By Uduma Kalu
With the powers conferred on me as chairman of the 2024 Electoral Committee, I hereby declare Mr Udo Onwuka president general "... Mr. Kalu Nkele.
The celebrations began.
Amid the laughter and comraderie, clinking of bottles and tumblers, banters, patting of backs, jokes and humour in the half lights of the Isiugwu Ohafia bars and town squares, it was obvious that the entire town was filled with relief, happiness and satisfaction. A new era had dawned on the town.
A new executive of the town union, Isiugwu Ohafia Community Development Association, IOCDA, had just been elected peacefully.
A new election process, delegates' election process had been tested and it worked. The outcome was the peaceful and transparent election that produced the new executive led by the new president general, Mr Udo Onwuka.
It was devoid of violence, no threat, thuggery nor molestation far from the fears expressed from some quarters. Even then, the elders of the town had issued out warnings to would be thugs and miscreants to steer clear from the election venue as only the delegates were allowed into the premises.
This delegates' option was totally different from the previous years' which electoral process was direct election or as Mr. Kalu Oleh, a lawyer and one of the leaders of the union called it, igwe but Ike.
Igwe bu Ike was a riotous and violent option earlier used without much thinking. It involved open balloting with voters queuing behind their preferred candidates.
But that Saturday, the smiles on the faces was different from the frowns after the 2020 election.
However, as the saying goes, it is not the prize that is the story. It is the process that leads to the prize that is the story.
Indeed, the crowning glory of the peaceful conduct of the 2024 IOCDA Elections goes to Mr Kalu Oleh because it was through him that the delegates' option birthed.
The igwe bu ike option was rowdy due to the thousands of voters and non voters at the venue whose entrenched interests, personal, professional and political, pervaded the IOCDA elections.
Mr. Oleh is a barrister exposed to professional associations' elections. His lawyers' association, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) elects its leaders through delegates.
Kalu Oleh had served the town's union for over 30 years under different presidents general such as the late Chief Obiwe Kalu and the eminent lawyer, Chief Eke Ndukwe. He was editor of the town's magazine too.
Faced with the new election process in the union where members now jostled for positions, Oleh thought about his NBA electoral process. But his new baby needed a legal empowerment.
The union in a way had no clear cut constitution in terms of tenure and election of leaders. A president general could stay for 20 years without election. That was not good, said Oleh.
The association used to have a peaceful s/election as people were begged to come forward to preside over the union. People were not willing to come out and serve.
Things were going smoothly in the union or so it was thought until the last eight years when certain ambitious individuals, seeking power and influence to control the resources and offices of the town, usurped power using the igwe bu Ike process, bringing disillusionment , division and chagrin to the town.
Again, in 2020, the same igwe bu ike process was used. Again, it brought anger and condemnation with allegations of rigging and denial of the people's choices. The union was almost abandoned by those described as the elites - the educated and influential class.
I remember an audience with the late Elder Kalu Uke, the leading light of the town, in his Enugu home,literally asking those he called the professionals not to abandon the union but to go in there and take back the union.
Perhaps, this call motivated Mr. Udo Onwuka who in 2014 or 2015, during the Isiugwu Ohafia cement crisis, chaired the Isiugwu Ohafia Lagos professionals which came out with a declaration that the cement issue should be legally done, saying it saw a lot of illegalities in the cement process. So far, it seems the Lagos position has been vindicated.
Opinions are rifle that the 2020 election was rigged and Udo lost.
To help cleanse the electoral process therefore, Mr Oleh thought out the delegates option.
The delegates' option is a secret ballot voting with the union's branches and age grades sending between five to 10 or so voters depending on their number to vote.
One good thing about it also was the electronic voting it introduced without knowing it. For example, the UK branch of the union voted electronically from the UK.
More will be said about this.
Beyond the delegates' option, another process that led to the peaceful atmosphere was the personal sacrifice of Mr Oleh.
Last year, 2023, he had averted a possible violence in the Isiugwu youth association as some people, opting for the direct option, wanted to use the youth to achieve their aims this year. Oleh said he noticed the tension and told the union he too would be contesting the president generalship position thereby creating confusion among the contestants. His declaration brought peace to the youth association.
But Oleh went on to get approval from the IOCDA executives for a new constitution that would answer to the exigencies of the new realities. With the nod from the executive, Kalu Oleh and his constitution drafting committee were able to get a new constitution for the IOCDA.
It was not an easy road to the making of the constitution. In fact, it was alleged that the previous executive opposed the idea initially as it viewed the delegates' option as opposite of its ambitions. But eventually, it agreed. Mr. Oleh, among others, threatened not to contest should there be no delegates voting based on a new constitution.
Even then, some members also opposed the option as it robbed them of their obnoxious plans.
The new constitution outlines membership status, financial arrangements, electoral system to be used, committees to adopted etc.
Then came the executive, branches, age grades, relationships, financials among all these.
Finally , it was based on the constitution that the last election held bringing with it the happiness and peace noticed after the election.
Then, Oleh announced his PG candidature. He was Udo's campaign manager in 2020.
Oleh's announcement was followed by Onwuka and Mr. Mba Kalu Agbara. But shortly after, following the intimidating tone of Onwuka's supporters which Oleh said could lead to violence, he said nobody's blood was worth his ambition and stepped down.
A survey showed that Oleh was the candidate to beat. But the manner the Lagos branch went about the campaigns led him to withdraw, in his voice note, saying his candidature was causing tension and so, to the chagrin and disappoinment of many, he withdrew.
His exit no doubt made many lose interest in the election.
In fact, Mr Kalu Nkere, chair of the 2024 IOCDA electoral committee, said based on what he saw on the social media, he never expected the large turn out of voters that filled out the Hazel Hall that Saturday.
The delegates came from far and near, defying the economic crunch and hardship, time constraints and all, armed with nothing but their sheer patriotism and community service, to come me home that November 9. They spent their time and energy in the dirty hall and its bushy surroundings to elect their leaders in a process which they believed would give full authority to the new leaders who would pilot their affairs truly into the first half of the 21st century. It was perhaps, the first time such overwhelming energy was put into the election of the town's leaders. It was a big shift to the conduct of the town's affairs.
As the drinks and music flowed and floated into Uwa Iroha's open bar and into other Isiugwu Ohafia bars celebrating the peaceful process and its eventual outcome, the general take away was a thumbs up to the delegates option.
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