REWRITING HISTORY WILL NOT WASH AWAY 2011’S INJUSTICE – Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Nwabani (PhD, Yale University) – SIXT-MEDIA LANE
*REWRITING HISTORY WILL NOT WASH AWAY 2011’S INJUSTICE*
Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Nwabani (PhD, Yale University)
The article by MacDonald Amadi, titled “Owerri Zone Did Not Betray Okigwe in 2011”, is an audacious but ultimately hollow attempt to rewrite one of the darkest chapters in Imo State’s democratic journey.
It is not just flawed, it is a deliberate deflection from the painful truth: that Dr. Ikedi Ohakim was a victim of a well-orchestrated civilian coup d’état, executed through a campaign of calumny, character assassination, and systemic sabotage by powerful political and religious elites, many of whom hailed from Owerri Zone.
Let us be clear: this is not about blaming the masses or communities of Owerri Zone.
In fact, many ordinary people across Mbaise, Ngor Okpala, Mbaitoli, and beyond showed immense goodwill towards Dr. Ohakim.
This is not forgotten. The betrayal of 2011 came not from the streets, it came from the sanctuaries of power: the pulpits of politicized religious figures, the homes of entrenched political godfathers, and the backrooms of a conniving elite class.
These actors did not oppose Ohakim because he failed the people, far from it. His record in infrastructure, environmental reform, civil service restoration, and youth employment was unmatched.
They attacked him because he refused to be pocketed. He was not pliable. He would not kneel before godfathers or turn Imo State into a personal estate for power merchants. That was his “crime.”
What followed was not an election, it was a siege. The weaponization of religion, the media lynching, the distortion of the “priest slapping” falsehood, and the vicious rumor-mongering created a climate of hostility no candidate could survive.
Those who could have calmed the storm instead fed it. Those who should have stood for truth chose silence or complicity. That is the tragedy of 2011.
To now suggest, as MacDonald Amadi does, that Owerri Zone “offered Ohakim a better deal than Okigwe,” is not just intellectually dishonest, it is a grotesque insult to our collective memory.
Electoral figures divorced from political context are meaningless. What matters is not just who voted, but who orchestrated the sabotage, who fueled the fire, and who refused to stand with justice when it mattered most.
Let us also not forget: it was Ohakim who was denied the right to finish his second term, the only Governor in Imo’s Fourth Republic to suffer such injustice.
And yet, the same elite class that undermined him now beats the drum of equity in 2027 without first acknowledging the injustice of 2011. Can there be true equity without restitution? Can we preach justice while ignoring its denial to another?
As we move toward 2027, we must not build unity on lies. The future of Imo must rest on truth. That truth is simple: Dr. Ikedi Ohakim was betrayed, not by the people, but by the elite class, most of whom hailed from Owerri Zone and used their influence to destroy a son of Okigwe for refusing to bow to them.
If 2027 must correct that wrong, then let us start by telling the truth. Let us stop this historical gaslighting. Let us not insult the intelligence of Imo people by painting false pictures of solidarity where sabotage reigned.
Owerri people will be needed, yes. But they, too, must rise with us to reject the lies told in their name.
For only when truth is upheld can a new foundation of justice and unity be laid.
Imo will not heal through deceit. It will heal through truth. And the truth is this: in 2011, Ohakim was betrayed, not by Okigwe, not by the masses, but by a cabal that feared his independence. And until that truth is admitted, equity remains a slogan, not a principle.
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