The last time I checked, Imo remained a
specially and beautifully created state that every right thinking Nigerian
wished to be part of. Tell me; why wouldn’t you wish to be a part of a state
whose teeming subjects are ubiquitously reckoned to be doing very well in every
facet of human endeavour across the globe?
Imo is a great state, and her children are
as well doing greatly in all nooks and crannies; no doubt about that. This is
the reason every average Imolite is well respected not just in Nigeria but the
global community at large. Owing to this obvious fact, Imo citizens who truly
know their onions vehemently pray to find themselves as members of the state if
given the opportunity to embrace the world once again after their eternal
departure.
One remarkable feature of an Imolite, on
the average, is education. Needless to say that Imo indigenes naturally nurture
an unalloyed quest for education. And they are indeed well educated and
informed, to say the least. This is why, each year, candidates from the state
usually make the best results in various external examinations such as the
Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), and West African Senior
School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), among others. This could be what
informed Governor Rochas Okorocha’s determination to take education very
seriously the moment he assumed duty in 2011.
Lest
I digress; the bone of contention remains that Imo people in their entirety are
known as fully knowledgeable individuals, thus no one expects them to act as
less-privileged set of people, knowledge wise, regardless of the circumstance.
They are known to be highly cultured and guided individuals come rain come
shine. But pathetically, recently, some unscrupulous elements in the state made
up their minds to disabuse me alongside persons of like minds, of the notion
that Imolites are deeply ‘cultured and knowledgeable’.
Few weeks ago, the state’s Chief Executive
Officer, Chief Rochas Okorocha left the state for abroad. It would be recollected
that the governor’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS) Mr. Sam Onwuemedo informed the
people of the state, as courtesy demanded, that the governor was leaving the
state for a business trip. We were rightly told that the number-one citizen was
going to woo foreign investors to the state, the Eastern heartland, as he had
always done in the past.
Surprisingly,
few days after, the governor’s tour reportedly turned to something else. In
various quarters, it was rumoured the governor had been flown to India owing to
his alleged encounter with a ghost in ‘his office’. They further alleged that
the governor was slapped by the ghost. According to the anonymous
propagandists, the governor wasn’t just hospitalized in India; rather, he was
receiving treatment from an unorthodox centre. Subsequently, the rumour
transcended that the governor was ‘dead’.
Therein,
having forbidden the rumour, every phone call I put across to verify the
genuineness of the misleading information disclosed that Chief Okorocha was hale
and hearty. I didn’t stop at that; I had to use other reasonable channels
within my reach to ascertain the trueness of the clarification. As an analyst
and activist, I needed not to rely on mere speculations; suchlike act wouldn’t
only ridicule my person, but might end up taking my precious career into
extinction. And, such won’t augur well for me and my fans in general.
Furthermore, on Tuesday August 23, the governor proved the propagandists wrong
by arriving in the country safely and in sound condition.
By
virtue of our tradition as an Igbo nation, we were taught that wishing someone
dead isn’t just barbaric, dastardly and outrageous but evil and so forbidden.
And, to those of us whom are Christians, we were equally told by the Holy writ
that you dare not wish your fellow human being dead or ill, not even your
enemy. Rather than nurturing such absurd thought, you are required to pray for
his/her repentance if you feel they are not doing or living as expected. Even
if the governor was truly ill, why would we gloat over such ordeal? The truth
is that: the set of Imolites behind that ugly propaganda had really derailed to
have concocted such evil news let alone making it public. It’s even more
disheartening and alarming that the affected person is the executive governor
of the state. Honestly, we must sincerely retrace our footsteps in earnest
before we encounter our doom unannounced.
Lest
I forget, I however equally wish to use this medium to address some anomalies.
Tradition demands that if the governor or president of a state or country,
respectively, is embarking on a trip for any purpose whatsoever, his subjects
deserve to know where exactly he’s headed for, as well as what actually he’s
leaving for; if it’s a business/economic tour, what kind of business talks
would be involved and which country or province specifically would it take
place. The people also deserve to know when precisely their governor would
return to the state; in other words, they need to be intimated on how long, or
how many days/weeks the trip would last.
If the governor initially proposed to
return after five days or thereabouts, and along the line something came up or
another official engagement transpired, his subjects must be duly notified on
the elongation. As the state’s governor, it’s worth noting that he’s leaving on
behalf of the state, and not in his personal capacity; hence, the citizens must
realize where their governor is, at any moment, even if he has left for a
personal commitment. We must learn to keep the general public abreast of
happenings from time to time. Do not conceal any activity pertaining to the
state.
We must acknowledge that misinformation
could warrant anything; I’ve come to understand that, most times, speculations
among the general public are often attributable to inappropriate information. A
number one citizen of a state isn’t anybody that could travel unnoticed, thus
any of his proposed tour must be well publicized. Don’t attempt to keep his
teeming fans and subjects in the dark.
Now we
are all interested in redress. To this end, I appeal to Gov Okorocha to forgive
the propagandists and forge ahead since he wasn’t the first leader to suffer
such mayhem. The best revenge is always to just gladly move on and let Karma do
the rest. Think about it!
Comr Fred Doc Nwaozor
(TheMediaAmbassador)-Public Affairs analyst & Civil Rights activist-
Chief Executive Director, Centre for Counselling, Research
& Career Development - Owerri
_____________________________________
frednwaozor@gmail.com
Twitter: @mediambassador
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