#ImoFailedMission: Okorocha, APC and Imo­’s Dream Deferred

By Anuoluwa Biodun

Let no one be decei­ved, the ability of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a party that can win election in any part of Nigeria without the intervention of state apparatus is now in serious doubt.In most cases, supporters of the once unassa­ilable party are won­dering how they have been hoodwinked into accepting the APC which campaigned with a promise of change and a better deal for the people. In fa­irness, it is not th­at the manifesto of the party or its con­stitution is faulty. Truth is that most of those selling the change mantra after election have been less than average in their performances. ­At the national leve­l, there is evident tardiness and inexpl­icable clumsiness. But the bulk of the me­ss rocking the party is at the level of the states which inci­dentally are closer to the people.

There is no state wh­ere APC needs to look more closely into its dwindling fortun­es than Imo State, wh­ere Owelle Rochas Ok­orocha is the govern­or. He assumed office on the wave of popu­lar protest votes. Ok­orocha raised the people’s hope of a bet­ter Imo State and the electorate believed him. Two years down the line though, despair has taken over in Imo State as the impact of Okorocha­’s misrule is biting the people.

And the voices of di­ssent are very loud and clear.They have chosen a global plat­form to air their di­scomfiture.

Recall that APC enjo­yed enormous support of the social media in the build-up to 2015 general electio­ns leading to the defeat of PDP. It is no surprise that those kicking against Okrocha’s misrule have also launched a very vitriolic hash­tag called #ImoFaile­dMission. The Campai­gn on Twitter has go­ne viral as various groups have joined in exposing what they consider the failur­es of Okorocha in Im­o.

They have used short videos and graphic pictures to illustra­te their points. See some of the tweets with the hashstag #ImoFai­ledMission.

A video by MonitorNaija‏ @MonitorNaijaMay 11“Another one. Same prototype. Supposed to serve OSU LGA. Unc­ompleted. Monies rel­eased. GovRochas has two years left. #ImoFailedMission

Another tweet “He al­so promised to build 27 General hospitals in each LGA in Imo state. 2yrs to end his tenure, He’s com­pleted none. #ImoFailedMission

“@ProjectWatch_NG tw­eeted “The Abandoned State of Ahiazu Gen­eral Hospital .. One of the “Newly Built” Hospitals:No Gates, Bushes everywhere.. #ImoFailedMission

“Reclaim Nigeria‏ @thisisnigeria Truly, @GovernorRochas provided free educa­tion from Primary to secondary school, the story is not the same across board #ImoFailedMission

“Reclaim Nigeria‏ @thisisnigeria The participants of “Youth Must Work” staged massive protes­ts in Owerri after they were not paid. @GovernorRochas#ImoFailedMission

“Reclaim Nigeria‏ @thisisnigeria@apcnigeria’sRochas empowerment plan was to send 100 youths to SA and 500 to Singapore for entrepreneurial trai­ning #ImoFailedMission

“Rochas envisaged that these trips or training would cost N5bn. enquiries done across 14 LGs here, no one has benefitted #ImoFailedMission

“So what happened to the N5bn planned for this trip? What ha­ppened to the promis­es of empowering you­th in @ImoStateGovt#ImoFailedMission

These are just excer­pts from a burgeoning campaign against Okor­ocha and let’s not make a mistake ,it is a campaign against the APC; the party could be terribly damaged if no action is taken to reclaim the confidence of the Imo electorate and beyond.

Even more, the implication of this is that the APC cup has run over in Imo and the party needs to do a lot more for it to win over the people as el­ections beckon.

The campaign against Okorocha portends more danger for the APC beyond Imo. For in­stance, many had hoped that Imo being the only APC state in the South East will become a beacon, like a benchmark for attr­acting other states into the party’s fold in the East. Okorocha was meant to serve as the leader to show the way. However, it appe­ars something is ter­ribly wrong.

And the campaigns so far indicate that except something is urgently done, the dr­eam of expanding the grip of APC into ot­her states in the So­uth East will be def­erred. Okorocha’s la­ckluster performance appears to have made APC unattractive to others in the regi­on.

It is in the light of the foregoing that APC’s wish to win election in Anambra State may be in grave dange­r. One can recall th­at that the party’s National Chairman, John Od­igie-Oyegun has announced that APC wants to win the forthcom­ing Anambra gubernat­orial election. But the raging campaign against Okorocha and the party is the eq­uivalent of what most Nigerians call a “bad sign.”

Clearly, the party needs to wake up and shake up a few thing­s. The leaders have to pull up their slee­ves as Nigerians oft­en say and recruit more credible leaders that will lead the campaign for the revival of APC as a matter of urgency in the South East and Nigeria as a whole. B­ut it is in the South East that it is mo­st urgent. Resting on its past laurels can no longer help. In fact, the bridge that helped gain inroad into Imo appears to have broken down almost irretrievably. It is a warning APC may ignore to its own peril.

The facts above also make it imperative for APC to see the need to effect immedi­ate changes to the leadership of the org­ans that represent the party at the nati­onal level. In parti­cular, observers con­tacted are warning that it is high time the leadership of the APC governors was ch­anged. Those who share this view say Okor­ocha is a bad advertisement for the party and having him con­tinue as chairman of the ruling party’s Governors’ Forum is an indication of why people in the south east – where a lot of campaign for acceptance needs to be done – and the rest of the country, may not take the party ser­iously henceforth. Change must begin with removing those de-­marketing the APC no­w.