- By Chibuisi Mba
Politics in Bende has always been bigger than one man and one office. It is about covenant. It is about the understanding our elders reached in their wisdom to guarantee justice, equity and equality among us.
That is why the current drift in our politics should worry every son and daughter of Bende.
Dr. Chima Anyaso has, by conduct and conviction, shown a different path. He does not play the “rough rough” kind of politics. His politics is anchored on rule of law, equity and justice. In a season where bitterness is being sold as strategy, that kind of temperament matters.
Contrast that with what we are seeing from Abuja.
We have a situation where one individual, by sheer chance and because the seat of the South East Deputy Speaker became vacant, climbed to national prominence. He benefited from a system. He benefited from the peace that a Bende arrangement produced. He rode on that bridge to become a representative, then spokesperson, and now Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives.
And now, the same bridge is being targeted for demolition.
You cannot eat from a table and then set fire to the house that hosted the dinner because the office has become “sweet.” Our elders did not enter into that political arrangement for fun. They did it so Bende would have peace. So no section would feel cheated. So that federal character would not become a weapon against fairness at home.
As Minister Wike will put it plainly: “agreement is agreement.”
The Bende Stakeholders Forum said it recently in Umuahia and it bears repeating: “LET THOSE WHO RENEGE ON AGREEMENTS LIVE WITH THEIR CONSCIENCE.”
That is not a threat. That is a mirror.
Because politics will come and go. Governments will change. Titles will expire. But Bende will remain. The villages will remain. The families will remain. And when the noise dies down, what will remain is character.
A gentleman of conscience should honor the agreement he was part of, or at least the agreement he has benefited from. If we now say the people don’t matter, only personal ambition does, then we are telling the next generation that Bende has no values.
2027 is not far. It will be a referendum not just on projects, but on decency. It will be the moment we separate recklessness from responsibility, and bitterness from leadership.
Bende stakeholders and leaders of thought are wiser than the desperation of one man. We have seen this movie before. We know how it ends when agreements are shredded for personal gain.
Let us return to the table. Let us return to equity. Let us return to the Bende that believes politics should build bridges, not burn them.
Because agreement is agreement. And Bende will remain.
Chibuisi Mba is the National Coordinator OKAY A NEW NIGERIA
10, Bouake Street Wuse zone 6 Abuja FCT
