Community Leadership and Electoral Neutrality: What Vin Dike Should know

By Cyrus Okonkwo

In Nigeria’s complex political landscape, traditional rulers, Presidents-General, and community leaders occupy positions of profound responsibility that extend far beyond ceremonial duties. These leaders who serve as custodians of their communities’ values, arbiters of disputes, and bridges between the people and various levels of government. However, nowhere is their role more critical—and more delicate—than during electoral periods, when the democratic process demands absolute neutrality and unwavering commitment to fair play.

The position of a community leader, whether a traditional ruler or an elected President-General, comes with an implicit social contract. This contract demands that personal political preferences must never supersede the broader interests of the entire community. When leaders allow partisan politics to influence their actions, they not only betray this trust but also undermine the very democratic principles that Nigeria has fought to establish and maintain.
It is thus suprising that Chief Vin Dike, the President General of Oraifite could do otherwise in the recent rerun election held in the community and still carry on as PG.

First of all, let us get it right, the story of Azuka Okwuosa hijacking INEC materials is false and was a hoax created by the same Dike to justify his invasion of the home of the Okwuosa’s with thugs and the state government security outfit members. This can be seen in his laughable arrogation of police and security powers to himself, powers he seems to have recently recognized or otherwise he would know that the house of his backer is the real abode for rigging elections.

What Dike as a PG should have done on getting notice of such was to call the respective INEC authorities and perhaps the zonal Commander in charge of that area, but he did not, rather to conclude the hatchet job he led these thugs himself.

Further light on the posturing of the poltroon like PG would show that he was indeed biased against his brother’s ambition and we have ample proof. In a voice note he made public his bias whilst trying to justify his follies on that said day.

First, he alleges that Sir Azuka Okwuosa did not carry his community along, umunnem, nothing could be further from the truth as Sir Azuka as at April, 2025 in an event where the whole of Oraifite were present announced his intention and pleaded for support, this was reciprocated with the Igwe of Oraifite pronouncing the traditional blessing on our son’s ambition and even saw Azuka donating the sum of 2 million Naira to the community’s security fund. How a man like Vin can because of party politics spew lies is baffling.

Vin also exhibits his foolishness by saying that Sir Azuka’s ambition is not of interest to Oraifite as a community! He went further to say in that voice note that Oraifite will never fight the government? Pray when did a community electing one of its own become a fight with the state government? Pray what will Vin now do should another party take over government house Awka? In an age and time when democracy and it’s tenets seek to flourish, the likes of Vin, barbarians at the gate fail to understand that Nigeria isn’t like China and people can choose to be in other parties and seek electoral positions.

Democratic governance rests on the principle that all citizens, regardless of their political affiliations, have equal rights to participate in the electoral process. This includes the fundamental right to campaign freely, express political views without intimidation, and compete fairly for public office. Sadly , a reprobate like Vin has denied Oraifite the opportunity of sending our son to the Senate because he cannot fathom what democracy is, a relic of the zombie age he surely is.

This type of partisan behavior transforms what should be unifying leadership into divisive politicking. It suggests that community membership is somehow contingent upon political alignment, a notion that is fundamentally antithetical to both democratic values and traditional concepts of inclusive leadership.

Vin Dike has thus written his name in infamy, Azuka may have lost but the biggest loser in all of this is Oraifite as a community. Vin may for now enjoy his tenure in office and the crumbs that will come for betraying his brother and his community, however he must be wary of the saying : “That which goes around, comes around”

Okonkwo Cyrus writes from Awka