Article: Bring Back Ikedi Ohakim

Ikedi Ohakim

By Kenneth Uwadi

For the poor and working people in Imo State there is nothing cheerful in the plans of Governor Rochas Okorocha to re contest governorship in  2015  . Just like this his present regime, if he is allowed to win again, it will mean a  continuation of  a regime of anti people, anti poor, pro-rich ,pro-imperialist cum capitalist policies and it will legalize the looting of public resources by elements in government and their fronts. Okorocha’s speech recently of how he will retire his political opponents in 2015  was rich in bombastic self-praise, false promises and utter deception. What he  intends to consolidate is the failure or inability of his  primitive capitalist  thieving cabal to use the wealth of Imo  for the benefit of the poor working people.The major preoccupation of the Okorocha ‘s  government is looting  of  Imo oil allocation, Imo LGA funds and government properties and companies  with corruption opportunities for its extremely bloated top functionaries.

This same man sacked 10,000 Imo civil servants , sacked 30,000 Imo LGA workers, sacked elected councilors and chairmen, used  state funds and land to build his private University at his  home town pretending to relocate Imo State University to the site, sold Adapalm  to his company ( Roche Group),sold  Imo Transport Company (I.T.C.), Concorde Hotel, Children’s Park and  state General Hospitals to himself  for many years, refused to pay severance packages to political appointees who served under him and who served under the last administration. This same man has squandered more than 132 billion naira Imo council funds, squandered  more than 16 billion naira which is  13 percent oil derivation funds of Imo State ,etc. I can go on and on .Please Google 114 reasons why Rochas Okorocha  must go in 2015 .He has destroyed Imo State.

Today Imo as a state is presently run as an offshoot of  Rochas Foundation with his siblings and in-laws visibly milking the state dry with impunity. In Imo one man  has sold   80% of Imo  state  resources including choice lands   to himself  while 99% of Imolites wallow in abject and extreme poverty.

I am asking so many what,where, who ,how and why  questions. Questions like where is Aboh Mbaise LGA’s 5,6 billion naira? Where is Ahiazu Mbaise LGA’s 4.8 billion naira? Where is Ehime Mbano LGA’s   4.7  billion naira? What happened to Ezinihitte LGA’s  4.9 billion naira funds? What happened to Ideato North LGA’s  5 billion naira funds? What happened to Ideato South LGA’s   5 billion naira? Who squandered Ihitte Uboma LGA’s  4.6 billion naira? Who squandered Ikeduru LGA’s  4.9  billion naira? Why did Isiala Mbano LGA’s 5.5 billion naira developed wings? Why did Isu LGA’s  5  billion naira  funds developed wings? What happened to Mbaitoli LGA’s 5.9 billion naira? What happened to Ngor /Okpala LGA’s  5.1  billion naira? Who chopped Njaba LGA’s 4.8 billion naira? Who chopped Nwangele LGA’s 4.6  billion naira?

I am also asking : how did Nkwerre LGA’s 4 billion naira disappeared? How did Obowo LGA’s  4.4  billion naira disappeared? Where is Oguta LGA’s  5 billion naira? Where is Ohaji/Egbema LGA’s 5.3  billion naira? Where is Okigwe LGA’s  4.8 billion naira? What happened to Onuimo LGA’s 4.3  billion naira? What happened to Orlu LGA’s  4.7  billion naira? What happened to Orsu LGA’s  4.5  billion naira? Who chopped Oru East LGA’s  4,7 billion naira? Who chopped Oru West LGA’s 4.6 billion naira?  How did Owerri Municipal LGA’s 4.6  billion naira disappeared? Where is Owerri North LGA’s 5.1 billion naira? Who is holding Owerri West LGA’s   4.7 billion naira? Who is holding ISOPADEC’s 16 billion naira?

All the mentioned billions have been squandered by Okorocha. Another question remains: Is this man who deprived us democracy at the grassroots worthy to be elected democratically again? The answer is NO. Even Popular Ijaw leader  Chief Edwin Clark  recently called him  a very corrupt Governor who is ruling Imo with impunity. He told us that Okorocha’s  company was owing every bank to the extent that the CBN said no bank should lend him money again but 2 months after becoming governor, he paid all his debt. Where did he get the money from? Clark said

It has been our position that Governor Okorocha’s regime is drenched in corruption. Chief Clark  calling him  a very corrupt Governor is just a confirmation of our  long held position. We  know that he is irredeemably corrupt and lacks  integrity to continue to rule over Imo..

Since 2011, i have been fighting the anti poor, anti peoples policies of Governor Okorocha.. I wrote 212   articles/ advertorials  in several newspapers, online media and blogs against his policies  to the extent that  his government summoned me to various panels and secretly declared me wanted in the state. You can Google the articles. Efforts are on to incarcerate me like the way they did to Activist Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha and his wife. The plan is to dump me in cell till after 2015 election. They are holding Samuelson Iwuoha so that  document in his possession will not  get to the public. They know I also  have documents which I will release to the public  in various national dailies after the party primaries and bury them finally in 2015 so they are desperate to lock me up too.

As a man who has so much fought against Okorocha’s impunity in Imo State, i boldly say that one man among the lot in PDP contesting for  governor  can beat him  in 2015 and correct this mess that Imo is into. That one man is Dr Ikedi Ohakim. Many of those clamoring for Mr A and Mr B for Governor  in PDP today are sponsored to scatter the plans of PDP  in 2015 and keep Imo youths out of jobs again. How many of them jumping up and down now  can  boldly do what I have been doing since 2011?

I say bring back Ikedi Ohakim to help Imo to wrest power from the current band of marauders in Douglas House Owerri  and put in its place a working peoples’ government which will implement pro-masses policies as against the prevailing anti people, anti poor, pro-rich ,pro-imperialist cum capitalist policies of Rochas Okorocha. We want the 10,000 sacked workers back, we want the elected councilors and chairmen back, we want our development centers back , we want additional 150,000 jobs for Imo youths, we want our LGA systems back, we want our town unions back, we want Imo to work again.

Yes for the interest of justice, equity, law and order, the 10,000 graduate jobs, our dying civil service, labour force, market men and women and our dying school system lets bring back Ikedi Ohakim. Imo youths must regain their jobs. Let’s give Dr Ikedi Ohakim the needed support so that he can re- introduce his vision that obviously led to massive job creation, youths and women empowerment, industrialization, solid road construction, rural development driven by democratically elected local government system and environmental cleanliness that made Owerri the cleanest state capital in Nigeria during his time. We the youths don’t want to stay another 4 years in Imo without jobs. If we are pushed to the wall, we will embark on a people’s revolution targeted at the political elites in Imo for keeping us out of jobs since 2011 and trust me, I can champion this revolution.

(Uwadi, Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria)