By Raymond Okwara
I read an opinion article published in several newspapers on May 16 and titled “Emeka Ihedioha: Imo State’s last opportunity for growth and development”. It was written by Kelechi Jeff Eme. What I liked about the piece was its opening paragraphs where the author wrote: “In the life of any organized political State, there cometh a time when God in His infinite mercy and wisdom raises leaders of uncommon vision and integrity to navigate the affairs of men/women for unprecedented development and Economic growth.
“In Nigerian context, God used the great Zik of Africa to consolidate the Independence movement that gave us our country. In Eastern Nigeria, God used the same great Zik to change the educational narrative of Ndigbo and put in place evergreen human capital development and Economic growth through his education policies and the Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation (ENDC) headed by Sir Louis Ojukwu of blessed memory. The same God used the hardworking Dr. Michael Okpara to execute the NCNC development agenda in the region. When Ndigbo looked for a leader, Ikemba Emeka Ojukwu stood up for them.
“Back in Imo State, it was a rural State created in 1976 and for 3 years there was no meaningful development until Dee Sam Mbakwe rose to the challenge and the rest as they say is history. His legacy projects have remained the major nostalgic feelings Imolites imbibe to maintain their mental state and prevent same from migrating to the Fringe of lunacy. Since the exit of Dee Sam in 1983, successive administrations failed to show any sign of wearing his big shoes or even attempting to do so.”
The author failed logic at this point. His article would have hit the right note had he concluded the last sentence by saying that “since the exit of Dee Sam in 1983, successive administrations failed to show any sign of wearing his big shoes or even attempting to do so until the arrival of Senator Hope Uzodimma in January 2020”. He refused to conclude those beautiful paragraphs that way because he was struggling to market Emeka Ihedioha and in doing so, attempted to deny the great and visible job that Gov. Uzodimma has done so far. My reading of the article is that rather than place Ihedioha on a pedestal, Eme greatly rubbished him, shredded him and presented him as a leadership disaster. I will tell you how…
The easiest way to puncture all the fallacies contained in the article, as marketable leadership attributes of Ihedioha, is to look at the caption of the piece. It reads: “Emeka Ihedioha: Imo State’s last opportunity for growth and development.” Think through those words and see the fallacious tales that the author created around Ihedioha. My easiest reference to show that Ihedioha is not ‘Imo state’s last opportunity for growth and development’ is to cast a glance back at Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. Those were the Muhammadu Buhari years. Before Buhari happened to Nigeria, he was marketed as the best definition of governance and leadership. We were told that he was our last chance to get it right. Some said there was no hope for Nigeria unless Buhari became president. Eight years after, those who marketed Buhari as the creation’s best offer to leadership, are now all over the place telling us that he was a disaster. They are now telling us that Bola Tinubu is having sleepless nights struggling to fix the mess Buhari left behind. Shouldn’t we therefore be careful with any politician marketed as the “last opportunity for growth and development”? Buhari proved that they should be avoided.
Secondly, the author sought to present Ihedioha as creating a ‘rice revolution’ in Imo state within the seven months that he managed the state. Really? Perhaps, my long years overseas have disconnected me from my beloved Imo state such that I am so blind to see the rice farms. Please, can Jeff Eme publish a list of all the rice farms with which Ihedioha was about to make Imo state self-sufficient in rice production before the Supreme Court kicked him out? As an expert in agriculture, I am aware that rice, depending on the variety, could be ready for harvest between 150 and 180 days of planting. This means that it is not possible for a new government that was yet to sit well, consolidate, and set up necessary governance structures to secure land, create rice farms, engage framers, procure seedlings and mobilise people to farms and expect the bumper harvest that would make the state self-sufficient, all within seven months. Such is only possible on the laptop of a food tech student.
Another fallacy in Eme’s piece is that Ihedioha built 27 stadiums, one each in the 27 local government areas. While it is true that Ihedioha began construction of stadiums, I am, however, at a loss as to why a transformational leader would begin to build 27 new stadiums when existing sporting facilities –Dan Anyiam, Grasshoppers Stadium, Orlu Township Stadium, Old Stadium on Tetlow Road and other such facilities in Mbaise and Okigwe, need upgrade and made functional? Isn’t that the same leadership mindset exhibited by Ihedioha’s predecessor in moving to build 27 new general hospitals when existing ones lacked basic medical facilities? Is this the leadership mindset that will cause growth and development in Imo state?
Meanwhile, the best response to Eme’s claims against the education sector in Imo state is contained in an article titled ‘Something exciting from Imo state’ written by Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu and published in his column, Thursday Homily, in The Sun of April 11, 2024. If Eme and Ihedioha had read that publication, they would not have embarked on this self-embarrassing journey. In that beautiful piece, Uchegbu wrote: “…a recent survey by data analytic company, StatiSense in alliance with the Federal Ministry of Education, shows that Imo state is recording positive marks from investments in the education sector by the state government. Looking at the data as published on X (formerly Twitter), Imo state ranked ranks 36th on the table of out-of-school children in the country with 5.1 percent, coming just ahead of Anambra which is ranked 37th with 2.9 percent. Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara and Bauchi states sit on the top five of the ladder with 67.6 percent, 66.4 percent, 62.9 percent, 61.3 percent and 55.7 percent in that order.
“Besides, Imo state also ranks first on the table of states with most students admitted into Nigerian universities to read medicine in 2022 with 512 students followed closely by Anambra with 453 students and Abia with 348 students. Enugu and Osun states complete the top five on the log with 339 and 309 students respectively. Imo state also ranks first on the index of students admitted into Nigerian universities to read mass communication in 2022 with 992 students while Delta state comes closely with 833 and Ogun state with 832 while Anambra and Benue state complete the top five with 811 and 807 students respectively.
“Imo state ranks 10th on the index of students admitted into Nigerian universities for business administration with 430 students. Anambra state leads the log with 682 students while Ogun state has 651 students and Osun state on the fourth position with 587 students. However, it ranked first on the index for political science students admitted into Nigerian universities in 2022 with 649 students followed by Benue state with 549 students and Enugu state with 538 students. Rivers state and Anambra state complete the top five with 530 and 524 students respectively. On the log of students admitted in 2022 to study microbiology, Imo ranked second with 1,004 students coming behind Benue state which has 1022 students. Ondo, Anambra and Enugu states complete the top five with 803, 745 and 743 students respectively.
“Imo state also topped the chart for students admitted to read law in Nigerian universities in 2022 with 448 students followed by Delta state with 437 students while Abia, Anambra and Osun states joined the top five on the ladder with 407, 337 and 298 students respectively. But the accounting and accountancy students’ admission log was led by Osun with 1,026 students. Imo state placed third on this log with 820 students behind Ogun state which had 932 students. Delta and Osun states made up the top five with 809 and 781 students each. Imo state also ranked number three on the log for economics students returning 569 students behind Oyo state with 616 students and Ogun state with 580 students while Anambra state posted 500 students and Kogi, 408 students to make up the top five. Added to this is the fact that Imo state posted 1,501 students to retain the top spot on the list of states with highest 2022 admissions to read computer science in Nigerian universities. Delta and Anambra states trailed in second and third places with 1386 and 1346 students while Ogun and Oyo states made up the top five with1260 and 11633 students.” Need I say more?
It is obvious that what Jeff Eme set out to achieve rather achieved the opposite as it presented Ihedioha as a haughty, self-conceited politician who thinks that he can lie his way to power and that no one else, even in Mbaise, is good enough to lead Imo state. The fact, however, is that Uzodimma has radically changed the leadership narrative in Imo state. The best pointer to this is that Uzodimma has risen from negative campaigns and sponsored attacks that challenged his early days as governor, when the opposition massively funded subversive moves and tainted his leadership with tags of ‘Supreme Court Governor’ who was ‘imposed’ on Imo by the ‘Fulani Caliphate’ to now become the darling of the state. This was demonstrated by his massive and historic re-election last November where he won in the 27 local government areas of the state. This means that Uzodimma, despite the negative propaganda sponsored by those who lost at the Supreme Court, won in Ihedioha’s local government, his state and federal constituency as well as in his senatorial district. What other way does Ihedioha want to be told that he has outlived his political relevance such that even his recent resignation from PDP is being celebrated in his ward?
•Okwara wrote from Atlanta, Georgia, USA.