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| Governor Okorocha Immediately After The Accident |
By Barr. Emperor N. Iwuala
Some years ago, I worked as Chief
Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Imo State. I can vividly remember
that at that time, I was also a victim of the usual exuberance that engulfs
newly appointed political office holders. Then, I had a government driver
assigned to drive me in my official vehicle. I enjoy driving a lot and I
derived more pleasure in driving the official car myself. I usually drove myself
in the deputy governor’s convoy to the admiration of some people. I also saw
driving myself for official assignments as a show of humility in office.
Ironically, I thought I was doing the right thing.
In the year 2009, I drove my
official vehicle to Lagos for that year’s Annual Bar Conference. Unfortunately,
I did not complete that journey to Lagos myself as I had an accident at
Omotosho axis of Benin-Ore Road and sustained head injuries. After that
experience, I still continued to drive my official vehicle unperturbed.
One day, the Principal Secretary to
the Deputy Governor then, a seasoned bureaucrat Mr. Chukwuma Nwachukwu sat me
down and told me why I should not drive myself while in office. He told me that
as the Chief press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, I had a lot of mental work
to do for optimum performance in office. He said that that was why the
government provided me with a vehicle with a paid professionally trained driver
who would at my instruction take me to wherever I would want to go. He also
said that driving myself would likely make me not to concentrate well and do my
work effectively. He conclude by telling me that driving on my job, was adding
the job of a driver to my already heavy work which he said was too dangerous
for me,
It was after Mr. Nwachukwu’s lecture
that my foolishness and ignorance on driving myself in my official car while in
office dawned on me.
Governor Okorocha’s vehicular convoy
usually moves at a very high speed. Many at times, the Governor drives himself
in the convoy. I have seen him do this in many occasions. Nevertheless,
whenever I see this, I remember my days of ignorance as the Chief Press
Secretary to the Deputy Governor. To be frank, if I see myself in a position
where I am assigned a driver again, it will be a different ball game for
maturity and experience in everything, including occupants of governorship
positions, naturally come with age .
Civilized nations and people who
fashioned out protocol for very highly placed government functionaries did not
do it for the fun of it. Some of the reasons for instituting protocol are for
ease of administration, security, safety and efficiency.
A busy Governor has memos from all
the ministries, the Cabinet Office, Chief of Staff, his principal Secretary, Special
Advisers, parastatals, agencies, departments, commissions, committees etc that
needs his personal attention. He is also engaged in various meetings and
activities of federal government, local government, autonomous communities,
diplomatic corps, international bodies, contractors, political parties,
security agencies, unionists, foreign investors and private and non
governmental sectors. Further, he sees to appointments into various offices,
the usual foreign trips ‘to attract investors’, has hundreds of phone calls
and text messages to attend to and private/family matters to handle. With
the above activities, a serious minded Governor will not still border himself
with the hectic job of driving himself unless the Governor is on a jamboree.
No matter how we see it, the
position of a governor is still a position of honour, reverence, respect, power
and embodiment of civilization that its occupier should not turn to that of a
chauffeur. Once a governor is elected, he becomes a different class of person
for the time he will occupy that position. His activities are supposed to be
planned and executed by professionals like protocol officers, security details
etc.
Protocol provides that a
professionally trained police driver with cognate experience should drive the
Governor. Even the sitting arrangement in the Governor’s staff car is fashioned
for certain purposes. The Governor sits in the area we commonly call ‘owner’s
seat’ while the aide-de-camp sits beside the Governor on the other side of the
back seat. The orderly stays in passenger seat in of the vehicle and it is his
duty to open and close the governor’s side of the car door. On the other hand,
security vehicles stay in front and at the back of the Governor’s staff car for
maximum protection. These things are so for security, safety, effective
coordination and honorarium sake. It is not something one can wish away as far
as such positions of importance exist.
Recently, Governor Okorocha was
reported that a car driven by a private person crashed into a staff car
occupied by the governor car crash with his staff car while on an official
function in Orlu Imo State. Unfortunately, some people have tried to give the
incident various interpretations. Some people who feel frustrated by the
Okorocha administration say that the incident was as a result of nemesis. Some
of them who called me include the sacked Ten Thousand Job beneficiaries, those
whose house were demolished, contractors who did various contracts and are
being owed many millions of naira, retired primary school teachers who are
being owed more than nine months arrears of pension, previous government
officials whom the Governor stopped the payment of arrears of salaries and
severance benefits. more are the sacked statutory commission members, Local
Government Chairmen, coordinators of Local Government Development Centers,
victims of revocation of plots of Lands, Area K and Avu people who are alleging
that the Governor illegally took their. Another group include supporters
of the Agbasos, Chris Anyanwu, Victor Umeh, Ralph Uwazurike, C.C. Nwaka, Emeka
Offor etc. who feel they contributed to getting the Governor elected in 2011
but now feel sidelined from the government.
Another group is saying that the
accident did not actually happen but is another intelligent gimmick to attract
sympathy to the ongoing investigation by the EFCC over the =N=458 Million JPROS
Scam whereby senior members of the government are being interrogated on daily
basis. Others in this same category say that the accident was framed for
reasons not yet known. In justifying their postulations, these sceptics are
asking the following questions: Who else was in the crashed vehicle with the
Governor? What is the identity of the driver that was alleged to have crashed
with the Governor? Why was the vehicle of the supposed driver that crashed with
the Governor taken to the Government House as the governor claims and not the
police? Why the rush in removing the supposed crashed vehicles from the scene
of the accident without the assessment of traffic personnel? Why should the
Governor be flown abroad for treatment when he claims that the injury was
minor? Why didn’t the Governor take advantage of his highly clamoured and
advertised provision of the best health facilities in Imo State?
However, some people from the
Governor’s camp, his lovers and positive minded people are full of sympathy and
thanksgiving for sparing the life of the governor and his team.
On my part, I have a different
approach to the whole story. When I initially heard about the incident, I was
not disturbed because car-crash is a normal thing in Nigerian roads. But I
became more concerned when I heard that the Governor received laceration in his
head probably from the broken windscreen of the crashed car. At this, I started
smelling rat on how an acclaimed minor car crash would make a state governor
have a sutured head. My mind went straight to the fact that the governor might
have driven himself on that fateful day as usual. When I called the Imo State
Commissioner for Information Mr. Chinedu Offor, he told me that the governor
did not drive himself on that fateful day the accident occurred but was sitting
in front of the crashed vehicle. At this answer, I knew that the commissioner
was being economical with the truth because it is known everywhere that many at
times, Rochas Okorocha as a Governor, not minding his slight physical
deformity, drives himself in his convoy. Ironically, assuming the incident
really happened and also happened the way the Imo Government described it, was
it even right for the Governor to seat in a position meant for his orderly as
Mr. Offor said while on an official function? What of the issue of putting on
seat belt? We all know that aggressive security vehicles always stay in front
and back of the vehicle the Governor stays. How come a car from nowhere rammed
into the convoy to the extent of crashing on the Governor alone as claimed by
government report? Many more questions begging for answers and it is only the
handlers of the Governor that can provide the correct answers if they wish to
do so and objectively too.
Interestingly, I hear that one of
the reasons while the Governor drives himself is to show people that he is
humble. However, I have heard many of his security personnel and protocol
officers complain that he does not take their advice when it comes to issues of
protocol and security. One of them who is very close to me also told me that
sometimes, the governor is always in the habit of diverting the movement of his
convoy to routes at will and without security information from his advance
security team. This I think is very wrong and risky too. Such can expose the
governor and his team to unprecedented mishap that can be very disastrous. But
God forbid. Yet, heaven will only help those who help themselves.
The 5th Edition of the
oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines ‘Protocol’ as a system of rules
governing formal government activities. Government is not a private estate. It
involves laid down rules and decorum practised for ages and designed for order,
safety and better service delivery in public service. Therefore, as far as the
Governor claims not to believe in protocol and due process, his administration
will continue to witness untold strange episodes. For instance, the =N=458
Million Scandal was as a result of lack of due process. The recent acclaimed
car crash is also suspected to be as a result of lack of observing rules on
protocol.
However, not minding the frailties
of man, we must thank God immensely for delivering our Governor. As I join many
to wish our governor quick and full recovery, it is still the opinion of yours
truly that the Governor should learn a lesson from this incident. He should
start dropping his poor attitude towards security and protocols. He should
always listen to his security and protocol aides for his own good and that of
his family for the remaining time he has in Douglas house. A word the say, is
enough for the wise.
(Barr. Iwuala
writes from Owerri and can be reached on:
08037247295,
emperoriwuala@yahoo.com)
