Onwuasoanya FCC Jones, PhD
Tomorrow, the 14th of January will mark the 6th year since the Supreme Court delivered the powerful verdict that restored His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma to the governorship seat of Imo State, after an impostor had been there for about seven months.
Myriads of challenges, including; sponsored political protests, unending litigation, massive media campaign aimed at delegitimizing his administration, heavy debt profile of the State, dilapidated infrastructure and malfunctioning public service system, which saw to a seriously mutilated payroll system, ill-motivated workforce, years of unpaid pension arrears and workers’ salaries, corruption and reckless behaviour among political office holders, etc.
Also, the emergence of Governor Uzodimma coincided with many global and national upheavals, including, the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, which led to global shutdown of economies and many unprecedented disruptions to social, political and economic lifestyles of the people. At the national level, the immediate fallout of the COVID-19 shutdowns were numerous mass protests, the largest of which was the so-called EndSars protest, which threw the entire nation into a major security and social hiccup. Hoodlums seized the opportunity of what might have been a noble and justified response to reported cases of police brutality and abuse, to loot police armoury, raze police stations and even physically assaulted many police officers.
The immediate consequence of the criminal hijack of the EndSars protest included the ownership of arms by many hoodlums and a traumatized police force. This appeared to be the opportunity that some subversive elements, aided actively by desperate politicians, were looking for, as they seized the opportunity to instigate major criminal operations, especially, in the Southeast, with the formation of the terrorist Eastern Security Network (ESN) ostentatiously by Nnamdi Kanu and his IPOB, but with the obvious support and patronage of some desperate politicians who believe that the only way they could get back on the levers of power was by making Imo State ungovernable.
His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma CON, responded to these challenges with unusual calm and courage. No governor in the history of Imo State had been confronted with the level of challenges that were put on his way, but instead of complaining or surrendering to these challenges, he rolled up his sleeves, and faced them headlong.
From his first year in office, he set his focus on solving the most critical problems confronting the people, one step at a time. To motivate the workforce, he rolled out audacious but necessary reforms in the Imo State payroll system, which did not only eliminate all forms of corruption, but also guaranteed, timely and accurate payment of salaries and pensions to the State’s workforce, in ways that it has never been experienced before. Prioritising improved welfare for workers, the governor has continually designed and implemented workers’ friendly policies that put Imo workers at an enviable edge over their contemporaries across the Federation. Today, Imo workers are not only envied for enjoying some of the best working conditions of any State civil service in the country, but they are also the richest in the country, as they enjoy the highest minimum wage, with other perks, which even the Federal Government may not contemplate.
His social welfare programs are not restricted to civil servants and other levels of government workers, but he ensured that every Imo citizen or resident benefits from the government. Through programs like; the Imo Health Insurance Scheme, the governor ensures that no Imo citizen would suffer any form of medical deprivation for a lack of funds. Every Imo citizen or resident is guaranteed of free medical care for the most common ailments and seriously subsidised treatments for the most serious ailments, including, cancer. Pregnant women and nursing mothers do not need to worry about funds for their prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care. International and continental organisations have rated Imo favourably in the area of healthcare, as a result of the governor’s huge investments in improving the health sector in the State.
Seeing the huge booby traps placed on his way by hoodlums claiming to be Biafran agitators, the governor marshalled out a plan of action that, even though, tough and quite expensive, eventually brought to an end, the menace of insecurity across the State, and the Southeast in general. Today, the Southeast has reclaimed its glory as the safest geopolitical zone in the country.
He adopted a multi-pronged approach in his fight against insecurity. While deploying the necessary resources to equip our security agencies to effectively combat the criminals, the governor also invested huge resources to ensure that our youths who are the easy targets for crime, are productively engaged. Through numerous programs like the Skillup Imo, the governor has empowered thousands of youths with the skills and tools necessary for their survival in any environment. Today, Imo is probably, the State with the highest concentration of skilled youths, in the area of ICT, consequently placing us ahead of other States in the export of skills, not just within Nigeria, but outside it.
In the area of infrastructure, the governor jas been strategic as always. He had, within his first two years in office, amidst the financial crunch and other challenges, reconnected Imo to other parts of the country, by reconstructing, to the highest standard, the key roads that connect us to other States in the Southeast. He restored our pride as the Heartland of the Eastern region, by ensuring that the Owerri – Orlu and Owerri – Umuahia roads in the first instance, were awarded and fully completed, to the good use of Imo people. His achievements in the area of infrastructure, will take a big volume of book to document, and he might only be compared to Dee Sam Mbakwe of blessed memory for literally reconstruction and reshaping Imo into a modern city State. Or course, work continues.
As the governor marks his sixth year driving development, promoting prosperity and sharing joy to families in Imo State, Imolites are assured that there will be no relenting on his part in ensuring that every part of the State continues to receive his Midas touch of positivity.
IMO IS WINNING!
Dr. Onwuasoanya is the Special Adviser to the Governor of Imo State on Public Communication.
