By Sam Onwuemeodo
The Daily Sun newspaper had published a very lengthy article at the back page of its Tuesday, June 20, 2017 edition with the referenced caption. Having painstakingly gone through the work, the writer could only accuse Owelle inter alia: “During the 2014 governorship electioneering campaign in Anambra State, he spent a fortune on the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige, who was to take a distant third position in the election.”
He further wrote: “During the last general election, Okorocha again allegedly spent heavily on Dr. Ngige, who was the APC candidate for the Anambra Central Senatorial zone. And now Rochas is believed to have appointed a number of persons to work as coordinators for APC in the gubernatorial election, which will take place in November even though the APC has yet to choose its flag bearer.”
Now the question is: Is it right to interpret this to mean Governor Okorocha is against Anambra people? Did he commit any crime supporting Ngige, a prominent and respectable member of his party, APC? The answer is of course, NO. Is it also wrong on his part to support his party, APC, in Anambra for the November governorship poll? The response should also be in the negative. One could also ask and innocently too, how supporting Ngige or APC in Anambra or even boasting to see to the victory of APC in the state or even having coordinators for the good of his party be converted to mean Rochas being against Anambra people?
The truth remains that those after Governor Okorocha are always stalked. In Igboland, there is one popular proverb. When you have nothing to tell or say about a good or fine man, you tell him: “See how you are.” God, in his infinite mercy, has taken Rochas Okorocha to an enviable height in all ramifications and there is nothing anybody can do about that. When God has chosen you, men cannot afford to reject you.
In Imo, the godfathers and the elite that do not constitute any percentage in the population of the state have been calling for the head of the Ogboko, Ideato South-born governor, because he became governor in 2011 and in 2015 respectively without their inputs. And without his paying the usual royaltiesto them. And they are the ones that have access to the media. The silent majority in Imo, who always struggle to touch their governor when he walks through the streets of Owerri and environs do not have access to the media.
For the umpteenth time, Governor Okorocha has always claimed that his achievements in Imo as governor in six years so far, have exceeded to a very large extent or have superseded the achievements of all those who had governed the state before him (both civilian and military) had achieved, put together. Apostles of the Rescue Mission Government in the state have also been making a similar claim with every sense of commitment. And nobody, including those who were governors before him, who are alive today has said it is not true. We have also claimed that Rochas has to his credit or to the credit of his administration more than one thousand projects scattered all over the state. And we have also been challenging those with contrary view(s) on these claims to come up, so that we can sort ourselves out. Writing articles on the pages of newspapers with fictitious names against such an achiever is not the best way to go.
Governor Okorocha has no personal problem with his Anambra brother governor, Chief Willie Obiano. Last time, when the media aide of the governor insulted the Imo governor unprovoked, I simply responded. It was believed that the two governors didn’t know what two of us had done. And onlookers had only thought that the two governors would have on the basis of the media altercation by their media aides, published their achievements as governors, side by side for Nigerians to see. That incident has, however, become a thing of the past.
To all those who love progress and achievements, Rochas Okorocha is an enigma. But to those who have the enthusiasm in pulling people down, Rochas is “against Anambra people.” And not for any other reason but for supporting his party, APC, and its candidates in elections. And if Rochas had paid royalties to the godfathers and the elite in Imo today, they would have been eulogising him at the expense of Imo people.
They have all relocated to Abuja and from there, have been throwing stone on the Imo governor, using various tactics. From Abuja, they have announced their plan to have one-million-man march against the government of Governor Okorocha. And we have challenged them on how best to go about it. For 12 years, the PDP governed the state and they were all key players in those administrations, including Rt. Hon. K.K. Nwagwu said to be the coordinator of the planned protest which Mr. Ikwueke, the writer, made reference to, in his outing. And luckily enough, Nwagwu was the Speaker of the state House of Assembly during one of the PDP administrations in the state.
Let me conclude this reply by mentioning Governor Okorocha’s achievements in the area of education alone. Imo State under Governor Okorocha has been enjoying free and qualitative education from primary to secondary and from secondary to tertiary level. And it has been remarkable all this while. The government has been supplying the students and pupils with free sandals, desks, lockers, chairs, uniform, stockings, etc., and has also employed about 11,000 teachers, both regular and those under the Youth Must Work programme, to ensure that there are enough teachers for the schools. School enrolment in Imo has snowballed from 276, 000 in 2011 to more than 850, 000 in 2017 because of the free education programme.
Imo has equally taken the first position in JAMB exam application for six years now (from 2012-2017) and has shown excellence in every public exam. The records are there, and Governor Okorocha has also built new universities and schools, like the Eastern Palm University, Ogboko; Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine; Maritime University, Oguta (now handed over to Navy); College of Education, Ihitte-Uboma; School of Health, Okporo; Imo College of Advanced Professional Studies (ICAPS), Owerri; College of Technology, Ehime Mbano; School of Nursing, Umuowa; Young Scientist College, Owerri; Imo Girls College Owerri; Owerri City College; Owerri City Primary School and others too numerous to mention. We have always mentioned their locations for easy verification.
• Onwuemeodo is the Chief Press Secretary to the Imo State Governor.