The President of Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, the apex Cultural Group of all Igbo Organisations, Chief Nnia Nwodo, has denounced a letter, purportedly written by the Miyetti Allah, congratulating, him for a job well-done during his tenure.
Nwodo is the outgoing President of Ohanaeze.
The letter also endorsed and congratulated Prof. George Obiozor, a front runner in the race to succeed as the in-coming President, saying Obiozor, having, been endorsed by Governor Hope Uzodinma, is acceptable to them, and would protect their interest.
The letter which has gone viral, has not only been dismissed as roguish, but one meant to cause mischief, and bad blood. Nwodo called it a huge joke, and insane.
The Presidency of Ohanaeze is rotated among the Igbo speaking States. Having gone round all the other States, it is now the turn of Imo State to produce. But this has brought so much rancor among the many interested in the office, that many Imolites fear it could degenerate into confusion and bad blood.
However, it worsened since when a group of Imo State stakeholders, led by Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, an Elder Statesman, presented Obiozor as the consensus candidate for the office.
That presentation was met by protests among the other aspirants, including Dr. Chris Asoluka, Chief Joe Nwaogu, and a couple of others.They said the election must follow laid down procedures and protocols which Nwodo’s adoption does not meet. They insist that everybody must be given equal opportunity to undergo screening and interviews.
That has now been agreed upon.
But the situation has become desperate and reached a new low with the viral rogue Miyetti Allah letter to Nwodo.
There has been a debate, since Monday, over whether the letter was genuine or not. However, opinion is that it was meant to drag Governor Uzodinma into the fray, discredit Prof Obiozor’s status and reputation, and present him as a candidate of the Hausa/Fulani.
Following, Nwodo’s reaction, signed by Chief Emeka Attamah, his Special Assistant.
“Our attention has been drawn to a highly fallacious and spurious letter purported to have been written by the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a Fulani socio-cultural organization, to the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo.
The said letter congratulated Chief Nwodo for his able leadership of the apex Igbo socio-cultural body and enjoined him to ensure that Professor George Obiozor from Imo State emerges as his successor as it is the turn of the state to produce the next President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
They claimed that discussions with the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, indicated that Ambassador Obiozor would protect the interest of the Fulani as President General, and as a recompense for Chief Nwodo’s expected role in making this happen, they had forwarded his name to the presidency for an appointment. What insult ! What impudence !
If not for the currency the letter has gained having gone viral in the social media, one would’ve ignored it as a laughable piece of junk fit for the trash can, but this time it is a joke gone too far, the discerning public having known the image and integrity of Chief Nwodo who has had a successful and unblemished public service career as a two-time Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
So, to totally debunk and deflate the despicable and malicious, half-baked smear campaign, the following clarifications are important :
- The vexatious letter was dated far back in August and Chief Nwodo’s attention was drawn to it only yesterday in the social media. He never saw it before then as none was sent to him.
- The home address written on the letter suggests that Chief Nwodo’s house is at Golf Estate whereas all those who know him know he has never lived there, thereby casting a lot of doubt over the authenticity of the letter.
- It is either that the official letterhead of Miyetti Allah was stolen or cloned and used by the purveyor of the letter without the knowledge of the Fulani group or, if the signature of the National Secretary of Miyetti on the letter is real, then there is an inexplicable ploy by some people to interfere in the election of the incoming leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
- The leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo is not for sale and nobody can manipulate the choice of Ndigbo and the outcome of the election.
- Chief Nwodo has never and will never attend any meeting where the people of Imo State will determine who their flag bearer will be, and Ohanaeze will conduct election for all those who indicate interest and purchase the form for it.
- Chief Nwodo has a pedigree he is proud of and is desirous of protecting. He has made a name for himself through dint of hard work, sagacious social interactions and unequalled intellectual and transparent service and leadership.
It is, therefore, preposterous for anybody to imagine, believe or imply that Chief Nwodo requires the recommendation of any socio-cultural group for him to be considered for an appointment in Nigeria. That alone should bring out clearly the absurdity, incongruity and absolute imbecility of the badly conceived and baseless letter. It is said that ‘Falsus in uno, Falsus in omnibus’, false in one thing, false in everything.
- If, perchance, this is the evil machination of any would-be aspirant or a group with vested interest, then, it has certainly back fired and is of no effect.
- The general public should, therefore, discountenance the letter and see it as the pitiable handiwork of unsuccessful detractors because Chief Nwodo is resolute about leaving behind a viable and people chosen leadership for Ohanaeze Ndigbo and has sworn to do that unabashed.”
