Apart from the word Imo, which is the name of a state in Nigeria, the other words in the caption of today’s article belong to Africa’s foremost novelist and humanist, Professor Chinua Achebe. It was the title of one of his evergreen collection of critical essays. My interpretation of the title and which informed my borrowing it to analyze the political situation in Imo is that Imo is yet to be where it ought to be.
Imo is still lagging behind most South East states such as Anambra, Enugu and even Ebonyi in terms of governance and human capital development. It is my wish that the new governor should change the narrative soon. Let me start this intervention by stating that since the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari and 29 governors on May 29, 2019, the story coming from my home state, Imo over alleged non-handover from the outgoing governor of the state, Owelle Anayo Rochas Okorocha, to the new governor, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, cannot be said to be palatable.
The rift between Okorocha and Ihedioha was probably deepened with the swift destruction of Akachi Tower, an artifact built by Okorocha said to symbolize the hand of God, which ordinarily can serve as a tourist attraction for visitors to the state capital, Owerri. It was said that Akachi Tower was destroyed by a mob or by those who want to take-over their land on which the Akachi Tower was erected.
Whatever is the case, the destruction of Akachi Tower by unknown people so soon in the life of the new administration in the state is not tidy. There should have been more orderly manner of pulling down the tower assuming there is a compelling reason to do so. Let there be no more destruction of whatever Owelle Rochas Okorocha built including the statues of dead and living Nigerian and African legends.
Unarguably, the government of Imo State belongs to the entire Imo people. It is never owned by any person whether past or serving governor. And it must not be owned by any one person now or in the future. Moreover, state actors ought to understand that government is a continuum. It does not matter if Okorocha is there or not. We should stop personalizing government. Government must be about the people and not necessarily about those the people gave the power to govern them. Since power is transient, it should be moderated by morality. Whatever action a governor takes must be guided by the rule of law and due process. During his 8-year reign in the state, Okorocha was famous for erecting statues of elder statesmen in the country as well as foreign dignitaries, including that of former South African President, Jacob Zuma. All these can serve as tourist attractions.
However, the spat between Okorocha and Ihedioha cannot be said to be unexpected considering the heated gubernatorial campaigns in Imo where Okorocha against all advice decided to back his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, to succeed him. Before the 2019 gubernatorial race, Okorocha and Ihedioha vied for the same position in 2015.
Therefore, it will be safe to argue that there is no love lost between Okorocha and Ihedioha. Both of them are politicians and they can still settle their rift and become friends. Because of the danger of a single story, no one is so sure which side is saying the truth more than the other over the handover brouhaha.And because of the ubiquitous social media, which is open to abuse, there is so much noise going on over the handover note. But on a more serious note, formal handover from one administration to another is a necessity. It does not require any altercation for such an official duty to be performed. We do not need the provision of the constitution to know that an outgoing governor must handover to the incoming administration.
The handover note will enable the new administration know what his predecessor did and what he did not do and financial commitments to banks and development partners. So, if Okorocha has not actually handed over the affairs of the state to Governor Ihedioha as being reported, he should do so without any delay. I believe that Okorocha’s predecessor handed over to him. But assuming he did not, which is unlikely, Okorocha should not toe such a line.
The report that Okorocha did not participate in the inauguration of his successor wasn’t a good advertisement for his administration and the state. Okorocha and Ihedioha should forget their political differences and find a meeting ground to settle the spat in the interest of Imo people and their political future. The avoidable media war should stop. Past governors of the state should have a dialogue on this and prevail on Okorocha to do the needful and give Ihedioha a handover note. It does not require elaborate ceremony to do this. As a man of the people, this is the best thing Okorocha should do. He does not need any prompting or constitutional provision to do it.
To the new governor, he has been inaugurated as the governor of the state. It is a great privilege to be given the opportunity to serve Imo people on gubernatorial capacity. There are other Imo people who strived to be given the opportunity to serve, but out of the lot, you were chosen.
Therefore, you should not fail or disappoint the people. No doubt, Ihedioha came to office amidst groundswell of public goodwill and support just like his predecessor, Okorocha. He should not squander it. He has his programmes and he knows the current problems facing the state. He cannot solve all of them in four years or even in eight years. He should give himself an agenda and work towards realizing it.
Governance is a serious business. The new governor should face that business and should not allow issues over handover note to distract him. What should worry him now is the legacy he will leave behind and not Okorocha’s handover notes, though important. The governance of Imo should change for the better. There should be due process and accountability.
Imo should fast join Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states in the democratic march. Earlier in one of my articles, I had enjoined Ihedioha to concentrate on rural development. Imo capital, Owerri, had received more developmental attention by successive government since the creation of the state in 1976. Giving it more developmental attention will apparently be an over-kill.
The quickest way to develop the state is for the governor to pay serious attention to the rural areas via the development of the 27 local government areas. The rural roads in Imo are urgently crying for attention. All the primary and secondary schools in the state are craving for serious attention. All these should engage the attention of the new governor.