By Amanze Ubochi
It appears the despot in civilian garb who calls himself Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, is already catching the joke. Yes, Okorocha is getting the inner feeling that the era of cluelessness as his regime exemplified in the nearly eight years reign in Imo State will soon peter.
He is already feeling that despite the grandstanding and desperation to have a surrogate take over the reins of power from him in 2019 it may not be a walk over after all.
Okorocha is getting the message very succinctly that not even the huge amount of money he has stashed away for the 2019 election, which many Ndi Imo believe is their money, will buy succession and continuity for him and his stooges as the governorship election draws closer.
Forget that Okorocha has mischievously (but I think it is more of foolishness) allocated elective positions to some equally desperate persons ahead of even his own party primaries, all are indications of what is about to befall the team – political doom and damnation.
Except Okorocha’s co-travellers lack understanding of what the governor had done, raising people’s hands as his preferred choice for certain elective positions in Imo, Imolites are daily getting wiser about the fraud that is their number one man and will respond at the right time. Soonest too.
But interestingly, Okorocha is suddenly beginning to see the hand writing on the wall. He is coming to terms with the awareness that the political gerrymandering he has been instigating among some politicians from Imo, mainly those in the National Assembly and some in his cabinet, will come to naught when Imo people decide next year.
Why do I think so?
Recently, while Okorocha was admonishing the Catholic Archbishop of Owerri Diocese, Anthony Obinna for rebuking him over bad governance and subtly advising Ndi Imo to reject him and his front in 2019, Okorocha accused Bishop Obinna of plot to install an All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in Imo.
As I read Okorocha’s accusation against Obinna, I almost fell down laughing out. Reason: Okorocha seems to have forgotten a popular Igbo adage that says the hand used in preparing chicken dish is also the same hand that will be used to prepare the dish of guinea fowl.
The question is: Why is Okorocha afraid of APGA, the same party that brought him to power in 2011 when all his political calculations, in the past, to reign in Imo had failed before APGA adopted him and made him governor?
Well, this is not the time to talk about the politics of Okorocha’s choice as APGA candidate for 2011 Imo governorship election.
Today, Frank Nneji is the issue because it seems God’s light is shinning so bright upon him as the man he wants to use to rescue Imo from the clutches of wicked, greedy, corrupt and politically exposed thieves masquerading as their Excellencies, Senators and Honourable members from Imo as we saw them recently when Okorocha unveiled them, raising their filthy hands up as his preferred candidates to continue with the systematic pillage and thievery.
Many people have heard about the man, Frank Uzoawuotu Nneji. Yet, a lot more are familiar with him as the figure behind amazing successful companies – Rapido and ABC Transport (otherwise called The Associated Bus Company Plc), among others.
For me and for so many others, Frank is the front runner aspirant in APGA for the Imo governorship contest in 2019. He, from all indications, will emerge the APGA candidate for that election next year if the leadership of the party obeys the voice of reason. I will return shorty on APGA leadership and voice of reason.
There are other APGA governorship aspirants though – the politically-ambitious, not-too-serious, pretenders and stooges – but the credential which Frank parades, and coming into the race with, is obviously what Imo State which has fallen into the hands of criminally-minded politicians over the years needs today to reclaim its glory.
Perhaps the time has come for Imo to be brought out of the deep cesspit it has found itself as a result of the pillaging that all manner of persons who called themselves governors consigned and subjected the state to since the return of democratic governance in 1999.
Many think that no time is better imagined to have a Frank in the saddle than now. Even an Okorocha would have loved to field a Frank Nneji were the latter to be in the same political camp with him. As far as those who know what good governance means are concerned, there has not been anything of such in Imo since 1999.
What those who reigned over Imo thought of governance was nothing but farming where they saw the state as a farmland and they all invaded it with their different implements and used same to pillage as much resources as they could lay their hands on. Some were so dastard and ruthless in their style that they even had the effrontery to vandalise existing infrastructure put up by the likes of former governor Sam Mbakwe.
To say that the situation progressed from bad to worse is an understatement. In fact, events came to a head with the coming on board of the Okorocha era with its deceptive mantra – Rescue Mission – that actually imprisoned, castrated, impoverished and psychologically devastated and devalued Ndi Imo instead of rescuing them.
But it appears God wanted Ndi Imo to learn the hard way first, before unveiling to them a man with what looks like a divine mandate, and who has the capacity, humility, industry, perseverance, tolerance, and integrity to help bring the state back on track and on the trajectory of development in line with the dream of the her founding fathers as ably demonstrated by late Mbakwe, the first civilian governor of Imo when he was in the saddle between 1979 and 1983.
A brief profile of Frank who holds the Federal Government of Nigeria, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) as captured by Bloomberg is quite apt and revealing of the man jostling for the APGA ticket. Bloomberg wrote: “Frank serves as the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Director and Director of ABC Transport Plc (a/k/a, Associated Bus Company Plc). Mr. Nneji served as the President of Owerri Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OCCIMA) from 2000 to 2003 and has also represented the transport sector as a pioneer Member of the Board of Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
“He has won many awards for his innovation and successful business initiatives, a few of which are the Outstanding Young Person of the Year award in 1997 from Nigerian Jaycees; 2001 Fate Model Entrepreneur of the Year Award for creating excellence and ethics in business from Fate Foundation; Silver Jubilee Award from the Imo State Government for distinguished contribution to the development of Imo State also in 2001.
“Mr. Nneji is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT), UK, and a recipient of the National Honour of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON). Mr. Nneji holds a B.Sc in Zoology from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka in 1982. He passed through the Chief Executive Programme of the Lagos Business School (LBS), Nigeria, and Wharton Business School, USA.”
Born in April 30, 1960 in Kaduna to a retired soldier and retired nurse from Ezuhu Nguru, in Aboh Mbaise Local government area of Imo State, Frank started early to show signs of independence, industry and entrepreneurship.
His business acumen actually showed up as an undergraduate. Frank would collect past questions of courses being taught from the records office of his university, UNN, repackage them, and sell for a fee to his co-students. As a student union official, he also used his car on campus to ferry students to places of choice for a fee.
At a time when money had value, Frank in 1980 was able to raise N500 from his campus business (a huge sum at the time), which he saved and invested in another venture.
Frank was one of those who tapped into the purchase of student rebate ticket sold then by the national carrier – Nigerian Airways – and with that travelled to Italy to buy items like T-Shirts, belts, jeans, and a lot more, which he resold in Nigeria to make money.
Frank married his fashion and education business together while in the university and by the time he graduated at age 23, he already had some money with which to go into the world of business, full time.
Rapido which today is an household name in the country and outside with regard to audio-visuals and other educational materials, was the product of deft business sense that saw Frank saving money on campus and during his National Youth Service Corp (NYSC).
Like Rapido, ABC Transport that Frank founded was a product of observation of the poor manner public transportation was being carried out in the country when he was jumping from one bus to the other trying to grow his business. From poor management to manner-less, illiterate drivers, conductors and staff, and to completely disorganised transport system, Frank thought he could offer Nigeria a better deal. And he did as his ABC transport ushered in a system that was alien but summarily helped to set the agenda for would be transporters in the country.
All that Frank needed was a loan of N1.5 million from Diamond Bank and he got it because the bank was impressed with his comprehensive business proposal on how to turn the transport system around using ABC.
Today, ABC Transport has become a conglomerate multi-million dollar business with no fewer than 1,200 people in its employ. It is on record that ABC is the first transport company of its kind to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with subsidiaries like ABEX services and City Transit (hospitality for travellers), and a 50 per cent stake in Transit Support Services (a trading company engaged in the importation, sales of vehicles spares, installation of motor vehicle speed governing devices, and the assembly of heavy duty trucks).
ABC Transport is known both in Nigeria and the West African Coast and has attracted the attention of equity investors, with Capital Alliance Private Equity (CAPE) acquiring a 30 per cent stake in 2004.
The above narrative on the business acumen of Frank is a necessary guide to the leadership of APGA that will soon play a critical role in who flies their flag in 2019 for the Imo governorship race.
If feelers coming from the APGA leadership camp is anything to go by, they seem to be torn between Frank and other aspirants like Okey Eze, Uche Onyeagocha, Steve Nwoga, Nick Oparandudu, among others. Many even say some of the aspirants have “pricked the conscience” of the APGA National Chairman, Victor Oye. Truth be told, there should be neither controversy nor guessing about who ought to be picked as the APGA governorship candidate for Imo.
Yes, the party in Imo has become the beautiful bride as many unprincipled politicians in the state like Oparandudu and Onyeagocha of this world who want to use APGA as a platform to re-launch themselves into political reckoning have defected to the party, but the Oye-led National Working Committee (NWC) of APGA must be wiser now.
Not even Okey Eze believed to be very close to Oye and has boasted with that relationship, and as the one funding the party in Imo, should be compared with Frank at this point in time.
No time is better than now for Oye to put on his thinking cap. He should be reminded that aspirants who are leasing vehicles to flag off their intention and those buying and distributing vehicles in their numbers just to impress the APGA leadership and their followers will go the way of Okorocha that APGA brought on board in 2011 that Imo people today want to get rid of for his colossal failure.
Many Imo leaders of thought have sighted Frank Nneji’s comprehensive plan on how to pull the state out of the wreckage Okorocha and his team of opportunists caused it and they are satisfied with what they saw.
All that is expected from Oye-leadership of APGA is to respect the voice of reason. And a lot of us make bold to say that the other aspirants may not be as prepared as Frank and should not be trusted with the APGA ticket now, else it would be counter-productive.
Success they say only comes to those who are prepared to take on challenges. Frank is fully prepared and the least the APGA leadership should do is to be a cog in the wheel.
Frank is set to take on the next big opportunity. He is seeing solutions where others see challenges and disappointments on Imo predicament. He wants to try something new regardless of what it will take. Those who genuinely mean well for Imo are pleased with his agenda and would be glad to see APGA leadership field their best of bests for Imo.
For me, it won’t be bad to trust Imo in Frank’s hands today going by his business journey that is replete with remarkable successes, his austere background, humility, resilience and sense of responsibility. Any APGA candidate lacking in these characteristics for the governorship contest in Imo will spell doom for the party.
.Ubochi, a political analyst contributed this piece from Owerri.