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From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
Oguwuike Nwachukwu is the Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser on Media to Governor Hope Uzodimma, who he argues has been making visible infrastructural strides in the state. In this interview with Stanley Uzoaru he gave detailed explanations to sundry issues concerning the state of affairs in Imo, the governor’s projects and the relationship between President Ahmed Tinubu and his boss as well as other issues.
How would you describe the current state of Imo?
Imo is now a safe state. It is a state on the rise after being recovered and reconstructed. Rehabilitation is taking place in Imo in the past six years Senator Hope Uzodimma has been office as governor of the state. People who were resident in the state can easily recall 2020 and what they experienced with regards to security of lives and property. There is a very huge difference between then and now. There was a time night life was completely absent here. In fact, to say that daylight was even a gamble is not an exaggeration. But today we can move around from one part of the state to another and night life has returned. Imo is peaceful and we have seen development in infrastructure. What we’re witnessing is intentional, purposeful leadership and the efforts of a man who really has an idea of what he has come to do but beyond that I want to assure you that the government is still in progress.
In key locations within the state capital and some other areas, several structures have been demolished. What prompted the government to act?
When we came on board insecurity was our greatest challenge and a lot of people fell victims to non-state actors. Government tried its best to ensure that Imo citizens are secured and protected but crime is part of the system. There’s no country that place is completely free of crime. What we’re talking about here could be the magnitude, petty crime, armed robbery and kidnapping. Talking about those being beheaded, these are very serious criminal activities and we needed to know who were the criminals and where they lived. Of course, you know that surveillance sharing is one of the things that help the society to live in an environment that is relatively decent. So, we carried out surveillance, to gather intelligence and were able to discover that some of the persons involved in the things that were bothering us were actually living among us. They may not have started living there yesterday. They may have actually been living there for some time but like it’s always said, “one day for the thief and every other day for the owner of the house.” I want to believe that there is time for everything, perhaps this is the time it became auspicious that whoever they, wherever they were living, the time has come for the system to throw them up but I think the system has thrown them up. That’s why you’re seeing some of the places our people, the agencies of government, security agencies based on detailed investigations going to those places to smoke them out?
The demolition exercise affected the area where the former governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha had erected structures and sculptures to honour some people. Please shed light on this.
I’m sure you have gone to the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu International Convention Centre (IICC) lately and I’m sure you must have liked what you saw there. A man who wants to build his house must make sure that the foundation is solid. This will ensure that those who will live in that house will be safe. There’s a master plan for Imo State, particularly for Owerri metropolis. Part of what the government is doing is to restore that master plan to its original state. For those who might see it as witch-hunting, it is far from that because the government has not hidden its intention to restore the master plan. In the coming weeks, Imo people would be proud of what they would be seeing in that axis. It is about the future, about Imo State and about the aesthetic look of state things that will attract meaningful development, it’s about the things people would see and commend the leadership of the state. Look at the newly commissioned Assumpta twin flyover, very beautiful. Look at the engineering work from the scratch to finishing. Whatever that is worth doing is worth doing well. We commend past leaders who in their own initiatives and wisdom felt that something was necessary for that time. Like I said, when you’re out to recover, reconstruct, rehabilitate and restore the beauty of an environment like what the Uzodimma administration is doing to restore the master plan of Owerri metropolis, the ideas are up for implementation.
So many people have criticised the governor for being too attached to President Bola Tinubu. What is your take on this?
These people are completely ignorant of what current governance is all about. Whether you like it or not, today’s governance has gone beyond sitting in an office. In fact, governance today has become digital. Now regarding the governor going to Abuja frequently, the issue they should be raising is this: when he goes to Abuja what does the state benefit from the visit. He does not just go to Abuja for frivolous reasons. If anybody that feels that way, should also go Abuja now and see if he can open the President’s office and enter. It has to be on invitation. The invitation is based on the value you’re adding to the government at the centre and your own state. If the governor had allowed himself to be deterred by the question, “why do you go to Abuja always” I don’t know where he would have gotten the funds to do Owerri/Mbaise/Umuahia road, Owerri/Mbano/Okigwe, Owerri/Orlu road, the flyovers, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu Convention Centre and all the other critical infrastructure projects that have been executed. When we talk about keying Imo with into the national grid it goes beyond defecting to the party in power. You must really know what it takes to get what you want from the national grid. This governor has it. We’re so lucky that we have a governor that he President can invite at short notice; the Vice President and even the Secretary to the Federal Government can call and invite him on short notice. It is not his fault that he travels very often. Whatever be the case, we are seeing the result of his many trips to Abuja in Imo State. At the end of the people of the state are the ultimate beneficiaries. His trios are not about politics. Those who want Governor Hope Uzodimma to be in the state and be seen at eatries or where your buying corn by the street or eating groundnut, these are not the yardsticks to measure whether the person is doing what he’s supposed to do as a governor or not.
Imo Charter of Equity is still stirring up political conversation in the state. What is the assurance that Governor Uzodimma will keep his promise, to allow his successor to emerge from Owerri zone?
What I’m sure of is that he will hand over to somebody who will continue with the developmental strides that he started. Imo is on the rise. Before the end of this year, you will see things that will convince you that Imo State has risen up. The governor has repeatedly talked about how power should move. The issue of Charter of Equity is his idea – that alone is convincing and shows that he means well. He knows what he is doing and will not make any mistakes with regard to who actually will continue with what he’s doing. He has done so much in this state in less than six years. People wonder if this man is actually in his second term. He works as if he is in his first term. He has governance running till January 14, 2028. He can only beat his chest and say I have done well is when he has implemented programmes. To do that he must keep his eyes on the ball. I don’t think there would be any problems with regards to who his successor would be, but one thing is sure: he will not hand over power to someone who would not make the State proud.
Which of the three-point agenda of the governor would you say has made the most impact?
All of them have made impact. Let us look at them one after the other. Take rehabilitation for instance, from the aspect of youth employment – the SkillUp Imo Initiative and the effort being made in that area. Now move on to what he is doing with regards to the health of the people. You have to rehabilitate people properly, so that they can contribute their own quota. In terms of SkillUp, three cohorts have graduated. The registration for the fourth cohort is ongoing. This is part of rehabilitation. In terms of recovery, the governor is trying to reverse the parlous state of infrastructure and make the state become economically viable. We don’t want to over-emphasise what we have done in terms of roads. The dredging of Urashi is ongoing. These are some of the things he wants to leave behind. These are projects that will spike the economy of the state.
Dredging of the Urashi River and LightUp Imo are huge projects. People are beginning to wonder if they would be completed before he leaves office?
If there’s one thing I know it is that our governor does not start what he would not finish but you must bear in mind that government is a continuum. He has laid the foundation and it is solid. On the issue of LightUp Imo, that is a done deal. Before the end of this year it will be completed. Part of it is already happening. The governor has said repeatedly that the LightUp Imo is a legacy he wants to leave behind, the same way that he has left a legacy with the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu Convention Centre and the flyover. The Orashi dredging is a gigantic project but the beauty of it is that the Federal Government has given approval under the Muhammadu Buhari and was flagged off. As we speak the Navy is fully involved in the dredging activities. The worst case scenario assuming he was not able to complete it, it is already a situation where you know the direction and that direction would be such that whoever succeeds Uzodimma may not even get to his second term before you see the realisation and full potentials of Urashi.
