Just recently a friend of mine said that he doesn’t want Prof Ikonne as Governor and I asked him his reasons . Listen to what he said…
1. When he was in Abiapoly I met him for a favour and he turned me down.
Me: What was the favour ?
He: A friend of mine had some disciplinary issues that led to his sack but I thought that given my relationship with Prof he would have reconsidered my man.
Me: what he did is called discipline.Prof is disciplined dassol.
2. While he was VC in Absu I came again to bid for contract, as a govt appointee I thought it will be a walk over but Prof again denied me that contract.
Me: Why?
He: He said that my pre-qualification papers were not complete .
Me: That is called Due process .
3. There was another instance where he literarily worked me out of his office because I came to plead on behalf of an erring student . Me: Prof is a no -nonsense man simple.
4. Another occasion, I had advised him to discountenance the formation of Nsulu Vanguard but instead help fortify other socio-political groups in Isiala Ngwa North, but he wouldn’t listen to me. He went ahead to form Nsulu Vanguard . Now they see him as an ambitious man who planned to dethrone some strong men in that area.
Me: He is just Resolute and courageous . You can’t push him around. Good quality for a leader, if you ask me.
5. I advised him to reduce on the number of free eye medics regularly availed people in his clinic, after all, his isn’t a charity home ,but Prof looked at me and hissed. Sincerely ,I consider him a snub .
Me: that is the way of humanitarians. They are unflinchingly tied to their moral convinctions.
6. Many times I warned him to let some of our prominent brothers have their way ,now some of them are working against him because of his hard stance on community service and politics . I think he is stubborn and not likely to give in to the whims of stakeholders.
Me: he is just principled and firm. I will rather admire him for that .
7. As the Fin Sec to a committee I served with Prof as the Chairman he insisted that I must present what he termed detailed account even though he knows that I am transparent. Honestly, I felt insulted.
Me: it is called Accountability, transparency,fiscal discipline. If you are careless with the little given to you, will also be irresponsible when more is entrusted into your hand.
8. I think he is too old and prominent to be a Pastors warden . That should be for younger people .
Me: Hahaha,that is my kind of man. He is just humble .
9. Prof thinks so highly of himself . Who are you to win Prof on any issue?
Me: He is a cerebral academics and a very pragmatic thinker . If you want to win him prepare your facts well. He is not shallow minded.
10. Since you have succeeded in countering all my arguments but don’t you think that Prof would have listened to some of us that advised him to reduce his age from 66 to 60 at least . Now ,see how they fight him for his age.
Me; Ol’ boy your points lack substance . Prof has integrity and can’t fiddle with issues of age when his classmates are all over town. His age is an advantage because it makes him wiser and more mature . Coupled with his contentment to life he earns my respect. At least ,if you don’t fear his office ,you will respect his age . Any more issues ?
He: No.
