BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO<\/p>\n
On Sunday this week, I boarded the Air Peace airline to Owerri, the
\nImo state capital for a singular reason of personally witnessing the
\nbeginning of the remaking of history in the Eastern heartland which
\nhas only recently come out of a whooping eight years of desolation
\nand crass bad governance by the immediate past governor \u2013 Mr.
\nRochas Okorocha.<\/p>\n
This remaking of history in my state of birth was the official flag
\noff of the World Bank\u2019s assisted rural roads infrastructure which
\ntook place incidentally from Umuduru market which will cover my home
\ntown of Arondizuogu located in Onu-Imo local government area
\ncouncil.<\/p>\n
While on board, I sat few places away from and infact next to the
\nnewly sworn in governor of Imo state Mr. Emeka Ihedioha who was also
\ntravelling back to Owerri apparently from an official tour in the
\nnation\u2019s capital or somewhere near by.<\/p>\n
The governor came in to the aircraft with about half a dozen
\npersonal staff and his beautiful daughter just as one of his top
\nprivate officials sat just next to me.<\/p>\n
This proximity afforded yours faithfully the opportunity of
\nexchanging few words regarding the planned flag off of this rural
\nroad infrastructure.<\/p>\n
I also had about five minutes conversations with the governor
\nwhereupon I applauded him for remembering my hometown which has
\nfaced horrendous ordeals of infrastructural deficit over the past
\ndecades from virtually all the previous governors of the state.<\/p>\n
Arondizuogu suffers from multiple deficiencies of social
\ninfrastructures and the worst case scenario of marginalization of
\nunfathomable scale even as the few signs of civilization such as
\nelectricity and graded rural roads were done as a result of communal
\nand\/or individual efforts.<\/p>\n
For instance, the only source of intermmittent electricity power to
\nmost parts of Arondizuogu in Onu-Imo local government was donated by
\na single individual who is also reputed to have singlehandedly
\nconstructed some culverts and rural roads beginning from his
\nimmediate community in a part of Arondizuogu located within Onu-Imo
\nLGA. It must be noted too that Arondizuogu traverses Okigwe and
\nIdeato North local government area councils.<\/p>\n
In effect, our people are amongst those who feel the pains of a
\nfailed administration under Rochas Okorocha whose long stay in
\noffice was characterized by predatory diversion of public fund to
\nGod knows where and who appeared to have spent more time in the
\nmedia spreading falsehood and outright cheap propaganda about some
\nfantastic feats he achieved as governor which are not in existence
\nanywhere in Imo state which today appears like the ruined segments
\nof the war torn Syria.<\/p>\n
My readers can now understand my overwhelming enthusiasm to read
\nthat the Imo state governor has remembered a long forgotten part of
\nthe state and has indeed scheduled the flag off of the World
\nBank\u2019s partly funded rural roads which incidentally has only
\nhappened because the now governor paid the counterpart fund which
\nRochas Okorocha failed to do.<\/p>\n
My trip to my state was therefore a labour of love for my hometown
\nand to witness the beginning of history and to be able to pen down
\nmy thoughts independently and to charge governor Emeka Ihedioha to
\nensure that the flag off ceremony does not become the end of the
\ndream of the long suffering people for imminent liberation from an
\nabsolute denial of social amenities by the state government. This is
\nexactly what this article is set out to do- set agenda and to remind
\nEmeka Ihedioha that we are monitoring his administration closely to
\nsee whether he will rebuild the devastated state from the debris of
\nruins left over by the failed governor Mr. Okorocha who miraculously
\nmanouvered his way to the Senate to represent Orlu which is one of
\nthe places he destroyed by way of incompetence in office as governor
\nfor two terms.<\/p>\n
So on Tuesday this week, the governor arrived my hometown to begin
\nthe construction of this all important road infrastructure which if
\nactualized, is capable of opening up many communities and helping
\nrural farmers and dwellers to be able to connect with modernity and
\ncivilization and to enhance their economic activities.<\/p>\n
As stated, i witnessed first hand using my own resources to fly all
\nthe way to and fro to see as Governor Emeka Ihedioha flagged off the
\nconstruction of rural road projects in Imo state which he estimated
\nis worth N13.5billion – It include 380.7 kilometers of rural road
\nacross the 27 local government areas of the state.<\/p>\n
I stood amongst The enthusiastic crowds in Umuduru near Arondizuogu,
\nas the governor said he approved the swift payment of the
\ncounterpart fund to activate the project upon assumption of office.
\nIncidentally, upon departing my hometown the entourage reportedly
\nstopped over at Mbaitoli LGA for the same solemn occasion in which
\nhe read identical speech.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the flag off at Onuimo, Isu and Mbaitoli local
\ngovernment areas of the state, Governor Ihedioha assured the
\nreadiness of his administration to partner development agencies for
\nthe betterment of the state.<\/p>\n
The governor said he approved the swift payment of the counterpart
\nfund to activate the project upon assumption of office.<\/p>\n
He also decried the poor states of roads in the state said the
\nproject will boost agriculture and socio-economic development in the
\nstate and reduce rural urban migration.<\/p>\n
His words: \u201cAs soon we assumed office, the RAMP project attracted
\nour attention, and so came under review. Our task teams and
\ncommittees analyzed the program and its processes, and being
\nsatisfied with its objectives, immediately ratified it, then
\nprovided the necessary approvals and directives therein including
\nupdating payments of counterpart funds. \u201cAs a state, and indeed as
\na person, we are particularly grateful to the two (2) institutions
\nthat have made today possible \u2013 The World Bank and the AFD (the
\nFrench Development Bank).<\/p>\n
He continued: “As a policy of state, we will continue, as a matter
\nof fact to intensify our engagements with the development partners
\nand multi-lateral institutions, in order to leverage on their
\npedigree.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor revealed his administration’s intention to revive the
\nImo Rural Roads Maintenance Agency (IRROMA), to ensure that no part
\nof Imo state rural areas remained inaccessible due to bad roads.<\/p>\n
Hear him: \u201cIn order to ensure that beyond the construction of
\nthese projects, their continuous use is guaranteed, we will revive
\nthe State Road Maintenance Agency. This will ensure that our roads
\nremain in satisfactory conditions even years after construction,\u201d<\/p>\n
Governor Ihedioha said. He then assured that construction on the
\nstate’s urban and major link roads will commerce in earnest. \u201cLet
\nme use this platform to say that in the next few days, massive
\nconstructions will commerce on Imo urban and major link roads. You
\nwill agree that we met a road network in a deplorable state of
\ndisrepair.<\/p>\n
“We have painstakingly gone through the path of due process \u2013 from
\nthe design to the procurement. \u201cWe have involved the ministry of
\nworks, as never before, in the process. We want to deliver durable
\nroads that will stand the test of time. Be assured, development will
\nget to all parts of Imo state, no discrimination or exclusions,\u201d
\nhe concluded.<\/p>\n
On his part, the senior special assistant to the governor on rural
\ndevelopment, Richmond Osuji, said the state government approved the
\npayment of 15% initial mobilization fund for the project.<\/p>\n
He disclosed that the state government has mapped out fund to
\ncompensate owners of properties that will be affected in the course
\nof the project. Osuji also promised that the Bureau for Rural
\nDevelopment will ensure the compliance of the contractors with the
\ntechnical specification, budget and timeline for the completion of
\nthe projects. Another bad development left behind by Rochas Okorocha
\nis the lack of good sanitation. The Imo state governor has disclosed
\nthat he will attend to the urgent need to make Imo clean and green
\nagain.<\/p>\n
Governor Ihedioha had said his administration is determined to make
\nImo, the cleanest state in the federation.<\/p>\n
The governor, who spoke at the Government House, Owerri, on
\nWednesday, July 17 during the inauguration of the panning,
\nsensitization and implementation committee for the July, 2019
\nclean-up exercise, said the health of the state’s citizens was
\nthreatened by unhealthy environment. He said that between 2008 and
\n2011, the state was adjudged the cleanest in the country by the
\nfederal ministry of environment, lamenting that in the past 8 years,
\nthe state had become one of the dirtiest.<\/p>\n
The journey to and fro my state took me four days and within this
\nperiod, the traditional rulers drawn from all parts of the state met
\nand endorsed the decision of both the Imo state government and the
\nstate\u2019s legislature to investigate why the entire state has become
\nsuch a destroyed habitation even as infrastructures require
\nemergency to fix.<\/p>\n
The Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers said they are in full
\nsupport of Gov. Emeka Ihedioha\u2019s plan to probe the administration
\nof former Gov. Rochas Okorocha.<\/p>\n
Available information i got states that the Chairman of the council,
\nEze Samuel Ohiri, disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday, at the end
\nof an emergency meeting of the council where the resolution was
\ntaken.<\/p>\n
He said that after a critical examination of the situation of Imo,
\nthe council deemed it imperative that Okorocha must be probed.<\/p>\n
Ohiri said the latest discovery that Okorocha allegedly spent N10
\nbillion to build police headquarters called for serious probe.<\/p>\n
He said, \u201cAfter the emergency meeting of all the traditional
\nrulers, we resolved to encourage Ihedioha to ensure that all the
\ngovernment properties illegally acquired by the former governor and
\nhis cronies were recovered to Imo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also want to use this opportunity to call on the Inspector
\nGeneral of Police to return the money used in building the police
\nheadquarters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said that \u201cImo does not have money to spend on Federal
\nGovernment\u2019s project,\u201d adding that \u201cFG is supposed to show its
\npresence in Imo, not Imo building projects for FG.\u201d<\/p>\n
The royal father also admonished Okorocha, representing Imo West
\nSenatorial District, to stop inciting his supporters to cause
\ntrouble in the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkorocha has finished his tenure as governor and we are calling
\non him to allow Ihedioha to govern the state without
\ndistractions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
This visit I must state is revealing. The current Imo state governor
\nmust note that So much is expected from him so he has to spend
\nquality times inside the state and reduce the tendency to embark on
\nfrivolous foreign trips which is one way most governors lavish the
\nresources of their states in the guise of chasing for foreign direct
\ninvestments. Imo state needs an ever present competent
\nadministrator to turn around the devastated State.<\/p>\n
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA
\n(HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com
\n[1],www.huriwa.blogspot.com [2],www.thenigerianinsidermews.com [3].<\/p>\n
Links:
\n——
\n[1] http:\/\/www.emmanuelonwubiko.com
\n[2] http:\/\/www.huriwa.blogspot.com
\n[3] http:\/\/www.thenigerianinsidermews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO On Sunday this week, I boarded the Air Peace airline to Owerri, the Imo state capital for a singular reason of personally witnessing the beginning of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":55424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n