By Sir Don Ubani; KSC, JP
After critically going through the speech of Mr Alexander Otti at his declaration of his membership of the All Progressives Congress on Friday 14th August, 2020, my mind quickly flashed back to some of the thoughts of American-born Philosopher and Psychologist; John Dewey, 20th October, 1859-1st June, 1952.
Without bordering my audience with details of his adumbrations on his concepts of Pragmatism, Instrumentalism and Consequentialism, it would be suffice to to recall his concern for Precise Definition. It was that concern that led him to detailed analysis of Carelessness in the Use of Words, as reported in his work, ‘knowing and the known’, in 1949.
Should there be further exposition into Dewey’s propositions, the inquirer might come face to face with Epistemology, which is the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, scope and the distinction between justified belief and worthless personal opinion.
Education, as we had learnt and believed, has the fundamental cognitive responsibility of intrinsically asserting irresistible influence on the mind of its acquisitor.
Where there is a thorough process of pragmatic and functional education, it would be assumed that the beneficiary of the process must have not only passed through school but had equally allowed the school to pass through him or her.
One basic quality and attendant display of the educated mind is evident in the choice of his or her words. As much as possible, the educated mind manifests undoubted refinement in his or her choice of words. Such a decent mind does not condescend to the indecency of vulgarity while speaking or writing.
As long as democracy is concerned, Mr Alexander Otti is fundamentally entitled to his aspiration to occupy whatever public office he dreams of. After all, in the final analysis, it will always be the electorate that would be expected to determine who governs or represents them.
What, however, I find irksome and, therefore, unacceptable is Mr Otti’s inclination to uncouthness in his use of language.
Let us examine, for instance, one of his statements at the said declaration; ‘I am rededicating my life and my struggle to end the tenure of the government of looters, by looters and for looters’.
Should a person of Mr Alexander Otti, who openly said he is fifty-five years and had attained a reasonable height in Banking and Management Industry be this vulgar? By depicting this extreme level of crudeness, has he not fallen deeply short of John Dewey’s perceptions on Epistemology? Who does he refer to as ‘looters’?
Lest Mr Alexander Otti pretends to have forgotten, the beauty of any assertion lies in its accuracy and veracity.
As usual with his wailing and ranting, Alexander made some unsubstantiable allegations, of course, only typical of a misguided politician whose inordinate ambition and the attendant desperation have dangerously combined to blindfold and leave him bereft of common sense and love for truth.
A mere cursory examination of his 14th August declaration to APC, his third Party in just six years of his entry into politics, clearly portrays Mr Otti as a deceitful character. This is a man who only takes high-class visitors to his Arochukwu Palatial Mansion but when he thinks he needs the masses made up of commoners like me, he would then create the very errorneous impression that he hails from Ehi na Uguru Ward 5 in Isialangwa-South Local Government Area. Why this deceit?
Mr Otti, while appreciating personalities who he claimed were useful to him during his transition in APGA at his Ehi na Uguru declaration, acknowledged late Dim Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu as the reason why he joined APGA. The question that arises here is, by defecting from APGA to APC, does it mean he no longer believes in the political philosophy of the late Ikemba? Would it be unfair to classify Mr Alex Otti as a typical Nigerian fair weather politician? Could Mr Otti point out any nexus between the late Dim Ojukwu’s APGA and APC?
Mr Otti has refused to appreciate realities of Abia political architecture. In the said declaration, he still went on to further deceive himself by falsely claiming that he won 2015 governorship election in Abia State but had his mandate stolen.
It is not unlikely he is still in a reverie. He buttressed his erroneous assertion by saying his Party, APGA, which he has now rejected, won Eleven Seats in the State House of Assembly. I wonder what he wanted to achieve by this gross arithmetical amnesia! If, in a House of Twenty-Four Seats, his former Party won Eleven Seats, why should he be despicably silent on the fact that the remaining and majority Thirteen Seats were seamlessly won by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Peoples Democratic Party? Pls, he should be guided. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of PDP beat Mr Otti of APGA fair and square in 2015 governorship election.
To put it in an unmistakable perspective, again true to the realities of Abia political architecture, in 2019, the winning votes of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, stably of PDP, overwhelmed and dwarfed not only that of Mr Otti who came a very painful and disheartening distant third but also that of the more enterprising and broad-minded Dr Uche Oga of APC, who gallantly came second in the election.
Again, to show how desperate Mr Otti’s vaulting ambition has decimated him, he proceeded to challenge the outcome of Abia 2019 governorship election in Court, even when he knew or should have known that as one who came a very discouraging third, there was no basis for him to challenge such a transparently-won election. Of course, the gentleman who came second, Dr Oga, being patriotically concerned about the interest of the State, went his way, wishing the Governor well in governance. No wonder Mr Otti was declared ‘a busy body and a meddlesome interloper’ by the Supreme Court.
Like he pointed out, many of those who supported him even in 2019 when he performed most abysmally, have found out the true colour of Mr Otti and have, therefore, deserted him. Well, the problem with desperation is that it denies whoever that is its victim a good sense of judgment. Mr Otti is still basking in the euphoria of his 2015 assumptions.
Now that he has decamped to APC, he may need to know the difference between realities and sentiments. In the first instance, he has, true to his nature, arrogantly and costly started on a very wrong and dangerous premise. Penultimate Friday when he hosted former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, he openly tried to humiliate the Chief Whip. Chief Orji Uzor Kalu had said, while Mr Otti was introducing him, that he was a holder of the Ugwu Aro Chieftaincy title but spontaneously, his host openly tried to debunk his claim. It took Chief Kalu some time to prove his claim, including having a collaborative evidence by an Aro indigene who holds the same Ugwu Aro title. After that humiliating interjection, Chief Kalu lost every interest in what Mr Otti was saying. He concentrated on his private chat with Senator Victor Ume whom he sat close by. There will be more cracks.
Whatever his excitements are in his new political romance with APC, it would be most naive of him to think that the Hon Minister of State for Mines; Dr Uche Oga, who had emerged second in the 2019 governorship election, would relinquish his ambition to him in 2023. By order of chronological seniority in APC and by popular preference, Dr Oga towers above him in every respect. I forsee a very likely situation where Mr Defector would defect again.
On his antagonistic preposterous allegations concerning non-payment of salaries and pensions, Mr Otti only succeeded in portraying himself as one who is uninformed or choses to be unethically economical with the truth on ground. There is no month that pensioners and civil servants in Abia State, to the best of my knowledge, do not receive their pensions and wages. Mr Otti is, however, free to chose what story that makes him happy.
On infrastructure, in as much as Mr Defector is at liberty to perceive the State of infrastructure in the State from his chosen narrow scope, objectivity demands that he should have acknowledged the giant efforts so far made by the administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in the State.
On what basis should Mr Defector accuse Governor Ikpeazu of ‘having no iota of idea’? For the first time in the history of the State, our infrastructure went through a Regid Pavement Technology. Governor Ikpeazu’s administration originated Abia Tele Health Initiative. The first Flyover in Abia State was initiated, almost being completed, by Governor Ikpeazu. The first Automated Shoe Industry in Abia State came into Abia State only courtesy of Ikpeazu’s administration. For the first time in the history of the State, Rice Mills were established for farmers in the State. It was the Ikpeazu-led government that ever bought brand new cars for Heads of Faculties at Abia State University, Uturu. Still on Teachers, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is the only Governor that ever bought brand new cars as motivation to Teachers representing the three Senatorial Districts of the State. Of course, the biggest and greatest project that will ever touch the Southeast geopolitical zone since the advent of the Third Republic is the Enyimba Economic City Development. It could only have taken a Man of clear vision and thoughts to have attracted such a gigantic economic project from a Federal Government not controlled by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Party, PDP.
Before rounding off this piece, Mr Defector should not pretend to be in a hurry to forget the enormity of disaster associated with him in the downfall of Diamond Bank. Except he could succeed in imposing a state of amnesia or even imbecility on Abians, nay, Nigerians, the managerial destruction he orchestrated at Diamond Bank would hunt him all through his life.
Altruistically, I have given him my piece of advice free of any charges. He does not need to pay any dime.
Okwubunka of Asa.
1998 Convener, PDP, Abia State.
