BY ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
A very vocal minority have been calling for the head of Owelle Rochas Okorocha on a platter. Yet, none of these people have been able to state in incontestable logic, the sins for which the Ogboko born billionaire philanthropist turned politician. I have had to engage a lot of them, challenging them severally to convince me on why Owelle Rochas Okorocha is not the best governor to have governed any State in the Southeast and among the very best in the entire Nigeria, on the basis of verifiable developmental projects, human capital development, security of lives and properties and other indices upon which governance should be rated.
On my own, I have researched and come out with these points as the major reasons why a vocal minority in Imo State and their acolytes from across Nigeria have taken to the hobby of promoting lies against His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha. I will welcome a debate from anyone who can reasonably challenge these points with facts.
Note: this is not an attempt at outlining the achievements of the Okorocha administration in the past seven years. Doing that will require a book of not less than 30,000 pages.
1. Ensuring that the children of the poorest of the poor have access not just to basic education, but to tertiary education. Imo, under Rochas Okorocha is the first and only State in Nigeria, where students from Primary to Secondary School, do not pay a dime in order to go to school and the only State in Nigeria, where all, a university, polytechnic and College of Education undergraduate needs to pay is a paltry sum as ancilliary fee, while the State Government pays the major bulk of the fees for them.
2. The free education program has drastically reduced the number of children ready to be taken as housemaids or houseboys to some big men, while the idea of holding children of the poor to ransom by the rich as a result of their inability to attain higher education has become a thing of the past.
3. Through the free education program, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has raised thousands of children of the poorest of the poor who can comfortably hold their own against the burgoise and their children. The free education program is one of the strategies through which the Owelle Rochas Okorocha is demolishing the class system in the State, and today, there is no family in the State that a graduate cannot be found.
4. Through the free education program, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has reduced the number of young girls available as sex slaves to traffickers and lasciverous politicians in the State. Most of our girls are in school, instead of fallen prey to the Devil’s machinations by either staying at home or serving as sales girls in one supermarket or beer parlours.
5. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has made it possible for Imo State to emerge the State with the highest literacy rate in the country. As at 2011, when Owelle Rochas Okorocha came into power, Lagos, Ekiti and even Delta were ahead of Imo State in literacy rate.
6. Education has not only being free in Imo State, but has also become more qualitative, as Imo has never fallen out of the first five States in both WAEC and NECO Senior Secondary School Examinations since 2011. Imo students have also represented Nigeria in international debate and quiz competitions, and come back with laurels within the time of Owelle’s administration, while Imo State University, Owerri has produced best graduating law student in the entire federation within this period.
7. Imo State under Rochas Okorocha has become the State with the highest tertiary institution enrolment in the entire country, the State with the highest enrolment for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, the State that produces the highest number of university graduates for the past four years the State with the highest number of Professors since 2013 till date and also the State with the highest number of teachers.
8. Teachers in the Imo State School system are the highest paid in the entire Southeast and among the highest paid in the entire Nigeria.
9. Governor Okorocha has built the highest number of school infrastructure since 2011. He has built more than 500 new classroom blocks for Primary Schools in the State and renovated more than 300 Secondary Schools blocks since 2011. He has also built three new universities to completion; the Eastrern Palm University, Ogboko, the University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Mbaise-Ngor-Okpala and the Imo State University of Engineering, Umuna, Okigwe. He has also built a brand new Imo State College of Education, Ihitte-Uboma and academic activities have since commenced, he completely rebuilt the dilapidated Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo, Ohaji-Egbema, and also achieved its multi-campus target, with campuses in Orlu and Okigwe. Also, 27 ICT centers have been built and fully equipped by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration to equip the younger generation with technological skills that will help them compete favorably with their counterparts across the world.
10. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has seen to the recruitment of over 30,000 teachers in Primary, Secondary and tertiary education levels in the State from 2011 till date. In Imo State University alone, the governor has employed more than 2000 academic staff and about 1000 academic staff from 2011 till date and more people are set to be employed in the coming months before the expiration of his tenure.
11. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has sinned against the enemies of Imo State by making sure that 80% of construction contracts going on in the State are given to Nigerians from all tribes and tongues. Majority of these people are no doubt, Imo indigenes. This is his own way of ensuring that Imo wealth is reinvested in Imo State, and this concept of leadership has seen to the emergence of thousands of new millionaires and unprecedented prosperity in the State.
12. Owelle Rochas Okorocha is the first governor in the history of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic to create 305 fresh and youthful millionaires in one fell swoop. Through this scheme, the governor was able to select one youth from each of the 305 political wards in the State whom he gave One Million Naira each, after identifying the businesses they will wish to invest into.
13. The governor also empowered another 3500 women with 100,000 Naira cash to help them invest in their petty trades for those who already have one and for those who didn’t have any to kickstart a fresh business on their own.
14. In one fell swoop, the governor also recruited 10 graduates from each of the 305 wards in the State. So far, the governor has recruited over 15,000 new hands into the Imo State civil service.
15. Governor Okorocha inspired the N-Power program presently being carried out by the Federal Government. The ‘Youths Must Work’ program saw to the recruitment of about 25,000 youths who were paid a living allowance of 25,000 Naira monthly for a period of three years. The beneficiaries of these program still testify on how the program helped them to get a base in life. While this allowance helped some of them to transport to and from where they applied for more secured jobs, others used the opportunity presented by the program to further their studies and become far more employable, while there are others who seized the opportunity to acquire one skill or the other.
16. The Rescue Mission administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha has created brand new set of millionaires and even billionaire from among the children of the poorest of the poor. Youths who in the past would have been servants to some of these politicians and even their children, are today, being able to stand on their own financially and politically.
17. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration put in place policies that guaranteed safety of private sector investments, thereby, opening the door for massive inflow of investments into the State, and by implication creating hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs for the populace. It has been conservatively estimated that more than 500 new hotels have been built in Imo State since 2011, with more than 20,000 new residential buildings erected by private individuals. Also, the Skyrun Industries in Mbaise has been resuscitated, while the Nsu Tiles and Ceramics industry is at an advanced stage of resuscitation.
18. In the last seven years, Imo has been turned to a construction site by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration. Ninety percent of those employed at these construction sites, either as skilled or unskilled labourers are Imo State indigenes and there is no doubt that this is a great way of creating jobs for them. There is no artisan who knows his or her job, who would sincerely claim that he or she has not been reasonably empowered by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration.
19. Food vendors and other petty traders are also not left out in Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s massive financial liberation drive. There are women and even men who would have been depressed at home as a result of vicious level of poverty, but would prepare some food and sell in all the construction sites scattered across the State. This has not only contributed to the extensive distribution of wealth, but has to a great extent made the State more peaceful, hospitable and secured.
20. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, poverty rate in Imo State as at 2011 was 57%, but as at 2017, it has dropped drastically, to 17%. This is to the credit of Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s deliberate economic policies that encourage industry and creativity. The heartwarming level of prosperity enjoyed in Imo State during the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration disturbing to the enemies of the State, because it has has drastically reduced the number of youths they can recruit for thuggery and other dirty assignments. It is annoying to an average Nigerian politician of the old order that majority of our youths are now gainfully employed that they cannot have the time to engage in thuggery and the few of them who may consider it, now charge very outrageous amounts before they can consider such jobs, because they can afford to do without such jobs.
21. Through the Imo Security Network, the Imo Community Watch and the Imo Civil Guard, the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has taken off more than 40,000 young men and women from the streets and got them fully and gainfully employed.
22. Through the ‘Back To Land’ policy, the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has revitalized agriculture as every civil servant and political appointee is encouraged to own a farm.
23. Before Owelle Rochas Okorocha took over as governor of Imo State in 2011, most so-called big men and political bigwigs rarely visit Imo State for fear of been killed by hired assasins, kidnapped by kidnappers or harrassed by some hoodlums. With the coming of Owelle Rochas Okorocha as governor, crime rate in the State has drastically dropped and Imo has become the most visited State in the Federation.
24. Owelle has revitalized the hospitality and tourism sector in the State. Owerri, the Imo State, has grown from its former status as the crime capital of Nigeria, to the entertainment and nightlife capital of Nigeria. More hotels and relaxation centers have continued to spring up every other day in Owerri and across the State.
25. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has constantly assisted the Nigerian Police Force and other security agencies in the State to enhance their operations, by providing them with funds and needed security gadgets to make their jobs easier.
26. The Rescue Mission administration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha has built about 100 new police stations and outposts in the State since 2011, and has done a lot to ensure that the existing Police posts and stations are maintained while over 500 operational vehicles have been donated by the Rescue Mission administration to the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Airforce and the Nigerian Army.
27. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha has built a brand new State headquarters for the Nigerian Secret Police, the DSS, and fully relocated them to the state of the art facility located off Onitsha road in Owerri.
28. Four new specialist hospitals have been built and donated to the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Army.
29. New Command Secondary Schools and Mobile Police Force headquarters have been fully built for the Nigerian Police Force by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration.
30. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration is presently on the process of relocating the Nigerian Police Force and Nigerian Prisons Service headquarters. Work is about 80% completed on these sites at Avu, Owerri West LGA.
31. Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has embarked on audacious urban renewal program that majorly affect three cities in the State; Owerri, the State capital, Okigwe and Orlu. Anyone visiting these places for the first time since 2011, is certain to miss his or her way as a result of the many transformational projects that had been concluded by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration.
32. Old and decrepit markets across the State have been demolished and rebuilt. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has built about five international modern markets since the inception of his administration in 2011. The International Timber Market at Obowo LGA, which was built to relocate building materials traders who were dislocated by the Abia State Government during the relocation of markets in Umuahia, the State Capital. The International Electronics Market in Orlu, the Imo International Modern Market at Egbeada in Mbaitoli LGA, the Alaba International Electronics and Motor Spare Parts Market at Naze, Owerri, etc.
33. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has ensured that artisans in the State get more conducive environments to ply their trades. Auto-mechanics in the city of Owerri have been relocated to the Avu Modern Mechanic Village, in Owerri West., while auto dealers have also been relocated to a more expansive place in the same Avu. These areas were originally designated for that purpose by the Sam Mbakwe administration in the Owerri Master Plan.
34. The judiciary has also not been left out in the massive transformation going on in the State. A new state of the art Appeal Court’s Complex has been fully built and the Appelate Court relocated. Also a brand new Federal High Court Complex has also been built by the Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration to ensure quick dispensation of justice. Presently, a new State High Court is at more than 80% completion stage.
35. To ensure industrial harmony, the Owelle Rochas Okorocha adminsitration has built brand new state of the art Secretariats for the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and also the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has for the first time got a brand new and well furnished State Secretariat in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
36. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has recorded the least industrial actions since 1999. There has never been a strike by Imo teachers that is peculiar to Imo State. The few times, Imo teachers have embarked on strike was in solidarity with their comrades across the country. Other public sector workers have rarely embarked on any strike action that is peculiar to Imo State. This is because thegovernor has always made it a point of duty to satisfy the demands of Imo workers even before they make them.
37. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration introduced a reward system for Imo workers that was not in existence. Every May Day, the governor donates gifts to the best workers in the State as a way of encouraging them to be more productive. Owelle Rochas Okorocha is the first governor to pay workers extra month salary at the end of every year, while giving them more than two weeks of holidays, during the Yuletide, in order to give them enough time to enjoy their Christmas and New Year celebrations. Any sincere civil servant would greatly appreciate this gesture, as the money they spend on traveling from their different villages to come to work during the Yuletide season has been saved for them, while they are also afforded enough time to relax and attend to personal issues that usually arise during the Yuletide season.
38. Owelle Rochas Okorocha is the first governor in Nigeria, since this Fourth Republic to have introduced a uniformed dress code for all civil servants in the State. This has made it possible for Imo civil servants to be the neatest civl servants in the country.
39. Imo, under Owelle Rochas Okorocha is one of the few States in the country that is not owing civil servants even a month’s salary. Imo civil servants receive their salaries as at and when due. Today, payment of salaries has become a normal thing, that no one really regards it as a special achievement. Most people have forgotten that before now, civil servants in the State could be owed for several months and even till now, a number of States in the Federation owe their workers up to ten months in salaries.
40. The Owelle Rochas Okorocha administration has to a very good extent blocked leakages and wastage of resources in the public service. Corruption has greatly been dealt heavy blows by the Owelle administration, so much so, that the Imo State public service is one of the cleanest in terms of corruption.
41. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has so much opened up the political space that one does not really the endorsement of the so-called godfathers to become anything in the State. From 2011 till date, Rochas has brought youths in their early thirties and even late twenties into government as Special Assistants, Special advisers, Commissioners and Transition Committee Chairpersons and members. A number of youths, have, through a dint of hardwork, integrity and steadfastness emerged powerful forces within the Imo nay Nigerian political space.
42. Governor Okorocha has brought the people to the center of government and made them powerful enough that the so-called ‘godfathers’ and ‘stakeholders’ feel threatened and displaced. The Rescue Mission administration does not have a special table for the so-called big men, nor are there too many checks at the Government House. The governor has destroyed the class system and his system of governance is the nearest we have ever come to an egalitarian society. This is a major sin of the Okorocha administration against the ‘gods’ of Imo State. Most of them cannot bring themselves to understand how they will sit on the same table with young men and women whose parents did not ‘have a name’.
43. Governor Okorocha has abolished unneccessary bureacratic bottlenecks that encurage corruption and delay governance. This, mischievous elements, have misinterpreted as not having regard for ‘due process’. Governor Okorocha’s administration is unapoligetically against any ‘due process’ that will help fraudulent elements within the public service to sabotage service delivery to the ordinary people.
44. One of the biggest sins of Owelle Rochas Okorocha is his refusal to share Imo money with a few individuals who pose as lords and owners of the State. The original practice of some ‘big men’ trooping to the Imo State Government House any time Federal Allocation is shared has been stopped. Instead, any time, federal allocation is shared, the people of Imo State will be sure that new projects are on the way.
45. The Okorocha administration has exposed corrupt past and present leaders, not just in Imo State but across Nigeria, by showing the people that really, government can have enough to work for the interest of majority of the people.
46. If these ‘gods’ forgive Governor Okorocha for every other thing, I am sure, they will never forgive the governor for insisting that on handing over power to the younger generation. These ‘gods’ see it as the worst challenge on their powers and influence for the younger generation to have a taste of power, instead of remaining confined to irrelevance, or at most as political thugs and doers of other dirty jobs.
47. Governor Rochas Okorocha, like King Josiah of the Bible has embarked on an audacious and very risky demolition of Satanic and demonic strongholds across the State, and instead of men who greet with some occultic insignias parading the Government House, Governor Okorocha has made godliness a gatepass to people who want to be in government. This too, is a grievous sin, and even if all others are forgiven, this will never be forgiven.
48. Renaming the Imo State Government House to the People’s House, is one of the many grievous sins for which Governor Okorocha will never be forgiven. These ‘gods’ feel insulted that the ordinary people are been made to look at par with the ‘big men’ who own the State. For these ‘gods’, the people should be under them, and any attempt like have been made by Okorocha to make the people feel too powerful, must be resisted.
49. The building of one of the best chapels in Nigeria as Government House Chapel is enough sin, but replicating this across the 27 LGAs of the State is unforgivable. While these people give false excuses that the governor demolished a library in order to build the chapel, they fail to tell the world, that the governor relocated the library to a more befitting and more serene environment around the new Owerri area of the State capital. Those who criticize this move may be occultic people who are angry that they are no longer given opportunities to turn the Imo Government House into their covens for their occultic meetings.
50. Now the biggest sin of all, is that the governor hearkened to the voice of majority of Imolites from across 24 LGAs of the State and from different professional backgrounds to support the governorship ambition of one of the best trained administrators and public governance experts Imo has produced. Okorocha’s greatest sin in this regard is that Uche Nwosu is the son of a poor man and is a young man.
MAY THESE ‘GODS’ NEVER FORGIVE OKOROCHA AND MAY OKOROCHA CONTINUE TO COMMIT SINS LIKE THESE ONES, AMEN.
IMO MUST MOVE FORWARD!
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