I am someone who finds it difficult to turn against anybody I have endorsed. Before I endorse anyone, something must have convinced me – and it’s rarely for the reasons most people imagine. Kenneth Okonkwo, popularly known in Nollywood circles as Andy, is an exceptional actor. There are not up to ten actors and actresses in my A-list. Ken is one of them. In that revered list are Pete Edochie, Olu Jacobs, Justus Esiri, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, Ngozi Ezonu, Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Ekeinde, my dear sister Chioma Chukwuka, and a few more.
I don’t care what directors, producers, or viewers think about you. As a screenwriter, I rate actors based on how they deliver my scripts. On that scale, Ken is among my most loved. He delivered my painstakingly crafted dialogues to perfection, pausing at commas and stopping at full stops exactly as I intended. We were friends…still are. I didn’t know how he became Labour Party’s Presidential Spokesperson during the 2023 campaigns. But I was elated when the announcement came because I knew he would deliver. And he did, brilliantly. If you knew how intelligent Ken is, you wouldn’t call him unpalatable names. That’s why I thought the Akwa Ibom governor was making a fool of himself trying to reduce such a Nollywood veteran to a nonentity. If there was any nonentity in that unfortunate exchange, Governor Emo Uno certainly was.
But here’s the crux. Ken suddenly appeared on screens saying he had parted ways with Mr. Peter Obi. I thought he was joking, tried calling him several times without success. Next thing, he claimed PO lacked the courage to defend the votes Nigerians gave him in 2023. Next appearance, Ken called for Tinubu, Atiku, and PO to step aside in 2027. Then he argued that only a coalition could defeat an incumbent as devilishly strategic as Tinubu. Finally, my good friend declared that only a Northerner can defeat Tinubu in 2027. After sharing his meeting videos with Atiku Abubakar, “Andy” told Nigerians only Atiku could defeat Tinubu.
I will not join the bandwagon claiming Atiku dollarised my good friend. I would rather believe Ken remains the Ken I know: a man who acts on conviction. As a lawyer and PhD holder, he deserves that respect from me. Besides, I do not speak ill of my friends. But Ken… do you truly believe power should return to the North after just four years in the South? Even though your Living in Bondage breakthrough was all about correcting societal ills, what has been the core objective of elite Nollywood practitioners? Isn’t it to use motion pictures to correct ills, injustices, and marginalisation in our dear country – charting a course for a truly united Nigeria?
What should I tell my wife and children, who adore you, when they ask why you want the North’s marginalisation of the South to continue – cutting short an unwritten zoning agreement in the clear shortchanging of your own South? Perhaps you should revisit the Bible you often quote: “The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26:24)
Betrayal is as old as leadership itself. Even Julius Caesar, like Christ, faced his own moment of disbelief when the dagger came from the least expected hand: “Et tu, Brute?” So, PO wouldn’t get to the presidency without several drawbacks of betrayals, hate-induced attacks, real and friendly enemy bullets…still…
Of course, you’re trending everyday, Ken. Media houses besiege you with calls for interviews…have you asked yourself why? Take it from me, my brother…it’s not truly because you have superior knowledge to sell, it’s rather because they found you a very uncharitable tool to advertise against your own brother. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a free world and you’re entitled to your opinions but opinions from someone like you should always make sense. Ask from people who tell you the truth about how you sound recently. This is not about PO. This is about the legacy you are accumulating.
I will pretend I did not listen to Dr. Katch Ononuju’s interview explaining your recent positions, and instead ask: what legacy will you leave behind – your children will be proud of? PO is not an ordinary politician who would truncate democracy by imposing his will on the Labour Party. He is not the kind of leader who would bribe the courts for favourable judgment. He would rather present his case and abide by whatever the court rules – that is respect for the judiciary.
And he is not the kind of man who would permit bloodshed to further his cause. There is no way PO would have allowed OBIdients to go rioting, risking lives, in order to reclaim his mandate. PO would not live with himself if innocent blood was shed just to make him president. Even you, in your prodigal reasoning, still believe PO with LP, a party they said had “no structure”, won the 2023 presidential election. What intellectual somersault made you now believe that the same man, whose electoral value has more than quadrupled in just two years, would not win again in 2027, especially in the face of Tinubu’s complete failure?
Does being a lawyer and a PhD holder make it easier to lie before TV cameras without considering the impeccable reputation you built over the years? Or do you imagine you were delivering lines from a movie script? I thought you knew PO after eight months of working closely with him but evidently you didn’t. An intelligent man like you should have learned at least 70% of what the former Anambra State governor was made of after watching the scene between him and Father Ejike Mbaka in early 2019, when PO refused to bow to political blackmail in the church. That episode alone should have told you the man you were dealing with came far ahead of his generation.
I worry deeply because this is not the Kenneth Okonkwo I knew and respected. Your deviation from the ideals of patriotic Nollywood filmmakers will forever cast a shadow over the industry. Atiku may have his strengths, but it is the turn of Southern Nigeria to complete its eight years. Even if you have reasons to part ways with PO, parting ways with your zone is a capital sin. Nonetheless, let me remind you: nobody is more qualified than PO to lead a Nigeria that is sinking before our eyes. Your conscience will trouble you to the grave if you had the chance to contribute to steering Nigeria right, but chose to throw that chance overboard.
I have been in the business of following and promoting PO since 2009. The reward has always been the contentment that comes from walking the right path. Monetary reward is rarely, if ever, part of it. Enough said!
By Tai Emeka Obasi (New York)
Disclaimer:
The opinions and views expressed in this write-up are entirely that of the Writer(s). They do not reflect the opinions and views of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or any of its employees. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of materials herein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the Publisher (Nze Ikay’s Blog) or its employees concerning the legal status of any country, its authority, area or territory or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. Equally, the sketches, images, pictures and videos are gotten from the public domain.
