Last week in Agwo-di-nuju column, I decided to delve into the reported plot by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha government to make a mince-meat of the only state-owned polytechnic located at Umuagwo in Ohaji/Egbema LGA of Imo State.
Recent developments show that the present administration has concluded arrangements to fragment the school into different campuses for political purposes. Under the proposed arrangement which the school management has been asked and mandated to execute immediately, the schools of Engineering and Management & Business Studies would be relocated to a place in Orlu and Ehime Mbano LGAs respectively, while that of Environmental Science is for Ikeduru LGA.
Grapevine sources from the institution further revealed that the affected schools would be relocated to the aforementioned places by next academic calendar.
However, after my initial write-up, which centred on “Rochas and the Balkanisation of Imo State Polytechnic”, spontaneous reactions laced with mixed views trailed my commentary. The issues raised and reasons advanced by contributors were germane to be ignored. In my usual style of entertaining reactions as part of feed-back mechanism, this week’s epistle will again reflect and further discuss issues raised on the planned balkanisation of Imo State Polytechnic.
A handful of those who considered it necessary to react felt bad at the action of the present government, while a fellow justified it. I will not bother readers with the responses from those against but would rather make available those who consider the planned relocation a right step in right direction.
One Godwin Kizito from Owerri, with phone No: 07030537740, states in “Imo response to ur write up on Trumpeta abt Imo poly where u mentioned Fed poly, Oko as a single campus is not true. Oko has at Ufuma, Atani nd main campus at Oko, check ur fact b4 publication. What is wrong with multi campus.”
I accepted his correction after my further investigations on Fed Poly Oko campus system proved him right.
However, of the five institutions I mentioned that have a single campus, only one Fed Poly, Oko was exempted. The contributor said nothing about Abia Poly, Aba, IMT, Enugu, and Riv Poly, Bori all state polytechnics and our own Fed Poly, Nekede that have existed for several years before newly conceived Imo Poly was born in 2007 by the Ikedi Ohakim Government.
The aforementioned polytechnics with a single campus structure have existed several years ago and are renowned names in the educational sector. The Ufuma, Atani campus of Oko, from my inquiries came about when there were unavailable spaces to mount fresh courses and disciplines at Oko. The available land space has been maximized and over stretched, hence the search for a fresh site unlike in Imo Poly Umuagwo location where only 10% of the about 368 hectares of land has been utilized. There are no new structures needed that cannot be accommodated at the main campus.
Again, new campus was created to harbour fresh courses and disciplines in Oko Poly. Unlike Imo poly case where old and existing courses are being relocated, the Oko poly has only the newly introduced school of preliminary studies and departments of maths, statistics and computer. The arrangement in Imo poly is to carefully and gradually stifle life out of the main campus at Umuagwo by taking out the major courses that are the backbone of the institution. Before the school was elevated as Imo State Polytechnic six years ago, it only ran agriculture related courses. The coming of polytechnic brought in business and engineering courses. It was this business, engineering and some environmental related courses that gave it the Polytechnic status. The implication is that the removal of the business and engineering courses to Ehime Mbano and Orlu campuses would have decimated the main campus and returned it to old status of a mere College of Agriclutre. More so, parts of what would have remained the Umuagwo-Ohaji site would also be shared with the Ikeduru campus.
I expected the present administration especially the State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha to critically evaluate his policies and programes before implementation than engage in “robbing peter to pay paul”
While some of the existing courses are suffering accreditation problems arising from unqualified and non teaching staff problems, there is insufficient research materials needed for academic growth. I had expected the Okorocha government to provide adequate funding and logistics support than the planned balkanization of the courses and departments.
Notable courses and disciplines needed by the polytechnic to make Imopoly be counted among other top-rated institutions are lacking. It would have been a different case if mass communication, nursing technology and other vital courses were introduced and located in the said new campuses than take existing ones out. Nothing stops the Orlu campus from being an arm of the technical education dept of Imo State Polytechnic, than take away Engineering from the main campus.
Another fellow, Emma who claimed to be from Assah/Obile area of Ohaji/Egbema took me on sundry issues. He sent a text with 07035750972, People like u do not have shame, Rochas have built so many structures and have transform dat skul on infrastructural development yet ur blind of dat while attacking him. Tell me one road Ohakim tarred in Ohaji/Egbema…… Judging from the line and context of this text which ended with bla bla bla, it is evident that the sender is suffering from Rochamania borne out of partisan proclivity. He called me a shameless person because I opened up to tell him the truth about the misdemeanors of his adored master against Ohaji/Egbema people. Instead of expressing gratitude over my write-up that is exposing Rochas perceived injustice to his people that adds value to the socio-economic and political main stay of the state, the so called Emma is wallowing in skewed imaginations laced with primordial tendencies.
While I will not comment on the bla-bla-bla that demonstrates his level of intellect, it is pertinent to react on tissues of lies raised to defend his rescuer. Recently, I took a study tour of Imopoly. Contrary to the speculations of the likes of Emma I discovered that the school is in shambles. During the last National Board for Technical Education, NBTE accreditation exercise, the entire students were asked to go on break whereby the school management requested few persons to turn up as students. Few resource persons and qualified staffers were not enough to be presented to the NBTE officials. At the end of the exercise, the accreditation teams were disappointed as few courses especially in the agric school scaled through. It was however nunc dimities for business and engineering courses in the school. Reason was because the government that is planning to relocate the various courses/departments failed to properly fund the school and provide necessary logistics to scale accreditation hurdles. There was no money to hire qualified teaching staff and needed human and material resources to face NBTE screening.
It is therefore a theatre of absurdities that in a state where education is the cardinal objective the administration and the Governor is acclaimed to be the commander of free education, the state owned polytechnic and university cannot effectively pass NBTE and NUC accreditations respectively. The adverse effect is that most Higher National Diploma HND, graduates of Imopoly cannot be said to be qualified graduates due for any competitive job since the fresh school leavers have been denied National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call up and mobilization. I want to ask the so called Emma who among us should be ashamed if the highly acclaimed “free-education” in state owned tertiary institutions translates to low quality and half-baked graduates? How would the likes of Emma and the free education crooners feel that their wards or relations after obtaining HND certificates from any engineering or business related course in Imo Poly fails to observe the mandatory one year NYSC programme? Won’t the years, time, energy and resources spent for the academic program be a wasteful venture under the supposed Rescue Mission government? Emma and his paymasters should also know that in governance, there are sectors you don’t politicize. Because of avarice and greed on the part of key players holding sensitive offices in the state, grab-it-all syndrome have become their watchwords. What other civilian governors saw and left for good number of years they were in office, Okorocha within two years in office wants to dismantle the structures to probably score cheap point.
It is important to inform Emma that most of the new structures erupting at Imo poly are part of the dividends of a polytechnic status as TetFund, ETF and relevant federal agencies are funding several projects. However, one cannot rule out the fact that the present government has also injected fund as part of the monthly allocation to the school. It is evidently clear that such allocation has not been enough the change the fortunes of the institution.
Emma’s demand on what ex-Gov Ikedi Ohakim did for the people of Ohaji/Egbema has no relationship with Imo poly relocation case except his question is not unconnected to what I said about Okorocha and the people of Ohaji/Egbema in the latter part of my column. In my earlier write-up I did not mention Ohakim or any past office holder and wondered why their names should come up. Does it mean that the ghost of Ohakim et-al still hunts those in power today? Despite enjoying power for two years, the issue of Ohakim and those who were part of his administration still perturb present government appointees and their acolytes. Gov Okorocha, Speaker Ben Uwajumogu and other Rescue Missionaries at public functions never failed to mention names of Ohakim and co on how the allegedly mismanaged affairs of Imo. If the Okorocha government came on “Rescue Mission” as it has consistently claimed, why cry daily over spoilt milk?
This Ohakim-phobia could have also prompted the Okorocha administration to demolish all structures put in place by Udenwa and Ohakim in order to diminish the status of the past administrations. Imo poly could be a victim of this inglorious policy since it was a product of Ohakim government. Therefore, the balkanization policy of Imopoly could be a part of the calculated attempt to rubbish whatever legacy left behind by past government in Imo State. That could be the reason behind the indifference approach applied by the present administration towards the Owerri Ring road projects, Egbeada-Amakohia-Mechanic Village fly over project, and sacking of 10,000 job beneficiaries as well as the recent compulsory retirement of serving permanent secretaries in Imo who were appointed during Ohakim era.
I also pity Emma not to have realized that his Ohaji/Egbem area is not included in the Rescue Mission exercises except for plundering and object for scramble and partitioning for state creation purposes.
In text message exchanges, Emma in confirming that no road has been asphalted in the LGA disclosed that 17 kilometre roads must be concluded in the area by October this year. I responded that it is in contrast to what is obtained in other LGAs where several kilometers of road have been okayed.
I mean the ongoing Okorocha Rural Road Revolution (RRR) should touch Ohaji/Egbema. I have transversed the area to discover no asphalted road since Okorocha came into power. I stand to be corrected that it is only in the major oil producing community that such practice is taking place in the state. What of the Roche type school buildings being constructed in each of the INEC electoral wards in the state which the Governor has included as part of his achievements in office? No structure in Ohaji/Egbema except one skeletal fabrication mounted on the Adapalm road. Ironically, the school project contract for the state is funded from the sale of Adapalm located in Ohaji/Egbema to Roche for 25yrs. For Okorocha, Ohaji/Egbema should not be part of popular aphorism that says “what is good for the goose is also good for the gander” as the “bird that lays the golden egg” is continuously denied basic amenities extended to others.
Having exhausted Emma’s reaction, I will end my commentary by dishing out an interesting poser sent to my phone box by a funny reader after going through last week’s piece. From 07061177494 “Agwo-di-nuju its gud u wrote abt Imo poly. Bt y do u tear ur dress bc of d prouncement of d showman called ur Governor? Dis man is karawusa – stop dt wory. It will go d way of IMSU. Just like Yoruba adage u said. An Ibo adage says “emee onye iberibe conductor ya efegburu onwe ya n’aka. ie ur Governor 4 u. He s Aboki”.
