Like I always said, every politics is local. And, it is for this reason that Hope Uzodimma will be re-elected on Saturday as governor and chief executive of Imo state to continue his transformational leadership of the state for another four years. For the majority of Imolites, it is about walking a good road again (uzo di mma, a ga ya ugboro abuo). The outpouring of support for the governor, across all political, social, and religious demographics, zones, and local government areas of the state clearly indicates that Uzodimma is in a pole position to win. At this point, Imo people are looking beyond political parties. Their focus is rather on the good governance and growth of their state which Uzodimma had demonstrated in since assumption of office.
The support that Uzodimma currently enjoys across Imo state is premised on his delivery of democracy dividends across local government areas of the state. This has seen an improvement in the quality of public infrastructure which has had a positive effect on the lives of the people. With improvements in rural and urban road networks, people are empowered and encouraged to engage in more commercial activities. These, despite the downturn in the national economy, give the people hope that their state will be better for it in the long run. The fact is that Uzodimma’s performances speak in positive testimony for him. They are his strongest campaign points. They are also indicators that another four years with him will have more positive impacts on infrastructure development in the state.
His impact on human development has also been phenomenal. Recently, a data analysis group, StatiSense ranked Southeast as the best in primary school and lower secondary school completion rate in Nigeria at 96.9 percent and 91.4 percent respectively. Of this, it ranked Imo State second only to Anambra State. The statistics also show that Southeast ranks highest in senior secondary school completion rate. Again, it ranked Imo state high on the index. These can only be the result of focused policy administration to drive up the literacy level arising from the decision to ensure free education as well as employ about 10,000 teachers while also creating more technical colleges to drive technical and vocational education across the state and clamping down on substandard and un-approved private schools. Part of this effort was brought to life by the governor through the ‘Skill-Up’ project which has empowered about 100,000 Imo youths with skills relevant to the growth of the digital economy. These include entry and advanced-level digital skills such as computer appreciation, device repairs and maintenance, content creation, web design and development, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics, Cybersecurity, etc.
Another thing working for Uzodimma is the re-working, and adoption, of the Imo Charter of Equity. The charter speaks to the decision of the generality of the Imo people to rebuild trust, enthrone fairness, and ensure equity in the distribution of political power and leadership of the state across the three senatorial zones of Orlu, Owerri, and Okigwe. For a fact, Owerri zone has been the weeping child as far as the distribution of political leadership of Imo is concerned. Orlu has had a dominant hold starting with Achike Udenwa in 1999 and terminating in 2007 when power shifted to the Okigwe zone with Ikedi Ohakim who, unfortunately, failed to get a second term thus confining the zone to just a single term since 1999. After Ohakim, political power in Imo returned to the Orlu zone through Rochas Okorocha before berthing Uzodimma despite Okorocha’s efforts to enthrone Uche Nwosu, also from the Orlu zone.
This narrative clearly shows that for the Emeka Ihedioha brief moment, the Owerri zone has been missing in the political leadership of Imo state. To cure this anomaly, the Imo collective, through their elders, agreed to an equity charter that would bring Owerri into the leadership mix after Uzodimma’s second tenure. Those who worked out this agreement for the enthronement of equity and justice in the state have only corrected an anomaly that the generality of the people is expected to sign on to in re-electing Uzodimma to complete his tenure. However, it is not expected that every politician, especially those vying for political offices from Owerri zone, will sign on to this agreement for the fact that another four years will perhaps throw up better equipped and better groomed political actors from the zone, but, umunna wu ike.
Owerri zone also sees Uzodimma’s conclusive second term as working positively for its own good. Many political actors from the zone believe that the next four years will offer them the window to sit back and restrategize towards 2027 especially as far as reworking the leadership recruitment processes of the zone was concerned. The argument here is that such a window is necessary to make the zone work towards presenting quality leadership potentials that have the capacity to match Uzodimma’s quality and performance.
Besides, Uzodimma really does not have an opposition in Imo state. The expectation was that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be a strong opposition. However, the party is disappointingly weak, lacking in focus and terribly divided among itself. The most it has done is to breed politicians who support the Uzodimma government from the opposition base. Many of its members, who could no longer put up with the floundering opposition that the party presented, simply had to jump ship and team up with Uzodimma. Labour Party, which came out masquerading as an alternative for the Imo people, has also failed to present a stronger choice.
The party rose to reckon on the background of the emotional politics. However, it has since lost verve. It never presented any logical alternative. All of its pontifications have been emotional which, sadly, have also proved destructive to its vision of remaining a relevant political front in the politics of Imo state. Simply put, the Labour Party can be thrashed as an amalgam of young folks lacking in focus, vision, and organisation. More like the “headless mob”. In real political expression, the party does not offer itself as an alternative to even the worst political party.
Apart from PDP and LP, no other political party in the Imo governorship election comes close to being strong enough to upset Uzodimma or cost him a good siesta. From the collection, one sees mostly persons who are looking to use Saturday’s election to launch themselves into the political firmament of the state. Besides enriching their profiles in readiness for any available appointment, many of the candidates will join either APC or PDP in readiness to push for a place in the politics of the post-Uzodimma era. There is nothing wrong with this approach. After all, the Chinese say a journey of 1000 miles begins with a step.
By the end of Saturday, Imo people will graciously commend all other governorship candidates for enriching the political space with their debates and perspectives on leadership and development of the state. However, they know, and appreciate the fact that while a new broom may sweep fine, an old one knows, and understands, all the corners where stubborn dirt hides.