By Dr. Asadu Idigi

“Distraught with the comprehension of his political demise, a shovel stood dormant, in the ditch of her own digging. Now sheltered from the glare of greed, pride, ego, self-pity and inordinate ambition, were the distasteful thoughts sprinkled in fool’s gold.” The former People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) aspirant and now Labour Party’s governorship candidate, Mr. Chijioke Edeoga definitely needs some helps. He would really need immediate psychological counseling and clinical therapy. Just like many people are calling on his people to seek help for him, I too also reason that way. Chijioke Edeoga needs some urgent help. He’s sick.

His recent regressive character whimsically dangling between two extreme corners shows he needs either a psychiatrist or a phycologist or both. He is becoming unstable by the day. His political delusion with reality is giving him away. Somebody has got to do something about Chijioke’s disconnect from political realities. It’s time Edeoga is saved from the political suicide mission he has just embarked on.

Aside his erratic character which has come under curious interrogation by concerned Enugu state citizens, Chijioke and his sponsors are building a castle in the air. They want to become governor and godfather in Enugu state. They want to hijack the collective patrimony of the good people of the state and run it as family and in-laws affairs. They certainly need some help before it’s too late.

Who could have given Chijioke the ill advice to run against his conscience and swallow back his regurgitation? Why is he desperate for the position of governor of Enugu state? Why is his heart filled with resentment and vengeance despite the soft landing given to him after his embarrassing defeat at the poll? Pride, ego and inordinate ambition are self-destructive, and Chijioke is toeing that path after honourably conceding to defeat. He should get awoken and break the chain of political slavery some people are pushing him into. Why can’t Chijioke see his imminent political retirement and redundancy from the suicidal steps he has decided to take? He needs our help. Unfortunately for him, he will soon find out he is alone and will be abandoned by the pack of wolves and hawks deceiving him.

Who has done this to him? Poor Chijioke! Some people have got him hypnotized by promising him electoral victory. Sadly, these are people who couldn’t win their polling units. These are very few irrelevant people from Enugu North Senatorial zone who are living and feeding fat from Governor Ugwuanyi’s benevolence. When they were battling with hunger and poverty, Governor Ugwuanyi reached out to them, lifted them out of the slums, gave them succour by appointing them into key positions and also instrumental in their victory into the revered highest Igbo socio-cultural organization. Having been fed, they’re out to challenge their “Chi” to a battle contest. How are the mighty fallen!

Why are they more Isi Uzo than the people of Isi Uzo? Why are they more bereaved than Isi Uzo people in Enugu East Senatorial zone? What are their interests in another zone? A certain family in Nsukka wants to pocket the whole of Enugu state by inciting Chijioke into political gullibility. It’s not too late for Chijioke to retrace his steps and rejoin the party that made him who he is today. A party that raised him from rag to riches. A government that gave him voice when his voice was already dissipating without hope. For goodness sake, must Chijioke be governor in 2023? Vengeance will take him nowhere but political abandonment and obscurity. His defeat in Labour Party is imminent. How will a man that couldn’t win the votes of his ward become the governor? Perhaps, the effect of acute malaria at play.

The questions many people have been asking since the announcement of Chijioke’s candidature in Labour Party last weekend are; why is Mr. Chijioke Edeoga, a failed former Commissioner of Environment and Mineral Resources, running from pillar to post? Must he shift the goalpost to the middle of the field just to score? Why is he approbating and reprobating; blowing hot and cold at the same time? Why is he desperate when the people of Enugu state have rejected him during the PDP primaries where he suffered a humiliating defeat after arrogantly touting and parading himself as the “anointed” candidate? Why is Chijioke trying to reap where he never sowed? Labour Party only exists on paper in Enugu state, and trying to manipulate Mr. Peter Obi’s campaign mantra to his own advantage can be politically fatal as even his people in Isi Uzo have long rejected him.

The youths of Enugu state are now drumming their slogan loud and clear even to the hearing of the deaf since Chijioke made a desperate comeback to the political scene after being pushed by the people that wanted to run Enugu state as an extension of their personal estate. According to these surprising youths; “Peter Obi we know; Peter Mbah we also know; who is Chijioke Edeoga? That failed Commissioner of Environment?” It’s even interesting that since Chijioke left office as Commissioner for Environment, Enugu state is now wearing a new look. The environment has become cleaner and neater. Governor Ugwuanyi has taken charge and the people are now witnessing a new Enugu state. Chijioke’s chair showed incompetence and failure in his duties. The people of the state can now see who wants to become governor? The youths have already taken notice of Mr. Chijioke’s uncelebratory and unpopular pedigree. The people will not want to reinforce failure.

How can we trust a man who had pledged to remain in the PDP and work for the victory of the PDP’s governorship flagbearer, Barr. Peter Mbah, and all of a sudden, turned himself into a renegade turncoat in his treacherous move to ambush the people of the state? It’s a sly mischief that Chijioke signed the peace accord to support whoever emerged the PDP’s flagbearer, and never to defect. He is a lawyer. Nobody forced him to attend the meeting or sign the peace agreement. Just few weeks after the PDP’s primary election, Chijioke hosted Barr Peter Mbah and collapsed his political structure to Mbah’s structure unbeknownst to the members of the public that his fang of inordinate ambition was dangerously concealed.

As a follow up, in a press statement personally signed by him, Chijioke noted thus: “In the heat of the moment, numerous concerned persons suggested we take our message and members to a different party to seek a fresh platform on which to actualize our dreams. However, after giving it a careful and pragmatic thought, we decided to remain in PDP and support the flag bear (sic) Barr. Peter Ndubisi Mbah.

“Peter has reached out to us and stretched out a hand of fellowship; we are disposed to support him; the wellbeing of our people and our dear state being of utmost consideration. Now is the time when intra party jostling should take the back seat. Now is the time to heal and the time to lend a hand towards building up our dear state. In view of the foregoing I hereby urge all my supporters and the people of Enugu State at large to rally behind Mr. Peter Mbah for the tasks ahead.”

After reading parts of his press release and juxtapose it with his recent perfidious and inordinate move to the Labour Party to massage his political ambition, one would call for immediate medical attention to see whether Chijioke could be rescued from this voyage of political perdition.