Governor Rochas Okorocha And His Herculian Task Of Imo State Governance

By

Nwimo Udoye

nwimo.udoye@aol.com

I will start by congratulating Owelle Rochas Okorocha for his highly plural mandate, to take charge of Imo State affairs for the next four years, moreso for defeating such a well oiled political machine, with the incumbency might. I have no doubt the realities of ruling Imo State, with her overwhelming wage bill and social problems are already sinking in. Private philanthropy and actually running a state are not the same, nor is being a maverick and statesmanship, the same. But these contrasts are not to say that the new governor has not much going for him personally, to fulfill this trust bestowed on him by majority of Imo State electorate. His honey moon with the Imo electorate is on and what he does in the next 100 days, is critical in setting the scorecard for his next 4 years.

On education, Governor Rochas needs to immediately withdraw his campaign pledge for free education and replace it with a pledge of reformed qualitative education in Imo State. Imolites want subsidized quality education, not necessarily free one, as they know quite well that it is not feasible and would be sabotaged by myriad of levies, by school administration. Of utmost importance is involving the communities in education, beyond PTAs and secondary school Board of Governors. There should also be immediate Marshall Plan of staffing all schools in Imo State, with qualified teachers, which could easily be drawn from the army of unemployed graduates of tertiary institutions, milling about the state. The school system in Imo State, up to IMSU, is producing garbage! Reversing this ugly situation, would benefit Imo people, more than free education. This administration, should also pursue relocating Imo State University to a permanent site, and a longer term plan of a second state university, even if it means making it self-sustaining, through higher fees. Imo is one the few states that need two state universities.

The past administration through the MDGs and SUBEB underwent massive infrastructural development of primary and Secondary Schools. These are self evident in the mint yellow school buildings blocks that dot the Imo State landscape. Inside these school buildings are brand new pupils' desks, table and seats for teachers. But the same administration neglected the employment and posting of teachers, to these schools until late in its life. It never expected to lose until very close to the election. It also allowed a growth industry of massive impersonation during WASC & NECCO examinations and even during exams in tertiary institutions. It is no longer just EXPO, but an industry of outside people writing exams for candidates, the connivance of school principals, invigilators and even Ministry of Education field staff, who are supposed to monitor the conduct of these examination, but instead choose to be on the take ! Reforms in these areas would yield more fruit for Imo people, than pursuing outright free education program, in the state.

The existence of special JAMB & WAEC centers and the culture of "sorting" in tertiary institutions, though not unique to Imo, were also tolerated here, in the past. There is no worse cancer in the Nigeria body fabric, than the total loss of academic integrity throughout the Nigerian educational system. Imo can lead the way in reversing this situation.

As the governor-elect admitted, during handing over by ex Governor Ohakim, his predecessor left some good legacies behind.  Among them are the new look of Owerri, including the official route to the Imo Airport, Government House itself, internal  local government and civil service reform. Ohakim broke the NULGE cartel and stranglehold on the LG tenure, administration and finances, and replaced these onetime overlords of the LG system, with mere mortals, meek and transferable civil servants. Prior to Ohakim, LG treasurers, Director of Administration & personnel were guaranteed billionaires, who with alliance with Chairmen of these LGAs, milked their treasuries dry. These folks hardly behaved like mortals, in the LG system. One only needs to visit the palatial country homes of these LG officials, in their villages, their private residential homes in Owerri, their commercial homes and rental properties, to appreciate the level of corruption these LGA officials got away with, along with their Executive LGA Chairmen! This has stopped, though Ohakim could not account for the savings either! Rochas need to build on these positives and not reverse them. Ohakim took on erstwhile untouchable institutions and cartels in the state, including the revenue collection system itself. He made a lot of enemies, in the process, though much more with his mouth that suffered incurable diarrhea, during his four year tenure. Now that the system is cleaned up, Gov Okorocha can make things better in both tiers of government, by not handling the recovered proceeds, Ohakim did.

Let’s not forget the eradication of Okada in Owerri. Now, one precious Igbo Keke driver carries 5 passengers at a time in relative safety and comfort, instead one Okada rider on a dangerous two-wheel bike, with its attendant congestion of Owerri traffic and other chaos and vices Okada transportation culture wrought on Owerri residents. Even in the Imo villages now, Okada is no longer a full time vocation, a major psychological reversal and shift; and gain for Imo people from the anti Okada campaigns. Youths are combining Okada riding with farming and other trades, in the villages. It has become something of a personal cash flow augmentation for rural folks and no longer full time endeavor. They line their pocket with its cash proceeds during large events and "season" and engage in other endeavors, after that. Rochas should not attempt to reverse this Okada psychological progress in the state, no matter what he intends to gain politically. Imo people do not need commercial Okada riders in Owerri. Other states like Plateau have already copied this from Imo State. Keke is a good substitute. Let’s build on it, instead.

The Achilles heels of Ohakim was his mouth, unbridled arrogance and total lack of tact and commonsense! He was a victim of power intoxication; power he never really worked for. He became a governor, without campaigning beyond the radio and did not have a structure, even in his ward or his Federal Constituency. Instead of borrowing a leaf from Gov. Chris Ngige, who similarly acquired power through providence and used it to the fullest extent to benefit his long neglected Anambra people, through good network of roads, Ohakim went on the part of grudge against those who supported Senator Ararume’s, even though the latter was robbed, for him to be governor.

The truth is but for appointments and road developments, which he concentrated in his native Isi Ala Mbano LGA and his Osu Clan in particular, the rest of Okigwe and particularly, his Okigwe North Fed Constituency benefitted nothing from Ikedi Ohakim. He visited Onuimo LGA only once at the tail end of his campaign. No visit at all to Okigwe Township in his four years. He cancelled ongoing Engineering Campus of Imo State University at Umuna, Okigwe. There were no roads built in Onuimo and Okigwe Urban either, in those 4 years. Etiti, Obowo and Ehime Mbano people should speak for themselves. Okigwe North was the base of Senator Ararume's support and paid dearly for it, under Ohakim's four year tenure as governor. So when Orlu people complain, they should base it on facts and proper context. Owerri ironically seemed to have benefitted most. Rochas should them be a governor for all and not listen to the voices of sectionalist from Orlu and Owerri, who would like to stick it to Okigwe people, who got almost nothing either, during Udenwa era. Rochas has a unique chance of going away from the winner takes all dispositions of Imo politics of the past 12 years. Udenwa took care of all of Orlu, while Gov. Ikedi Ohakim cared only for his Osu Clan. In appointments, it was also Isi Ala Mbano Oligarchy, not that of his Okigwe zone.

Ohakim was not a good politician. His lofty ideas, some of them obviously fraudulent and dead on arrival, were  never  articulated very well, nor did he cared to sell them, to the grassroots. Those who could advise him were forced into sycophancy. A better politician with even a dash of humility, who deliberated before he spoke, could have sold some of his futuristic and apparently esthetic programs, to Imo people, successfully. Instead he took the outside control power base of Igboland (Obasanjo, PDP, et al), for granted. The Igbo is about fair competition and folks proving their mettle, before their peers. Under his feet, Imo politics regained Igbo this character and central tenet and his outside sponsors and mentors, could not help him from being swept away by this tide. APGA is an Igbo based party, like NPP, with which late Sam Mbakwe, wrote his name in gold. Igbos do not need to be PDP, to benefit from Jonathan’s government. Their support for him, even after the election is at the level of cult following. Rochas should therefore do Imo people a favor by thinking about it thoroughly, before returning back to PDP.

The selfish wish of Okigwe North, particularly, Onuimo LGA, is for Rochas to be like Ohakim in a way: the proverbial oil bean tree whose seeds are never found at the vicinity, but explosively dispersed way beyond its native environment. Onuimo LGA in particular, is counting on the mutual economic and cultural ties between Ideato people and it. Onuimo LGA, for centuries has been the bread basket of Ideato North and South LGAs, Southern Anambra and even Onitsha.  Rochas need to continue from where Udenwa stopped (though Ohakim usurped the reward) and link Umuobom or Umuakam in Ideato South, and Arondizuogu, to Okigwe-Owerri road, through Umuduruegbeaguru and Okwe clans, in Onuimo LGA. These short but very important roads will open up the famous and all important Umuduruegbeaguru, Okwe and Arondizuogu bread basket and fertile land, to both Imo and Anambra States. This bread basket corridor of the Imo River watershed sustained Biafra to the end and is presently feeding its Ideato neighbors as it always has, albeit inefficiently, due to bad roads! This road network is mostly built, since the late Mbakwe administrations built all its bridges and culverts, preparatory to its asphalting, before General Buhari struck and unnecessarily terminated that dispensation! Building these roads will reduce food prices and improve standard of living and happiness, even in Rochas native Ogboko, whose people depend on fresh produce and food, from Umuduruegbeaguru, in Onuimo LGA. Onuimo LGA has abundant fresh and underground water, being a major part of the Imo River watershed. Its aquifer is fully stocked with fresh water and it is also full of fresh water springs and streams. With good roads linking it to Ideato North and South, its good area for fisheries and the fresh water could be trucked easily up to Ideato areas, to quench the perpetual taste for freshwater, in that environment.  A favor from Rochas administration to Onuimo people is indeed one also extended to his Ideato people, particularly, the Mbanasaa and Nwabosi sections of the Ideato Clan.

I liked and appreciate the tone and attitude of Owelle Rochas at this handover ceremony, with ex governor Ohakim. Ohakim squandered a lot of his goodwill and his providential accent to Imo Government House, especially for his Okigwe kin, who now face the risk and prospects of not getting to Imo government house for a long time, not to talk of political underserved vendetta, from Orlu and Owerri zones. With zoning gone, Okigwe zone, a victim of Gerrymandering, with only 6 small local governments, can only hope to be a king Maker and deputy governor crumb picker in Imo State, between the Orlu behemoth(12 very large LGAs and Owerri(with 9 LGAs).

The defeat of Ohakim by Rochas is more of a defeat of zoning. Most of us knew that incumbency or not, with virulent and mass sustained opposition from Orlu and Owerri, Ohakim was doomed from the outset, irrespective of his other shortcomings. It was merely a squaring off or a battle line between a hen and a cockroach, where the latter, even if equipped with a thousand weapons, is still doomed to be the hen’s meal, as the hen is capable and would swallow the cockroach: feather, guts and weapons and all, in one fell swoop! This is the reality of Imo Politics, from now on! Okigwe strength was Gerrymandered off into Abia and Ebony States, through ceding Afikpo, Uturu (!), Nneato, Isuochi, Lokpa, Umuchieze, Ohaozara/Okposi etc, from Okigwe to Abia State and Ebonyi State. A heist and intrigue pulled off by Orlu and Owerri zones or were at least complicit to it, after Okigwe produced the first three governors of Imo State. Rochas should not exploit this weakness as Achike Udenwa did and created the meddlesome conditions in the Okigwe’s internal affairs that ultimately led to the emergence of Ikedi Ohakim, as Imo State governor, by default. Any Okigwe candidate, without the benefit of zoning and with even the best political profile and pedigree, who competes with an Orlu candidate in a two way race in which Owerri supports the Orlu candidate, in the manner of last election, would lose. Even in a three way race featuring Orlu, Okigwe and an Owerri candidate, where support strictly follows primordial allegiance, the Okigwe man stands no chance of winning too. Okigwe, without zoning, has become the perpetual and hapless underdog of Imo gubernatorial politics.

A balance could only be restored among the zones in Imo, through moving Ideato North, Ideato South and Nwangele LGAs, to Okigwe zone, through redistricting. This gives Imo 3 senatorial zones with 9 LGAs each. This idea was pursued by Prof Maurice Iwu, during his INEC tenure. Senatorial districts should be fairly balanced, if all Senators, should be equal! Governor Rochas Okorocha could support this idea, thereby cementing the existing cultural and economic ties between these LGAs with Onuimo LGA in particular and greater Okigwe zone in general.

I liked the fact that the Governor Okorocha acknowledged some the achievements of Ohakim and pledged to build on them, while ditching some outrageous and fraudulent ones, like dredging of Nworie River. His four years at the helm of Imo State were not a total waste, truth be told. He just misread the needs and culture of Imo people and embarked on projects that were too ecstatic and did not impact majority of Imo people. He was on a very high horse for his four year tenure. Governor Rochas Anayo Okorocha has his work cut out for him and has a lot to learn from Ohakim’s mistakes. He should shed his cloak of philanthropy and use Imo resources entrusted to him, to take care of Imo people. It is not just Orlu’s turn. It is Imo turn, particularly, the two Ideato LGAs and their neighbor, Onuimo LGA!