Political pressure group, Mezie Imo, strategises for the 2015 governorship race in Imo State, Assistant Editor (North), CHUKS EHIRIM, reports.
Owelle Rocha Okorochacha
Hardly does any week pass these days without one political group or another from the South East, especially Imo State, storming the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, to announce its arrival on the scene, preparatory to the 2015 governorship election in the Eastern Heartland.
Enter Mezie Imo
Penultimate Monday, one of such groups, Mezie Imo, organised a dinner party at an Abuja hotel, where its leaders explained the reason for its emergence on the political scene.
The aim of the new group, it was learnt, is to produce someone that will govern Imo from 2015. Leaders of the group, who spoke at the occasion that had in attendance some ingigenes of the state occupying positions at the federal level, did not hide their opposition to the current governor, Rochas Okorocha.
In a document tagged Mezie Imo Project, director-general of the group, Pascal Ibekwe, said the project is “focused on the promotion and propagation of righteous, visionary and transformational leadership in Imo State, Nigeria, Africa and the world”.
The document delved into what it considered the piteous state of the Imo citizenry, stressing on the issue of unemployment which, it said, has hit the people of the state very hard.
“Our children suffer dehumanising treatment in this country and outside of this country, in the bid to earn a living. They are often targets of discriminatory state policies designed to oppress and suppress them,” the group alleged.
It called for desperate solutions for the problems it complained about.
“The scenario, as it is now, needs very desperate remedies, purposeful leadership with well-thought-out and clearly-defined strategic action plans. The responsibility to stop the drift, arrest the decay and initiate as well as drive needed leadership revolution is 100 per cent,” the group declared.
Ibekwe, who hails from Ehime Mbano, in Okigwe Senatorial Zone of the state, told the audience what the group targets to achieve. His words: “We are representing the best of Imo. Mezie Imo represents a group of people who think alike and reason that Imo should be transformed.”
Painting a picture of affinity between the group and President Goodluck Jonathan’s political train for 2015, Ibekwe added: “Nigeria is going through some huge transformation, and we feel that Imo should benefit from this transformation.
“Imo has a huge amount of unemployment. That is why we are calling on all our people to join the Goodluck Jonathan Transformation agenda. We cannot continue the way we are going because we know that Imo is going the way of the 18th century.”
Augustine Okere from Ngor Okpala, who is rumoured to be nursing gubernatorial ambition, also toed the same line when he spoke.
“Leadership is living and dying for a cause,” he said. “Vision gives you a picture of your future. Mezie Imo is a ministry because it is a vehicle to make us realise our vision. For Imo to progress, it must have a leader who fears God. A man who does not fear God should not be our governor, senator or councilor.”
Leaders of the group, however, were shocked when some of the special guests at the occasion picked holes in their submissions. One such speaker was the Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, who admonished leaders of Mezie Imo to explore other avenues of helping their state and country to grow, not necessarily by wanting to occupy elective political offices.
“When I first came across the platform of Mezie Imo, I didn’t quite know whether it was a platform of gubernatorial candidates or a religious ministry,” he remarked and advised the organisers: “You are not going to build the Imo State of your dream only by vision. Creativity is a means of solving problems. Israel, a small country, has the largest patent in the world. That is creativity. The smartest guy among you needs not be governor, but the smartest guy must be a leader, building factories and industries that will create jobs for the unemployed.
“It should not be a vision to be producing governors and senators because there are many leaders without titles, like Bill Gates. Don’t focus only on official political roles. Do not despise wealth, age and ideas.”
Executive Chairman of the Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Dr. Richard Egbule, another special guest, also told the group that “vision without action will lead to confusion”. He advised the Igbo, especially those from Imo, to borrow a leaf from the late Yoruba singer and film maker, Hubert Ogunde, who in one of his epic works, advised his people to think (Yoruba Ronu).
According to him, Imo produces the highest number of candidates who sit for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and Senior School Certificate (SSC) examinations in Nigeria every year, yet the state has no single private university. He pointed out, also, that countries like Japan, Malaysia and Singapore are not endowed with a lot of natural resources, but have citizens who are creative, thereby making their countries rich.
“It is not only governors who are leaders. We should try and create some kind of action with vision. We must have foresight. Those who are in leadership positions should provide jobs for their people, so that when they retire from such positions, they will have those who will replace them,” he said.
TheNiche gathered, however, that Mezie Imo is an extension of the campaign organisation of one of the front line governorship aspirants in the state.
Even with the 2015 elections still some months ahead, intense activities have been going on in Imo over the governorship race. There are indications that Okorocha, who apparently may be going for another term, will not have a smooth run in the exercise. The governor is of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which commands marginal followership in the state and entire South East. He, however, has grassroots appeal.
On the other hand, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has been in rancorous state, seems to be getting its acts right, lately. It parades such aspirants as Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; former governor, Ikedi Ohakim; Senator Chris Anyanwu, among others.
