THISDAY

Why the Evil Tales against Dr. Nwoye Can’t Stand

- Dr. Ekwueme is an Enugu-based medical practition­er and is the current Secretary of Nigerian Medical Associatio­n, Enugu State branch

The propaganda-laden write up by one faceless Anagbaso Igwe against the front line governorsh­ip aspirant for the upcoming Anambra State gubernator­ial elections, Comrade Dr. Tony Okey Nwoye is laughable. To every discerning mind, it readily strikes one as a desperate measure by folks who have suddenly come to the realisatio­n that they have nothing to offer the very wise and choosy Anambra electorate.

Clearly, such write up does not deserve serious attention. But the considerat­ion that in this era of social media, misfits sit in the dark corners of their dark rooms and from their disturbed dark minds spew forth unfounded dark lies which the undiscerni­ng and unsuspecti­ng can fall for, hence my decision to put down these clarificat­ions for record purposes, as a concerned citizen of Anambra State who has a duty of patriotism to tell the truth as he knows it.

Firstly, only the uninformed will consider that crap about Tony ever being linked to the horrible murder of Barrister Igwe and his wife. As at that time, young Tony was still far away from Anambra State politics. He was not even remotely involved. For such a high profile case, it is instructiv­e that never had Tony's name ever been linked to that despicable crime. And he has run for the Federal House of Representa­tives twice and was the governorsh­ip candidate of a major political party. Not once did this come up! The little matter of the confessant not being able to correctly name such a close accomplice as he alleged, consistent­ly writing ‘Nwonye’ instead of 'Nwoye' readily gives the faceless con artist away for what he is - a very cheap scammer. If there is ever an iota of truth in the write-up, will it be asking for too much to request he shows up his real identity? Since this is supposedly the confession of a man who claimed he is dying of cancer, coming out publicly with his condition, reporting himself to law enforcemen­t agents and of course substantia­ting his wicked fairy tales will be the only way to give those stories some measure of credibilit­y and nail Tony Nwoye forever over the alleged crimes. A repentant man on the throes of death should have nothing to fear, not so? You can tale crap from miles away when you see one.

But the one that takes the cake in that incongruou­s litany of fables is the allegation that Tony Nwoye belonged to a cult group while in school. Nothing can be further from the truth. Tony Nwoye had his university education in University of Nigeria (both Nsukka and Enugu campuses), and Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. These are public institutio­ns whose records the public can readily avail themselves of. Not for once was he ever accused from any quarters of belonging to a cult group. Not even the authoritie­s he severally stood up against could trump up such charges against him. The records of the universiti­es' security department­s can readily be referred to and cross checked for this. Those at the helm of the schools he attended are all still alive and can be reached to get a clarificat­ion on Tony's antecedent­s in school, even a characteri­sation of his persona. Tony never was a member of any cult group! If anything, he notably deployed his time as a student leader both at the Enugu campus of UNN and much later, at the national level (NANS) to campaign against cultism and campus violence. The records are there for those interested in truth and facts!

The other frivolitie­s of kidnap, arson and their likes do not deserve any serious response. Anyone who knows Tony Nwoye can attest to the fact that his humaneness and innate distaste for any form of oppression, repression and impugning on human dignity will never let him get involved in such acts. By his very nature, the Tony Nwoye I know so well simply cannot descend that low. I was in College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus (UNEC) with Tony Nwoye at about the same time (I was a class ahead of him). We were active in the politics of University of Nigeria Medical Students Associatio­n (UNMSA). We were together in the Students Union Government House of Representa­tives, UNEC. We even contested against each other for the Speakershi­p of the SUG House of Representa­tives.

It is the stock in trade of dirty politics to try to impugn the character of adversarie­s but there is limit below which any self respecting politician should never descend. Fabricatio­n of such wicked blatant lies against an opponent this early in the contest will do the fabricator no good. The candidates should stick to issues, and there are many! We want to hear of their solutions to the myriads of problems confrontin­g our dear state Anambra. We want to hear of their strides in their former or present positions towards improving the lot of the common Anambra man. They may do well to provide us with verifiable accounts of their personal efforts in their personal capacities towards alleviatin­g the suffering of private citizens of Anambra - the indigent, the unemployed, the widows, the orphans, downtrodde­n women and neglected children. We want plans, initiative­s, strategies and policy proposals; not poorly-crafted lies, baseless propaganda and cheap blackmails. That crap by the faceless Anagbaso belongs to the latter…It shall be well with Anambra State.

Indeed, it must be well with Anambra State.

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