Most Nigerians are not in a hurry to forget that by the time Nigeria had self rule in 1960, Lagos was both the commercial nerve centre and the federal capital territory of our country. Lagos had always been a commercially thriving coastal city which held massive attractions for traders and business men and women from many parts of the world.
Lagos swarmed with people. Being a coastal city, men and women arrived from all nooks and crannies of the world to add to the glamorous night life that made Lagos tick. And as a result, traders of all shades and business men and women of all persuasions trooped into Lagos in their droves from other parts of the country too, to make money. Lagos thrived like a beehive.
But with time, Lagos became congested. The city began to find it difficult to accommodate the teeming number of people who came in daily to live and do business in the land. The infrastructure became over-used and consequently became inadequate for the swarming population that thronged into the city. Expansion became a necessity. And so was the urge to separate the seat of government from the commercial nerve centre.
When the military government of General Yakubu Gowon was toppled in a military coup on 29 July 1975, the new military Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed, appointed a panel to evaluate the possibility of relocating the federal capital.
The panel approved a relocation of the federal capital and seat of government and recommended that while the seat of government should be moved to a new location, Lagos should remain as the commercial nerve centre of the nation.
Government officials immediately set out to study world capitals. They looked at Brasília, the new capital of Brazil. They visited Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. They went to Paris, the capital of France, and to Washington D. C., the capital of the United States of America. Nigeria was looking for a central place to build a new national capital where its entire citizens would be equally represented. The new territory was to have favourable climate conditions, vast acres of land and plenty of water.
In 1976, after Abuja was chosen as the land for the new national capital, General Murtala Mohammed spoke to the nation. He said: “We believe that a new federal capital territory created on such virgin lands will be for all Nigerians a symbol of their oneness and unity. The Federal Capital Territory will belong to all Nigerians.” The General predicted a new era of “justice, peace and unity” for all Nigerians. But seven days later, he was assassinated.
As a soldier, General Mohammed made the supreme sacrifice for what he believed in. Look at Abuja today, a modern city sprawling with high rises and a lush topography no one would have thought possible only a few years before.
*Abuja today
That is one lesson Imo people have to learn. That is one lesson they have to live with. That is one lesson they always have to remember. As government after government commits itself to the development of Imo State, Imo people must never say “we can’t do it: it’s so difficult.” Imo people must never discourage the government they willingly voted into office because in many democratic countries, the role of government in state development is always designed to be in continuity.
A new state government which is elected into office continues from where the previous government stopped. It reviews the policies and policy-thrusts of the last government, makes amendments where necessary and continues with the work at hand before new measures or dimensions are introduced into the system as the hallmark or distinct identity of the incumbent government.
Unfortunately, this has not always been the case with Imo State. The tendency has always been for the new government to jettison the projects of its predecessor and initiate its own new projects, thereby stalling the continuous growth of the state.
Created in 1976, its first three governors were military officers who stayed in office for so short a while that whatever impact they claim to have made on the development of Imo State was scarcely visible to the good people of the state.
The first governor of Imo State, Ndubuisi Kanu, a naval officer, governed the state for barely one year, from March 1976 to 1977. Then Adekunle Lawal, another naval officer, took over. He governed for almost one year from 1977 to July 1978. A military officer, Col. Sunday Adenihun, who succeeded Lawal governed from July 1978 to the end of September 1979.
So, in barely three years, from 1976 when Imo State was created to 1979, the state already had three military governors. And come to think of it: what would anyone expect a military governor to practically achieve in the development of a state in just one year in office while still learning the ropes? That was the situation of things before the democratically elected government of Chief Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe came on board on 1st October 1979.
It was the monumental stride Imo people made in those four years Dee Sam was governor, which included the building of Imo Airport and Concorde Hotel with the self-help effort of Imo people that laid the foundation for the development of their state. But seeing that the civilians were making progress, the military struck again and returned to the centre stage.
For the next 8 years, they took turns in Imo State Government House. First was General Ike Nwachukwu who governed for about 20 months, from January 1984 to August 1985. He was replaced by Rear Admiral Allison Madueke. Madueke governed for about one year, from August 1985 to 1986. Amadi Ikwechegh, another naval officer who replaced Madueke governed for four years from 1986 to 1990 with practically nothing to show for it. In 1990, Anthony Oguguo was appointed governor of Imo State. He governed for two years, from 1990 to 1992.
Chief Evans Enwerem, a civilian who was democratically elected under the banner of the National Republican Party (NRC) governed after that for nearly two years, from January 1992 to November 1993.
For the next six years, the army was at it again. James Aneke, a naval officer became governor for about three years, from 9 December 1993 to 22 August 1996. He handed over to Colonel Tanko Zubairu, a military officer who governed Imo for another three years, from 22 August 1996 to May 1999.
A close look at the way Imo State has been governed over these 40 years shows that there could have been a policy pattern in place among the military brass – a policy of assigning short periods of duty to the military governors who worked in Imo State, thereby making them unable to contribute meaningfully to the development of the state they were supposed to be governing.
In the 40 years of the existence of Imo State, nine military governors have ruled the state over a period of 17 years with practically nothing to show during or after their tenures as contribution towards the development of the state. How can this be explained? Was it, perhaps, a deliberate military policy aimed at stifling the growth of the newly created state or a way of gratifying the military governors who were posted to the state? Did other states in the federation suffer the same fate as a result of this skewed policy?
It was not until the advent of the Chief Achike Udenwa administration in 1999 that Imo people began to think and to talk of democracy, free trade and all that, like their counterparts in other parts of the world. There will be no need here and now to enumerate what Chief Udenwa achieved in his eight years as governor, from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. All Imo people know how many blocks his administration put together in the development of their state.
After him came Chief Ikedi Ohakim. Ohakim governed Imo State for four years, from 29 May 2007 to 29 May 2011. The developments recorded by the Ohakim administration are visible and well known to Imo people. And now, we have the current Imo governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
* Many families were affected by Governor Okorocha’s demolition exercise.
To be fair to the governor and the good people of Imo State, we cannot talk about the achievements or failures of the Okorocha administration without looking back and taking stock of the achievements of those who were there before him, in comparison.
Compared with those who were there before him, therefore, it will be a travesty of justice to presume that the Okorocha administration can be easily written off as a failure, considering the fact that state development implies continuity from one government to another and each succeeding government starts from where its predecessor stopped.
In the case of the Okorocha administration, the governor has always said he has his vision of creating a viable Imo State that will be the envy of many other states in the federation. He has also assured Imo citizens living in the United Kingdom that he will complete every single project he started before the expiration of his tenure.
Somehow, unfortunately, Okorocha’s plans have disrupted the flow in some areas like prompt salary payments and the businesses of some Imo citizens who were affected by his government’s demolition exercise. Also, the Okorocha administration has so far not made public its intention to pay any form of compensation to those whose livelihood was directly affected by his government’s demolition exercises. Many, even among his fellow politicians, are bitter.
We do not need to flog the point that to achieve certain ends considered as priority, sacrifices have to be made in some other areas. Take the expansion and dualization of roads or the relocation of markets and mechanic villages in Owerri for example. These markets and workshops and indeed some of the buildings that are being demolished to pave way for the expansion of roads in and around Owerri have been in place over the years. People have got so used to them that relocating them would seem difficult for those affected. They agitate.
But then how can the good people of Imo State forget so soon that this was exactly the same experience they had when government decided to relocate the Building Materials Market from Wetheral Road to Naze? They had refused. They had protested. Yet, today, one only needs to go to Naze and see how that place has opened up. Who is complaining about the Building Materials Market now?
The point is obvious. Imo people truly want to build up their state. They are anxious to see their state take a place of pride among the other states in the federation.
* Wetheral Road, Owerri
They are naturally being challenged to do what other progressive states are doing. They know the truth and the importance of that challenge. The truth is that expansion for Imo people has become a necessity, just as it became a necessity for Lagos at some point in time. In the process of these expansions and developments, the government will inevitably step on toes, some of them raw. Okorocha knew that he would hurt some people in the process of implementing some of his decisions. And that was why he appealed to them to understand that his intention is to build a state of Imo peoples’ collective dreams and aspirations. He has told Imo people that his policy of “Imo my Pride” is dear to his heart and that he would do everything within his capability to ensure that it is realised in the overall interest of the state and its people.
It is important to appreciate that no one expects all of the problems of Imo people to be completely resolved during the tenure of one governor or indeed, one government. Democracy and state development involve time and consistency. So one governor may have his vision centred on improving the state capital. Another’s vision could be to develop the rural areas. Another may decide to tackle the electricity problem and so on. The important thing is that at the end of the day they all add up because government must be in continuity. A new government must continue from where the last one stopped.
Today, Imo is the fastest growing state in the federation. There is a need to maintain the momentum. The government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha is expanding the roads created by its predecessors and creating a network of new roads in the state capital to ease congestion. His government is relocating the markets and the mechanic villages from the heart of the city to more spacious areas within the city’s suburbs, with plans to modernise the stalls, the shopping plazas and the new mechanic villages and elevating them to international standards.
To complement these efforts and ensure that Imo people do not lose out, Reach-Out and Link-Up Limited is publishing a print and an online edition of the Imo State Business Link Magazine to facilitate demand and supply in the state and in effect make it easier for Imo people to have access to wider choices in their demand and supply needs.
* Developing Owerri
Just like Rome was not built in a day, developing a state like Imo to an international standard is not going to be a one-day affair. It will take vision. It will take time. It will take money. It will take the good will of the people. It will demand trust in the leadership on the part of the citizens. And if that trust is lacking, enemies of state progress whose only interest is their self-aggrandisement will seize the opportunity they always schemed to have, to capitalise on the situation and stall the growth of the state. That, Imo people must resist.
All said and done, if Imo people can give the current government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha the support it needs to clear the state capital, Owerri, of the rubbish that litters every of its streets and make Owerri clean once again, even if that means relocating the markets and the mechanic villages, we will surely reclaim that glory for which the state was once known – as the cleanest state in West Africa. The governor cannot carry the cross alone.
Even Jesus Christ was not allowed to carry His cross alone. At some point, Simon the Cyrene was pulled over to help Jesus Christ. The governor will, likewise, need the trust and support of Imo people and their understanding that his government means well for them. On their part, Imo people should anchor their trust in the fact that at some point in time, the achievements of all the governors who governed their state will be written down on the scoreboard of Imo history, for all its citizens to appreciate.
Will Governor Okorocha be the one they will congratulate most, above all others? Will he be the governor the people of Imo State will hold close to their hearts? Governor Okorocha knows the answer to this vital question.
The good people of Imo State must therefore learn to have faith and believe that at the end of a long day, it shall be well with our people. We simply need to look back on our 40-year history, mutually correct our mistakes and then consolidate the steps we plan to take as a people to stabilize the future of our children. Life, they say, begins at 40. This is why Governor Okorocha and Imo citizens must sheath their swords and learn to work in harmony.