BY RAYMOND ONUOHA
This letter is written to you with
the best of intentions. It is important
certain issues that touch on you and your administration are brought to your
notice.
It is three years plus Imolites
celebrated your triumphant victory at the governorship election and I must admit that thereafter the people of
Imo State have not had it so bad and so good either. This is because you have
done well in some areas while you are yet to come to terms with the fact that
there are salient issues which you are yet to address before the polls come in
January 2014.
First you deserve commendation for
the mature manner you handled the visit of
President Goodluck Jonathan to Imo State recently. Despite the
grand-standing and the noise put up by the PDP in the State over Mr.President’s
visit, you fulfilled a very important obligation by receiving the President at
the Imo Airport.
The PDP thought the noise they
made over the visit will scare you away from receiving the president and his
entourage. Your presence at the airport
is in line with the duties and functions of the chief security officer
of Imo State which you are. That you did not allow the noise made by the PDP in
the State to compel you to shy away from performing your obligation shows you
are a man that knows his onion politically
and one that cannot be intimidated in a State you govern.
However, the visit of Mr.
President has unveiled the fact that there is serious polarization of the
political class in Imo State. It revealed the political position of major
stakeholders in the State. It also shows
that the race to Douglas House, Owerri in 2015 will be a tough one. The visit also revealed that those eying the
Imo governorship seat are bent on doing anything to oust you from power.Anyway,
that is politics.
The bitter truth is that the PDP in the State are unhappy that
they lost power to you in 2011 and they are bent on kicking you out of office
in 2015. They are ready to go extra mile to achieve this purpose. This is a
fact and they will not leave any stone un-turned to achieve it.
You must not loose sight of the fact that the
visit of Mr. President has energized the PDP in Imo State. They have been
strengthened and have received enormous boost and encouragement. So expect
fierce attacks from the opposition
camp henceforth. This is why you
have to change your political tactics and strategies.
You can no longer think
that the PDP will be overran the way you conquered them in 2011. The factors
responsible for their exit from power in 2011 is no longer the same now.
The political climate in Imo State then and
now is not similar. In 2011, there was a clamour for change. The then Governor,
Ikedi Ohakim did not help matters. He aggravated his political ordeal by
failing to keep his tongue in check. He was at war not with you and those who
contested against him but at war with the people of Imo State. The support of the masses he lost became your
biggest electoral advantage. Then you were the beacon of hope and the one the
people saw as an instrument of change. The rest is history.
I will not say you have failed to
live to expectation because you strive day and night to prove to Imolites that
you are bent on delivering the dividends of democracy to them. Your unquenching desire to transform Imo State has
continously manifested. Even the blind can see the infrastructural renewal going
on in Imo State. Whether the projects undertaken by your administration are sub
standard or not, Imolites can see a leader in you who has the burning passion
to work for them. You have proved to be a chief servant- a worthy leader whose
interest is to deliver. This has been your greatest weapon against your
political opponents and this is why the PDP will resort to unconventional
methods to bring you down in 2015.
My dear governor, you must take cognizance
of the fact that in 2011, the electorate wanted Ohakim and his PDP gang to go.
The question you should ask yourself is, what do Imolites want from now to
2015? Do they want more projects? Do
they want money in their pockets? Do they want a change of leadership? What do they want? They will decide what they
want because neither you nor the PDP can decide for them. That they hail you
with shouts of Owelle, Owelle does not
in anyway imply that they are 100% in support of all your actions as their
governor. They are watching the political terrrain in Imo State very carefully.
They are observing your political dance-steps. And whatever happens in your camp and that of your of
political opponents between now and 2015 will determine the outcome of the next elections in
the State.
As for projects, I think we have
seen a good number of them from your
administration . You have surpassed the achievements of previous adminstrations
in the State in this area. But it has become expedient that your administration diversify a bit by striving to put in place
industries and factories that can employ our youths.
There is a high level of
joblessness in the State. The opposition till date crucify your administration
for sacking 10,000 youths who were gainfully employed by the Ohakim
administration. With the elections around the corner,you need the support of the
most potent segment of the Imo electorate which is the Imo youths. Imo youths need jobs. You must provide jobs for
them. The Youth Must Work Programme initiated by your humblself seem not be
working or simply put, has lost steam and momentum. Therefore, there ought to be a more
realistic approach to engage the youths of the State if you intend to convince
them to embrace your political party- the APC.
Some Imolites will prefer you to
return as their governor in 2015. Some do not. They will however embrace the PDP if the party will offer them what you
are not offering them or failed to offer them. The Imo electorate is gullible,
prone to all sorts of political antics by politicians. But they are not
ignorant. They are informed and
knowledgeable about the dynamics of governance and politics in the State. They
can read the political compass of the State and predict what will happen now or in the future accurately.
You must read their mood. You must understand their mindset. You must
understand their perception about ongoing political development in the
State. If you fail to adjust your style of governance and
refuse to introduce people oriented brand of politics, then there will be cause
for worry for you in the next elections.
At this juncture,you must resist
the urge of making public promises that you cannot fulfill in the near future. No matter how attractive
such promise might be, you ought to weigh its work ability or otherwise before
you pronounce it publicly. It is important you take a look at the promises you
made in the past and work towards fulfilling most of them. I can tell you authoritatively that someone
somewhere could be keeping record of all the unfulfilled promises you have made
to Imolites. This can be counter productive by the time you come out to contest
or seek re election as governor.
The PDP has succeeded to instill in the minds
of Imolites that you are a promise and
fail governor and that your Government is stingy,deliberately starving them of
money. They say you are sharing poverty and deliberately shutting opportunities
that will create wealth.
Across the nooks and crannies of
the State, money is not circulating. There is cash squeeze in the State. Some civil servants lament that since you
assumed office you ordered for the removal of certain benefits accruable to
them. Though you increased monthly
minimum wage of public servants to N20,000, there is discontent within the
civil service. Some of your actions have
not gone down well with majority of them. At a time, there were rumours that
some parastatals were denied pay for a long period.
There are also reports that there
is forceful retirement going on in the Civil Service, in addition to
unconfirmed reports that some parastatals are yet to get January 2014 salary.
Pensioners in Imo IBC are lamenting over unpaid
arrears for several months. Some aides in the last administration
complain that they are owed severance allowances. Most of the Boards you reconstituted are yet
to function because you have failed to provide the logistics for them to do so.
Some of your appointees are also redundant. Some of them have no offices and
official vehicles to operate. The Elders Council you constituted is ineffective
because you failed to motivate them after their inauguration.
If these allegations are true, it
is a minus for you as the election comes close. Much as power comes from God,
God does not come from heaven to install leaders. Leaders need the people to
succeed and triumph. This is why they say the voice of the people is the voice
of God. You must engage a large chunk of the Imo populace by ensuring that they
are considerably happy before the coming elections . In addition to the
projects initiated by your administration,
you need the happiness of the people if you intend to succeed in your
next political voyage in the State. You should also show appreciation to those
who laboured for you in the last elections. A good number of them see you as an ingrate who has failed to reciprocate
the effort they put in to ensure your sucess in the 2011 elections.
Your Excellency, it is important you
tell us your position on the forthcoming elections. Daily, reports rent the air
that you want to contest the presidential election. Some of your aides are unaware of what your next political move
is. Your body language however tilts towards re-contesting for a second
term as Imo governor while you also have
your sights on the presidency.
There is nothing wrong if you aspire for the
latter. But you should know as Chairman
of APC Governors forum, the APC is the political platform the North wants to
use to dislodge Goodluck Jonathan from power in 2015. And if you say you want
to aspire for the Vice Presidential ticket of the party what are your chances?
If the North clinch the presidential ticket, what happens to Bola Tinubu and his army of supporters in the South
West who formed the nucleus of the APC.? Will they watch you, a mere joiner in
the merger of opposition parties that gave birth to the APC to take the Vice
Presidential ticket of the party? Remember you never took APGA to APC, you went
there as the only governor from the South east and you were embraced by the
originators of the merger for the singular reason to use you and your position
as a serving governor in the South East to
strengthen the support base of the APC in the region. So you
must watch before you leap. You must survey the political polemics in the party
before you say you want to contest for the Presidency Or Vice on the platform
of the APC.
Now is the time you come out openly and say
what you want in 2015. This will enable you plan well and stay focused. If you
must contest for a second term as governor of Imo State, you owe it as a duty
to lubricate the wheels of your political party- the APC in the State. The party in Imo State is rusty. Partymen and
women ought to be mobilized and
empowered to be fit enough to confront the PDP.
A situation where the APC in the State remain in tatters and pieces due
to poor funding is unfortunate after a year the party came on board in the
State. This is regrettable. A situation where party men and women attend meetings
in Government House with you and go home without transport money is simply
abhorrable in politics. It is unheard of and does not portray you as a good
party leader.It has caused murmuring in the party. Remember murmuring leads to disaffection
that nourishes discontent . If this becomes prevalent in the party, then there
is cause for alarm.
Because of the sloppy take off of
the APC in the State, the PDP sucessfully branded APC a boko haram party in the
State. This propanganda
was allowed to spread like wild fire because nothing was done by you and
your partymen to erase this wrong insinuation bandied about by the PDP against
the APC. This has stuck onto the party,
and if nothing concrete is done to erase this tag on the APC in Imo, all the
party’s candidates risk loosing at the forthcoming elections. And I must say
that your inability to engage your partymen to join you in the task to remove
the tag on APC as a boko haram party is
responsible for the slow and unsteady growth of the party in Imo State.
The counter response from your media handlers
on this issue has been feeble. More work ought to be done to change this
dangerous propaganda inflicted on the party by the PDP in Imo State.
The
APC is like a growing plant in Imo and
if it is not properly nurtured and watered, it will not be strong enough to
overrun the PDP. You should not lose
sight of the fact that the PDP had been in power for over 12 years in Imo State
before they lost it to you. They have
political tap roots across the nooks and crannies of the State. During their reign, they focused on looting
the state coffers dry, thus they still have enormous resources to prosecute any
task they want to. This is why they are battle ready for the next elections.
You cannot afford to underrate the potency of the PDP in the State. The party
won the Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency seat in 2011(then you
were a serving governor in APGA) and lately Oguta House of Assembly re run
election where your then party-APGA laboured with the PDP before INEC declared
the election inconclusive.
At the wards and LGA levels in APC, the party
wallows in lack of funding and little or
no tools for mobilization. There is no
clear cut or well defined structure. What we have are uncoordinated structures.
The registration of APC members in the State cannot be said to be 100%
successful. We were told that despite the fact you funded the registration
exercise some of the ad hoc staffers that carried out the exercise complain that they have not been paid for
services rendered. If this is true, you ought to address it urgently.
Again, majority of APC members
wear long faces. They complain that “nothing “ has been forthcoming into the
party unlike their counterparts in the PDP who smile home with crisp naria
notes after a party function. The
opposite is the case in APC in the State.
We are yet to see APC party men and women celebrate and rejoice of the
fact that they are members of the party in power in Imo State. This is regrettable. This will continue to
persist because you have not empowered your lieutenants enough to enable them assist
you fund,aid the growth and development of the APC in the State.
It is important to bring to your notice that most
of your appointees complain. They may lack the guts to tell you pointedly their
grievances against you. But behind you, they complain bitterly. This is so because everything in your administration
revolves around you. You practically do everything yourself. Is it that you
lack capable political foot-soldiers or you simply do not trust them to
undertake some responsibility for you? Even some tested politicians who came on board your administration
are feeling frustrated because you have failed or deliberately refused to create
the enabling platform for them to operate.
Though you are not a new face in
Imo politics, you cannot completely have total knowledge of the ever changing
political dynamics in every locality in
Imo State. Stop being deceived by the shouts of Owelle!
Owelle!! whenever you visit the hinterlands in the State. That was how they
hailed Ohakim and called him Ikiri and in the end they kicked him out of
office. You must put up a connection point between your government and those at
the grassroots.
(To Be Continued)
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