Prof. Protus Nathan Uzorma
Imo the pride of the south east is now a state that is mocked in the light of her present state occasioned by bad leadership. Someone who is on a voyage to Lagos from Owerri and decides to start his journey from Calabar is seen as one who has missed direction.
The above reminds me of the story told by Anthony de Mello in his book “The prayer of the frog” vol.1, he asserts, “A couple of hunters chartered a plane to fly them into forest territory. Two weeks later the pilot came to take them back. He took a look at the animals they had shot and said, “This plane wouldn’t take more than one wild buffalo. You will have the other behind.”
Anthony de Mello continues “But last year the pilot let us take two in a plane this size” the hunters protested. The pilot was doubtful, but finally he said, “Well, if you did it last year, I guess we can do it again”.
So the plane took off with the three men and two buffaloes. But it couldn’t gain height and crashed into a neighboring hill. The men climbed out and looked around. One hunter said to the other, “where do you think we are”? The other inspected the surroundings and said, “I think we are about two miles to the left of where we crashed last year”.
The above fable by Anthony de Mello reflects in reality the dwindling state of our beloved State- Imo. Are we not inside a big ocean about to be drowned by one man who considers himself better than the entire State? I fee for Imolites because our governor and our leader has turned to a strange emperor that has refused to hearken to the voice of proper reason.
The man who promised us better tomorrow is today telling us stories because of his selfish attitude to issues that should ordinarily promote the economic well being of Imo state. Gov. Rochas is joking! In the words of Martin Luther king,Jnr. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it”. Prof. Wole Soyinka infers. “The man dies who keeps silence in the presence of anarchy”.
Today is like Imolites are hypnotized by an advanced extraterrestrial political hybrid; as a result, their minds appear to be controlled by an esoteric psychological condition. This spiritually induced docility has made the minds of our people susceptible to “Okorochastic” suggestion which is also characterized by a marked loss of willpower. The mind and willpower of a person in such a condition is to a large degree under the control of the hypnotist.
Why should anyone be afraid of saying the truth the way it is? Are we not witnesses to all ignoble policies of our governor? Has he not turned the Imo house of Assembly to his pet programme? Has Gov. Rochas not impoverished Imolites? Imo civil servants can’t afford their daily meals anymore but our governor who promised us of a better Imo has enough food to waste. Gov. Rochas said that Imo is on Salary Adjustment Program (SAP) while he is busy lavishing our money on frivolities with his family and close in-laws and friends.
Why does Gov. Rochas love to lie? Any human being can lie but when you begin to tell lies that are verifiable, the person should consult a nuero-psychologist because something is basically wrong with the person. Gov. Rochas said (as it was reported on page 9 of Nigerian Moment Newspaper of 6-8 November 2015 with the caption, “Imo is on SAP”) that “a level 9 officer earns #390,000 per month as against #90,000 which other states and the federal government pay”.
In the first place, no level 9 civil servant (officer) earns #390,000 per month in Imo state. Gov. Rochas should verify his facts very well before making them public. Could this be the reason why he is punishing those in the Ministry of Justice? Those in the ministry of Justice have gone through hell following Gov. Okorocha’s ignoble treatment. For seven months now, their salaries are not paid because of our governor’s SAP philosophy yet they are over taxed. I am not a lawyer, but I must confess that the manner our governor is maltreating those in the ministry of Justice is very unfair. Gov. Okorocha there is God ooooo!
Families of these civil servants are dying in penury inflicted on them by the chief Executive of the state how can they feed well? Where will they get money to pay school fees and still transport themselves to office on daily basis?
In the midst of all these anomalies, the sum of #5 billion was allegedly stolen from the home of my brother- the chief of staff to the governor Chief Uche Nwaosu. If truly this said money was stolen and some security men arrested as was reported in the print media, it means that the house of our governor or his in-law has become the “Central bank of Nigeria”. I don’t doubt the report because I personally spoke with the human rights lawyer and counsel to the police man (mr udenwoke) who was also detained along side with some other security operatives posted to Chief Uche Nwaosu over the missing #5billion said to be part of Imo bailout money.
I still maintain that if this report is true then my answer is short and simple like that of Anthony de Mello in the fable we shared from the beginning when the question was asked by one of the hunters, “Where do you think we are”? The amazing answer they got was, “I think we are about two miles to the left of where we crashed last year.”
Imo has finally crashed the evidence of it is very clear. A look at our roads tells you where we are, the case of concession and reduction of ministries explains it all. We are all aboard of ugbo one chance headed by Gov. Rochas Okorocha. Imolites where are we now? Chief Rocachs government has become a tsetse fly perching dangerously on the real man which if you try to kill you risk breaking the real man, but if you allow it will suck and dry the man.