When in 2015, Rochas Okorocha, was announced as the incoming governor of Imo State, many rejoiced. His election was welcomed with much joy as many saw him as a philanthropist.
At least, if they didn’t know much about him, they knew he offered free education and that was more than good enough for them.
They had high hopes that with the government of Okorocha, good things will happen to and in Imo state.
As the saying goes, time is the true leveler of all men. And it was that with time, Imo people realised they had ‘entered one chance’ as another saying in local parlance goes.
Okorocha became an albatross on their neck, which again only time could help them do away with. After his first term of four years as governor of the state, Imolites attempted to remove Okorocha, but majority had not woken up to the bad news he was to the well being, growth and progress of Imo state.
Then, came his second term which could be described as the locust years. Okorocha went against everything that was good in the state and with such impunity and hatred. He was like a man on a mission; an evil mission to ensure the desecration and utter destruction of the state. And he succeeded.
He ruled the state with an iron hand, dispossessing the people and state of their property. To say that Imo State is a mess, would be gross understatement.
And so, Imo people waited, planning and bidding their time for the next election. And they prayed with such fervency that Okorocha must not in any way be connected to whoever takes over from him because he would have completed his eight years.
Okorocha was not on the ballot for the March 9 governorship election in Imo State, but his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, whom he insisted must take over from him was.
He ran on the platform of Action Alliance, AA, and as far as the Imo People were concerned, Okorocha and Nwosu were one and the same thing and they wouldn’t have any of it.
At the end of the polls on March 9, Emeka Ihedioha, candidate of the People Democratic Candidate, PDP, was declared winner.
For Imolites, home and abroad, young and old, it is the dawn of a new day; liberation day.
Madam Comfort, an 86 year old pensioner, described Uche Nwosu’s face at the polls and Okorochas disgrace as liberation for Imo people.
Speaking on the phone with The Next Edition, Madam Comfort said God had heard the prayers of Imo people and freed them from the wickedness of Okorocha.
“Imo people have been freed from bondage. God heard the cries of pensioners and put Rochas and his son-in-law to shame.
“I heard he is busy packing everything at the government house, if that is true, there is no problem. He will still leave soon and Imo will be restored.”
Madam Comfort lamented the “wickedness” that Okorocha unleashed on the state and expressed profound joy at his defeat at the polls.
Dr. Emeka Ejikonye, a specialist on Public Budgeting, also expressed satisfaction with outcome of the Imo governorship election describing it as “a God’s-given opportunity for a new beginning in the land.”
Noting that there’s hope for the state, he said the incoming government must be careful to avoid the mistakes of Okorocha. He said: “The incoming government must be very careful to avoid the pulls and hauls of the centrifugal clannish sentiments that pervade the State. Deliberate effort must be made to usher in the urgently-needed paradigm shift in our Psyche. It must be a revolutionary approach to new ways in how the Imolites survive.
“The government must be driven by fresh, out-of-the-box ideas on governance founded on close partnership between the government and the citizenry. The emerging political elite must eschew the vices of greed and avarice, selfishness and clannishness to embrace the virtues of meritocracy and fairness built on equitable distribution of resources for balanced development of the polity. There’s plenty of hope, but only if …”
For Mr. Goddy Uwazurike, a legal practitioner and former President, Aka Ikega, the election result in Imo was in tandem with the prayers of the people of Imo state.
Hear him; “It was not the one people vote in one direction and the result goes in another. The people said no to the present and outgoing government of Rochas Okorocha. We were resolved, the people of Imo state to effect a change.
“When the result was announced close to midnight, the people went into spontaneous dancing, not organised dancing, but spontaneous. It was the spontaneity that actually indicated how the people felt. The result went in the right direction and I believe the people will not regret it. I salute the people of Imo state and I believe their aim has been achieved.
“That day was the liberation of Imo state. As a matter of fact, some of us call it the Liberation Day therefore that day should be celebrated.”
Looking beyond the win for Emeka Ihedioha, the governor-elect, Mr. Uwazurike noted that there was a lot of work to be done by the incoming government. “I pity the government that is coming in because Imo state is in a mess. For instance, when Ikedi Ohakim was the governor, he got a loan from a syndicate of firms to set up the Imo state refinery. It was still on the planning stage when Ohakim was voted out, but the money had already entered Imo state account. Ikedi Ohakim did not touch that money but left it in a dedicated account.
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“As soon as Rochas came in, he took that money, used it to do all those things for which he got a lot of praises; pavements, some roads, a university in his village; in other words, he utilised that money for a purpose it was not meant for and that money is due for repayment. So the debtors would be drawing down from Imo state account directly from CBN. So the man coming in as governor will have a tough time getting money with which to execute projects,” he said.
Uwazurike, took it upon himself to set some goals for the incoming administration. “The people of Imo state are looking forward to the new governor taking active steps to recover Imo state property in the hands of anybody. Let me give you another example. You see a man who was an applicant eight years ago, today, he is talking about investments of large magnitude in Imo state and the only job he has ever had was being a special assistant or commissioner or chief of staff in Imo state. In other words, his source of income is his salary and allowances, which are not commensurate with his investment. So that man cannot be talking about his assets or his investments. The governor elect must do the needful, in other words he should set a commission of inquiry to investigate and recover the assets of Imo state. We must recover any ill gotten wealth.
“Those contractors who have been paid in full and did not execute any job, they must complete the job or refund the money. One of them is the case of the former Deputy Governor who was accused of conniving with a company to go and do some funny things, he replied and said he wasn’t even in the country then, he was on an official assignment and he didn’t have anything to do with it and there was evidence that the money was spent and we know those who were mentioned as being connected so they must investigate.”
Speaking further, Uwazurike said the new government must ensure that the local government system became operational, as well as bastardization of the civil service, the civil servants are actually languishing in agony from non payment of salary or the pension of those who have gone. Imo state needs that list and the new governor, I simply believe that he has to do that
Mrs Comfort Ogwude, a retired administrator, said she didn’t expect anything different from the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Owerri, the Imo State capital, “unless the people in Imo were as crazy as the guy (Okorocha).”
She lamented the destruction that Okorocha brought on the state. “I am a Buharist, but if I had been in Imo and registered that there, I would definitely have voted the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the governorship election. That guy is mad. He has completely destroyed the place. Owerri that used to be such a beautiful town is a shadow of itself. He has destroyed all the roads.
“In my village, Ohi, the people have sold all their farm lands because they were afraid Okorocha will come and forcefully take it from them because that’s what he was doing. He has turned almost all state properties to his personal property. I hope the new administration will recover all state properties he acquired as well as the lands he also took from the people.”
Mr. Buchi Njere, an Advertising Practitioner, also concurred that the result of the Imo governorship election reflected the wishes of the people. He said; “The result shows the resolve of our people not to be taken for granted or into servitude. Igbo culture and values forbid feudalism, which was what Rochas Okorocha was aiming to establish in Igbo heartland.
“The excitement that greeted the emergence of Emeka Ihedioha was expected. But we must not over celebrate. Remember that the same kind of euphoria was used to welcome Rochas. This should be a time for reflection; to strategise and sit down to begin the process to rescue Imo state.The new Governor and his team must not be poor students of history. Imo does not forget betrayal.”
As to areas of focus for the new administration, Mr. Njere said; “The new government must recover all that Rochas and his family have stolen, especially land, set up an economic team of technocrats to initiate a framework for development, and in liaison for integration with other South East states, and some South South states.
“The new government must make security a priority so that private investors will come in to create jobs, pay attention to road network in the state especially feeder roads and overhaul education in the state to emphasise quality.
“Furthermore, it must have a robust youth and women empowerment programmes and most importantly ensure at least 80% of appointees are technocrats, among others.”
Indeed, it is freedom at last for Imo people, but not a tea party for the incoming government. Imo state needs a lot of rebuilding.
The governor-elect must use this period to perfect his blue print for the state. He must also begin to scout for those who will work with him and he must look beyond party affiliations. Imo people are invested in his government and would not take kindly to its failure to meet their expectations.
