A former Governor of Imo State, Ikedi Ohakim, in this interview shares his views on some national pressing issues including those affecting the economy, governance in Imo State, and Nigeria. Excerpts:
There has been a very noticeable absence of your Excellency in the state for quite some time, was it deliberate?
It was not deliberate. I have been away for routine medical attention. It was not something serious. It was just that I had appointments that came at long intervals and it would have been unreasonable for me to fly in and out. So, I had to stay back to try to keep all the appointments.
Apparently, that was why you were so conspicuously absent during the funeral of the late President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.
(Cuts in) It was something I regretted so much. I had really wanted to join millions of other Nigerians to bid our late indefatigable leader a big farewell.
But I followed everything. I really thank Nigerians for honouring Ahaejiagamba.
President Tinubu deserves a special mention for the concern he showed and for the huge presence of the Federal Government at the funeral.
Our governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, deserves a big commendation for the wonderful way he co-ordinated the entire thing, the same for his colleagues, the other four governors of the South East. They made Ndigbo proud.
In your absence, there have been some not so palatable developments in the state, does that bother you?
I can’t see any unpalatable things other than the general economic hardship that has enveloped the country as a whole and Imo is not an exception.
But there has been this spate of allegations against Governor Uzodimma by some stakeholders leading to counter allegations by some of his aides in his defense; it got to a point where there were speculations that a certain group was mounting pressure on the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor. What’s your take?
Well, I have read about all that. But the question you should ask yourself is what the bases of the attacks or allegations are in the first place? You asked for my take. My take is that the outbursts are uncalled for and are not in the best interest of the generality of the people of the state.
We are passing through a very precarious period. People are angry but the source of the anger is not Imo State. So, we shouldn’t cajole ourselves. Of course, we are in a democracy and people are at liberty to express their opinion.
Everybody has the democratic liberty to demand accountability from the government but we must be careful so as not to bring our state to ridicule and de-market it.
In as much as I recognize the right of the people to express their views, such views must be couched in a civil language. Nobody should resort to employing abusive language on the governor of a state.
It is not permitted no matter how bad things are. We must learn how to put our views and grievances across in a civil manner.
Resorting to name calling is not the best. Today, we are talking about investors. Nobody will bring his money to a place where there is no decorum. At the end of the day, it is not only the governor that will suffer it. Everybody will be the loser, especially the youth who are looking for employment opportunities.
“My take is that the outbursts are uncalled for and are not in the best interest of the generality of the people of the state”
There is this claim that the major issue is that the governor is not carrying the people along, including his appointees. There is also the allegation that most of the things he does are shrouded in secrecy?
I am not holding a brief for the governor but when you say not carrying people along, or that things are done in secrecy, he has a cabinet that is made of people from different parts of the state.
Have you tried to make inquiries about things from them and got rebuffed. We even have a House of Assembly made up of the representatives of the people.
There is an appropriation Law through which the budget can be monitored.
There is also the Freedom of Information Act through which anybody can get information on how the government is run. So, we can’t really be talking about secrecy in governance.
So, why are there talks about impeaching the governor?
That’s even more ridiculous. You don’t wake up one morning and start talking about impeachment. Imo indigenes are far more sophisticated and discerning than that type of thing. That’s not our style.
How many governors have been impeached in the country before? When they said I lost my re-election bid in 2011, those who were behind that perfidy made every effort to impeach me before the handover date on May 29.
They pumped money into the project but it failed because Imo people resisted it. You see, our elite should not take the people for granted. Imolites are very knowledgeable. They know the rules. The moment you mention the word, impeachment, they will laugh at you. They will then know that you are not serious.
I do not want to go personal but I would not pretend that I do not have a personal relationship with some of those who have made one public statement or the other. In any case, the same House of Assembly that will carry out the impeachment has just passed a vote of confidence on the governor.
Ordinarily, they are not the type of personalities you can tell, “go to hell” but they cannot also on their part resort to calling the governor names whether in public or in private. It is not allowed.
We must pay due respect to our leaders and like I said earlier, learn to channel our grievances properly and use the proper language. Each of those making some claims against the governor is a leader in his own right. They belong to the same political elite with the governor and all of us.
Is all this not playing politics?
Politics yes, but politics without decorum. I have caused myself to draw the governor’s attention to certain things. In my open letter to Imolites before the governorship election last year, I advised the governor on certain issues.
I didn’t have to insult him to be able to make those points and I believe that he appreciated them. I think that politicians, even if you are in the opposition, should develop the flair for putting their views across without sounding abusive or resort to name calling.
I don’t know where you were during the days of Governor Okorocha. I wrote him five letters to point at certain things that were going wrong. Even though I wrote to him privately, his aides leaked the letters to the press in order to have the opportunity to abuse me but nowhere in my letters would you find any abusive language.
The governor’s aides abused me in the media, called me names but I never responded. If they look back today, they will discover that the issues I raised were the very things agitating the minds of the people at that time.
Things like the demolition of the Eke-Ukwu Owerri market, demolition of people’s houses without compensation in the name of road expansion, crossing of Nworie River with ordinary culverts some of which collapsed shortly after and all the money invested went down the drains.
I can go on and on. But upon all the insults I received, I was able to put my message across without abusing the governor himself.
You can go to the archives to confirm what I have told you. When I noticed that some people were going to the press to insult Governor Okorocha publicly on some issues, I issued a statement warning that nobody should insult the governor of the state. I think that should be the norm. I am not saying that a governor is infallible but I can assure you that the moment you employ a certain language, you sell yourself out. The people would immediately realize that you are doing what you are doing for self-serving reasons.
I have been governor in Imo State. I know our people. Imolites are both self-respecting and respectable.
So, how do you think normalcy can be restored? How do you call for a truce? The governor is your friend, have you tried to reach him?
I don’t have to reach the governor because as far as I am concerned, he is not quarreling with anybody in the state. The governor has not even said anything. So, what am I calling him for? Is Governor Uzodimma quarreling with anybody in the state?
But his media aides have been fighting back on his behalf?
Is that not their job? It is their job to disabuse the minds of the people over allegations against their boss which they consider as false. That is quite normal.
If you don’t do so as an aide, you are failing in your responsibility.
But the important thing is that the governor himself does not see those attacking him as his enemies. You said Governor Uzodimma is my friend but some of those involved are also his friends. But back to your question about returning to normalcy, I would advise those friends of the governor not to overstretch the matter. Perhaps they have made their point. They should allow the governor to address the issues they have raised.
You see, what our people must realize is that no matter how badly you think a governor is performing; he or she will always have his or her own supporters who in most cases are in the majority. So, make your point and do not over stretch it.
“Each of those making some claims against the governor is a leader in his own right. They belong to the same political elite as the governor and all of us”
One of the issues being raised is that Governor Uzodimma stays outside the state most of the time; you think that’s not an important issue?
One thousand and one issues can be raised concerning a governor or a government but what is important is how they are raised. As I said, I cannot hold brief for the governor but when you say, he is out of the state most of the time, you have to show evidence that governance is not going on with his physical absence. I don’t think that is the case. In any case, I do not think we should make a song and dance of it. That is the nature of the system we are operating in the country right now.
For you to be able to make a point in that regard, you have to be able to do and publish a comparative study of how other governors are faring. I can tell you that some state governors fly in and out of Abuja on a daily basis. I am not justifying such practices but what I am saying is that we should be more scientific in our assessment of things. As I asked earlier, do we have evidence that governance is not going on in his physical absence?
These days, you can go through a memo and give approval without being physically present in your office as a governor. The world has gone highly digital.
In short, my take on this particular matter is that it is a non-issue. I even heard that some people gave the governor an ultimatum to return to the state within three days. That shows that they love their governor and that they want to be with him. And I think it is better that both parties see it that way.
You said there is no need to call for a truce but I know that many expect people like you to intervene?
What I am doing right now is an intervention; otherwise, I would not have started talking to you in the first place because I knew you people would raise this matter. Talking about a truce presupposes that there is a quarrel between the governor and those making some of the claims. I said I don’t see any quarrel. The governor has not uttered a word on the so-called allegations.
I think it is just sufficient to remind everybody that criminal elements may take advantage of the war of words in the media to further aggravate the spate of insecurity in our state, which will be of nobody’s interest. So, let me seize this opportunity to appeal to everybody to give peace a chance. We need peace to be able to attract investments that will give jobs to our young people.
We need peace to be able to cope with the harsh economic weather prevalent in our country. We need peace for everything. That is my message to everybody.
