After due assessment and application of wisdom premised on culture, tradition and norms upholding the sacredness and sanctity of the exalted traditional stool of Okon-Aku Autonomous Community in Abia State, it has become expedient that I address some pertinent issues bothering on the need to keep pursuing all reasonable options to ensure restoration of peace in the community, irrespective of what the purveyors of disorder and harbingers of chaos seek to turn Okon-Aku deeper into crisis to massage their ego and power intoxication.

First of all, let me reestablish that the pursuit of peace is possible only when due process is allowed and the heartbeat of the people is placed above the desire of a few desperate individuals that feed fat on the carcass of our collective pain as a people.

For the umpteenth time, I have continued to, just like other well-meaning sons/daughters of Okon-Aku, persuade all interest to work with reason and find a rallying point to understand that for peace to be restored in Okon, first, there must be a reconciliation that handles and calms all flayed nerves.
Besides the question of morality, and/or otherwise of certain schools of thoughts that a community in crisis can achieve peace through collision and coassion, there is a higher argument that lasting peace is more possible through negotiations, reconciliation, and there should also be consideration of the legality or other of forcing an election upon the people of Okon-Aku by external forces when the mediating umpires do not wish to consider the place of proper consultation and mediation as a tool for unity and restoration of peace.

I am therefore joining the other voices to insist that the Ohafia Local Government Chairman, Dr Okorafor Ukiwe should understand that greater peace cannot be achieved by force or by listening to certain few as against the opinion of many sons and daughters of Okon-Aku.

Let me also remind Ukiwe that community leadership is best handled by allowing reasons to prevail over love and desire for power. I noticed and made strong research to confirm that Dr Ukiwe is not part of the scheduled Abiriba Development Election in any capacity or influence as Ohafia LGA and therefore wonder why he wish to insult Okon-Aku by choosing to impose election on us.
It is also on record that Abiriba had in no distant past tested the bitter pills of leadership crisis greater in magnitude than that of Okon in every respects, but they still enjoyed the privilege of internal reconciliation without any form of hijack or imposition by the governments of that time. He should also give Okon-Aku same benefit of doubt of sorting herself out in the best way possible to avoid touching the wrong tails by belieing he can use his power as LGA Chairman to impose the will of his political allies upon the people of Okon-Aku through a window-dressing election aimed at upholding illegality to further foment crisis by jettisoning reason and jeopardising every avenue for peace.

Okon-Aku as a whole has declared that for the purpose of peace and respect to our stool of authority, it will be right to allow the decision of Nnaka, HRH Eze U.  K. Okam stand till he is laid to rest after serving Okon for over 36 years so that time will bring healing, peace and restore unity to pave way for an election that will Reconcile, Restore and Rebuild Okon-Aku once and for all. Anything short of this will be resisted against the people who seek to fight Nnaka even in death after their irresponsible act of disobedience had caused the health challenge that cut short his life. It is at that point that we shall stand to get personal with any internal enginers and their external enforcers cum collaborators.

Dr Okorafor should please refuse to be cajoled into backing illegality in desecrating the Nnaka Stool and his corpse by overriding his decision or be ready to face the aftermath and reap the fruit of flared crisis.
He should also be informed that in as much as Okon-Aku are peace-loving people, they will never be intimidated by whatever shenanigan anyone may choose to employ as he will be resisted by every means until the will of the people prevail over the desire of power-hungry pack of war-lords parading as leaders.

We also reiterate that we are after peace for the community which is why we are appealing to all and sundry to prevail on the LGA Chairman to be circumspect in dabbling headlong into clandestine action that will truncate the peace he seeks to achieve.

As the appointed interim ODU-President General of Okon-Aku Ohafia by vested power of HRH Eze U. K. Okam, Nnaka III of Okon-Aku, I am by this medium putting the world on notice that it is my sacred duty to respect, defend and uphold the decision of my paramount ruler who is dead until he is laid to rest in peace, which is to say if he ordered that no election will be held in Okon and that Dr Nmecha’s interim government be disbanded for insubordination and misuse of his power, we will as a people ensure that same order will stand as the will of the Eze represent the will of the people and the people wishes to stay all actions until their king is buried by Okon-Aku, Ohafia and Abia State as the last accord of respect.

I still appeal that every party should give peace a chance. If your fight for power is in the interest of the people, then its application should be in tandem with the will of the people.

Thank you,

Deacon Zik Uduma,
Interim-President General, Okon-Aku Development Union, ODU.