By Emmanuel Onwubiko
As someone with a passion for travelling to Imo state
from time to time from my base in the nation’s capital, I had one of those
opportunities to travel to Imo state last week and arrived in safety even
amidst the heavy rain fall in Owerri, the Imo state capital.
Although, this time around my trip was an official one
in that I was at the head of a delegation of Human Rights Writers Association
of Nigeria (HURIWA) that organized strategic media intervention and interface
in Owerri, the Imo state capital to ascertain the level of preparedness on the
part of the civil populace for the commencement of the next level of operation
python dance of the Nigerian Army which has just been changed to operation
Atilogwu Udo meaning exercise dance for peace in South East of Nigeria.
The opportunity of this trip to Imo state was also used
optimally to obtain first hand, the pulse of the citizens on the new
administration in the state and to see for myself the unprecedented decadent
state of infrastructures of the South East of Nigeria with specific reference
to legendary collapsed road networks not just in Imo state but in the entire
five states of the South East except Ebonyi whereby the governor David Umayi is
reported to have done a good number of roads for his people even with his
unpopular and substantially irrational stand that president Muhammadu Buhari
should not be castigated.
This time also, this writer used the opportunity of the
trip to Imo state to let people be aware that there is no possibility in this
world for government to claim to be positively inclined to protecting and
promoting the fundamental human rights of their citizens if there is no
deliberate state wide policy to physically fix the broken down public
infrastructure beginning from the health, education, roads, food security and
security of lives and property.
So, these critical factors of human rights of the people
are indeed facing the existential reality of complete non-compliance on the
side of these state governments.
From Owerri, to Okigwe or to Orlu which in the best of
times should not take up to 45 minutes to commute from Owerri, now takes a
traveller about three hours due to the grueling and pathetic poor state of
state owned and federal built roads. The Owerri to Okigwe road is one of the
only few Federal government constructed road infrastructure that goes through
Owerri to either Aba or Porthacourt.
The other federal road infrastructure is that which
leads from Onitsha to Owerri and the other that leads from Umunze to
Arondizuogu and then to Owerri. These Federal roads have all but collapsed
leaving in their trail, huge gullies and deep rooted pot holes that are the
only characteristics that remind any traveller that there once exists some form of
modernity by way of functional roads.
If the people are not guaranteed their fundamental
freedom to move from one point to another due to lack of any kind of road
infrastructure, how then can we even say there is any form of civilization or
government in place? Another factor that hinders the free movement of the
citizens in the South East with specific reference to Imo state is the current
situation of armed criminal extortions and harassment by the police/soldiers of
the citizens.
There is now the menace of over one hundred police and
military checkpoints in all of Imo state even as these armed security forces
spend the greater part of their official time harassing the people and
extorting them of their hard earned finances. This is perhaps one of the most
severe threats to the attainment of respect for the fundamental rights of the
citizenry which the state and national government must resolve.
The irony about these large numbers of armed security
checkpoints in Imo state is the failure of these security agents to crack
almost all of the assassinations and kidnappings that took place in the last
one year especially along the stretch of road from Okigwe through Arondizuogu
to Ideato north local government whereby not less than half a dozen innocent
people have lost their lives including the then chairman of the local wing of
All Progressives Congress.
What then is the essence of having an overwhelming
number of armed security forces all around the collapsed roads in Imo state
even as criminals seem to have free reign?
These questions came up during the media interactions
yours faithfully addressed last week in Owerri in which as an organization we
asked the people of south east of Nigeria to provide support to the Nigerian
Army as it stages the next phase of military operations next month.
There is therefore the need for the military’s high
command to work out strategies for fishing out all the bad eggs that have
infiltrated the security forces and by their criminal conducts have
unfortunately created the damaging image of the Army as an occupying force.
The people of Imo state as well as those who reside in
other south east of Nigeria must be made to view the Nigerian Army not as
internal oppressors but as the integral members of the same humane society.
Back to the issue of lack of free movements in Imo state
due to poor state owned roads, there is need for the government of Mr. Emeka
Ihedioha to quicken the process of infrastructural governance by fixing the
broken roads network all around Imo state.
The idea of waiting for the rains to stop before doing
anything about the poor state of roads makes no meaning because all around the
world roads are built all year round. For instance whenever floods washes off
bridges and roads in Europe and America, the government do not fold hands and
wait for dry season before fixing back the broken infrastructures.
The excuse by governor Ihedioha that he is waiting for
dry season to fix the collapsed state and local roads makes no sense just as
the federal government needs to be reminded that the people of south east of
Nigeria are not conquered population but citizens with equal rights of
citizenship with all other parts of Nigeria. The idea of allowing all the
federal roads to collapse without doing anything about it is an act of
wickedness.
President Muhammadu Buhari and his works ministers
should practically put measures in place to physically rebuild the collapsed
federal roads in the entire south east of Nigeria. It is a big shame that the
Okigwe to Owerri road that looks like the most compact federal government road
in Nigeria has been left to collapse thereby forcing commuters to go through
hundreds of villages and township roads just to make it to Owerri.
The Okigwe to Owerri federal road and how it has been
left to deteriorate has depicted a nation whose political leadership only
believes in propaganda and the spreading of fake news regarding the yearly
implementation of the budgets which runs into billions for roads every year.
Looking at the half year allocations from the Federation
Account Allocation Committee, in the current budget circle whereby Imo state
received #50.18 billion, it is unconceivable that the Imo state government is
yet to begin any real practical work of rebuilding of the destroyed
infrastructures which the immediate past Rochas Okorocha’s administration
bequeathed to the current government.
There are so much bottled up anger and a high level of
expectations from the current Imo state government from the oppressed people.
Let the people begin to witness real governance in all realms in Imo state. There
is the need to enforce traffic laws in Imo state and to restore order on the
roads to check the high rate of urban accidents. There is the need for Imo
state government to setup workable feedback mechanisms so people who get
harassed by the police and other security forces can ventilate their feelings.
These things matter a lot.
There is the need for Imo state to truly recover all
looted assets. Right now, it does not look like there are any well thought-out
strategies to recover all looted state assets.
I do not think that the anti-graft body the EFCC is
telling Imo state people the whole truth on their efforts to recover assets
stolen by individuals in the last administration in Imo state.
Most of the assets that EFCC told us they confiscated
from the last governor of Imo state Mr. Anayo Rochas Okorocha are not in any
way sealed because one of those assets near the so-called Akachi statue is
still in business.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission must come
clean on the investigation of the petitions against Rochas Okorocha. Then the
Imo state current governor needs to stay back in Owerri and Imo state to
rebuild the state.
Globetrotting in the name of seeking for foreign direct
investors to come to Imo state will end up the same way that all other
governors deceived the people and never attracted even one Chinese trader to
Imo state.
Emeka Ihedioha should be told that just little things
matter so much in Imo state. Imo citizens are not greedy. Imo state
citizens are hardworking and will need a government that works in real time so
the economy of the state and the wellbeing of the people can be advanced.
The people are yearning for good governance and not
governance by propaganda just as the governor must be ready to hear the hard
facts and must keep praise singers far from his office.
As one author wrote not long ago, “Good followership is
a principle of good governance. This followership is elicited and promoted by
the attitude of those in governance. If the citizens are regarded to as the
source and essence of power of governance and focus of state craft directed at
satisfying their aspirations, a good followership that is supportive would be
achieved. If their freedom and rights are guaranteed, their opinion respected
and those in power deal honestly with them, supportive followership will be
entrenched in the political community.”
“Supportive and responsible followership starts with
sincere participation in political activities like party organization, exercise
of franchise, civil obedience to laws, programmes, policies and protest against
obnoxious ones. Good parties are sustained by good party ideologies and
manifestoes as galvanized by members,” (Good Governance; Theory and Practice by
Samuel Anayochukwu Eziokwu).
Let Emeka Ihedioha and those who call the shots in Imo
state look up to the Ethiopian Prime minister as a model of good governance who
did not wait for long before he made impacts.
As reported rightly by BBC, the pace of change in
Ethiopia has been so fast since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018
that it is almost like observing a different country, and this is why he has
been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The reforms he has introduced were unthinkable not so
long ago.
For many years, the government seemed impervious to
criticism from human rights groups that the state stifled free expression,
sidelined and imprisoned opposition leaders and cracked down on protests.
In the first few months after he came to power,
following the unexpected resignation of his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn, Mr.
Abiy lifted the state of emergency, ordered the release of thousands of
prisoners, allowed exiled dissidents to return home and unblocked hundreds of
websites and TV channels.
These innovative solutions can be implemented in Imo
state to repair the rot and ruins left behind by Rochas Okorocha who misrule
Imo state for 8 years. Emeka Ihedioha must succeed because Imo can't afford
another failed leadership even for three months. Emeka Ihedioha should make hay
whilst the Sun shines.
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers
Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com; www
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