Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State can be described is a unique leader with unique qualities.
To his friends and followers, he is a leader extraordinary with the passion to serve humanity- a quintessential leader who posses the charisma to render good governance to the people of Imo State.
To his foes or would I say political adversaries, he is a leader who knows it all. They strengthen their argument with comments credited to Okorocha who said he is an unconventional Governor whose his perception about governance is different, in style and approach. According to them, this is the singular reason why his Government has made so many mistakes in the act of governance.
Personally, i will align myself to the School of Thought that says Okorocha is the only Imo State Governor, dead or alive, whose approach to issues pertaining to governance in Imo State is different from the style of his predecessors. His Rescue mission Agenda anchored on My People, My People slogan indicates that his Administration is a welfarist one unlike his predecessors who ran policies that are too utopian for the layman.
While I agree to the fact he is a leader who has a different perception about governance, it will not be out of place to say that Governor Okorocha is the first Imo State Governor whose image mirrors in every facet of our public life in the State. This is why he holds the enviable rank as the first Imo State Governor whose actions elicits so much attention, passion and concern from friends and political foes.
In my piece titled Okorocha In the Eyes of Imolites, published on this column in July, I analysed Governor Okorocha’s perception rating by various classes of people of Imo State. I said the talakawas (keke riders, market women who were his major support base during the governorship election) see him as their messiah. Another category of Imolites say he is a performing governor, while others argue he is a Governor with no speech as he seldom read his speeches from a prepared text. Different strokes for different folks!
For his fellow party men and women who murmur in silence and shout hosanna when they see him, Okorocha operates cautious and dry politics because he is averse to the style and mentality of the PDP who believe in the power of structure and money politics.
The summary of these perceptions is that Okorocha remains the only State Governor whose brand of governance cannot be quickly located or placed. Some say he cannot be described as a progressive or conservative governor. This is why since he was elected Imo State Governor; his Administration can best be described as one that has shown a burning passion to embark on several projects at the same time.
While I admit some of his policies and programmes are novel and deserves applause, his Administration presently strives to differentiate the difference between governance and philanthropy.
According to those who know him, Okorocha is a leader who applies various unconventional methods to achieve a purpose. And when such methods crumble or get stuck midway, he is bound to make a detour. This is said to be partly the reason why some of his aides murmur in silence that Oga carries a lot of load on himself or does so many things at the same time. And because he is so much in hurry to get results, he unintentionally ignores certain basic procedures in achieving such aims and objectives.
I have taken time to study my dear governor since he cruised to Government House, Owerri in May 2011. Because he was the people’s choice in the last elections, his Administration was confronted with the task and onerous responsibility of offering hope to the hopeless and succour to the depraved. Managing and translating such expectations of the people to reality have been a huge burden for his Administration simply because he underestimated the depth of the problems ravaging Imo State. With rich political experience, but little knowledge of the task involved in governance, Governor Okorocha is in the middle of the sea striving to navigate the boat of governance of the State to meet the expectations of those who voted for him on polls day.
And because he is in a hurry to do so and afraid of the factor of failure, his Administration have made some policy summersaults and took actions that are totally out of tandem with laid rules guiding and regulating governance. While some of those actions might suit his definition of unconventional governance, it does not satisfy the intellectual thirst of vast majority of the elites in the State who say his style is not synonymous with acceptable global norms and rules regulating the business of governance.
I am tempted to liken Governor Okorocha’s ordeal to that of President Barack Obama of the United States. Obama came to power in 2008 because he successfully convinced the American electorate that he possesses the magic wand to change the fortunes of the United States that was plagued then with economic depression. And because his ‘Yes You Can’ message was embedded in his fine oratory power, his message instilled hope in Americans. This chiefly contributed to his electoral success.
Obama’s performance in four years in office did not totally convince Americans that he deserved a second term. High unemployment rates, an economy in deficit were sighted as his undoing despite recording considerable success in foreign relations. His flaws in these sectors became the propelling factors that gave the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, the boost to pose a ferocious challenge to his (Obama) re- election.
Despite the fact that Obama defeated Romney at the polls with a slim margin, the results of the election underscores the fact the vast majority of Americans lost hope in an Obama presidency. Obama’s ordeal is similar in posture and outlook to that of Governor Okorocha. The promises he made during the last governorship election appears to be overwhelming him. This has put him on the fast lane as he strives to carry out many projects at the same time. This could be responsible for the delay in completing some of the noble projects he has embarked on. They include the security gates whose carcass litter at major roads in the state, renovation and construction of roads across the 27 Local Government Areas in the State which are yet to be completed.
While remarkable success has been recorded in some sectors such as ongoing construction of General hospitals in the 27 Local Governments, roads and the security gates which directly touch on the psyche of the people should have been first line charge of his Administration- I mean it should have been of utmost priority since security and roads constitute the major assessment points of any Administration by the people.
I want to add here that how the massive roads renovation and construction is managed by his Administration will determine the fate of his government. It will be a political bumpy trap if he fails to maximize the benefits or gains of the roads project to his advantage. Like Obama who made remarkable progress in foreign relations, but slumped on the economy, Okorocha has made progress in progress in provision of infrastructure in the State but faltered in other areas. He unnecessarily ignited so much tension in the grassroots with the introduction of Community Government Council (CGC), a mode of governance that appears alien to the people.
The Community Government Council (CGC) is one issue that has put his Administration on collision course with a vast section of Imolites despite repeated and extensive explanations by his aides that it will bring governance closer to the grassroots. The free education programme which is the major thrust of his campaign slogan has continued to receive several bashing from critics who say that the initiative is not working as expected. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, the A CN governorship candidate in the April 2011 elections recently told Imolites that free education is not working in Imo considering the fact the he pays tuition for some of his relatives in the Imo State University. The distinguished senator said education is free from primary to junior secondary schools (JSS) as provided by the Federal Government.
The importation of school uniforms and other accessories for primary and post primary pupils is said to be a minus on the basis that it was not necessary considering the fact that his Administration should have allowed local entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the State to produce such uniforms. Those who hold on to this thought say it would have encouraged our local entrepreneurs to develop.
The return of refuse heaps on the streets of Owerri is another sore point of this Administration. This is a departure from the past where Owerri was rated the cleanest city in the Federation. IBC pensioners are agitating over non payment for 24 months pension arrears ; Imo Transport Corporation (ITC) is boiling over a rift between the management consultancy firm and workers, the proposed relocation of IMSU is raising dust, while on the political front, some politicians who are displeased with the conduct of the supplementary election that brought his government to power.
While I accept the fact that governance has its low and high points, and no man has monopoly of knowledge, I advise this Administration to stop opening frontiers of distraction for itself. It can be politically catastrophic. And in the event it does, it should devise an effective mechanism to handle them. The sack of the 27 LGA chairman remain one of such frontiers. One of the major albatross of the Udenwa and Ohakim Administrations was that they by omission or commission opened several fronts that led so many distractions. While the later part of Udenwa’s Administration was engaged in a fierce war with some Abuja based politicians which contributed to his inability to produce a successor, Ohakim was entangled in a war with his political foes a factor which lead to the loss of the governorship seat
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