By Oguwike Nwachuku
I did not intend to do another write up soon on Imo after “Uche Nwosu as last vestige of Okorocha’s iberiberism,” last week.
It was Olusegun Adeniyi’s column in THISDAY on Thursday, March 14, particularly his advice to the governor-elect of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha that prompted the change of mind.
Vintage Segun kept it short, simple and straight to the point in the piece he tagged: A word for Ihedioha.
What I found very instructive in the article was hidden somewhere in the conclusion which I wish to quote.
Segun said: “He made a number of promises and they have vested their trust in him. Now is the time to keep those promises. In all circumstances, Ihedioha must put the interest of Imo people above any other consideration. May God help him to succeed.”
Few minutes after reading Segun, I got a mail from my colleague, Ikechukwu Amaechi, who was in Owerri, on the speech the governor-elect delivered at a world press conference on Thursday on his victory.
Again, the speech reinforced the interest Segun’s article had already gingered in me to do another intervention on the Imo saga.
By and large, I had convinced myself that no intervention will be too much for a state that I call mine, particularly if it must be on the post governorship election.
Before going into the nitty-gritty of Ihedioha’s speech, it is important to take another look at Imo which Governor Rochas Okorocha intends to leave behind for his successor, barely two months from now.
The information is already out in public space that Imo State is in huge financial mess running into billions of naira.
In fact, some people put the debt at more than N250 billion, while others say it is in excess of N500 billion.
Whatever the amount, we await what the outgoing, nay lame duck governor will hand over to his successor few weeks from now.
Whatever it may be, the point remains that under Okorocha and his vanity of hubris, the state he inherited eight years ago is never the same and has been mortgaged financially that generations unborn will have to live with the pains of paying for his thoughtless and rudderless government.
The situation is made worse by the fact that there are no viable infrastructure that can stand the test of time which Okorocha can point to and say he wasted the humungous Imo resources on except the few ramshackle roads, statues and buildings, some of which have not even been completed.
Compared to Okorocha’s residential house at Spibat, near Owerri that seats on hundreds of acres of land, and several other structures linked to the governor and his family, Imolites now know where their money may have been sunk.
It is important to draw the attention of Imolites to the level of indebtedness Okorocha will be leaving for Ihedioha for them to make sense of the rented crowd that visited Okorocha during the week at the government house to show solidarity to him, his son in-law, Uche Nwosu, and other persons who obviously have fallen within the category of bad losers following the declaration of Ihedioha as governor.
Those youths still delude themselves with claim that Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA) won the election and should be declared winner. They are also making cases for other AA candidates that Ndi-Imo rejected at the poll.
The so-called protesting youths, no doubt, may not even know what has hit them and their state if the debt burden Okorocha is leaving behind is anything to go by.
They call themselves Imo youths, but I saw people in their midst who are older than Okorocha who has mortgaged our children’s future by accumulating debts that will take 30 years or more to pay as Prince Eze Madumere, Imo state deputy governor revealed recently.
I guess Madumere is a better Imo youth than these ones Okorocha rented or may have been training as army of zombies with their psych and grey matter completely repressed and warped.
Is it not interesting watching Okorocha bemoaning his certificate of return that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) withheld because of what the Commission called “declaration under duress”?
Mr. Governor, please wait for the outcome of INEC findings on the complaint against your so-called victory as senator-elect for Imo West. I really do not think anybody is after you. If anything, you are the one whose shadow is being chased around.
Remember one of those words you coined in your deep hallucination – ohashierism, as your hangers on cheered you on? Time was when you were cooking all manner of dishes for the Imolites and they ate your meals patiently without complaining.
Today, Ndi Imo are now serving you their own well prepared dish (Ofe Owerre) believing, also, that you will be disciplined enough, and also have the grace, to consume it without the unnecessary alarm you are raising.
That word – ohashierism – has come back to you with such ferocity that the oracle in you cannot but bow in total surrender. I do not want to call you a bad loser the second time because of the way you are behaving now.
What a greedy man you have chosen to be? What an autocrat you have chosen to be? What a dictator you have chosen to be? What a killjoy you are? What a deceitful character you are? What? What? Oooooh what onye iberibe you are?
Cast your mind back to this time in 2011 and ask yourself what went wrong. The people trusted you when they rejected Ikedi Ohakim who was then basking in his glory and branded himself ikiri.
The Imolites swam to you like bees, showing you love and trust and believing hope will come their way through you.
But you bungled their hope. You ruled over them like Pharaoh did over the Israelites in Egypt. You chastised them with whips like unwise Rehoboam did to the Israelites in boastful manner after his father’s death in ways they are not used to – poverty, misery, hardship. In fact, you tormented their lives to no end.
There is time for everything Mr. Governor. And your time had come and may have also passed, and ingloriously too. When the history of Imo state is written, pray you have a line that will be kind to you.
And to Ihedioha, I think you have started well if what I read as your speech is anything to go by, particularly your promise that your government would serve all, whether they voted for you or not. That is the spirit.
Okorocha never had such spirit because he is a man who believes in himself alone and in zero sum game.
These are your words: “My fellow citizens, I will be governor to all Ndi-lmo both those who voted for us and those who did not. No part is greater or more important than the other. We are equal stakeholders in the Imo project and must, therefore, ensure that our people are united in the pursuant of the common good.
“We will run an all-inclusive government and not a government of exclusion. Ours will be a government that will promote the unity of the state, rather than accentuate the fissures that have characterised our relationship with each other in recent times.
“I believe strongly that those in positions of authority must render an account of their stewardship to the people. The era of brazenness in Imo State is gone.
“We entered into a social contract with you with our manifesto and we shall remain faithful to our obligations in that contract. This contract seeks to substantially improve the welfare, security, property rights, economic and social advancement of our people. We shall find creative ways of funding our ambitious infrastructural projects and give Imo the quality education, healthcare and general good governance that you desire.
“To kick-start the rebuilding process, I shall set up in the coming days, a Transition Team with clear terms of reference. This team will liaise with the outgoing government to collate and collect information on the state of affairs of our State. They will recommend the structure of our government.
“They will translate our campaign promises into actionable executive and legislative policies with clear timelines. In summary, they will be charged with making far-reaching recommendations on the way forward for our dear state that has suffered from years of brigandage, lack of direction, Ad-Hoc approach to governance and lack of due process.”
Segun’s advice seems to have been magnified by Ihedioha himself. I am not surprised because the Mbaise man is not only wise, he is intelligent, thoughtful, kind, loving and knowledgeable.
Forget the distractions that are coming from those who never see anything good in the people that come from Mbaise. Be rest assured that those distractions are part of the things that will test your creative intuition and goad you to perform creditably.
Again, be reminded that exactly this time in 2011 when Okorocha won the governorship election, so many people residing outside the country came home either for good or bad to join in governing Imo state “so well”. Today, we are witnesses to their collective performance.
Not all those who are living in Europe and America have something to offer back home. Many of them are looking for opportunity to return home. Among such are those who are only busy on Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. They comment on anything that happens back home. That is their full time job. They will not tell you how stranded they are in Europe and America until opportunities such as the ones provided by electoral victories like yours come knocking at their doors.
The last thing you will do as governor is to promise what you cannot give. Ndi Imo have spoken concerning their choice of you and it is sealed both in the physical and spiritual.
Let Okorocha and his gang of idle youths face the reality of a breadth of fresh air pervading the Imo landscape.
The youths in particular should be advised to join in the efforts to give Imo a new face after eight years in the hands of ndi-iberibe. It is in their interest to so do as Okorocha will never remember them again after May 28, 2019.