By SAM ONWUEMEODO
Silver and Gold, l may have, but l won’t give any to Senator Hope Uzodinma on his 5th Year anniversary as the Governor of lmo State. But l have chosen to give him something that would be more meaningful to him and his government. Something that would be more result-Oriented.
The lmo Governor seems to hate his government. And it is important to let him know this. To know the need to begin to love the government he heads or leads.
In case the lmo Governor has not known or has not been told, his heavy knees are on the neck of his government. He should remove his knees from the neck of his government. He should allow his government to breath. To enjoy fresh air. He should give his government ventilation. The governor should grant his government “freedom”. If you like say, “amnesty”.
No government or administration survives or lives or makes wave or becomes popular without opposition and criticisms. Any administration or government that does not have opposition and does not get criticisms is only existing, but definitely not living. The difference between living and existing is that, existence does not guarantee much. Living guarantees a lot. Guarantees much. The 3R government in lmo has only been existing and not living and the governor, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodinma has been responsible. Don’t believe me, but that’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And only people like us can let him know this.
Opposition and criticisms could be adjudged the fastest or the strongest tools that connect the people or the governed with the government. No other factor does that as quickly as possible. In other words, only opposition and criticisms connect the government with the people with ease. Nothing else. Not even projects. Don’t believe me, but Mark my words.
In Africa in particular, the led or the people or the masses always have their reservations about anything government. About those in power or those in government. They usually take exceptions to government activities, whether good or bad. They have the phobia for anything government. They find it difficult to believe any information from the government’s side or from the government’s people. They take everything government with doubt. With pinch of salt. It’s not peculiar to lmo State. It’s a common thing here and there.
The only way the government takes care of these idiosyncrasies or overtures or untoward developments is by allowing opposition and criticisms to blossom or to thrive. To flourish.
Nobody believes the government when the information is only coming from that angle. When the stories or claims continue to come only from the government or from the people in government. Nobody takes them serious. Nobody reads them. The people see the whole thing as boring or as cock and bull. Don’t believe me but that’s the fact. The truth. The whole truth. And this attitude might not be out of hatred or dislike, but natural. It’s atmospheric. It’s in the air.
This scenario has remained the lot of the government in lmo today. And the Governor is responsible. Any government without opposition and criticisms only exists. Not living. Such government is on its own. Very lonely in actual fact. Solo. This may sound strange or awkward, but that’s the fact.
What the 3R government hadn’t achieved in terms of hooking up with lmo people, it achieved with Dr. Fabian lhekweme’s criticisms of the governor and his government. And l had had to explain this in one of my recent outings. Ihekweme had descended on the governor and the government he leads. And l had told the Governor’s people to leave lhekweme as a person and address lmo people or the public, leveraging on the man’s claims. Calling lhekweme ugly names was a deliberate waste of God given opportunity or time. I told them to target or address lmo people who own the government. Some of them didn’t understand. They began to attack me. It took the coming back of the governor to factor what l was saying. To dramatize what l had advocated. And the results were apparent and amazing.
As governor Uzodinma was moving around and talking about his government and its activities, and without even mentioning lhekweme, the same people who were reading and listening to lhekweme were reading and listening to the Governor. It was a good incident. The reason l had described the Governor on the issue as the game changer. Unfortunately, the governor also, on his own, destroyed or submerged that golden opportunity with the arrest and detention of lhekweme. And the government went back to square one. The flame was extinguished.
Since lhekweme was removed from the scene, people are now more afraid to criticise the governor and his government. And they have equally lost interest in whatever the government has been doing more than they had done before now. The governor won’t expect to hear this, from those working with him and those expecting to work with him sooner or later. He can only hear this kind of “deliverance message” from people like the writer who they have also seen as someone who has no inheritance in the son of Jesse. But to GOD ONLY BE THE GLORY. We are all PENCILS in the hand of the CREATOR. Absence of opposition and criticisms are the worst developments that have eaten deep into the fabric of the State government. Confronting the 3R administration. Nobody should believe me. But that’s the situation. The government is totally disconnected from the people because the things that would have connected the government and the people for good, aren’t there.
Aren’t available. The things that prepare the ears of the citizenry for the government are not available. And that’s, criticisms and opposition.
Government isn’t a church service where the congregation would always listen to the priest every Sunday and go home at the end. Even, beyond the Sunday-Sunday services the churches have other activities where worshippers could freely talk. Exchange views or opinions.
In the case of the government, how does it exchange views or opinions if not to allow opposition and criticisms to flourish?. Anybody who loves governor Uzodinma and also loves his government, and who would like posterity to be lenient to him now and after his governorship, should join to ask him to throw the door of his government open for massive criticisms. Let the remaining three years of his administration be seen as criticisms galore.
I had done what l am preaching now. When l was Owelle Rochas Okorocha’s Media Manager. Ugly pictures had been painted for Okorocha about opposition and criticisms. And these developments gave room for unfounded rumours. Because when you isolate a governor and his government from opposition and criticisms, you have given room for unfounded rumours. For imaginations. And some aides can be termites or bed buds or bees or dogs in a manger for selfish reasons. They care less about the fate of their principal and the government he leads, during and after the government.
I had put Okorocha’s government on a stretcher or on a platform for unrestricted criticisms and opposition. With that, rumours were dealt with once and for all. PDP was stronger under Okorocha’s government than it was when the party was in government in the State because they were allowed or encouraged to mount unprecedented opposition and criticisms against Okorocha and his government. The leadership of the Catholic Church became strong critic of Okorocha and his government. Ditto, the lmo branch of the Nigeria Bar Association. And the lmo NLC under Comrade Chilakpu. The Hot FM radio was almost declaring State of Emergency in lmo. One Alex was “hamas” to Okorocha and his government. Uche Ogbuagu and his My Radio, became “Hezbollah” to Okorocha and his government. We had to be paying through our nose for our programmes to be aired on Hot FM in particular. All these helped to strengthen Okorocha’s government and connected it with every home in lmo.
Today, nobody talks about those criticisms and opposition, but what Okorocha had done while holding forth as lmo Governor . That’s the case. You remove the shine off your government when you becloud or torpedo opposition and criticisms. When you submerge opposition and criticisms. The government becomes tasteless. Only existing commodity.
The governor should bring his government out from the cage. From the guard room. From detention. Out from the “tiger base cell”. The governor has been keeping his government in detention and indeed, unknown to him. They won’t tell him. It’s only men and women of good tidings or good conscience like yours faithfully who can tell him all these. He’s the one holding his government hostage. Hindering what should have added beauty or glamour to his government. No government shines or illuminates without opposition and criticisms. You diminish the worth of any government by protecting it against opposition and criticisms.
This is January 2025. For the next three years, the governor should bring out his government for “butchering”. He should donate his government for hard kicks. For rough tackles and watch events as they unfold. The beauty or the aura is in opposition and criticisms. That’s the attraction. The governor has removed the attraction. The government is not attractive. Government officials are not also attractive because the ingredients of attraction have not been there. Attractive government gives birth to attractive government officials. I know that with this, l have further incurred their wrath. They would continue to isolate me and the newspaper l publish. But it does not matter. God is still on the throne and we shall continue to clap for Jesus. Every day, governor said this and Governor said that; Imo government said this . Imo government said that, and nothing in the contrary. Nothing in diversity. No balanced diet . It does not work. It only enthrones an atmosphere of boringness. Atmosphere of lacklustre. Atmosphere of do-not-mind-them or we-don’t-care attitude on the side of the citizenry.
The governor should order for the release of lhekweme. And also declare that he has thrown his government open for opposition and criticisms. Whether constructive or unconstructive it does not matter. The governor should take all. He should develop thick skin for all kinds of opposition and criticisms. The people would equally know when anybody has gone berserk or haywire or antagonistic unjustifiably. The greatest disservice the lmo governor would be doing to his 3R government is to continue to hide himself and his government against opposition and criticisms. He has three years to correct this worrisome error. To do the needful.
The governor should not believe me if l tell him now that his government is on the right track, without opposition and criticisms. That’s not my kind of journalism. If such is written with my name attached, he should know that my number has been hacked. Hacked by either by beloved brother, Chief Oguwike Nwachukwu or by Sir Modestus Nwankpa. The only oil that lubricants the engine of every government is opposition. And Criticisms. Any development in the contrary is stifling. Damaging.
We all know that the powers of a State Governor are enormous. But the best advise is that, any governor who wants or who desires to fly like an eagle should ignore such powers, because such powers are made for man and not man for them.
In case the lmo governor does not know, if the nation’s law or constitution says or stipulates today that whoever should absorb or allow more criticisms and opposition whether constructive or otherwise, would become the Governor of his or her state, the number of people who would say, criticize us or even abuse us every second, but let us be the governors of our respective states would be overwhelming. Enormous. Uncountable.
Let me also write this and on a very serious note. On Thursday, January 16, 2025, lmo State University had its 32nd inaugural Lecture. The lecturer was Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri. The venue was the University’s auditorium. The crowd was massive with men and women from all walks of life in attendance, including politicians of note.
Not less than eight Vice Chancellors from other Universities in neighbouring States attended. Judges, past and serving, from lmo and other states, including a Supreme Court Judge came . Senior and junior Lawyers from lmo and beyond came. Captains of industries from here and there and well known Archbishops and Bishops were in attendance. And other religious leaders. Traditional Rulers of various classes from lmo and outside lmo attended. Present and former Senators; Former Speakers. Former Ministers. Former Governors. Ikedi Ohakim came with the wife. Okorocha came. It was a galaxy of men and women of substance.
That’s the kind of crowd any serious government would have loved to address. Would have loved to talk to. But guess what?. The lmo Deputy Governor’s son came to represent the lmo State Government. The deputy governor’s personal Assistant. Her son who is her P.A. came to represent the government of lmo State. And he was swallowed by the scenario. He sat down quietly on his seat until the event ended and he left as he came. The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Johncliff Nwadike came, but not as the government or Governor’s representative.
I do not understand why someone in the protocol list of the government could not have been sent to represent the governor or the State Government in an event of that nature, if the governor and the deputy governor were indisposed. Could not come. The Secretary to the State Government would have made do.
In such colourful and high-class gathering, the government would have told the fat and rich audience what it had done in IMSU and in other lnstitutions in the State. And what the government had done in the education sector generally. That wonderful opportunity was missed and there should be no acceptable reason or reasons for that. We are talking about progress. How to win without shooting an arrow. Without horses or chariots. The auditorium was full to capacity and the overflow. Very highly quality crowd.
Whatever might be the case, WE SHALL CONTINUE TO CLAP FOR JESUS.
