What sticks in the consciousness of the public is that the Igbo did not vote for the change that we have on the political scene in the country today. But that may not be entirely true. That is why I want to pay tribute to some people I know from the Southeast, who both overtly and covertly contributed to the current reality. And if you ask me, it was a change our country needed very urgently, as we were fast on the road to somewhere unpleasant. What prevails in public mind is the voting pattern in the five Southeast states, where Gen Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not score 20 percent of votes anywhere. See the picture of what happened on March 28: Abia State, PDP 368,303, APC 13,394, which is 3.3 percent of the votes. Anambra State, PDP 660,762, APC 17,926, which is 2.5 percent of the votes. Ebonyi State, PDP 323,653, APC 19,518, which is 5.0 percent of the votes. Enugu State, PDP 553,003, APC 14,157, which translates to 2.2 percent of the votes. And in Imo State, PDP 559,185, APC 133,253, which is 18.2 percent of the votes, the highest won by the then opposition party anywhere in the Southeast. Apart from the scenario above, because the region was resolved to swim or sink with President Goodluck Jonathan, it rendered itself completely impervious to change, and did not elect any federal lawmaker on the APC platform. For instance, if election had truly been allowed to hold in Anambra, Senator Chris Ngige had a fair chance of winning, and it would have been cinch that the Southeast would produce the Senate president. But as it is, the region has no ranking senator or member of the House of Representatives on APC platform, so the Igbo can’t be either Senate president or Speaker of the House of Representatives. Where then will the Southeast be in the national order of protocol? Search me. That is what they got for themselves with their votes, some people say. But I say it will not be fair to put all South-easterners in the same boat that capsized in the sea of national politics, in which the APC bested PDP with over 2.5 million votes nationwide. There were some Igbo sons (and maybe daughters) who warned the region not to put its eggs in one basket, and to be broad minded in the way they cast their votes. Some were members of APC, and worked for the party openly, while others were not, but still contributed to the process of change, and tried to rally the Igbo nation for that possible eventuality. Let me make an apology at this point. There is no way I would be able to mention all the Igbo who worked for change. APC scored over 200,000 votes in the Southeast, so all those voters are change agents. Some Igbo also voted for change in other parts of the country. My salute goes to them all, even as I begin to mention some of the heroes. Chief Ralph Obioha is chairman caretaker committee of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. I do not know if he is a full member of APC, but I know that he almost shouted himself hoarse, warning the Igbo nation not to all sleep, and face the same direction. He issued press releases, wrote articles under his own name, begged, pleaded and cajoled his kinsmen and women not to vote with sentiment. The other wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by Chief Gary Enwo-Igariwey, had endorsed Jonathan lock, stock and barrel, but the Obioha wing appealed to reason. How could the Igbo endorse a man without negotiating, they asked. What would be in it for the Igbo nation, if they decided to go with Jonathan again? At the end of it all, few days to election, Obioha in his private capacity, endorsed Buhari. He also appealed to the Igbo to vote for him and the APC. With the benefit of hindsight, Obioha was prescient, and saw into the future. Please, can he rise and take a bow? This tribute is in no particular order, but let us take Dr Chris Ngige next. This former Anambra State governor, and serving senator, has paid a big price for his political conviction. For teaming up with the APC, his people have been instigated against him by those who play parochial politics. Oh, he has teamed up with Hausa-Fulani party. Oh, he is in bed with Yoruba people who deported Igbo from Lagos. Blah blah blah. And when he ran to be governor in Anambra in 2013, they virtually made free voting impossible. They did the same on March 28, this year. And the man popularly called Onwa is left holding the very short end of the stick. He has paid a heavy price for being in APC. But Ngige saw what his people did not see. Today, the APC is on the road to being the governing party at the centre, and in many states of the federation. APC has become a tornado that has swept PDP off its perch. Rise and take a bow, Dr Ngige. You are the man who saw tomorrow. Let’s garland Eze Festus Odimegwu, the former chief executive officer of Nigeria Breweries Plc. He made two critical interventions, which went a long way to determine how the March 28 election ended. A couple of months before the polls, Odimegwu, who had headed the National Population Commission under Jonathan, and left in very controversial circumstances, came out to say Muhammadu Buhari was the next president. Shocking! But that was not where majority of his people stood. However, it did not matter to Odimegwu. One with God is a majority. Jonathan did not merit being re-elected, simple. He wrote a lengthy epistle on why Jonathan should not return, a feat he repeated once again few days to election. Now he has been proved right. Please, let Eze Odimegwu get 40 hurrahs. Professor Charles Soludo, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, is also not known to be a member of APC. But weeks to election, he made critical interventions, which showed Nigerians that they could not continue to entrust their fates in the hands of Jonathan, and his Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. Soludo faulted the fiscal policies of the government, and actually alleged that not less than 30 trillion off-budget revenue could not be accounted for. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala made some spirited defence, but Soludo continued firing from the hips. His fusillades helped to knock the PDP from power. Soludo is Igbo, yet he worked for change. He is a hero of the change that has come. Ignatius Olisemeka is a retired Ambassador. He is from the Igbo speaking part of Delta State. How did this grand old man contribute to change? The PDP had released a most bilious, virulent documentary, which was running on major television stations against Gen Buhari. The intention was to damage the man beyond repair, so that no one would buy him for even ten kobo, not to talk of electing him president. It was at the peak of that hate campaign that Olisemeka struck. And he hit the bull’s eye. He recounted how Buhari was fair and humane to him and others in the diplomatic service as military head of state, though he did not know them in person. It was a blow to the solar plexus of the hate preachers. That piece by Olisemeka was published widely in the traditional media, and also went viral online. Through it, millions of people knew the real Buhari, and today, the retired Ambassador enters the pantheon of heroes of change. He spoke out when it mattered. Governor Rochas Okorocha. Of course, he put his neck on the guillotine because of the Igbo nation. Seeing the bigger picture for the future, he led a faction of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) out of the largely provincial party, to join the APC. He was threatened and visited with plenty malediction. But Rochas, the Owelle, stood his ground. He maintained that the Igbo nation would be better off in APC. Today, he has been proved right. Tomorrow would determine whether he continues to be governor of Imo State, as the supplementary election holds. He has my endorsement, and I pray that Imo people in the voting areas would do the right thing. It is in the overall interest of Ndigbo to have an APC governor, in the light of political realities in the country. Dr Ezekiel Izuogu. Treat him like the hero that he is. When it was not fashionable to belong to APC, he threw in his lot with the party. Today, ‘vindicated’ is his middle name. Hail a man who has the courage of conviction. How about Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, former Abia State governor? Bring forth the royal diadem, and enthrone him. He was one of those who envisioned APC, and led the former All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) to consummate the coalition. Without that deal, there may not have been change today. Onu stayed the course, even when majority of his people did not follow him to APC. Hail the hero of change. How about Osita Okechukwu? As constant as the northern star! He had been with Buhari since Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) days. He’s a hero, and a very steadfast one at that. And his namesake, Osita Izunaso, the man who retired Arthur Nzeribe from the Senate? The fashionable thing would have been for Izunaso to find his way back to PDP, but he remained true to APC, and is today a hero of change. Chief Victor Ngozi Mbadiwe is the Osuohia II of Arondizuogu, in Imo State. He is son of Chief J. Green Mbadiwe, elder brother of the colourful K.O Mbadiwe. I know the Mbadiwe family fairly well, having been acquainted with the Osuohia for about 25 years. I know the passion he has for Buhari, and how he rooted for him during the campaigns. Chief Victor Mbadiwe was not treading a popular path, even within the Mbadiwe family, as most others like Chief Greg Mbadiwe, and Dr Eddie Mbadiwe, were rooting for Jonathan. Today, the Osuohia has seen farther into the future than other Mbadiwes. He’s among the heroes of change. Somebody, please bring a bouquet of flowers for the Osuohia. What do I say of the irrepressible Publisher of The Sun titles, and former two-term governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu? He’s a veritable hero of change. But he’s a dyed-in-the-wool PDP man, some people may say. Even the party he formed, the Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) was in alliance with PDP at the centre. Well, but Kalu is an unusual newspaper publisher. Though a staunch supporter of Jonathan, he did not muzzle us, nor did he coral us to support his party or candidate. He would often tell us, “you are the professionals, just do me a balanced newspaper.” That was how it was that a lot of columnists wrote to support PDP in The Sun, while former presidential spokesman, Chief Duro Onabule, and myself, wrote consistently for change. I know the pressure exerted on Kalu from very high quarters to stop us, but the man soaked in all the pressure, including being denied a senatorial ticket on PDP platform. He’s a hero of change, and a veritable one too. Please garland him. Like I said at the beginning, space would not permit me to list all the heroes. But I cannot end without giving space to the Igbo pen heroes. One of them is C. Don Adinuba, who in his writings had even pronounced Buhari president before the election. A prophet and hero this C. Don! Peter Claver Oparah is the one I call “one man battalion.” You needed to see what he did both online and in the traditional media to advance the cause of Buhari. Yet, he is Igbo. Kudos. What of Sir Abuchi Anueyiagu? Every week, he would contribute to this column, extolling Buhari’s virtues, and recommending him for president. It got to a point that his life was being threatened, and even his in-laws begged him to stop supporting Buhari openly (do you blame them? They don’t want their daughter to become a widow) but Abuchi stuck to his guns. Right was Sir Walter Scott when he wrote: “Other people’s resolutions may fluctuate on the wild and changeful billows of human opinion. Ours, now and forever, is anchored on the Rock of Ages.” The writer probably had Abuchi in mind. His opinion was steadfast, anchored on the Rock of Ages. The same I will say of Ichie Tiko Okoye, who maintains a regular column in Daily Independent, and also contributes to The Sun. A fervent Buharist he is, and no mistake. How about other Igbo respondents to this column? Dr Kelechi Nwagwu, Dr Okeychukwu, Chief J.J Ibeka, Barrister Festus Nwanosike, High Chief Maduike from Imo, Unjoerated Onwukeme from Enugu, Mazi Ogbona, and many others? You are all heroes of change. Please, rise up to be appreciated. Yes, the Igbo nation as a body contributed just about 200,000 votes to Buhari and the APC from the Southeast region. But we have the concept of kinsman-redeemer. All the Igbo people mentioned above, and many others we can’t mention, have redeemed their other kinsmen. Therefore, in the incoming government, the Igbo should have nothing to fear. Gen Buhari and his party would give them their dues, whether they voted overwhelmingly for or against APC. This is surely a new breed without greed. Igbo kwenu.
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