28th May, 2019
Your Excellency, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, on 29 May, you shall be addressed as the Executive Governor of Imo State, but before I go ahead to give you my brotherly advise, I want you to while taking that oath remember (1) Your cap (2) remember May 29, 2023.
I shall in the course of this piece tell you why I said so.
I must be frank with you, Imolites did not place much expectation on you like they did to your predecessor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. The reasons are obvious. While in 2011, Owelle was seen as part of the common people and therefore was expected to deliver, you are being seen as part of the political class, even though you rose from a very humble beginning as P.A. to one of the top politicians just around 1999, same way Honourable Rotimi Amaechi rose from the ranks of P.A. to become a governor.
Now, you will do yourself good and write your name in gold if you would surprise them by being a governor of the people. And how do you become a governor of the people? You must prioritize the needs of the Imo people than feeding the political class in the name of politics.
They have in the past accused you of being stingy. In fact, in case they don’t tell you, the first negative thing anyone close to you that I have ever met would say about you, is that you are stingy. Please and please, now that the billions of Naira of the state would be under your control, continue in that stead, especially as it involves the resources of the state.
Your predecessor ascended the office on a very high popular scale and with a decent name, at least across the nation, except those who know him too well. But today, he is leaving the office an angry man, being hunted by the EFCC, party hierarchy, pensioners, civil servants and unimaginable high debt profile.
You must identify those things that made him fail as a governor and correct them.
In case you don’t know, as soon as you enter Government House, those you gave appointments will become your praise singers and would ensure you don’t hear any other thing than the praises they render to you. If I am lying, ask Chief Ikedi Ohakim and Rochas Okorocha how praise singers alienated them from the plight of the common Imolites.
Before you think that the task is onerous for you to accomplish, if you can be able to provide adequate and affordable housing, create a serene and secured environment, create the enabling room for businesses to thrive, create opportunities capable of empowering the youths, run an effective, well-coordinated education policy, open up and link up the roads to the extent that one can easily connect to every nook and cranny of the state from anywhere in the state, my brother that maybe enough to gain the hearts of Imolites.
You may say; where will you get the money to do all these things. Let me tell you, Anambra state under Peter Obi remains one of the flagship of how a responsible governance should look like. I am not saying you should be or do like Peter Obi, but if you can learn his style of prudency, Your Excellency, Sir, you will surpass him in terms of good governance delivery.
You cannot rebuild Imo alone. Thus the people you shall be recruiting to help you in doing these serious business of governance will either make or mar your 4 years stay at Douglas House. If you accept all manner of persons in the name of politics, you have started supervising your failure. Werekwa aka gihoochandiorugi.
And please as you are giving them those portfolios; remember to accompany it with the task they must fulfill with dates.
I will stop here, but remember that Rochas Okorocha, if EFCC permits him, will go a free man from May 29. The person that Imolites will now know is you.
Try your best to outdo your predecessors and in doing so, remember there will one day be May 29, 2023. What you shall do from now till then, shall determine whether you shall be the one taking the oath of office that day or not.
Remember also your symbolic green cap. Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety.
Therefore, make Imo green .
I wish you good luck.
Sincerely,
Francis Oha(AKA EGO)
([email protected])