Araraume: Toast of Imo governorship election

Yes, Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume may have been robbed of his victory at the Imo Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primaries of December 8, 2014 as a result of which he did not stand for any election on April 11,2015. Yes Araraume may not have contested the governorship election of April 11 and therefore may not have won any election on that date. But he on that date won the hearts of thousands of Imo people and that of Governor Rochas Okorocha.

The role he played in the April 11 elections has been described in different ways by different people. Some call it noble, others say it is gallant yet some others say it was the cause of justice at work. But Imo state Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha summed it up by describing him “as the political general with the magic wand, who made the difference in the election within 48 hours”.
The story of what happened in Imo PDP primaries is still familiar to Imo people and the Nigerian political public. Araraume was robbed of his victory in broad-daylight with bodacious alacrity and rancid impunity. And the political robbers remained unrepentant till Election Day.
Consequently on April 9, 2015, Araraume and his supporters declared support for Okorocha in the governorship election of April, 11. The reason was simple; the robber should not be allowed to reap the fruit of his loot, lest inglorious impunity be the order of the day in our politics. Many are convinced that Araraume’s support for Okorocha made all the difference and ensured the later’s victory in the April 11 elections. That has made Araraume the toast of that election.
It was against this backdrop that on Saturday, May 2, thousands of Araraume’s supporters gathered at his destiny campaign office on Onitsha   road to celebrate the “Victory” of the Araraume campaign organization in the Imo governorship election.
As soon as Araraume arrived the venue of the celebration, the crowd went wild in jubilation, chanting praise songs on Araraume. The rendition from the live band at the ceremony said it all Game changer! Game changer!! The game changer in Imo governorship election has arrived!!. That was the chorus that rented the air from the band; it was indeed celebration time. An ecstatic crowd poured out to no end their joyous confidence in their leader who made them proud for fighting PDP’s impunity to a logical end. The dancing, singing, jubilation and the background music from the band really said it all. The people are happy with Araraume’s sterling leadership qualities which has a laudable capacity to resist injustice.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com
One of the chieftains at the event, Chief Michael Udemadu, summarized the essence of the gathering: “We are here to celebrate a man of principle, a dogged fighter, a man who stands for justice and a man who has ensured that imposition of candidates by any party in Imo State has come to an end. Political parties now know better than impose candidates with impunity. The man who ensured that this will never happen again is Sen. Araraume and that is why we are celebrating him”.
The Director-General of Destiny Campaign Organization, Hon. Independence Ogunewe did not equivocate in driving the message home. In his welcome speech, he declared: “our leader Sen. Ifeanyi Araraume has set a standard, to wit, a thief should not be allowed to reap from the fruits of his loot to serve as a deterrent to others”.
Ogunewe made it clear that what Sen. Ararume did by asking his supporters to vote Okorocha on April 11 was the best way to ensure that justice was served because “since the robber does not want to let go his loot, justice demands that he should not be allowed to enjoy such loot”.
He praised Araraume for being a principled, committed leader who always consult with his followers before taking any decision, adding, “You may not have won the governorship election, but you have won the hearts of Imo people as a man of principle who stands for justice and I am very certain that you will read that speech soon”.
Imo State House of Assembly speaker, Benjamin Uwajumogu also echoed the same sentiments. “This is like home coming for me, because Sen. Araraume is my leader. We are from the same zone, Okigwe, and I thank God that we are now working together. He has through his actions in the governorship elections demonstrated that he is the politician you can’t ignore. He is principled and he is a worthy ambassador of democracy and a defender of justice”.post by expdonaloaded.blogspot.com
Overwhelmed by the profuse effusion of praises and acknowledgements of his noble role in the election, Sen. Araraume in his response thanked his supporters for listening to him and voting for Okorocha. He said he did not want to talk of PDP’s offensive effrontery and its syndrome of democracy by impunity because for him, “the PDP is gone”.
“The PDP has paid heavily for its crass impunity and I don’t want to talk of that party. I am happy that you heeded my call to vote for Okorocha and by your actions, we have made it loud and clear that the least we can do is to ensure that no political robber is allowed to benefit from his actions”, he siad.
He reminded his followers that the decision to support Okorocha does not stop at voting for him; ‘We must continue to support his government. He has assured me that he will double his effort to ensure that his second tenure is dedicated to the service of Imo people. So, I want all of you to support him. I will not want any of us to criticize him on the pages of the newspaper or the media. If you have misgivings along the line, avail yourself of our internal mechanism of complaint and I assure you that your complaints will get to him and amends will be made”.
He predicted that in the next four years, all the South East states shall become APC states promising that he will work tirelessly to actualize that. “We shall work with Governor Okorocha, who by virtue of being the only APC governor in the South East is the leader of the party in the zone, to ensure that come 2019, all the South East sates shall become APC states”.
Governor Okoracha had on several occasions acknowledged that Sen. Araraume made the difference in his elections. At two church services in government chapel on April 12 and 29 respectively, he publicly declared that Sen. Araraume was the hero of the governorship election in the state. In one of the services, he did not shy away from acknowledging that while the PDP was busy planning how to undue him in the governorship elections, it was “unknown to them that their strongest general had teamed up with him a few days to the election which ensured that all their plans came to nothing” .
And at the event of May 2, Okorocha speaking through his Chief of Staff, Chief Jude Ejiogu, who represented him at the ceremony also made the same public acknowledgment: “You call him the game changer and that is what he is. He really changed the game in the governorship election”, he said.
Yes, from the masses to the political elite in Imo State, one fact is undeniable; Sen. Araraume is the toast of the Imo governorship election. As history must now so record, his decision with his supporters to work with Okorocha for his April election made a huge difference.
And the big lesson here is that the PDP lost the elections because she refused to heed the cry of justice by denying, in the most flagrant and haughty manner, the man who won the governorship primaries his well-deserved victory. A big price and a big lesson for all politicians indeed!