Today is just one week after the news filtered into town that the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha was involved in an auto crash while on his way to Orlu.
The news came to me as a shock, haven seen the Governor at the venue of Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, National Congress the previous day at Onikan Stadium Lagos, mingling with his fellow Governors and Leaders.
The atmosphere was so charged in the state until the Commissioner for Information, Mr Chinedu Offor broke the news that the Governor came out unscathed, except for minor injury on his head.
Thank God the Governor has been discharged and ready to go back to work. Imo people have shown that despite all that is happening in the state, no one wishes other dead. The whole game simply borders on politics since Democracy cannot deepen without constructive engagement and vibrant opposition.
Since after the incident, I have not received a word from any individual or group wishing the Governor dead. From the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, sympathy have been pouring in. This is a good omen, flowing from a bad incident. If Okorocha had not been involved in the accident, how would one know that despite the plethora of political and legal battles in the state, all citizens of the state still want their Governor in good health, political battles or not.
However, amidst the whole scenario, the accident also exposed the mindset of the Imo populace towards the administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha. The people seem not to believe whole heartedly, the administration any more. The populace are watching the administration with cynism. They are skeptic of the Okorocha’s government and its activities.
I am saying this because of the negative feed backs that followed news of the accident, mind you, not towards the health of the Governor anyway, but about the real fact of the accident. Whether it truly happened.
From experience, I had known that Imo people cannot change on their attitude towards their leaders. And this is because of the caliber of educated population of the state. The Imo crowd is very alert and suspicious at all times about their leaders, because they are always afraid to suffer fools easily.
In Owerri today, there are nearly over twenty locally based Newspapers, yet they are all selling. The Imo population is highly cerebral and hard to please. In order words, who ever wishes to be their Governor must try to live above board in every sphere of endeavour, and must work through his or her teeth.
Imo population is bold and fearless, and the birth of the current democratic dispensation has even made them more curious and daring.
What it means is that what pleases other citizens of a state cannot sway Imo people. Immediately after the accident, my phones were jammed with text messages and calls. And nearly all of them were tilted towards same questions. “Are you sure there was an accident? How can a vehicle ram into Governor’s Convoy? How can a vehicle damage the Governor’s car to the extent that he got wounded on the head? Are you sure he was not trying to cover up some thing?”
Infact, I did not know how to respond to such Satanic questions. Then later, as it was established that the accident really happened, and that the Governor has been flown out for medical treatment, another bout of questions started flying in.
“How did he get visa shortly after the accident? If he has traveled out for medical treatment, what happened to the driver of the other vehicle and where is he taking treatment? Are you sure he did not use this opportunity to “move out things”? which country did he travel to?” Questions, questions, questions.
Let me state here that the mistake many people make is that a Governor’s Convoy is not vulnerable to accidents. For the records, Governor Okorocha is not the first to have a road accident. Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State is still walking with the aid of crutches after a near fatal accident which claimed the life of his ADC.
In the case of Wada, the tyre of his official car burst on the road and the car somersaulted. Such accidents do happen every day and people die unnoticed, but this particular one got the wide publicity because it involved a State Governor.
In 2010, the Convoy of a former Governor of Imo State, Dr Ikedi Ohakim was blocked at Akabo in Ikeduru LGA, and his Security Personnel whisked away the Driver which happened to be a Priest, Rev Eustace Okorie.
Till date, Ohakim has not met that Reverend Gentleman who received rough treatment from the Security Personnel. But the Imo populace believed that since his Security aids rough handled Rev Okorie, it was therefore interpreted that it was Ohakim.
In the case of Okorocha, he should thank his stars that the “culprit” in this particular incident, is not a known figure in the state, or from a prominent profession like Journalist, Lawyer, Medical Doctor, Teacher or even a known Catholic or Pentecostal Pastor. The story would have been different.
Okorocha should also be happy that the Government handled the matter with the speed of a light by calling a Press Briefing which gave no room for speculation by curious Journalists.
However, it has since been discovered that the fellow driving the battered old Mercedes Benz car was a “poor” former Councilor from Awo-Omamma, Oru East, by name Chief Osita Nnewuihe, who by now have spent the severance allowance paid him and his colleagues who served under former Governor Achike Udenwa.
Many people criticize the speed at which Governor’s Convoy move. But it has to do with the office. Twenty four hours are not even enough for the office of the Governor to function to the maximum. I speak from experience.
The office is so loaded that every body within that office work at the speed of a jet. You are always thinking fast, moving fast etc. In order to meet up with the loaded and tight schedules, these Chief Executives are always in a hurry, sometimes even while eating.
I am sure that Gov Okorocha would have realized that the office is a hot potato. It was not what he thought it was during the last electioneering campaigns when he described his predecessor, Ohakim, in terms of a tourist who was just sitting on the Governorship stool taking coffee every morning and drinking Moet every evening. The office is rough, tight and dangerous. And Okorocha knows better now.
The security of the Governor is of utmost importance to the security personnel around him. The speed of the Convoy is also a security mechanism to dissuade any crack mind that may make attempt on the life of the Chief Executive. And every function is according to schedule, whether you agree to protocol or not.
They say Okorocha does not believe in protocol. But I strongly disagree. But if you say that the activities of Okorocha are not put down in a manifest, I agree. If he does not believe in protocol, how does he visit the president and fellow Governors? Does he just get there and break into their offices?
However, a Governor can choose to make his or her Convoy simple, with few vehicles. He too can choose his own sitting arrangement.
I think in Nigeria, the simplest Convoys I have ever witnessed are those of Anambra State Governor, Mr Peter Obi, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregboshola of Osun State. While Obi usually sits at the passengers side with the Driver, with a few cars, Aregboshola in most cases drive himself to important occasions.
Stories also have it that the Governor of Imo State, Owelle Okorocha was on the wheels during the accident, another alleged that it was the ADC that was driving.
These were the areas the Commissioner for Information, Mr Chinedu Offor, could not elaborate on, apart from just saying that the Governor had an accident with a minor injury.
Till date, he has not been able to tell the public how many people were in the Mercedes Benz that hit the Governor? Was the Governor on the wheels? How come the Governor got wounds while the other driver had no injuries? Was he the one that hit the Governor, or was it the other way round? These questions may never be answered.
On the issue that the accident may have been stage-managed, I distance myself from such argument. Why would Okorocha stage mange an accident to garner sympathy from Imo populace? Sympathy for what? It looks petty to me. And even if the Governor wants to “move things out” there are other ways he can do it, if he so desires.
I don’t also buy the idea that the Governor wants to use the accident to get at his political enemies. Already, Mrs Calista, the dejected wife of Ex-Councilor Nnewuihe has been begging for the husband’s release, saying it was simply an accident, and that no one should be blamed.
Talking about blame, is there any way the embattled ex Councilor could be exonerated even if his car was parked on the road side and the Governor’s vehicle rammed into it? Poor man!
When the Convoy of Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole ran into a Lorry, what we were told was that the Driver of the vehicle was bought by the opposition to snuff life out of the diminutive Governor.
And that was even before police launched its investigation into the matter.
In the case of Okorocha, the Governor is yet to speak after the accident, beyond the appearance he made with bandage round his head.
And Okorocha has not made any inflammable statement yet. Knowing the Governor, I think that if he had other thoughts other than that the incident was merely an accident, it was that evening of Friday that he would have blown the whistle. His reserved stance on the matter since the incident makes many think that the Convoy may have been the antagonist.
As it stands now, the only witness to the whole scenario is Hon Nnewuihe, who can say exactly what happened. Whether it was the Governor’s Convoy that plunged into his car, or otherwise. But would he be allowed to narrate the incident?
But, since the police say they are still investigating the matter, let us wait and see the outcome of the findings before any one could arrive at any conclusion. But will the police avail Imo populace of the findings of this celebrated motor accident that has shot a poor former Councilor into the News?
N/B: The Angels of death are at it again. They are after my head again. What is my crime? That Trumpeta is “exposing a lot”, which led them to sentence me to “death”. But are the exposures false? No. So what is my offence? Why not go to court to challenge what we write? No. Only my Head is enough!
I solicit your prayers, and God’s protection, Amen.
