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Ikem Okuhu's New Book causes Ripples

A new book ‘Eighteen Months in the Neverland, Chronicle of my Daze in Government, written by a former SPA to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Ikem Okuhu, has been attracting a lot of attention from far and wide.


Although the book has not been officially released, Ikem had, on September 14th, 2021, released a part of Chapter 7 of the book titled “Understanding the Governor’s Understanding of development.” He faulted the governor’s adoption of “Nrashi” as his development ideology. According to him, 

Ugwuanyi had created and frequently used in referring to what he might have thought was the dispensing of democratic dividends but which, in reality, evokes only the imageries of gluttonous consumption by those close enough to his government to enjoy the privileges power confers. As annoying and suggestive of state-sponsored corruption and primitive gluttony as it sounds, Nrashi happened to be the governor’s favorite word and tumbled out in almost all his conversations, formal and otherwise, in all its manifest forms as nouns, verbs, adjectives, and the whole nine yards.


He further faulted the governor’s adoption of ‘Gburugburu,’ a name he believed did not present him as a purposeful leader. He said 
Nrashi, I must note here, was not the only favorite expression of the governor I did not like and actually spoke to him about the need to dilute them from his identity and personal brand. The other one was his nickname, Gburugburu, an Igbo word that could be used to refer to various things, including the “circular,” “the universe,” “the environment,” “everywhere,” and everything relating to a person’s wide surroundings. When I had the privilege of meeting him in 2016, one of the things I recommended and which also featured in the PowerPoint presentation that I shared with him during that period, was the gradual withdrawal of this moniker from his personal brand. I made this recommendation because Gburugburu did not strike me as the title befitting of a purposeful leader. If you are a PR professional preparing someone, as I had thought I was doing at the time, to position himself as the rallying point for Igbo and even the old eastern Nigeria solidarity, the first things you should discourage are names and titles that are antithetical to the purpose. Gburugburu was a bit too village-square-ish to be one of a governor’s proud adornments.

My protestation did not discourage him, though. Littering the nooks and crannies of the state are solidarity movements and political support groups built around what I thought was an obnoxious moniker in its various adaptations.


The Facebook post has attracted a lot of commendation from people who praised him for the courage to write the book and speak the truth to power. On the other hand, the governor’s aides and sympathizers have criticized the book saying it was born out of mischief. They claimed his new romance with the former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu who is believed to be aspiring for the governorship position in Enugu State in 2023, is the reason behind the book.


Ikem Okuhu, a seasoned Brand and Public Relations consultant, served as a Senior Personal Assistant (SPA) to the governor for 18 months before his resignation. A graduate of the Mass Communication department of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, he has rich experience driving public relations strategies in the banking and oil and gas sectors from the United Bank of Africa to Ecobank International and ExxonMobil Nigeria among others.


He is the author of the book “PITCH: Debunking Marketing's Strongest Myths. He hails from Nguru in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State.
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