Paper of Monday July 14, 2014 page 9, does not in any way relate to the CharlyBoy saga. Infact there is no correlation between the appointment of Dr. Okafor as the Managing Director of ISOPADEC and CharlyBoy’s schizophrenic action. They are two different issues and anybody who tries to place the two together must produce discordant views. The issue of oil production capacity of communities in Imo state and Oguta Local Government Area in particular, is a verifiable one and no single community can lay claim to being the lone goose that lays the golden egg. And one basic fact about oil production is that the number of oil wells a community has may not determine the quantity of barrel production per day. For example, Oguta community may have one thousand oil wells producing 1000 barrels per day while Eziorsu with only 20 wells produces 5000 barrels per day. By the way did Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) released to Oguta the production capacity of all communities in Imo State? How did they come to know that only Oguta produces about 62%. So the argument on production quota is neither here nor there. At this material time they should be concerned with how to mend fences with the state government for the insult their son gave to the number one citizen of the state and not issue of oil production quota and community development. The simple truth is that oil producing communities in Imo state are neglected and marginalized by the state government and Eziorsu is the worst hit as the author noted. But we should not use the CharlyBoy incident to address this issue.
On the appointment of Dr. Okafor as the M.D. of ISOPADEC, it is the prerogative of the state Governor acting on the enabling law establishing the commission. The present amended law was not even done by the present regime. The fundamental truth remains that the proponents of the enabling law, both the original and the amended, hadn’t the interest of the development of oil producing communities at heart. Otherwise how do one explain the presence of non oil producing areas of the state in the membership of the commission’s board. How many of them can differentiate between crude oil and palm kernel oil or still how many of them feel the impact of oil’ exploration and exploitation and its attendant environmental degradation. Yet they take away the little 13% derivation fund meant for the oil producing areas to their respective domains. We kept quiet all the years and pursue shadows. The proponents of the ISOPADEC law only succeeded in propounding a law which their brothers and cronies were the prime beneficiaries, having been rewarded with the office of the managing Director or Chairman.
When the Ohakim administration embarked on the amendment of the said law, a group of young men and women from Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta L.G.As, led by Frank Iworishe, including my humble self, kicked against certain sections of the proposed amendment, especially the area that dealt with the office of the Managing Director and Chairman, which we saw as unnecessary duplication. We submitted our input to that effect but our views and opinions were consigned to the dustbin.
The Owelle administration inherited the law and in an attempt to sanitize the commission appointed Dr. Henry Okafor after the tenure of Anayo Alozie. He who has the power to hire has the same power to fire. But in the judgment of His Excellency Dr. Okafor has not been found wanting in the discharge of his duties and that explains his continued stay in Office. The question of where he comes from is meaningless because the governor relied on the enabling law to appoint him. And since his appointment the young man has demonstrated a rare leadership skill unseen among his peers. He has succeeded in galvanishing the youths and women of the oil producing communities. As stated abnitio, he has performed creditably well in the eyes of the Governor and that was why he reappointed him. I am not his spokesman, neither have I benefitted anything from him, but I stand to say that he has restored sanity to ISOPADEC which hitherto was another “Fuji house of commotion”. My advise to my brothers and the good people of Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta L.G.As, is to support him and give him the chance to run out his tenure. Thereafter another person can take over and we compare and contrast.
But let me ask this question, what magic are we expecting from Dr. Okafor. We have had past Chairmen and Managing Directors and what had they done. If they had started the miracle we are now demanding from Okafor, Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta LGAs would have been paradise. Barr Emma Nnani, former chairman of ISOPADEC told our delegation sometime ago that his board could not perform because the state government was starving them of fund. The monthly 13% derivation fund is shared on the basis of 60% to the state and 40% to the commission. I don’t know what operates now but what can 40% do in the development of oil producing areas. Our people should redirect their energy and ask pertinent questions about the 13% derivation fund, its total value, disbursement and utilization. It is time we stop this mudslinging, slander, politics of pull him down and why must it be he.Appointment is turn by turn and only time speaks for it. It is high time we forge a united front and ask questions about what is ours. Let nobody use the CharlyBoy issue to pitch the people of Oru Ward and Ossemotor Enuigbo Ward against each other. When Pharaoh that knows Joseph comes to the thrown, the Oru people shall have their fair share. A word is enough for the wise.
Hon Godwin Amugo (ksc) is the
APC Facilitator of Oru Ward.
