By John Mgbe
I have listened with shock and disbelief Governor Rochas Okorocha’s
denial that he did not at any time make a promise or a
pledge of serving just a term of four years if elected governor
in 2011. Those who are religious will also describe it as a vow. I have
decided to use the word “VOW” so that the reader can understand
the seriousness of the issue under discussion. The Wikipedia
Online dictionary defines “vow” as (1) a solemn promise, pledge or
personal commitment: a vow of secrecy “(2) a solemn promise made
to a deity, or saint committing oneself to an act, service or
condition; (3) a solemn or earnest declaration to God or a saint;
………” In order to understand the enormity of the issue at
stake, let us take a trip to the BOOK of LIFE in order to
hear from the Supreme Immanent Triune Deity (God) on the issue
of the consequences and implications of getting involved in a
vow which one does not intend to fulfil. The Book of James
5-12 states thus: “But above all my brothers do not swear either
by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your
yes be yes and your no be no, so that you may not fall
under condemnation. “Again, The Book of Deutronomy23:21-23 states
thus: “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not
delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it
of you and you will be guilty of sin. You shall be careful to
do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed
to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.”
The Book of Numbers 30:1-16 says: ”Moses says to the head of the
tribes of the people of Israel saying: “This is what the Lord has
commanded. If a man vows a vow to the Lord or swears on oath
to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break it, he shall
do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” In the
same vein, the Bible is replete with several passages that
talk about the consequences of breaking a vow. Since I am not
in a catechism or theology class coupled with the
constraints/paucity of space, I do not wish to veer into that
realm in this discussion. We have a glut of evangelists in
the Journalism profession who may wish to expand that area of
discussion-i.e. the consequences of treating our vows with levity,
contempt , and disdain.
In his recent broadcast, I was disorientated when Governor Okorocha
said that there was no time he said he would serve just
one term of four years. According to him, all he said was that
his government, if voted into power, would be “a 90 – minutes in
Entebbe” (whatever that means). I am totally disappointed that a
governor who gives the impression of being a Charismatic
Christian of Catholic Church extraction could exhibit such
barefaced denial on a statement which he made in the midst of
a sea of humanity who thronged Rosy Arts Theatre, Owerri on
Friday 7th January, 2011 to celebrate his reconciliation with Chief
Martin Agbaso (Ochudo). Chief Agbaso was the then Czar/the big
Cock in the All Peoples Grand Alliance (APGA) Owerri. It is
deplorable that a governor who has made so much show about
religiosity should be found so remiss and empty on such a
simple issue as owing up to a statement he voluntarily made
before a global audience. This is very tragic indeed. In this State
of Imo, we have a governor who has built an exotic
Government House Chapel; those who have entered there say it’s a
great place; he has decreed that the Catholic Prayer -The
Angelus- must be prayed for 10 minutes by the workers on Imo
State Government Pay roll on each working day and he will
hardly end a sentence without alluding to the need to walk
in the ways of the Lord. It rankles that such a politician
does not have any qualms in denying a vow which he made in
our very eyes -a vow which actually facilitated the massive
support we extended to him in the 2011 governorship poll. Our
God is a jealous God who will not share his honour; those who
make it through God’s intervention and want to donate it to
demi – gods or shrines will fail.
My grouse is that I was very deeply embedded in the
APGA/Okorocha’s governorship agenda of 2011. Above all, as a
media professional (volunteer) who was working with the Media
Coordinator, the Late Lolo Ogoke, I personally covered the event
where Owelle Okorocha announced to the humanity who thronged ROSY
ARTS Theater, Ikenegbu that: ”I will serve only a term of four
years and hand over to Owerri zone”. I am writing this viewpoint
to expose the abysmal hypocrisy of some politicians who masquerade
as men of God in the political landscape of Imo State even when
they are the face of Judas Iscariot. In a normal situation,
journalists who cover events should uncover what transpired so
that society can know what is happening. This is why the Press
is described as the Fourth Estate; it’s a mirror through which
society can take a look at itself in order to know where
it stands. So, I appeal to our journalists and public
commentators to make this gubernatorial denial an issue in order
to guard against a reoccurrence. It is the task of media professionals
to hold their leaders to account. This is the only way we can build
strong political institutions.
There is something fundamentally dangerous in a situation where
a state governor does not feel any qualm of conscience in
disseminating falsehood to the populace. It is a gratuitous
insult on those of us who stayed by him as volunteers in the
struggle to actualize his governorship agenda. Perhaps, for the
umpteenth time, I must state vehemently that Governor Okorocha’s
denial that he did not promise or undertake to serve just
one term and hand over to Owerri zone is a falsehood of
gargantuan proportion; I don’t remember when last I heard this
magnitude of fabricated mendacity from a person in his social
class. It rankles that very often Governor Okorocha talks before
he thinks; he often prides himself as the only cock that
crows in Imo State, nay, in Igbo land. This is a very
dangerous character flaw which bodes no good for the populace
in Imo State.
Okorocha’s promise or vow to serve one tenure and hand over to
Owerri zone was voluntarily made in a public forum where the
populace or what may be better put as “We the People” gathered
to celebrate his reconciliation with Chief Martin Agbaso who
Owelle Okorocha on that occasion described as “the General of
the Army who would not let me pass.” So, the vow is sacrosanct and
ought to be actualized. It is my opinion that a leader who
cannot stand by his vow is a danger to society, more so, in a
democracy. I cannot in conscience join the maddening crowd who
have joined the choir of praise singers who incessantly praise
Governor Okorocha for real and imaginary feats. I see such
sycophants as belonging to the family of goats who must
always follow the man that is carrying the palm frond. It’s
unfortunate; It’s a shame to the various social clusters in Imo
State whose members keep mum in the face of the dictatorship of
the rule of law which Okorocha’s Administration represents. In
fact , Governor Okorocha even went further to tell us that:” only
dunces repeat classes; as a brilliant student, I cannot repeat
the governorship class. I will serve one tenure and hand over to
Owerri zone and move to Abuja where I belong”. So, it is
deplorable that a politician who said all these in public is
today very desperate to do a second tenure. Is there no conscience
in politics? In spite of so much religiosity in this
Administration, there is so much profanity? Why is this so?
Furthermore, during Owelle’s electioneering campaign rally in
Emekuku in Owerri North in March 2011, this is what Owelle
Okorocha said: ”I will not change any council chairman or
councilor; they have a tenure. At the end of their tenure , there
will be election. I will be too busy to start thinking of a
new election. I intend to pay Council chairmen their full money
as it comes from the Federal Government so that they can start
developing the local areas”. Please read the report on page 6 of
the White Paper newspaper of Friday, March 25-27th 2011. But did
Governor Okorocha observe his vow not to sack or disband the
LGAs- a vow he made in the presence of an overflowing crowd
that thronged the campaign ground? He took the oath of office
and oath of allegiance on May, 29th, 2011. On the 6th day of
June, 2011-a week after his inauguration- he made his maiden
broadcast to the populace. In that provocative broadcast, he
dissolved the 27 Local Government Councils and sacked the 10,000
youths who were employed by his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim.
He dissolved the Imo Traditional Rulers’ Council and announced
other draconian measures which shocked right thinking members of
society. When reminded of his campaign promise that he would
not dissolve the Local Councils, Governor Okorocha replied with
an imperial bravado: ”I don’t believe in the rule of law; I
don’t believe in due process; it slows me down”. It is my
opinion that a politician who does not see anything wrong in
announcing with glee his contempt for rule of law and due
process is not worthy of being given the levers of power in
any democratic ambience. It does not matter that such a leader
is mounting air conditioners in the streets of Owerri
municipality or tarring the roads with gold and diamonds or
even throwing money about to praise singers as if money was
going out of use. Such a leader is a danger to democracy and
I cannot be part of those who pour encomiums on such a
person.
The Local Government Monthly Allocations: Did Governor Okorocha
keep his vow “to pay Council chairmen their full money as it
comes from the Federal Government so that they can start
developing the local areas”? Never; in fact there is no evidence
that he still remembers the vow at all. The sad fact is that
Governor Okorocha has virtually abolished the Local Government
tier in Imo State in preference to what he calls “Community
Government Councils (CGCs)”. The CGC is a parallel tier of
government in which the traditional rulers hold sway and funds
for the development of the Local Government Areas are
channeled through the traditional rulers. Today in Imo state,
the Local Government tier has become irrelevant as they have
become mere antiques which exist only on paper. In this scenario,
the monthly allocations to the LGAs are handled as mere petty
cash by Governor Okorocha.
How about Okorocha’s vow to conduct Local Government Election as
at when due? It is pathetic to say that governor Okorocha no
longer remembers that there is anything called Local Government
election in the Constitution. He changes Local Government
officials in the same way a sole proprietary business sacks
and recruits staff; he appoints new officials at the drop of
a hat. When it pleases him, he appoints sole administrators; at other
times, he prefers to use Transitional Chairmen to run the
Councils. The LG Councils in Imo State are run as if they were
Rochas Foundation Business Empire – the sole proprietary business
of Governor Rochas Okorocha.
It is on the grounds of Governor Okorocha’s contempt for the
rule of law and due process that I have persistently
maintained that we are not practising democracy in Imo State. We
seem to be practising Ochlocracy or Mobocracy or even a
government of Plutocracy in Imo State. Ochlocracy may be defined
as “mob rule” and a mob could be defined as a group without a
leader or any social group that is bereft of any organized
rules of engagement. In the same vein, Mobocracy has been defined
by the Wikipedia online dictionary as “Political control by a mob
or the mass of common people as the source of political
power.” Plutocracy is a government by the rich/wealthy.
It rankles that Governor Okorocha whose 2011 governorship victory
was buoyed by the actions and inactions of President Jonathan
is today the only governor in the South East who is hostile
to President Jonathan’s second tenure bid. It is even pathetic
that Governor Okorocha who has been vehement in denouncing
President Jonathan for bearing Igbo names of Azikiwe and Ebele
recently announced to a stunned audience in a political rally
in Owerri that the great grandmother of Buhari was an Igbo
woman and Buhari’s other name is Okechukwu .This is terrible
indeed!
We are making much ado about morality because it was the
revered United States President, George Bush (Snr) who once said
something to the effect that “What Africa needs is strong
political institutions and not powerful or strong politicians.” You
cannot build a strong political system on a weak moral or
legal base. Yes, it was the revered jurist, Baron Denning, who
once held that “You cannot place something on nothing and expect
it to stay there. It will fall.” Records show that the former
United States President, George Bush (Snr) lost his second term bid
as President of United States because of a failed promise he
made while campaigning in 1988. What happened on that occasion
was that in 1988, George Bush (Snr) ran a successful campaign to
become President of United States. In his desperation to win the
election, he promised that he would not raise taxes. Hear George
Bush: ”watch my lips, I will not raise taxes.“ He won the poll when he
defeated his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis. George Bush was a
very effective President who performed so well on Foreign
Policy. He carried out successful military incursions in Panama and the
Persian Gulf. It was under his watch that Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989.
He also presided over the fall of Soviet Union (U.S.S.R) which
later splintered to 15 sovereign states. In spite of these record
shattering achievements, the voters in the United States voted
him out and denied him a second tenure. Their grouse was that
in 1988, he (George Bush) had vowed that he would not raise
taxes during his rule. Unfortunately, as a result of the stark
economic realities that faced him when he became President, he
reneged on the promise when he signed an increase in taxes which
Congress had passed. In spite of his sagacity and effectiveness
in government, the voters dumped him because he was seen to be
dishonest and unreliable because he failed to keep his vow or
promise of not increasing taxes. We draw attention to these
issues because It was the revered scholar/philosopher, ROUSSEAU
who warned that: ”As soon as any man says of the affairs of
state, “what does it matter to me?” the state may be given up
for lost”. Furthermore, It was Edmund Burke who once posited that
“all that is necessary for the forces of evil to triumph is for
enough good men to do nothing”. It is on this account that we
media professionals take the burden of holding our leaders to
account. Again, while denouncing leaders who are not loyal to
their promises, the great ZIK said in his poem entitled:
”Unfulfilled Promises “ which is one of the poems in his book:
”Civil War Soliloquies” page 43: the Great ZIK said :”The worst of
sins committed by our friends are promises disguised to gain
their ends”. He said that such leaders were dangerous in a
political environment.
In conclusion, it is my opinion that our governor, Owelle
Okorocha, has tried a lot within his abilities in order to
transform Imo State. We are grateful to him for “condescending” to
serve us as governor. In any case, it is time for him to leave
in faithful compliance with his vow before God and man, more
so, since promise is a social debt. It was just one act of
disobedience that caused Moses of the Bible not to see the
Promised Land; yes, it’s one act of disobedience that caused the
wife of Lot to turn to a pillar of salt after she looked
back at Sodom (Genesis 19). Again, the revered poet, George
Santayana, once posited that “ Those who don’t learn from history
repeat their mistakes.”
Mgbe writes from Orlu, Imo State and can be reached on johnmgbe@yahoo.com