By Ikenna ONUOHA, Mnipr
As a Communication student, our Teachers specifically taught us the difference between a town crier, one of the communication agents and the village gong man.
While the town crier may not be too skillful and wealthy in materials, but only does his work as the community informant or reminder, the gong man functions professionally and treats his kinsmen with equal rights and privileges.
One thing that differentiates the town crier and the gong man is skill and social class. The former carries out his duties untutored without expecting remuneration from his kinsmen, but the gong man most times, negotiates or bargains professionally for a better rhythm for his people.
The message or story telling is explicit only one who pays attention will understand and assimilates. Today, most politicians have misplaced their duties as town criers to the gong man.
This is because, our society today absorbs nonentities, selfish and greedy persons as leaders with or without referencing to future and what it will bring.
Scholarly, a gong man is a trademark of a musclebound man banging a gong at the beginning of every Rank film was dreamed up in the 1930s by the publicity manageress of General Film Distributors, which then distributed J Arthur's films.
The lady had in mind Bombadier Billy Wells, "Beautiful Billy"to his fans, who had been British heavyweight boxing champion from 1911-19. He was filmed at Walton Hall Studios, Isleworth, in 1935.
After the war, it was deemed that Wells should be replaced and his successor was hunky Phil Nieman, who was immortalized at Gainsborough Studios, Shepherd's Bush. Nieman's replacement, in 1955, was yet another athlete, Ken Richmond, who won a wrestling bronze in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
Richmond, filmed at Pinewood, remains to this day. Incidentally, the gong is actually made of plaster and paper and the noise we hear, the reverberations of a Chinese tam-tam (three feet diameter), is recorded by percussionist James Blades.
Bringing it down to Imo politics and the expectations of many in the 2023 elections, we should not expect less a town crier and a village gong man.
Most individuals are ganging up and regrouping either to play the role of town crier or the gong man, but the confusion beclouding us makes them uncertain on which political position to gun for.
Some town criers bereft of the needed skills are angry that those better than them should not join in the 2023 elections to easily pave way for their inordinate emergence as members of the parliament or the executive.
Our major role as political spectators is to identify the town criers and the gong men, and ensure that our desperation to get it right in the 2023 elections does not elude us.
From 1999 to date, record has it that our state has produced town criers as Governors, but wish assuredly to elect a gong man as Governor in the 2023 elections.
Reason is not far fetched, the gong man will be skillful with defined or definite purpose of programmes to be executed once elected, instead, of the town crier whose only duty is to remind or inform the villagers that there would be meeting somewhere in the community.
We do not want those in the habit of creating unnecessary village and political crisis in our state, those still aggrieved over their abysmal loss in the 2019 post election matters to be relaunched.
This is because, their accumulated animosity, acrimony, vengeance and revenge against supposed political enemies will not allow them to concentrate to execute relevant project when elected as Governor.
In 2023, Imo needs people of proven integrity with open hearts, charitable and charismatic swag not only in character but in leadership, philanthropy and defined philosophy.
The era of ethnic and tribal sentiment including sex chauvinism is over. We do not want leaders with elitist mentality to Govern the state again, owing to the fact that such clandestine pursuit ended up cutting off the youths from accessing dividends of democracy from government in the past.
In as much as the issue of zoning must be prominently considered, there is need to look towards an apolitical jingoist who will not allow his internal interest and that of his immediate constituents to derail him from carrying every clan in the state along.
By so doing, we shall be expecting Imo of our collective dreams!
...It Shall End In Praise
