The choice of Sir Isaac Okoro for councillorship has been drawing unusual attention since yesterday. A prominent community leader with influence, his new near-celebrity status is not for the good of Aninri this time. Rather, the people are seeing the folly of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and wondering when the remote Aninri community would have sense.
Sir Okoro would be representing Mpu in the Legislative Chamber of Aninri local government area after the election September. And consequently, he might probably now be having the ugly chance of being the oldest person to serve as a ward councillor in Southeast history.
Although his exact age is unknown, the APC flag-bearer ought to be well above 60 years old. A former Aide-de-camp to ex-Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, Okoro is a retired police officer who is now running on the promises of honesty and fairness.
“Once a police, always a police,” on Noah Ezeora laughed on Facebook and added, “Lolz. Police officer? Running on the promise of honesty? He is joking.”
While age isn’t the only factor to define a capable municipal lawmaker, it’s certainly the yardstick with which public opinions measure the insanity in selecting this man in place of numerous better young men in Mpu town.
It’s an open definition of putting a round peg in a square hole. Mpu must be prepared for the following setback. It’s quite unbecoming for Aninri to stoop this low; yes, the candidature of Sir Isaac Okoro is totally a wrong choice. He should rather be slated for a higher office. Even so, the man himself shouldn’t have accepted to serve as a councillor. Doesn’t he have a son? Or a daughter? Sir Isaac would be doing far greater service to his council if he just step down for a younger Mpu kinsman to ‘go’. He must stop embarrassing our people and embarrassing himself. His selection reeks of fowl play; it appears he is being imposed on the good people of Mpu.
Whether or not it’s politically correct, human conscience or, of course, sheer common sense requires that Aninri APC should be ashamed of itself; whatever reason those responsible for this might be giving to justify the choice is nonsense. And it must, at last, backfire.