Open Letter To Governor Okorocha On His 100 Days In Office

Governor Okorocha

Dear Owelle, I  remember  when clad in shinning white buba  with  red cap to match ,  you  approached  a   waiting  crowd  in Owerri  asking for their support. It was the 2011 electioneering period in Imo state of Nigeria. With the confidence of your gift of gab, your chest heaved as  you  speak to  the crowd ‘ I will give you free education if you vote for me as the governor of Imo state. I will employ thousands of our youths within my first 100 days in office. I am on a rescue mission. Imo must be better’   you said

The words rescue mission immediately gained currency in the Imo state political lexicon. ‘ I am on a mission to rescue Imo  from the shackles of poverty and under-development. Vote for me as your governor’ you continued. The crowd swayed like blades of grasses on a field and chanted with happiness, Owelle !! Owelle!!! . Emotions swelled to the tunes of your  utopian promises. Like a malignant tumour it spread through the  heads of the people. Promises of better future  clouded the  eyes of the people of Imo State. Chants of Ikiri Ohakim must go rented the air.The people marched with you into the streets of Owerri shouting  ‘  Okorocha  na you we know’

Your sweet talks paralyzed the minds of the people .Your sugar coated mouth  blinded  the eyes of the people as you took a  Keke   ride through the streets  of Owerri. Upon jumping into a Keke you  stamped a  false   credential of  a grass root  man. Every Keke operator in Imo State by this simple cheap gesture convinced himself that the emergence of their Owelle will alleviate the economic problems of the down trodden masses.  They even claimed that you will understand their plight more than the  other two top  governorship candidates.

Riding high, on the ‘ Keke’   with your  sham  posture  as the leader and speaker for the masses, you approached  the  Naze material market ,bought akara from a street trader which you  gulped  with  sachet  water. This act sent all the masses abuzz. These gimmicks became subject of conversation in every gathering of Imo people in the capital city of Owerri. Of course you were voted in as the executive governor of Imo State so that you can walk the talk.

Our expectation was that you will hit the ground running but 100 days after the instrument of  office was handed over to  you, Imolites  have come to realise  that there is a big gulf between governance and activism . The picture emerging is confusion upon confusion. In your first 100 days in office, you have failed to articulate a direction for  Imo state which has resulted in the stagnation of socio-economic activities across the state. All your  enticing pre-election promises of transforming Imo State to an Eldorado within a few months appear to have become a mirage

 On the  6th of September,  many state governors rolled out drums  and popped champagne  in celebration of 100 days in office. The 100-day point has relevance as it provides pundits a handy peg for grading a chief executive's initial progress. It all started with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first 100 days, which stand alone in history as a period of enormous achievement. Owelle, you  did not celebrate your  100 days in office.Ofcourse ,you have  nothing to celebrate. We had  one hundred days of administrative lawlessness  in Imo state. No amount of spin from your spin doctors   will disguise the fact that you did not perform well within your   first 100 days in office.

While other governors are beating their chest proudly  about their 100 days in office It is reported that you spent  millions of naira  junketing the globe and  entertaining  your friends and political associates  abroad leaving  Owerri and Imo State villages in darkness, without light and drinking water. And refuge dumps have taken over Owerri municipal area. First we heard you went to Asia later we heard you  went to London. London has everything-o, steady light,clean air, clean environment, good roads and  good food.Nitori  Olorun,Mr governor,don’t we deserve such good things from you?

Owelle,  in just 100 days in office,you have sacked 10,000 Imolites(5000 teachers and 5000 civil servants) .Do you think there  is peace ,joy and celebration in the state  for this your action?  No wahala! Anyone who tells you differently is a liar and  a monkey.You promised to create jobs when you get into office, where has this promise disappeared to? Instead you ended up sacking 10,000 youths. To you Imo youths  don’t  deserve employment. Imo youths should not worry about jobs. Rather than give the people jobs you  turned  yourself to public retailer of kerosene, hoping to use it to gain cheap political points. Owelle, I ‘do ba leoooo’ i hail-o.

I can hear the cry  of  the 10,000 workers that you sacked  since June this year down the mountains. Oh, check out the cry of their dependants up the blue sides. Some of the sacked workers are now drinking ogogoro to wash away their sorrows. I can feel their plights and sadness. It is so great. I can feel their tears; I feel  the tears of their  parents and loved ones. It is like cigarette smoke climbing a chapel of dark vines. But to you,e-no concern you, the 10,000 jobs issue to you na yamayama talk. Unemployment remains high in Nigeria as millions of graduates roam the streets searching for elusive jobs. This has resulted in youth restiveness, which sporadically has spilled over into violent episodes. Owelle; We don’t want the sacked 10,000 workers to turn to thieves and kidnappers in Imo state.

Mr Governor, the people of Imo state wants to know the score card of your first 100 days in office. In just 100 days   your polling rating has dropped drastically and you are being disliked by so many persons. in just 100 days you have   lost the confidence and support  vital to the ability to lead, let alone to administer a state like Imo. In just 100 days you have made so many administrative gaffes and have become dictatorial and lawless, bringing Imo state close to anarchy.

You must tell us why  you sacked 5000 teachers employed through the 10,000 job scheme when primary schools in the state lack teachers. You must tell us why you declared free education in primary and secondary schools only to find it difficult to pay workers salaries and at the same time asking communities in Imo state to pay 1 million naira tax ,yearly. You have demonstrated a clear misplacement of priority and lack of responsiveness to the yearnings of the populace, who are largely unemployed, poor and battered.

Mr. Governor, it is disgusting to learn that you are aspiring to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2015. What knowledge and experience will you bring to the presidency? Will it be different from your first  100 days  as the governor of Imo State that brought nothing but agony, confusion, negligence, witch hunting of political opponents, disregard for the rule of law, corruption  and anti -workers activities?

In just 100 days you have made things worse  for the finance of Imo state with your  over bloated cabinet. Your over 150 cabinet members and committees is a perpetuation of a culture of waste. Your cabinet is jobs for the boys. The size of of your cabinet is complete ‘ yeyerism’  and a waste of the people’s money

In just 100 days you have suspended 106 autonomous communities .These communities went through due process in the selection and presentation of their traditional rulers. You have lost the support of the 106 affected communities with an estimated population of 1.6 million.

In just 100 days you have made Owerri the dirtiest city in Nigeria. It is still fresh in our memory that by the first 100 days of the last administration of the state, Clean and Green policy and the New face of Imo program  transformed Owerri into an admirably clean city.  Today, dirt’s have taken over Owerri. Last time i called for your resignation to  save yourself further embarrassment but  your errand boys, boot lickers and street urchins called me all sort of unprintable names .Owelle, please   use your  next 100 days to articulate implementable policies that will help to reverse the current state we find ourselves in. I also urge you to immediately recall the sacked 10,000 workers.

Yours faithfully,

Kenneth Uwadi

Mmahu-Egbema

Imo State,Nigeria