Date Published: 07/15/09
IMO: BEFORE YAR’ADUA ARRIVES
By Maximus Uba
Barring any change of date or unforeseen circumstances the President Federal Republic of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’adua would be set with his huge entourage and hangers on to visit Imo State in the Last week of July. Available information from the host government and pieced together shows that Yar’adua’s visit, the second in recent times will enable him flag off the dredging of the River Niger which serves as a major waterway between the Northern and Southern Nigeria. Besides the one day visit will enable the President commission certain projects built by the Ohakim government and these include the Owerri-Umuahia dualisation and some trunks C roads built around Anara/Amaraka axis the home town of the Governor and his wife. Already and to ensure a State of the art reception for the president, Government put together over ten standing committees alongside five adhoc ones to see to the grand reception for the President. Aside the committees, a paltry budget of 1.2 billion Naira has been set aside even as some members of the Imo House of Assembly have been clamouring for an increased budget to enable a grand reception for the President who in their opinion “Loves Imo State”. Besides there are also provisions for 100 female students to be imported from Neighbouring States to give a warped impression that a really big event is taking place and to justify the squander mania. Perhaps the most significant of all the planning is that of publicity committee which has already hired six Masters of ceremony, erected bill boards of different sizes in far away places like Katsina Ogun, Oyo, Edo, Lagos and strategic places in Imo State and neighbouring States. As I write, Newspapers adverts on the visit of Yar’adua is running in several newspapers and Magazines including Yoruba and Hausa Tabliod while radio Jingles have been sent to radio Stations in Ogun, Sokoto, Niger just to justify their huge reckless budget. That’s not all, as budgets were made for rain makers, white garment Pastors and Islamic marabouts, while female guests from Zimbabwe and South Africa, countries where the Governor Ohakim Sojourned for quick time business trips before he was eventually stamped into office by Olusegun Obasanjo and his co-travelers. Ironically as at Last week, the visit of the president is yet to reflect in to the manifest leaning analysts wonder if actually Mr. President had consented to the visit in view of ugly societal malaise ravaging the South East, ills like Kidnapping, Menace of Militants, Armed robbery etc. But the same political analysts have continued to wonder the logic behind the second visit to Imo State by Yar’adua when several other States whose Governors are doing well and who are even of PDP family have not had such privilege. Beside analysts query this second visit especially if it is remembered that during the first visit of Mr. President Sometime in 2008, projects he commissioned such as Okigwe Water scheme is yet to produce one gallon of water except that drawn from a tanker on the day of the commissioning. The other commissioned project, the new Imo Government House whose foundation stone was laid during the same visit has been over taken by weeds even as people know that Ohakin has little interest in erecting another Government House just to stop civil servants getting close to the mindless looting that has been Imo State since 2007 Observers say the above abracadabra or put simply “the more you look attitude of the Government” as it relates to phantom projects is a child play compared to covered massive fraud especially in an around Government House Offices, transfer of funds out side the State without authority or due process, abuse of Government directive as it concerns finances, non release of excess crude money running into billions of Naira confiscation of vehicles donated by international organizations for various aid programmes. Indeed it is a statement of fact that in Imo today the totality of Ohakim Government is not more than over invoicing, huge payment for contract not done or executed, disappearance of sensitive financial documents, double debiting, irritating pain of driving through pothole ridden roads and collapse of infrastructure like Water and Light. Add the above to unreasonable bank borrowing now amounting to over 1 billion, the celebrated 40 billion naira bond for which Ohakim has already pocketed 10%, Massive and unauthorized withdrawal from Local Government allocation now amounting to 61billion Naira as well as outright stealing of Government Property as in IRROMA facilities which include tractors, tippers, graders, a purchase whose amount was withdrawn from Local government allocation which now have found home somewhere in Anara and opposite the Maiden home of his wife. It is even embarrassing to note that with over 351 billion allocated to the state since 2007 from the centre, no new industries were built or rehabilitated, graduate unemployment has risen to a dangerous limit leading of Course to Prostitution, Kidnapping armed robbery in the State, yes Hospitals remains consulting clinics while health centres located in the rural areas have since become reptiles hides. Several analysts are therefore at loss as to the visit of Mr. President to Imo State especially at a time when the mood of the State is at all time low over the bond money collected from UBA PLC amounting to over 40billion whereas allocation to the State Since 2007 is over 351billion Naira, and this is a financial fact. We are therefore forced to ask why is Ohakim borrowing 40billion to put projects which cannot generate funds and why extend the repayment to 2015 and who authorized the removal of 10% already disbursed to Ohakim and who took custody of the 10% and why in the face of are these, Mr. President wants to come to Imo State.
The expectation therefore by a generality of Imo People and Political analysts is that rather than the visit which will draw Imo down by over two billion Naira, the President should rather sit back at Aso Rock and reflect on the Obama visit to Ghana instead of Nigeria and Obama’s speech to the Ghana Parliament which in no mean ways indicted Nigeria and the Yar’adua Government. Besides there are several States in Nigeria whose Governors are over performing that needed to be encouraged through presidential visit States, like Enugu , Ebonyi, Lagos, Gombe, Kogi etc and not in Imo State where governance is about Ikedi Ohakim, the Ohakim family and a motley crowd of hangers on who sing praises of the Emperor for a Morsel of bread. We need not say that the patience of Imo People is fastly running out and that visits of this nature whether by the President or the Pope is not welcome and therefore stand unacceptable. But we ask, who will tell the president that his visit to Imo State is not what the State needs now, who will end the abracadabra that have been going on in Imo State since 2007 and now receiving Presidential Stamp and when will Imo State get a Leadership it has so missed since 1983 when the Military chased out a purposeful leader in Sam Mbakwe and who will rescue Imo State from the Ohakims and their co-travelers masquerading as administrators. There is no gain saying therefore that the proposed Presidential visit is not what Imo State needs. Thus rather the visit, the President should look into the books of Imo State and counsel Ohakim on the need for good governance which has been lacking since 2007. Let the President shelve the proposed visit to Imo State, we need not say more.
Maximus Uba, a journalist lives in Mbaise, Nigeria.
