Date Published: 05/05/10

Imo: Still Yoking Three Years After

In less than twenty seven days from this week, Imo the land of hope would have been doing three years plus under the regime of Dr. Ikedi Ohakim as its Governor.  Because of the manner of his emergence, analysts had reasoned that with no political baggage to the virminous political class and money lenders a lot was expected of this man as he mounts the saddle of office of governor in May 2007.  Besides, having been a Former Commissioner for Industries and Commerce during the Evan Enwerem regime which took office from 1991 – 1993, observers believed that Mr. Ohakim has a fair knowledge of the state, including internal workings of a government definitely he will do very well.  Add this to the fact that the man came into government in 1991 from the private sector where even pundits agreed that he gave a good account of himself as a marketer of note and a manager of men. Indications that Imo people entered a one chance vehicle began emerging early in the life of the administration as in less than two months in office, the man rather than make do with the whooping finances left in the State by the prudent regime of Chief Achike Udenwa declared that the government was bankrupt.  This spurious allegation created room for Ohakim to present a supplementary budget of over 50billion naira towards the end of 2007, a budget which pundits believed went into his pockets and others who ensured his flawed emergence as Governor in 2007.  Again it is on record the less than two months after this unholy supplementary budget exercise of 2007, this same fellow was to present  the 2008 budget running into billions a budget which today remained unaccounted for.  He then moved into the area acquiring bogus loans from banks located in Owerri and those who would not bulge were asked to close shop while allegations of non interest in Corporate Social Responsibility were hung on them.  Matters in the area of financial recklessness got to a head in the same 2008 when the man went for a kill by insisting and acquiring a 40 billion naira bond from UBA Plc to develop the Oguta Lake Resort, a project that remained a fiction to this day.  As I write the Oguta Lake is still a shadow of itself whereas the 40 billion Naira has already developed wings and found home in South Africa, Sao Tome and the United States where the Governor, his family and cronies have deployed it to build edifices, Hotels and Homes for themselves. The irony of the 40billion bond which the Governor and the Onyiuke’s of this world executed on a Sunday against normal Securities practices is that Imo people including political leaders from Oguta have forgotten about the bond not only that,   schools and hospitals rehabilitation which the Governor promised will form part of the bond execution remain in their same dilapiladated state and nobody appears worried about the development.  Another tenuous issue that has continued to dog the Ohakim 36 month administration is the failure of the administration to organize local government elections three years whereas neighboring states like Abia, Enugu and Rivers have all done theirs and kick started meaningful and result oriented local government administration.  Signs that Ohakim administration is chasing shadows in this area began with his setting up of the Bon Nwakama Committee whose report has not been made public till today. Then there is this designed confusion and buck passing between the State Government and the Imo State House of Assembly with each blaming the other for the lapses.  Today local government areas numbering 27 in all have not been run by a democratically elected Chairmen and Councilors as provided for in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria but the ugly cat and mouse game by Ohakim administration is that huge sums of money allocated to each Local Government Area running into billions of Naira by the Federal Government remains unaccounted for by Ohakim while no developmental project have been carried out in any community by the State and Local Government since 2007, the result, a comatose rural area begging to be attended to, but in all questions as it concerns non conducting of Local Government Elections in Imo State include,  What has been done with these funds now amounting to over 300 billion, what projects have been carried by the Joint Account committee, a body which Imo State Government claims warehouses and manages Local Government funds.  Again Imo state has hardly woken up from the Local Government jamboree when Dr. Ikedi Ohakim slammed the 8.5billion Naira Nworie River dredging project on the hapless people.  Again as I write not up 10% work has been done on the project yet over 4 billion have been allegedly signed away by Mr. Ohakim.  There are other 419 acts of the Ohakim led government which remain unresolved, unexplained and unaccounted.  For instance and we ask, how much was spent on the Clean and Green project which analysts see running into millions of Naira yet are streets are dirty, gutters are green with rubbish heaps, there is also the N100 billion naira ecological relief fund given to Imo State by the Federal Government which was revealed to us by the Ex CBN Governor, Prof C.C. Soludo. Worrisome is the much advertised 150km superhighway which Ohakim claims traverses 19 local government areas, a project which even the people of Isiala Mbano Local where Ohakim comes from are yet to witness.  We have not also forgotten the multi million naira Royal Oak Refinery sited at the home of the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Goodluck Oppiah yet 3 years after, not one block is on site, not even the land has been cleared. In the area of Youth Empowerment, Ohakim set up Imo Job Centre at the cost of over 100million again till date not up to 10 people have been employed aside Okohia/Anara women who were drafted from their villages to clean Government House axis as well as some Youths turned into political thugs for his New face project.  The Midwest Airlines which Ohakim claimed it established in 2009 only exists in one dilapidated helicopter parked at his behest at his Burma Retreat Okohia, the same goes for the Agro Novo project and the Imo State Governor House all costing over 19 billion can now stand for white elephant projects which Ohakim uses to siphon funds out of Imo State to South Africa and other areas he has investments.  Annoyingly and as if the 419 acts by Imo Government appears unending, early this  month Mr. Ohakim advertised the availability of 10,000 jobs but didn’t explain whether it is in the private sector or the public service.  He stepped further by demanding that hapless unemployed graduates obtain forms with two thousand naira card and we ask, where is the 10,000 jobs when the same government cannot pay its civil servants well, again where is this job opening when Ohakim has not built one industry or rehabilitated existing ones built by Mbakwe regime including the shoe factory which needs a little over 500,000 Naira to fully go into operation.   Sadly the man cannot be seen around in Owerri or any part of Imo state as he has made sure he is continually out of the state to Abuja, Lagos, London and South Africa where he has sprawling business empire.   

The truth of the matter today about the tenure of Dr. Ikedi Ohakim as Governor of Imo State is that the people’s patience including those who foisted him on Imo people are snapping and very fast too despite his threat of dealing with political opponents and unfriendly Journalists. We further worry on the proprietary of Mr. Ohakim converting Imo State and its funds into a family enterprise while governing the state with impunity and totalitarnism not minding or giving a hoot how the people felt.  Imo people must therefore rise up and say no this 419nism, that way this foisted yoking of the state and its people by Mr Ohakim and his co travellers will have no place in the land of hope.