By Nze DURU Kizito
It is disturbing that my dear state has a governor who is aloof, detached, and utterly insensitive to the feelings of his people. Imo is under siege, yet the man whose duty it is to provide leadership behaves like one whose heart no longer dwells here.
Just three days ago in Ngor Okpala, a chilling incident occurred: bus passengers (26) were kidnapped and one of them was reportedly shot dead by Fulani terrọrists. That horror was barely digested before another wave of violence hit us. Yesterday, in Umuna, Okigwe, unknown gunmen struck again, burning over twenty trucks, razing shops, and reportedly taking more innocent lives. These are not mere headlines. These are the agonies of Imo people.
What was the government’s response? Silence. Deafening, irresponsible silence.
While we mourned and feared for our safety, Governor Hope Uzodimma was in neighbouring Anambra same yesterday, grinning and basking in presidential company, laughing as if Imo was at peace. Not a word. Not a statement. Not even a tweet. The contrast between the governor’s mood and the reality back home was nauseating. On the governor’s official social media pages, he prioritized his needless visit to Anambra than showing concern to the growing insecurity in his state.
Truth be told, Uzodimma has, for a while now, been acting like a man who is tired of governance. Like one who is simply counting down to the end of his controversial tenure so he can retreat permanently to his comfort zone in Abuja. Nothing in Imo today reflects the presence of a serious, engaged, or responsive government. The collapse of governance is not just felt, it is confessed. Even some of his appointees, speaking in confidence, admit that Uzodimma is a poor leader. They speak of a government that shuts down each time the governor travels. And travel he does a lot to Abuja, while insecurity and hopelessness continue to deepen here.
It is not that I expected much from Uzodimma. Not with how he emerged as governor. He knows, as most Imolites do, that he doesn’t enjoy the moral mandate of the people. But like it or not, he is the governor of Imo State. The burden of leadership rests on his shoulders, and the ball, whether he likes it or not, stops at his table.
The Fulani terrọrist menace in Ngor Okpala ought to have drawn immediate and strategic response from the state government. That it hasn’t should alarm every thinking Imolite. These killèrs don’t just strike once and vanish; they operate systematically, expanding their reach. If no decisive and courageous action is taken to make Imo a hostile ground for them, they will overrun more LGAs. And if care is not taken (God forbid) we might soon be narrating stories similar to those of Benue and Plateau.
Imo cannot afford a governor who rules by absence, responds with silence, and governs like a man who no longer cares. The time to act was yesterday. The cost of continued indifference may soon become unbearable.
Wake up, my dear governor.
IMO WILL SURVIVE.