It hurts that our dear Imo State, the eastern heartland, is in limbo. It is not our making but it has become our cross, our ordeal. It is evidently clear that something is not right somewhere about our State when one compares the pace of development in other States.
Faulty leadership is the reason why Imo State has continued to grope in the dark. Many will agree with me that since 1999 democratic rule berthed on our nation, governance has not been so satisfactory in the State.
We have seen different patterns of governance. From the absurd to the bizarre! We elected some of them and some of them have no business to be on the sit of governance in the first place. It’s a mixed grill.
Imo has not had it so good. We have been unlucky with the quality of State governors we have elected since 1999. And I stand to be contradicted. Those who brandish construction of roads and bridges as indicators for performance miss the point. They are short sighted or myopic. Provision of basic infrastructure is key in governance. In saner climes, it is not an issue worth campaigning for. It is a debt those elected into office owe to the electorate, And such promise they fulfill.
No State Governor needs to be clapped for, simply because he provided critical infrastructure such as roads and water for the people who voted for him. No Governor is worth celebrating for paying salaries of workers and pensions of pensioners. These are their core mandate. Their constitutional assigned responsibility. Governance is not about building roads or paying workers salaries alone. These are responsibilities of any serving State Chief Executive. State Governors do not get awards and applause because they paid salaries. But in Imo, it is sing song for those who lead us.
Imolites cannot satisfactorily single out any administration that really made an appreciable impact in governance. We can measure indices of success based on performance in various sectors -Health, education, etc. How have these sectors fared since 1999? Has Imo State progressed in these sectors in the past 15 years?
With over N1 trillion that has trickled into the State as allocations to the State treasury since 1999, it is not commensurate with the level of development. Pronto!. Ebonyi State was created in 1996 and as a non oil producing State, it has exceeded Imo in terms of development and economic growth. Some other States with less population, less income has performed far better.
Why has Imo continued to lack behind? Who is to blame and why is it so. We really need to pause and ponder.
“With over N1 trillion that has trickled into the State as allocations to the State treasury, it is not commensurate with the level of development. Pronto!.”
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