The Ailing Owelle Magic
Close to his assumption of office as Imo state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has a five star crush on the masses. His aura was so devastating that Owerri metropolis stood still for this harbinger of change as he undertook “a thank you ride” of the major streets in the state capital.
Others not so close to the scene of action savoured the historic moment from different locations in and outside the state capital.
Soon after, discordant tunes began to emerge suggesting that Owelle is after all a human being. In fact, the steepness of the popularity decline was as baffling as he rode to power on the crest of mass euphoria with the touch of an epileptic seizure.
The phenomenal plunge is hard to analyze and understand. One handy reason may be the unavoidable stepping on people’s toes in the course of implementing his policies and programmes. This is complemented by the incessancy of putting the cart before the horse which does not smack of due process.
Occasionally however, personal leadership in whatever guise provided it is not over done causes things to happen overnight. In 2003, the Thai government toed this path when it nearly legalized prostitution and gambling to boost its ailing economy. This is saying that occasionally, the egg must be broken to make an omelet just as it is in frequently assumed that in all construction lies destruction as the two are but one.
However, issues which sporadically bruise his galvanized image are, the land hungry stance of the administration, putting the cart before the horse, numerous poor graded urban and rural roads which brought tears and large scale deprivation to local residents and the commercialization policy of the administration. Others include the sale of General Hospitals, poorly conceived urban refuse policy (one of the oddities in the Rescue Mission Agenda) and the virtually abandoned relocation ofImoStateUniversity, IMSU outside Owerri zone after a protracted debate.
But is Imo state ungovernable? Are Imolites too prone to venerating their leaders long after quitting the stage? Chief Sam Mbakwe, now the political icon and reference point was not even sure he was performing while in office as he was rarely eulogized or told this.
Owelle magic is ailing and waning as well as getting stale. The various achievements of the Rescue Mission administration ought to wedge and arrest the drift. Until this is done, the personalized leadership style may become the Achilles heel of the administration. The governor must stretch himself further on the humanitarian platform to become his generational Abraham Lincoln. This memorable American President still exercised human feelings and compunction in the conduct of the American Civil War which gave him the powers of a Czar. Inspite of this, he never forgot his love for the common man both from the North and the rebellious South.
In our own (context), the apolitical clamour is that Owelle should, besides party and personal leadership style project his feelings to areas of mass resentment. The mental excursion will enable him to size and feel the raw pulse of the people which is often not politicized.
