“Mere Change Is Not Growth. Growth Is The Synthesis Of Change And Continuity And Where There Is No Continuity, There Is No Growth.” — C.S. Lewis
INTRODUCTION
It was my friend and political ally, Rt. Hon. Eugene Dibiagwu, who represents the good people of Ohaji-Egbema, Oguta and Oru West federal consistuency in the House of the Representatives, who visited me in my Abuja residence on the 10th of March 2024 and delivered the well worded letter inviting me as a special guest of honour and key note speaker to this august occasion of the 2024 Diocesan Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Diocese of the Lake.
When I read the letter, certain things struck me. The quality of the letter, my relationship with the messenger, the quality of the message and coming from His Lordship, Rt. Rev. (Dr) Chijioke B. N. Oti. I could not decline. I was rather humbled. The letter of invitation described me as “a great Nigerian and foremost political leader whose contributions to national discourse has always been with a strong voice and as a former governor of our state whose achievements speak volumes”. The letter ended by saying, “The entire people of the Diocese on the Lake wish you robust health and long life as you continue to provide quality and exemplary political leadership to the people of Imo state and Nigeria”, even though my political competitors and enemies will not agree with you.
My Lord, the clergy and laity of the Diocese on the Lake, I sincerely appreciate the encomium you showered on me and the truth you have told about my service to our people. It was the legendry British statesman, Sir Wiston Leonard Spencer Churchhill, who served as Conservative Prime Minister twice – from 1940 – 1945 (before being defeated in 1945 by Labour leader, Celement Attlee) and 1951 to 1955, who said and I quote, “The truth is incontrovertible. Panic may resent it; ignorance may deride it; malice may distort it, but there it is”
Suzy Hassem, am American writer and philosopher in her book, Rise Up And Salute The Sun, argued that “Truth can only be seen by those with truth in them. He who does not have truth in his heart, will always be blind to her.”
Why did I accept this invitation after I had decided to put a temporary break to such invitations? It is on record that this is the number 15 of such lectures which commenced in Asaba in 2008 I accepted to deliver this key note address firstly because of the quality of the message and the messenger that brought it to me and, secondly, because of the relevance of the topic to the development of our state in particular and our country, Nigeria, in general.
The first thing that struck me about this topic is the opening word, CONTINUITY. The Oxford dictionary defines continuity as “The unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over time; the maintenance of continuous action to achieve a goal”. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as “uninterrupted succession or union; the lack of continuity means things going wrong”. The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the fact of something continuing for a longer period of time without being stopped”. Vocabulary.com says continuity “Has to do with consistency. Where there is continuity, there will be cohesion, consistency, durability, stability, unity, flow etc. When something is going well don’t break it, don’t interrupt it, don’t destroy it”.
This goes to show that the leadership of the Diocese very much understands and appreciates the importance of continuity not only in governance but also in life generally. It is not for nothing that all over the world, elective office holders are always given the option of going for a second term – in some cases more. Almost in all cases, the objective of having such provisions is people-centered, not necessarily for the personal aggrandizement of those in office or their cronies as is often erroneously held.
Since we are talking about our dear state, Imo, we would make illustrations with our own experience here. The current Fourth Republic began in the state with an administration that did eight years in accordance with the statutorily permissible limit. Governor Achike Udenwa might not have turned the state into an Eldorado but there can be no doubt that he cleared the ‘mess’ of the military boys and laid a good foundation for democracy.
My own administration, which took over from his, was expected to take it from there for the good of the state and its people and we set out doing just that, creating massive employment including 10,000 graduates who were absorbed into the state civil service and 30,000 non-graduates who were employed by the Imo Roads Maintenance Agency (IROMA) plus 5,000 teachers spread across the state. But we all know what happened. I was hounded out of office after my first term even after winning at the polls. At the risk of attracting some jibe even right here in this hall, I dare say that it was the hapless people of Imo state that bore the brunt of that perfidy, not Ikedi Ohakim. For example, IROMA was disbanded and the 30,000 employees thrown back into the labour market. The 10,000 graduate employees who were sacked without notice are from Imo state and they suffered the consequences of that mindless action. Some of them may be in this hall. Yes, the administration that followed mine did eight years but partly because of the crisis of transition from my administration to it and partly because it was ran without records and due process, the one that came after it had nothing to start with. In the first place, there were no handover notes from the outgoing one, that of Governor Rochas Okorocha, to the incoming, that of Emeka Ihedioha.
Upon realizing the enormity of the difficulties Ihedioha was to be confronted with under the circumstances, I took the decision to get close to his administration, ignoring all abuses from his handlers and close associates because I knew the need for continuity. Owing to the way Okorocha ran his administration, that is, without records, as already noted, and even after I had handed to him a more than 300-page hand-over note, I was the only person in the state that had an institutional memory of the government; beginning from when I took over from Udenwa. Therefore, I felt that it would amount to a disservice to the people to stay away from Ihedioha and his administration. Having handed over to Governor Rochas Okorocha and since I knew what was where before I left office, I knew I was going to be of assistance to the new administration if I came close to it; all that for the interest of Imo people and the need for continuity.
We all know what happened. On January 14, 2020, Ihedioha’s administration was cut short just after about seven months and our state was confronted with even a bigger challenge over lack of institutional memory. The administration that took over, that of Senator Hope Uzodimma, had nothing to rely on because, again, there were no hand over notes given the fact that Ihedioha did not even return to Owerri after the Supreme Court ruling in Abuja and as such, there was no hand-over note Uzodimma.
The situation became worse because for two consecutive transitions, there were no handover notes. Once again, out of patriotism, I was compelled to make myself handy but this time around more tellingly because I had for more than two decades shared the same vision with Uzodimma, beginning from when he first ran for the office of governor with me as his running mate. Moreover, I have said it severally that without prejudice to partisan proclivities, it is in the interest of the state and its people that former governors work closely with incumbents in order to ensure continuity.
Although political exigencies, especially in our own clime, would hardly allow that, something is definitely wrong in a situation where those who have had the privilege of being elected into such high offices end up as sworn enemies and which can only be to the detriment of the people. I am of the belief that continuity is derivable, even if informally, when past and serving governors have a window for comparing notes. Let me illustrate. When I noticed the way things were going under Governor Okorocha, I threw over board our political differences to write him private letters in which I pointed out certain things I felt were not proper in his administration; and that I did in the overall interest of our people. But his handlers misunderstood me and abused me to no end. They even leaked the letters to the press even when they were strictly meant for the governor’s consumption only – since I was not seeking to play to the gallery. I make bold to say that had Okorocha listened to me, he would have most probably avoided some of the mistakes he made and perhaps we would not have been where we are today.
Fully conscious, therefore, of the inexorable huge benefits of continuity and conversely, the incalculable damage the lack of it has done to Imo state and its people – whether physically, emotionally or psychologically – I needed no persuasion to throw my weight fully behind Governor Uzodimma’s bid for re-election for a second term. Governor Uzodimma’s bid was, of course, quite legitimate and not a few Imolites believed that he deserved to be re-elected because of his sterling performance in his first term. Even though full cognizance was taken of the fact that aspirants in the other political parties were also on a legitimate pursuit, and had to do things to sell their candidacy, some of us were not comfortable with the creeping in of dangerous political maneuverings, lies and destructive propaganda against Uzodimma.
Regardless that Uzodimma had a lot going for him, some of us did not want to take anything for granted. In fact, I had to write an open letter to the good people of Imo state in which I marshaled out why it was in the best interest of the state for Governor Uzodimma to be re-elected. That letter become even more compelling against the backdrop of a certain debate over whether the Imo Charter of Equity – which had just been dusted up – was to be put into effect beginning from 2024 – after Uzodimma’s first term – or in 2028 after his second term.
In the letter, I told our Imo brethren that it will take only a sitting governor, acting responsibly, for the Charter of Equity to work. I pointed out that insisting on the Charter taking effect from 2024 with Uzodimma on the ballot was a waste of time because it would be to Your Tents Oh Israel; a situation that might lead to the office of the governor returning to Orlu zone in 2024 and even beyond.
Let me quote from a portion of the letter where I gave other reasons why Governor Uzodimma should be re-elected. “… Given the current political cum socio-economic situation in the country, Imo state is not in the best stead for leadership change. Apart from the fact that the governor has performed quite creditably well in piloting the affairs of the state .. in his first term, he has this striking connection with the federal authorities that has yielded good dividends for the state and its people. We can, therefore, not afford to decouple that chain-link now by bringing in a new leadership arrangement in the state.
Needless to say, the existing cordial relationship between the state and the federal government can only be sustained through the current administration in the state. Any other thing is to force us, as a people, to start all over again and we can ill afford that. Another regime disruption at this point in time will surely not be in the interest of our people and will have more disadvantages than advantages”.
I then noted that even though Governor Uzodimma had not gotten everything right in his first term, “… he has crossed the learning curve and making incremental progress out of the current political and economic situation in the country”.As I have already noted, Uzodimma had a lot going for him and it was no surprise, at all, that at the governorship election on November11, 2023, he was over-whelmingly re-elected. Which leads us to the gains Ndi Imo should expect from the continuity that arose from Governor Uzodimma’s reelection, which is the second plank of this topic. But to be able to better appreciate the gains of continuity, even if potentially, it is better to illustrate with what the absence of continuity could give rise to.
· Take our Wonder Lake project at Oguta which my administration started. When we went to the capital market to raise the seed fund for the project, it was oversubscribed by Nigerians. That project, which was designed to create over 2000 jobs, was discontinued after I left office and the huge fund in the project account misapplied. If that project had not been abandoned, what the Uzodimma administration is doing today with respect to the Urashi River Dredging and Free Trade Zone project would have been complementary and a continuation of the Wonder Lake project and today, the benefits would have been enormous especially as it would have cost the state less. However, I feel quite vindicated that another visionary leader was able to see what we saw earlier.
· Another example is the 150-killometer Imo Free Way road project which commenced in this community, running across 15 local government areas and ending in Okapala. It was designed to make Imo a one city state and precursor to the Imo Light Rail project. We had gone half way with it before I left office but the project was completely abandoned by my successor. An integral part of it was the Inner Ring Road involving five flyovers in Owerri and we started with two. But since my administration was cut short, the project was abandoned by the administration that came after mine. The two flyovers along Orlu road and Okigwe road started by my administration are not in use today because they were declared unfit for human use by the Council of Registered Engineers of Nigeria (COREN). The administration after mine not only abandoned the original design but also went for substandard materials.
We can go on and on but the good news is that Imolites are seeing a remedy to those setbacks that arose after the political missteps of 2011. Governor Uzodimma was quite on track in his first term with his 3R mantra but what is more note worthy is that he put in place a wider socio-economic framework within which to further pursue his SHARED PROSPERITY vision in his second term
A big pointer to this is his 2024 budget proposal and which he aptly christened, “Budget of Renewed Growth”. Of the total of 582.2 billion naira budget, 491.2 billion naira, representing 82.9 percent of the total budget, will be for capital expenditure. This 82.9 per cent represents the highest allocation to capital expenditure in the budget history of the state. Such a gigantic allocation to capital expenditure is a clear indication that the governor is poised for a steadfast and unrelenting pursuit of his determination to stimulate and fast-track economic growth in the state. This very ambitious outlay for capital expenditure is part of a ten-year development plan which focuses on massive infrastructural development, youth empowerment, agriculture, education etc, as a paradigm shift for massive economic growth within the period under focus.
· The proposed sea access from Oguta Lake through the Orashi River to the Atlantic Ocean, which I have already mentioned, is one of them. The project has enormous potentials for a rapid transformation of not just Imo state but the entire Southeast. In furtherance to that, the Uzodimma administration has attracted foreign investments to the tune of 2.5 billion US dollars. I can state without any fear of contradiction that no new administration would have had the courage to continue the project and the contacts to attract the needed funds if we had voted Uzodimma out after his first term. One of the reasons I gave Ndi Imo on why Uzodimma should be re-elected was to ensure continuity by avoiding the abandonment of critical projects as Imolities had experienced earlier.
· There is the Skill-up Imo programme which has caught the fancy of global tech organizations. Reports have it that tech giants in Europe, Canada and Singapore have visited the 3R Digital Learning Centre in Owerri which has been described as a “Center of Excellence”.
· Under Governor Uzodimma, the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri was upgraded to the Federal University Teaching Hospital, preparatory to the take off of the College of Medicine of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. Similarly, the Alvan Ikoku Collage of Education was upgraded to the Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education. The coming of the Federal University Teaching Hospital brings to the tally two teaching hospitals in the state while the upgrading of Alvan Ikoku brings the number of federal tertiary institutions in the state to four.
As we saw earlier, one of the reasons I gave in my letter to Ndi Imo on why Governor Uzodimma should be reelected was that he has this rare relationship with the federal authorities. A new administration would by now still be knocking at the doors of the presidency. In the days ahead, the Uzodimma 3R administration is expected to see to the final takeoff of these institutions which will be made easier by the facts that the governor has the contacts.
However, it is not only on the tangible that the people are expecting to reap dividends of democracy from the 3R administration. In my open letter to Imolites earlier referred to, I drew the governor’s attention to the need to improve on the intangible component of governance; those things that cannot be seen, touched and felt, unlike roads, bridges, buildings etc.
I pointed out that the first step to take is to restore the trust of the people on government. The trust of the good people of Imo state in government was severally eroded long before Uzodimma came into office but since government is a continuum, the benefits of continuity will put the 3R administration in a good stead to restore that trust. The first four years gave both the people and those who man the 3R administration the opportunity to know themselves and discover areas of both strength and weakness. It only goes without saying that the second term will lead to more synergy between the government and the people with the attendant benefits.
Furthermore, the administration is expected to begin the rebuilding of elite consensus which broke down several years ago especially after the 2011 governorship election. An aloof elite is unhealthy for good governance because its members are the drivers of the communities where they come from.
However, expectations from our governor should not be anchored on perceived infallibility, bearing in mind that most of the things that determine a governor’s performance are not under his control. For example, there is an ongoing national economic crisis about which no sub-national government can come up with a solution on its own. Yet, you hear such things like, “it is only here in Imo” or “it is worse in Imo”. But the question we must ask ourselves is, are we playing our own part as indigenes or citizens? I have come across media reports which reveal that there are trader’s unions at the Relief and Ekeukwu markets in Owerri whose members hike he prices of tomato or pepper simply because the vehicles bringing them from the northern part of the country were delayed for a night or two due to one reason or the other. But should we even be getting pepper and tomato from outside? What happen to the backyard pepper farms cultivated by our mothers in those days?
CONCLUSION
Going back to our main topic of today, however, I am optimistic that the good people of Imo state will certainly reap the benefits of extending the life span of the 3R administration going by what we have seen in the course of this address. I have pointed out that the people of Imo state have for too long suffered the consequences of the politics of acrimony which is the main cause of unplanned changes in administrations. One of the major reasons why some of us look forward to a successful reinvention of the Imo Charter of Equity is that it has the capability of returning the state to the part of continuity.
It is expected that through it, those elected into the office of the governor may no longer be hounded out of office before the constitutionally permissible period, thus enabling them to pursue and consolidate their visions. As I have pointed out in this paper, a people have everything to gain from continuity and everything to lose on the contrary as our own experience has shown.
