In the first part of this piece, I said that at the end of the Imo State Congress of America (ISCA) convention, two things were achieved: 1. Election of new ISCA officers. 2. Imo State APC outing that utilized a platform provided by ISCA. The APC’s charade took a valuable time away from the business of the organization that’s currently grappling with enormous deficiencies. Thus, the phenomenon deprived the participants the opportunity to deliberate on strategic plans to spur the internal growth of ISCA—an organization that was once the envy of many when Late Nze Edwin Ukegbu was at the helm.
Well, a convention that witnessed an unprecedented crowd, ended with the election of officers from various affiliates and three senatorial zones in Imo State. In this election cycle, the ISCA president was zoned to Okigwe, thus producing Atty. Charles Onyirimba. Gov. Rochas Okorocha was elated that ISCA provided him with a rare opportunity to burnish his bona fides to project his image and popularity in order to shore up his status within APC. It was a smart tact aimed at ginning up his ratings among APC rank and file. Whether his effort will eventually help him earn a vice presidential ticket zoned to southeast under ACN, remains to be seen.
That said, I’ve fundamental issues with Gov. Rochas Okorocha’s presentation and his political expediency in APC. First, Okorocha talked about stamping out corruption and maintaining law and order in Imo State. It’s rather paradoxical for Gov. Okorocha to talk about maintaining law and order, curbing corruption—a contradiction of enormous proportion. Has he been obeying court orders rulings? Okorocha has a habit of disrespecting the judiciary by floundering court orders. How could he now be a harbinger of law and order? Sadly, due to arrogant disrespect for law, Louis Chukwu, who represented Ideato North in the Imo State House, died without payment of his severance which a court ordered Gov. Okorocha to pay him and others. Also not only he disregarded a ruling that compelled him to reinstate the LGA elected officials he sacked unconstitutionally, but he installed unelected individuals to run the affairs of each of the 27 local governments in Imo State. In effect, he denied the people of Imo State to exercise their electoral rights—constitutional rights to chose people to represent them at the local government level. What a travesty to democracy! Okorocha has consistently violated the bedrock of democracy in a civil society which lurks tightly behind law and order, as well as due process. Well, was Okorocha following due process in awarding contracts? Does Okorocha have any stake in the companies that are awarded contracts in Imo State? How could Okorocha claim that he’s curbing corruption while local government allocations cannot be accounted for, and in the absence of due process and lack of transparency in the award of contracts in Imo State? Okorocha claimed that he adequately compensated individuals whom he demolished their properties. To the contrary, people whose means of livelihood were destroyed due to Okorocha’s demolition policy are still gnashing their teeth for compensation.
Gov. Okorocha, who has a fetish for popularity, flaunted with props the buildings and roads he constructed within his two years in office. I saw the video clips that are subject to verification. In any case, I waited eagerly and patiently to hear from him the number of jobs he created within the two-year period, but to no avail. I waited in vain to hear, besides the construction of guest houses and houses for former governors, his policies in curbing youth unemployment because buildings by themselves do not produce anything or create jobs. Okorocha should have used the resources to aid the private sector in building manufacturing industries to create meaningful and lasting jobs. Apparently Okororocha is oblivious of the fact that government engagement in building guest and ex-governors’ houses is anathema to economic policies of reducing unemployment. In fact, it’s stupefying that a state government will commit resources to such projects; should that be a priority in a state bereft of manufacturing industries? Unfortunately, I did not hear anything remotely focused on policies to address youth unemployment and job creation. Nevertheless, with his usual smooth talking, he was able to flummox a few individuals who have pedestrian ways of looking at things. But to the deft observers, who maintained a critical distance for an objective evaluation, his litany came to naught.
Secondly, APC is a fundamentalist party that does not have the interest of Ndi-Igbo at heart. Okorocha’s uncanny effort to conflate APC and Nigerian president of Igbo ethnic extraction is unsavory bait Ndi-Igbo must not fall for. Again, APC has zoned the presidency to the north. Still important, a cursory look at the individuals, who formed APC, reminds me of the old 1950s copies of encyclopedia that have since been discarded to the dustbin of history. Considering that these characters have hopped to three to four political parties since their first political stint and now they’re at the helm of APC, driven by their quest to control the national cake, is utterly amusing. In a bid to win at all cost, they have mobilized to attract individuals at the grassroots level both in Nigeria and abroad. APC has an outfit in the United States, a move that my pay off if not countered immediately.
Regardless of how contemptuous one may look at APC, it’s important for any party not to underestimate its potential to win a general election. APC cannot be dismissed as a party of rejects. These individuals have learned how to rig elections. They’re skillful at that and they have followers; they can’t be taken lightly—they’re fixated on the cake.
In Nigeria, power and resources are highly concentrated. The phenomenon is exacerbated by the structure of the Nigerian federalism that allows for a highly concentrated power and resources at the center, but without effective and efficient ways to utilize them, thus leaving politicians no other option than to be fixated on the national cake. So, in the rudimentary parlance of Nigerian politics, control of the national cake is always at the center of all political strategies of each party for winning the presidential election. With that, I’ve a visceral feeling that PDP is slowly losing a grip on the political power of the country, thus jettisoning its political hegemony. Given the tactical moves APC has made so far, I am afraid that this may manifest in the next general election if PDP does not reverse course.
Due to the importance of the ISCA confab as advertised by the hosting affiliate president, Chief Tony Okpara, many notable Nigerians participated in the convention. Some of the prominent people who made their presence known through goodwill messages were Chief Ojinere and Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. Chief Ojinere used his goodwill message to introduce himself to Imo State indigenes in the United States. He began, “I am Emmanuel Umunakwe Ojinere (Emma Ojinere) from Umuchieze autonomous community, Umunomo/Umuchieze electoral Ward, Ihitteafoukwu, Ekwerazu, Ahiazu Mbaise LGA, Owerri Senatorial Zone. I am a full member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) since inception and I have been a very strong supporter of the party.” He continued, “After having gained several years of experience in various sectors of the economy as an employee, I am now the MD/CEO of MCLATEK NIGERIA LIMITED, a multi-million Naira wholly indigenous, prosperous and lucrative oil and gas services organization that provides employment to our youth.”
Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, who was invited to speak, sent his goodwill message encouraging Imo indigenes to have constructive and result-oriented deliberations. He said, “I’m particularly proud of our people in the Diaspora for the effort you’re making and time and resources you’ve committed to ensuring that those you left at home do not go hungry. Most importantly, your synergic activities to empower Ndi-Igbo in Nigeria by demanding from the federal government to protect the lives of Ndi-Igbo no matter where they reside in Nigeria are commendable. In fact, your theme, “Onye Kwe, Chi Ya Ekwe” is a demonstration of your collective emotions and passions to uplift your people to positions of prominence in the Nigerian socio-political environment. To that I say congratulations! Please stay the course.”
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