As I round off this two-part article, I need to underscore four germane observations emanating from last week’s introduction. First, the befitting headline for this intervention should have been “How Rochas underdeveloped Imo”, but because the editor of THISDAY, THE SATURDAY NEWSPAPER, and friend of mine, Yemi Adebowale, recently headlined his aborted column serial on Lagos governorship that same way I dropped the idea immediately the thought evolved.
Second, one of the countless readers of the precursor to this said my last sentence vitiated an otherwise superlative contribution. The “offensive” extract goes this way: “The few existing good roads are the ones built by De Sam Mbakwe and military administrators and a few already rehabilitated by Ihedioha (Ome Nke Ahuru Anya Ndi Igbo) with work on-going in several parts of the state and more to come. The respondent’s angst was that Gov. Ihedioha could not have started any work in the absence of commissioners! I was not talking about the physicality of projects, but the brainstorming sessions of multi-disciplinary committees comprising virtually the best brains from the South East amid other conceptualizations, projections and exploratory initiatives, which are not newspaper issues meant for public consumption, but privileged and strategic information.
In any case, work has begun in some parts of Owerri including the popular Assumpta roundabout whose tunnel and contiguous roads had been blocked by refuse and abandoned by the Rochas’ fiefdom.
Third, as a developmental columnist of modest opulence arising from profuse diligence and profound commitment to intellectual journalism informed by scholastic quintessence for more than three decades—blow your own trumpet even if immodestly!—one is used to receiving imbecilic feedback from usually bovine-headed blokes who swim in vicious vitriolic and vituperation. Such moronic stupidities, which will never address issues raised here, come from typically anonymous dunderheads who probably equally use ad hoc numbers like 08037231332 and 08038892774. I normally ignore such beastliness from hare-brained readers.
Of course, I exchange ideas and occasional banter with authors of responsible rejoinders or mature/reasonable callers. I would have loved to publish the diatribes, but, apart from their overall poverty of language, they are unprintable. It is pertinent to mention also that most of these numbskull-beneficiaries of Rochas cannot function in the pool of my wife’s mobile-marketing drivers. Some penurious readers who are usually marginally literate in their poverty-ravished minds declare that this columnist must have collected money before exposing the decadence and summit ruination that Rochas hallmarked. They accept the underdevelopment that Rochas symbolized but because they were hypnotized, they are yet to come out from their trance. It should interest this tribe of readers that money is not everything. By the way, I cannot be Dr. Mike Adenuga’s “cousin”—by extrapolative consanguinity—and not be wealthy. It is impossible! I take off my hat to Dr. Adenuga for catalyzing my membership of the multi-millionaire club and sustaining it through periodic mediations! Therefore, when I write I am at liberty to take any standpoint. Frankly speaking, I absolutely have no need for filthy lucre and conscience-mortgaging price tags! I may not be a moneybags, but I am very comfortable.
Now back to the comical tragedy called Rochas. How a governorship failure like this became a senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria still confounds me and typifies our convoluted version of democracy. This is a subject for another day. At a point, Rochas was the chair of All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum, yet he could not leverage on that platform to attract any form of development to Imo State given his closeness to President Buhari by virtue of that privileged position. Agricultural international and local facilities that were readily available for states’ agricultural transformation were not accessed. This should explain why nothing came from Adapalm to Imo State for eight years. Simply put, there was no vision in this critical area. Rather, time and money were frittered away on bizarre effigies, useless monuments and idiotic statutes.
The poultry enterprise established by the late Sam Mbakwe was for eight years moribund just as there was no functional factory standing. The only industry that thrived in the last eight years was the ubiquitous construction of hotels and brothels! A state needs an efficient and effective industrial hub and not marketing of fleeting feminine fancies that add little or nothing to the state’s IGR apart from the organizational taxation. I went round the country during the First National Media Tour and saw the way bridges were cast, built and hung before dressing (final touches). I have never seen where bridges were constructed the way and manner Rochas did in a few places in Imo: no casting, no iron input at all—just cement and blocks that were poorly erected. The link bridge between Imo and Anambra at Umuchima Town (the Land of Glory) in Ideato South LGA Rochas built last year has collapsed already. The unfortunate aspect of this bridge—like others—is that there was no federal government involvement, no expertise from professionals like members of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and, of course, no proper supervision whatsoever. Now, the NSE men are conducting integrity tests on the farcical bridges of Rochas. Expectedly, the bridges are closed to traffic because they are visibly looming dangers even for a pedestrian!
The irony of the failed link bridge is that it is located on the road to the former governor’s country-home! It is further astounding to note that the antiquated bridge built by Lord Luggard is still standing beside the feeble one by Rochas, but cannot be used because of needless dredging that disrupted the ecosystem thereby resulting in gully erosion around it caused by whimsical Rochas. The fantasy associated with this caprice was the construction of a hotel that never took off, as usual.
The road to Imo State Teaching Hospital in Umunna, Orlu, is so flooded that only a caterpillar can pass through it. But a few miles away from the hospital is the Eastern Palm University owned by Rochas. The quality of work here and the holistic design of the the interior (en suite) and exterior structures contradict the shoddiness that Rochas brings to bear on public projects.
At Amakohia, the drain channels that were left unattended to culminated in a massive erosion that has eaten half of the road and is threatening to continue if Ihedioha does not move in fast. With Ihedioha, there is an anticipation that the state’s diseased economy will be revived—the sea of problems of various dimensions notwithstanding. What is most vital is the willingness to turn things around at all costs. As for the confidence to re-engineer the state, the current governor has a surfeit of it on grounds of his robust legislative antecedents and networking pedigree. The economic potentialities of Imo are so enormous that the only thing needed is a governor who will galvanize them with vision, focus and regard for his people, unlike frivolous, thoughtless and contemptuous Rochas.
Overall, Ihedioha must resuscitate agriculture as an alternative source of income and restore confidence to Imolites as their present level of despondency, helplessness, docility and infrastructural degeneracy is unprecedented. Ndi Imo should forget how Rochas shattered their dreams and co-operate with the new helmsman with a first-tier bankable promise to redeem the state. Ultimately, I will act as the EFCC, NDIC and AMCON of Imolites should our man, Ihedioha, fail us!
Concluded
