Okorocha’s rescue mission: A paradox By Ekene Bob-Ekechukwu

When Owelle Ethelbert Anayo Okorocha a.k.a Rochas declared his interest to run for the governorship election in 2011, he captioned his campaign “Rescue Mission”. By this caption he made it abundantly clear that his mission in Douglas House was to free the common Imolite from the shackles of the bourgeois and political godfathers who had hitherto held the State hostage by suppressing the people and milking the Treasury. He firmly promised that if elected, he would grant free education from primary to tertiary education and ensure that the welfare of the masses are taken care of; while Imo State would be turned in to a “small London”. Based on these sweet promises, garnished with his fabled oratory prowess, Okorocha was able to hoodwink the naive people to support him as against the then Gov. Ikedi Ohakim who was out of favour with them.

Enchanted by Okorocha’s sweet tongue, the people rejoiced that a messiah had finally emerged. In addition, they were mesmerized by his seemingly philanthropic gestures orchestrated through the Rochas Foundation, which appeared as a charity organization for the less privileged. Unknown to the people, the Foundation was another business venture of the former Governor. Entranced by all these, all social structures in Imo like the churches, the Keke Riders Association, Traders Association, Workers, the Press, Transport and Labour Unions, even the ordinary man crowned him with many crowns such as , “the people’s Governor “, “Senior Advocate of the Masses”, “Grand Commander of Free Education “, and so on. Thus, riding on the back of the masses it was without much ado, that he defeated Ikedi Ohakim to become Governor in 2011.


Okorocha and his annointed son-ilaw
Ohakim’s surprising defeat was made possible by his perceived arrogance, especially the tactless and poor execution of his Clean and Green Programme which destroyed many properties and businesses. Howbeit, the last straw that broke Ohakim’s government back, was his flogging of a renowned socio-political activist, Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha and the viral allegation that he also beat up a Catholic priest. All these critical political misteps by Ohakim was what paved way for Okorocha to ascend the throne, howbeit, underservedly. The rest as the say is now history.


Few months in to his administration, Okorocha showed his true colours by baring his fangs on all those who aided his victory at the polls. He started with the impeachment of his Deputy, Chief Jude Agbaso, brother of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) stalwart, Chief Martin Agbaso, who practically singularly handed him the APGA guber ticket. Then he turned on the same masses that welcomed him as their messiah by introducing policies that brought severe hardship on them. He banned the same Keke Riders that sang his praise, he drove taxi drivers from business by introducing his personal businesses, the Imo Black Cab and Taximo. He fought with the churches whom he demolished their buildings through his poorly executed urban renewal programme. He divided the Press, by banning some journalists from covering government activities, while allowing some others.


Later he also pounced on the traders by demolishing market places and brutally depriving them a means of livelihood. Not yet satisfied with the level of damage he had done to the people and the economy, he went ahead to slash workers salary by paying them only 70%. He also sacked over 10,000 workers duly employed by his predecessor. The education sector was not left out in the devastation. Okorocha refused to inject more funds in the education sector as against international best practices. Instead he misappropriated funds meant for educational development in building substandard classrooms which ended up, in most cases, collapsing under harsh weather or deteriorating to a point it couldn’t be used again. Ofcourse those projects were aparently conduit pipes used in siphoning government funds.


His free education programme ended up a ruse, as it’s implementation was not holistic and effective. At the tertiary level the whole policy appeared to be a kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul, as acceptance fees in State owned Tertiary Institutions were hiked to 1000%. So that by paying it, students would have indirectly paid their school fees throughout the duration of their studies. This led to thousands of students dropping out since they were unable to pay the fees. Teachers’ welfare was not considered as they were abandoned, while being compelled to dress in uniforms like their pupils and students. As a result of mismanagement, the education sector also collapsed.


Under Okorocha, the economy of the State virtually crashed as nothing was happening. The ex-Governor preferred to invest billions of taxpayers money in erecting edifices such as monuments and statues when workers and pensioners were being owed and the people were starving. Several hundreds of pensioners and contractors died due to non-payment of their entitlements. Several billions were also wasted in the ill-advised urban renewal programme which ended up ruining good roads built by past administrations and replacing them with “China” roads, blocking the drainage systems, thereby causing unprecedented flooding of the city during rainfall. In fact it can be said with out fear of contradiction that Okorocha ran the most wasteful and clueless administration in the history of old Imo State. He immorally awarded plum contracts and gave political appointments to his siblings and in-laws.


Finally, he capped it all by attempting to install his son-in-law Uche Nwosu as his successor, an act which the people resisted with their blood, by voting in Rt Hon Emeka Ihedioha (Ome nke ahuru anya) as their Governor. In all, the people sadly, got what they did not bargain for. Judging from the recent revelations on what transpired under Okorocha’s regime, like the Zigreat- gate, the discovery of looted government property in All-in shop warehouse owned by Okorocha’s wife, the Okorocha’s properties acquired under questionable circumstances sealed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the missing bailout funds, the dubious investment in the non-existent Imo Air project, the empty treasury met by the new government, findings of the several Committees set up to that effect, and so on, it can be concluded that trillions of Naira were looted under the watch of Rochas Okorocha.


Based on the foregoing, One can now rightly ask, wherein lies the so-called “Rescue Mission” of Okorocha which he promised the people under oath? Taking a cursory look, at how he reduced governance in the State to a family affair and his failed bid to establish a political dynasty in the State, one can rightly say that Okorocha had put the people in “Egyptian” bondage. Instead of being rescued, the people rather became victims of modern day slavery, where their resources were being used to service the needs of one family, while they were expected to sheepishly look-on and just say “amen” to that. As time goes on, it has become crystal clear to the people of Imo State that indeed they were bewitched to believe a lie and that the Rescue Mission was nothing more but a paradox.



Barr Ekene Bob-Ekechukwu; bobekene@gmail.com