I come from a peaceful metropolitan community. In the history of my town, peace and tranquility has always been our trademark as it has not recorded any communal violence or deep-rooted schism unlike other neigbouring communities where slight provocation lead to neigbourhood warfare. It is in these regard that we witness influx of strangers who co-habit peacefully with the indigenes.
These enviable qualities can be said to have earned my town the nickname of “Ala Congo” meaning free place for hospitality where it is difficult to distinguish between stranger’s elements and the natives in the town.
However, the peaceful foundation of my dear country home was shaken to the roots recently, no thanks to state government stage-managed Community Government Council, CGC elections held on Saturday 8, 2014. Only those residents in Imo will understand the word, CGC. CGC is a creation of the administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha. After the closure of Development centres created by the Achike Udenwa government and inherited by his immediate predecessor, Ikedi Ohakim, the CGC was introduced as a fourth tier arm of government.
However, controversy has continued to trail its introduction since it was meant to replace age long town union systems that cannot be divorced from history of Igbo communities from pre-colonial times to the millennium era. While concerned citizens of the state under the forum of Town Union President Generals went to court to challenge the scrapping of Town Union in Imo and substitution with CGC, the methods for selecting and electing supposed officials of the unofficial tier of government in Imo state has no less been cantankerous.
Ominous signs that one of Okorocha’s schizophrenic policy streak would spell doom manifested when the governor embarked on policy somersault to appoint instead of conducting election to chose those who will occupy the CGC positions of President General / Secretary of CGC committee, youth and woman leader, to complement the traditional ruler who is chairman of the committee. The selective action was contrast to the law establishing the fourth tier government. It took a rapid response from a rather docile members of the House to give the governor soft landing by relaxing the law to appoint committee members. Indications that the CGC would become the butt of ribald jokes from grassroots emerged when partisan personalities with traces and sympathy to the government of the day were appointed to take charge of respective positions. The appointment of certain societal misfits with persona no grata status in their respective areas for the CGC positions generated discontent and uproar in affected autonomous communities. The politicization of the CGC and its near status of Political structure for Owelle’s Rescue Mission government has since turned the fourth tier government to become the butt of ribald jokes among Imolites.
Further indications that the CGC could be one of the present administration’s gobbled-degook and targeted at destabilizing the various towns in the state including my beautiful autonomous community, as regular callers will always say while contributing to regular phone-in programme “People Assembly” of Owerri-based private radio station, Hot Fm emerged a fortnight ago. Despite legal challenges blossomed by several court cases kicking against the continued existence of CGC, government ignored the lawful protests of claimants and court orders contravening their action to conduct the autonomous communities polls. There is no doubt that beyond the dreams of achieving their aims of having an elected CGC officials, rancour and acrimony occasioned by threat to lives and property became successful. The enduring paradox of the election is confusion in many communities.
Moments after the March 8 election, Owerri, the state capital turned to temporary abode of protesters who were drawn from different communities. Ironically, there was no space on the following Monday after Saturday polls for aggrieved protesters march to Government House gate in shell camp road to register their grievances to the state government even as officials of the CGC Ministry experienced difficult times attending to protesting groups who turned their Orlu road office Mecca of protests.
It might be difficult to make available statistics of the protesting groups but volume terrified government functionaries to set up special committees to wade into the matter as well as suspend announcements of eventual winners in state government-owned IBC radio station.
One could not but laugh at the state government gobbled -degook when it credited itself to have organized a CGC election. The number of communities in flames so far speak volumes of attempt by the Okorocha administration to put the local structure of governance on fire.
Ordinarily, the CGC in all ramifications would have been a unique approach towards taking democracy dividends to the grassroots. Without destroying the old order that existed before Okorocha was born, all contestable positions like youth, and woman leaders including PG (secretary) of the town union would have also been appointive instead of elective like the Government Liason Officer GLO and the community Liason Officer, CLO.
Since GLO and CLO are government appointees and undoubteably members of the ruling party, the composition of the CGC would have complement with the selection of PG, youth and women leaders sympathetic to Okorocha regime than open election.
The unfolding scenario shows that the present administration does not entertain clear cut agenda permitted through feasibility studies before implementatio.
And this has been the hallmark of Okorocha government since 2011 it came into power where ill-timed and policy somersault reigns. Initially, it said that all positions in CGC are contestable before a sudden volte face excluding the CLO.
On the CGC election, there is no doubt that the conduct is a make-believe theatrics to deceive Imolites since necessary logistics needed to organize poll of such magnitude was not provided by the state government. While the CGC was not included in the 2014 budget during presentation to the House of Assembly, late last year and which has not been passed into law for state governor to give accent before it becomes operational, the necessary tools for conduct of election was missing, the first date of Saturday March 1, 2014 election date came as a surprise to Imolites who had not been informed two weeks before the date. The impromptu nature of the exercise exposed lack of preparation on government part forcing it to extend the date for one more week on the flimsy excuse that there is lack of awareness.
Despite the date extension, it was glaring that government was indeed not prepared to hold the election. Remarkably, security measures were not considered to forestall breakdown of law and order. In several areas, skirmishes were recorded before those mandated to conduct the election arrived their respective election centres.
While my correspondents who were monitoring the elections informed me that five people have been severely injured at Ohii, in Owerri West, neighbouring Orogwe/Ndegwu was boiling. The same report emanated from other centres and for the first time in my peaceful community, intra-village war almost broke out when some youths engaged in free-for-all at the Women Hall, venue of the supposed election that failed to hold.
The reasons were not farfetched. The state government was insincere and wanted to adopt what Yoruba people would call “Ogboju” tactics to deliver its candidates against the wishes and aspirants of the villagers who were willing to elect their choice candidates for the respective positions. These contradictory desires between the government and the people gave rise to untold altercations in several autonomous communities resulting to either “no election” status or outright manipulation of the figures by government agents and functionaries who monitored the conduct of elections.
To show state government’s lackadaisical approach to the CGC election, those empowered and sent to the respective autonomous communities were not empowered with necessary tools for election. Surprisingly, those in charge of elections arrived election centres without a documented procedure of eligility to contest and those to vote even as option A4 was publicly announced as the procedure. In my community, the two election organizers sent from the council headquarters by LGA chairman were helpless when they were confronted by apolitical and well meaning citizens of the area on rules and regulations for the conduct of the election considering a controversial issue that was about tearing apart the people. They were almost lynched when it appeared that they came with only a controversial list of contestants.
Desperate efforts on the part of the well meaning personalities saved them from the wrath of irate youths who were charged over government insensitivity to the autonomous communities election.
The CGC is a product of law enacted by the Imo State House of Assembly. From all indications, the state government is divorcing itself from the law by implementing measures that in all intent and purposes ultra virus in order to suit its whims and caprices. After the state government set up screening committees to handle aspirants, it was reported that few hours to the election, the state governor, Okorocha went on air to issue fresh directives that are not only in contrast to the CGC laws but also ridiculed the earlier functions of the various screening committees at the LGA levels.
The contrasting views set the stage for a full blown war among the contending groups.
Suffice to note that the scars of the CGC March 8, election is widening the gulf.
Except the measure to correct the noticeable mistakes that are fast splitting the people at the local level, the Okorocha government could be on wild goose chase in its desire to reap from the benefits of establishing fourth-tier-government. While the opposition who may have kept away from the shabby will use it as a campaign tool when the need arises, those sympathetic to Okorocha government but disgusted with the floppy exercise will unarguably always have a pay back time to express their grievances.
More so, the yawning flaws noticed in CGC elections cast doubt about the proposed conduct of LGA election by the Imo state government. The CGC election could be a dress rehearsal of what to expect in the council polls Okorocha government has promised to conduct before he bows out of it. Since it will be organized by a government organ, Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC, the last autonomous communities’ exercise is a suspect that it could also be a “wuru wuru” show
