BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO<\/p>\n
As someone with a passion for travelling to Imo state from time to
\ntime from my base in the nation\u2019s capital, I had one of those
\nopportunities to travel to Imo state last week and arrived in safety
\neven amidst the heavy rain fall in Owerri, the Imo state capital.<\/p>\n
Although, this time around my trip was an official one in that I was
\nat the head of a delegation of Human Rights Writers Association of
\nNigeria (HURIWA) that organized strategic media intervention and
\ninterface in Owerri, the Imo state capital to ascertain the level of
\npreparedness on the part of the civil populace for the commencement of
\nthe next level of operation python dance of the Nigerian Army which
\nhas just been changed to operation Atilogwu Udo meaning exercise
\ndance for peace in South East of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
The opportunity of this trip to Imo state was also used optimally to
\nobtain first hand, the pulse of the citizens on the new administration
\nin the state and to see for myself the unprecedented decadent state of
\ninfrastructures of the South East of Nigeria with specific reference
\nto legendary collapsed road networks not just in Imo state but in the
\nentire five states of the South East except Ebonyi whereby the
\ngovernor David Umayi is reported to have done a good number of roads
\nfor his people even with his unpopular and substantially irrational
\nstand that president Muhammadu Buhari should not be castigated.<\/p>\n
This time also, this writer used the opportunity of the trip to Imo
\nstate to let people be aware that there is no possibility in this
\nworld for government to claim to be positively inclined to protecting
\nand promoting the fundamental human rights of their citizens if there
\nis no deliberate state wide policy to physically fix the broken down
\npublic infrastructure beginning from the health, education, roads,
\nfood security and security of lives and property.<\/p>\n
So, these critical factors of human rights of the people are indeed
\nfacing the existential reality of complete non-compliance on the side
\nof these state governments.<\/p>\n
From Owerri, to Okigwe or to Orlu which in the best of times should
\nnot take up to 45 minutes to commute from Owerri, now takes a
\ntraveller about three hours due to the grueling and pathetic poor
\nstate of state owned and federal built roads. The Owerri to Okigwe
\nroad is one of the only few Federal government constructed road
\ninfrastructure that goes through Owerri to either Aba or Porthacourt.<\/p>\n
The other federal road infrastructure is that which leads from Onitsha
\nto Owerri and the other that leads from Umunze to Arondizuogu and then
\nto Owerri. These Federal roads have all but collapsed leaving in their
\ntrail, huge gullies and deep rooted pot holes that are the only
\ncharacteristics that remind any traveller that there once exists some
\nform of modernity by way of functional roads.<\/p>\n
If the people are not guaranteed their fundamental freedom to move
\nfrom one point to another due to lack of any kind of road
\ninfrastructure, how then can we even say there is any form of
\ncivilization or government in place? Another factor that hinders the
\nfree movement of the citizens in the South East with specific
\nreference to Imo state is the current situation of armed criminal
\nextortions and harassment by the police\/soldiers of the citizens.<\/p>\n
There is now the menace of over one hundred police and military
\ncheckpoints in all of Imo state even as these armed security forces
\nspend the greater part of their official time harassing the people and
\nextorting them of their hard earned finances. This is perhaps one of
\nthe most severe threats to the attainment of respect for the
\nfundamental rights of the citizenry which the state and national
\ngovernment must resolve.<\/p>\n
The irony about these large numbers of armed security checkpoints in
\nImo state is the failure of these security agents to crack almost all
\nof the assassinations and kidnappings that took place in the last one
\nyear especially along the stretch of road from Okigwe through
\nArondizuogu to Ideato north local government whereby not less than
\nhalf a dozen innocent people have lost their lives including the then
\nchairman of the local wing of All Progressives Congress.<\/p>\n
What then is the essence of having an overwhelming number of armed
\nsecurity forces all around the collapsed roads in Imo state even as
\ncriminals seem to have free reign?<\/p>\n
These questions came up during the media interactions yours faithfully
\naddressed last week in Owerri in which as an organization we asked the
\npeople of south east of Nigeria to provide support to the Nigerian
\nArmy as it stages the next phase of military operations next month.<\/p>\n
There is therefore the need for the military\u2019s high command to work
\nout strategies for fishing out all the bad eggs that have infiltrated
\nthe security forces and by their criminal conducts have unfortunately
\ncreated the damaging image of the Army as an occupying force.<\/p>\n
The people of Imo state as well as those who reside in other south
\neast of Nigeria must be made to view the Nigerian Army not as internal
\noppressors but as the integral members of the same humane society.<\/p>\n
Back to the issue of lack of free movements in Imo state due to poor
\nstate owned roads, there is need for the government of Mr. Emeka
\nIhedioha to quicken the process of infrastructural governance by
\nfixing the broken roads network all around Imo state.<\/p>\n
The idea of waiting for the rains to stop before doing anything about
\nthe poor state of roads makes no meaning because all around the world
\nroads are built all year round. For instance whenever floods washes
\noff bridges and roads in Europe and America, the government do not
\nfold hands and wait for dry season before fixing back the broken
\ninfrastructures.<\/p>\n
The excuse by governor Ihedioha that he is waiting for dry season to
\nfix the collapsed state and local roads makes no sense just as the
\nfederal government needs to be reminded that the people of south east
\nof Nigeria are not conquered population but citizens with equal rights
\nof citizenship with all other parts of Nigeria. The idea of allowing
\nall the federal roads to collapse without doing anything about it is
\nan act of wickedness.<\/p>\n
President Muhammadu Buhari and his works ministers should practically
\nput measures in place to physically rebuild the collapsed federal
\nroads in the entire south east of Nigeria. It is a big shame that the
\nOkigwe to Owerri road that looks like the most compact federal
\ngovernment road in Nigeria has been left to collapse thereby forcing
\ncommuters to go through hundreds of villages and township roads just
\nto make it to Owerri.<\/p>\n
The Okigwe to Owerri federal road and how it has been left to
\ndeteriorate has depicted a nation whose political leadership only
\nbelieves in propaganda and the spreading of fake news regarding the
\nyearly implementation of the budgets which runs into billions for
\nroads every year.<\/p>\n
Looking at the half year allocations from the Federation Account
\nAllocation Committee, in the current budget circle whereby Imo state
\nreceived #50.18 billion, it is unconceivable that the Imo state
\ngovernment is yet to begin any real practical work of rebuilding of
\nthe destroyed infrastructures which the immediate past Rochas
\nOkorocha\u2019s administration bequeathed to the current government.<\/p>\n
There are so much bottled up anger and a high level of expectations
\nfrom the current Imo state government from the oppressed people. Let
\nthe people begin to witness real governance in all realms in Imo
\nstate. There is the need to enforce traffic laws in Imo state and to
\nrestore order on the roads to check the high rate of urban accidents.
\nThere is the need for Imo state government to setup workable feedback
\nmechanisms so people who get harassed by the police and other security
\nforces can ventilate their feelings. These things matter a lot.<\/p>\n
There is the need for Imo state to truly recover all looted assets.
\nRight now, it does not look like there are any well thought-out
\nstrategies to recover all looted state assets.<\/p>\n
I do not think that the anti-graft body the EFCC is telling Imo state
\npeople the whole truth on their efforts to recover assets stolen by
\nindividuals in the last administration in Imo state.<\/p>\n
Most of the assets that EFCC told us they confiscated from the last
\ngovernor of Imo state Mr. Anayo Rochas Okorocha are not in any way
\nsealed because one of those assets near the so-called Akachi statue is
\nstill in business.<\/p>\n
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission must come clean on the
\ninvestigation of the petitions against Rochas Okorocha. Then the Imo
\nstate current governor needs to stay back in Owerri and Imo state to
\nrebuild the state.<\/p>\n
Globetrotting in the name of seeking for foreign direct investors to
\ncome to Imo state will end up the same way that all other governors
\ndeceived the people and never attracted even one Chinese trader to Imo
\nstate.<\/p>\n
Emeka Ihedioha should be told that just little things matter so much
\nin Imo state. Imo citizens are not greedy. Imo state citizens are
\nhardworking and will need a government that works in real time so the
\neconomy of the state and the wellbeing of the people can be advanced.<\/p>\n
The people are yearning for good governance and not governance by
\npropaganda just as the governor must be ready to hear the hard facts
\nand must keep praise singers far from his office.<\/p>\n
As one author wrote not long ago, \u201cGood followership is a principle
\nof good governance. This followership is elicited and promoted by the
\nattitude of those in governance. If the citizens are regarded to as
\nthe source and essence of power of governance and focus of state craft
\ndirected at satisfying their aspirations, a good followership that is
\nsupportive would be achieved. If their freedom and rights are
\nguaranteed, their opinion respected and those in power deal honestly
\nwith them, supportive followership will be entrenched in the political
\ncommunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSupportive and responsible followership starts with sincere
\nparticipation in political activities like party organization,
\nexercise of franchise, civil obedience to laws, programmes, policies
\nand protest against obnoxious ones. Good parties are sustained by good
\nparty ideologies and manifestoes as galvanized by members,\u201d (Good
\nGovernance; Theory and Practice by Samuel Anayochukwu Eziokwu).<\/p>\n
Let Emeka Ihedioha and those who call the shots in Imo state look up
\nto the Ethiopian Prime minister as a model of good governance who did
\nnot wait for long before he made impacts.<\/p>\n
As reported rightly by BBC, the pace of change in Ethiopia has been so
\nfast since Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in April 2018 that it is
\nalmost like observing a different country, and this is why he has been
\nawarded the Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n
The reforms he has introduced were unthinkable not so long ago.<\/p>\n
For many years, the government seemed impervious to criticism from
\nhuman rights groups that the state stifled free expression, sidelined
\nand imprisoned opposition leaders and cracked down on protests.<\/p>\n
In the first few months after he came to power, following the
\nunexpected resignation of his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn, Mr
\nAbiy lifted the state of emergency, ordered the release of thousands
\nof prisoners, allowed exiled dissidents to return home and unblocked
\nhundreds of websites and TV channels.<\/p>\n
These innovative solutions can be implemented in Imo state to repair
\nthe rot and ruins left behind by Rochas Okorocha who misrule Imo state
\nfor 8 years. Emeka Ihedioha must succeed because Imo can’t afford
\nanother failed leadership even for three months. Emeka Ihedioha should
\nmake hay whilst the Sun shines.<\/p>\n
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria
\n(HURIWA) and blogs @www.emmanuelonwubiko.com [1];
\nwww.huriwa@blogspot.com [2]; www.thenigerianinsidernews.com [3]<\/p>\n
Links:
\n——
\n[1] http:\/\/www.emmanuelonwubiko.com\/
\n[2] http:\/\/www.huriwa@blogspot.com\/
\n[3] http:\/\/www.thenigerianinsidernews.com\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO As someone with a passion for travelling to Imo state from time to time from my base in the nation\u2019s capital, I had one of those opportunities…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n