Before Achike Udenwa became governor of Imo State while Olusegun Obasanjo took the nation's top job, and before General Abdulsalami Abubakar handed over power to a democratically [s]elected government, we were all tongue-tied because of General Sani Abacha's reign of terror. At the distance of more than thirty-seven years when the nation bid bye to colonization, finding a soul was quite a job. Abacha devoted no little space to the soul, he had a very different kind of soul, he had no feelings of pain and pleasure. A stoic, one would say.

For the fact alone that press freedom was infringed and human rights were extraordinarily violated, was good enough to demand urgently and by any means necessary to throw out absolute power and tyranny of Abacha's kind. By a stroke of luck, Abacha died in his sleep and we rejoiced. We rejoiced not that democracy will return in earnest. We rejoiced for many reasons: That, at least, sanity would return within our polity. That, at least, we've been left with one of several choices--to let the world know our destiny is in our hands and we can ultimately make a difference working in concert to realize a whole lot of damage had been done. That, at least, we learned our lessons not to have history repeat itself for us to be going over and over again, the pains of the past. That, at least, freedom and justice as we have long envisioned--never minding the past and illegalities--would be effected by our new crop of leaders, in the event, as proposed after Abacha's death by another military junta, Abdulsalami Abubakar.

Enter Achike Udenwa, for three years, [s]elected governor of Imo State. For three years, everything remains the same. For three years we've been hopeless. And for three years, just last night, he was at the Ballroom of the Holiday Inn, in College Park, Maryland, telling Imonites that he "brought peace to Imo State." Odi egwu! T eachers and civil servants have not been paid, remember? The crowd not more than one-hundred people and one-quarter of the patrons his 419 colleagues, were all hyped-up giving hi-fives to Udenwa for his achievements. When I wrote "Governor Achike Udenwa Visits America For What?" most of my critics, if not all, came aboard to defend Udenwa, some saying they don't "hold brief" for the do-nothing governor, yet they would attend his gala night. Imagine. Of Imonites in Maryland-Virginia-Washington D.C. area, less than a hundred people attended this fanfare.

The fanfare at the Holiday Inn, not only was it a waste of time and money, it was a miscalculated scheme. One-hundred people in a collection of fifty bucks a piece amounts to five-thousand bucks, right? Never mind the overheads. That's a chicken change compared to the money Udenwa and his 419ers embezzled, so far. His trip at the expense of public funds far outweigh his deceptive mode of reelection by way of campaign funds in the United States. I was amazed when Udenwa, all of a sudden, began to sound positively cooperative in finding a solution to the state's fragile situation. Oh yeah! He talked about negotiations of borrowing money to complete his projects for the people of Imo State.

The organizers, Ugorji Ugorji, our one and only trade representative, Ike Ibe, and many others were there showing off and displaying their ignorance. Thank God, reading my piece, they came in their business suits rather than the normal Islamic Jihad-like flowing gowns. The ones who never got my drift came in their agbada and babariga. And, too, the Emily nwanyi na ebi ego type of dancers were there dancing, stomping, praising and applauding Udenwa for what he did in Imo State, so far. Ridiculous!

Dallas is next, and the walls will still be coming, tumbling down. We are finished.