By Oguwike Nwachuku
“Men are marked from the moment of birth to rule or be ruled,” Aristotle said.
Relate this statement to my principal, His Excellency, Dist. Governor Hope Uzodimma, and the circumstances that brought him into the office he occupies today, the battle from birth to keep his head up and remain relevant despite the vicissitudes of life, then, your guess is as good as mine. His destiny has not played games on him.
Today, December 12, 2020, Governor Hope Odidika Uzodimma of Imo State marks his 62nd birthday.
Many people may ask: What is the big deal about his birthday since it is not a landmark one? I will explain shortly.
This birthday is important, if not more significant than the perceived landmark birthdays in the imagination of naysayers because of the time and circumstances under which it is being marked.
By the way, Governor Hope Uzodimma has every reason to roll out the drums this day because by this time last year most of his political traducers and opponents would have roasted him alive, directly or indirectly, had he called himself Governor even if for the fun of it, regardless of his desire to retrieve his stolen mandate then.
And if less mortals could find time to celebrate an addition to their years without any other achievement following it, how much more for someone who has got many achievements to his name in the past 62 years, and recently, as a Governor?
No doubt, the only person who could have known he would wear an executive cap in addition to the legislative garb he adorned for unbroken eight years as a distinguished Senator is Governor Hope Uzodimma himself.
That is if he had the premonition based on his personal relationship with his Creator, the Almighty God.
Even at that, except everything was revealed to him, he could not have been too sure how the metamorphosis from Senator to Governor would have happened, notwithstanding how strong his intuitive perception may be, if God did not underline what he has destined Hope Uzodimma to become in life.
We may be regaled with tales of prophets, seers, imams and other spiritual people bringing to the public space what was spiritually revealed to them about Hope Uzodimma, but that could only have been possible because they are simply instruments in the hands of God to fulfil His plan for Onwa Oyoko.
I do not know what is going on in the mind of Governor Hope Uzodimma now in the presence of God as he remembers today 62 years ago, but I definitely know that part of his thought line is to devote a substantial part of today ruminating on God’s faithfulness to him.
Governor Hope Uzodimma that I have come to know will stop at nothing today to reciprocate God’s faithfulness and love to a man born to the humble family of Igwe Michael Uzodimma and Ezinne Rose Uzodimma in a small community called Ozuh Omuma, in Oru East local government Area of Imo State.
In the widest imagination of many, they probably would have thought, years back, how possible it could have been for the Uzodimma family to produce a Governor.
Is it therefore out of place if Onwa Oyoko finds time to celebrate, or even for Imo people to celebrate on his behalf, having it at the back of their mind that the saying, “no condition is permanent”, has fully played out in the case of Hope Uzodimma?
I have worked closely with him for 11 months and can confidently say that God Almighty does not make mistake.
Depending on how you want to assess him, Governor Uzodimma symbolises what a good politician who craves service to the people and good governance should be. His passion for good governance for Imo people is legendry.
He has shown himself to be a businessman of note, but not in the fashion of ruthless business people who think that morality has no relationship with their business interest. Money is not everything to Governor Hope Uzodimma. He does not worship money the way most people do.
Governor Hope Uzodimma is not just a Christian because the Bible and the Rosary as a Catholic are at his disposal, rather he is one Christian who wears humility like a piece of cloth and understands the import of serving God humbly, in truth and in spirit.
Talk of a man who has a penchant for hard work, and ready to live by example, then you want to be under the tutelage of Governor Hope Uzodimma. I do not know how many of his aides who are not grateful that God brought them closer to him to learn at his feet.
Yours sincerely is definitely amassing wisdom and life experiences hitherto unknown to him from Governor Hope Uzodimma.
You need to be close to him to fully appreciate why the love his people and anyone else who have come in contact with him is infectious. People love him dearly because he has shown himself to have first loved them unconditionally.
He does not believe in hypocritical social status or class syndrome that is worshipped like a religion by many people who have achieved as much as himself or even less.
Rather, he blends well with all facets of mankind, one habit that endears him to all and sundry. If you think you are humorous, wait until you come in contact with Onwa Oyoko.
I am yet to see a man who remembers and cares for all his friends across life’s journey, from primary school through secondary school to tertiary institutions, and even into his journey in business and politics, working so hard to ensure that none is left unattended to.
Part of what aides regard as a challenge to Hope Uzodimma as Governor is his ability to still treat people who troop into his office for one minor reason or another as though he is still that independent person or that Senator people can bump into at will to discuss their personal affairs.
While many people may see that as a weakness, Governor Hope Uzodimma sees it as strength that must be harnessed. He believes the people who come around him regardless of their reason for doing so are the ones who will judge him correctly.
Do unto others as you would want them do unto you seems to have long sat well in the inner chambers of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s mind.
That is why he has a ready response to what anyone may regard as disturbance from those who congregate around him every day regardless of where they are coming from.
He said: “The mighty ones are active, the lazy ones are passive … both mighty and lazy ones are all important. No one is useless in this life.
“We don’t have to discriminate against people wherever they reside in the country. Once you’re a citizen of this country, you’re qualified, you’re eligible, you’re free under the law to decide to settle in any party of the country and go about your businesses without fear of molestation.
“I will rather that other people judge me. But I must say that so far, so good, as far as my political career is concerned, my greatest joy is that I have used my position …. to impact very positively on the lives of my people.”
Governor Hope Uzodimma has probably read Jeffrey J. Fox’s book How to get to the top: Business lessons learned at the dinner table (2007) which encouraged him to take the above positions. Fox sees strength in everyone, particularly when all gather around the piece of a mahogany.
“Work on the products customers buy, no matter how old and boring. Work on the people who are proven cash register ringers, no matter how difficult to manage. Work on strengths. Work on what is working or you won’t be,” says Fox.
I sincerely do not think that Governor Hope Uzodimma’s birthday should be an opportunity to talk politics around him since we will have the opportunity to showcase his giant strides in office after one year in a few week’s time.
However, it is important that we invite well-meaning people and those who desire good governance to continue to offer supplication to God for the life of our Governor so that the flame of his vision for our dear state will be fully aglow and realised.
He himself has acknowledged that he is the most blackmailed politician in the country, and he is in a position to know.
But to us, it is a deliberate ploy by competing political interests and forces to perpetually put him in bad light so that he does not get the opportunity to provide a type of leadership, particularly in Imo State, that is at variance with what we got over the years that caused so much pain and slowed down development.
If only our people, Imolites, can discern and are patient to see through the conspiracy of past leaders and their collaborators in public service to destroy our common destiny by appropriating what belongs to everyone – a narrative Hope Uzodimma is working hard to change – they will pray for this Governor daily.
Perception is everything and ignorance is a disease. Unless you come close to Hope Uzodimma you may not have a proper handle on his true persona.
The gang up against him over the years by those who think the best way to stifle his vision for good governance in Imo State is by painting him negatively may have been dealt a deadly blow by the Unchangeable Changer – God.
Even those who hitherto were ignorant about who truly Hope is are now beginning to see that there is hope in this Hope of Imo.
Socrates said: “Most people, including ourselves, live in a world of relative ignorance. We are even comfortable with that ignorance, because it is all we know. When we first start facing truth, the process may be frightening, and many people run back to their old lives.
“But if you continue to seek truth, you will eventually be able to handle it better. In fact, you want more! It’s true that many people around you now may think you are weird or even a danger to society, but you don’t care. Once you’ve tasted the truth, you won’t ever want to go back to being ignorant.”
Many people who thought they knew Hope Uzodimma should be asking God now to forgive their ignorance of his true person. It is only now most of them are beginning to come to terms with his real self.
When we celebrate seasons, like birthdays, we remind ourselves that no condition is ever permanent. We remind ourselves that we cannot be overjoyed in good fortune nor be scornful in misfortune.
Seasons reinforce our hope that our destiny is in our hands and that if we work sincerely, steadfastly and prayerfully the rest will be God’s to crown our efforts.
Seasons teach us not to settle for what we already know concerning ourselves. They tell us never to stop believing in the power of our ideas, our imagination, our hard work to change the world of our dream, even if it means the world is pregnant with our destiny.
A closer peep into Hope Uzodinma’s career reveals a man who does not give in easily, not even to defeat. He fights until he wins. The best in him pops up when he is confronted by challenges than can devastate his traducers or opponents.
And that is simply what happens to Hope Uzodimma who, by this time last year, was not Governor but today is the Governor of Imo State and 62. Happy birthday Onwa Oyoko, nay Onwa Imo. May your days be long and fruitful on earth.
· Oguwike Nwachuku, Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser to Governor Uzodimma, writes from Owerri