Prince Marshal Okaforanyanwu was the former Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and All Progressives Congress, APC, in Imo State and now a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In this interview with our correspondent Johnkennedy Uzoma in Owerri, he spoke about the victory of his party in the last governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state and expectations from the incoming government.
How would you describe the declaration of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, as winner of the governorship election in Imo State?
First and foremost, I am happy that Imo people have embraced a change with their whole heart because in the last eight years, Imo people have witnessed a lot of administrative incoherence, inconsistency as well as very visible brigandage here and there. But by the grace of God, those things are of the past now. I am very happy not only because of the change that has come but because God has ushered in a man, who has the magic wand to transform from nothing to something. We now have a man, who is a sound-minded administrator and a legislator, going by his records and his antecedent; a man who became a legislator in the Green Chamber from a legislative aide. He equally became a principal officer in the same Green Chamber and before exiting; he became a deputy speaker, showing that he is a seasoned administrator. So, God has given Imo people a man, who will turn around their sorrows and wipe away their tears. Before now, nobody believed it would happen that way because the incumbent and the outgoing governor has all it takes in terms of both financial and thuggery muscle to achieve his ambition but God turned everything around. Governor Okorocha appeared to be the champion but God said no to it and Imolites have been vindicated
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No doubt there appears to be high expectations from the incoming government, what is your take on this?
Well, as an individual, I chose to work with Hon. Ihedioha because when I discussed with him, I found him very convincing. He is really sound academically and administratively. Yes, I asked him the same question because I am aware he has come to meet a decayed environment. You can bear with me that Imo already is at the verge of rottenness but I believe that God has given Ihedioha the mantle of leadership to do well and I know that he will not fail the people of the state. What he needs to do first is to start counting one before two.
Today, there has been barrage of litigations from the same people, who do not want Imo State to move forward and I see no reason anybody could raise up his ugly head against Ihedioha, probably to stop Imo from moving forward. Secondly, he has to be sure he appoints people, who actually worked with him and those who are used to the system and not the usual old folks, who are unproductive; not the regular brand of politicians, those who believe in feeding their stomach. What Ihedioha needs to move Imo forward is to look for people, who believe in him, people with sound character, who are part and parcel of his victory to ensure that Imo realises her old glory. He also most importantly, needs to learn from his predecessor. He must be careful not to bring someone, who studied Animal Husbandry to become a commissioner for finance in the state. It would create a serious lacuna. It must be people, who have sincerity of purpose for the state and must be people, who are hungry for the development of the state. There is already a lot of hunger in the state because a lot of people have been displaced by the current government. The artisans, the mechanics, traders and the craftsmen, among others have all been displaced and nothing is moving and because of that, the incoming government must see ways to bring them together again. Today, markets in the state have been destroyed and because of that, one finds it difficult to buy foodstuffs within the city unless you go to those markets at the outskirts of the city, such as Obinze. I sincerely believe that Hon. Ihedioha, as a man with listening ears, would set up a reconciliatory organ or institution that would be burdened with the responsibility of talking to Imo people, getting their feelings on what they want. I believe that if this is followed, the old order of Imo State will return.
What do you have to say about those contestants, who have gone to court to challenge Ihedioha?
I actually feel very sad but I am happy also that among all the contestants, God has anointed the best. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is an anointed David because going by all standards academically, administratively, he has represented larger constituency before becoming the deputy speaker where he represented the entire South and came out without blemish. If he were not a seasoned administrator, he would not have made it. Because when he represented Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency, he never dreamt of becoming a deputy speaker, but because of his sagacity, it earned him the love of his colleagues in the House of Representatives to make him deputy speaker.
Today PDP in Imo State is coming back, as the party in power. Are you comfortable with the development?
What this means is that Imo people have been married to both the opposition and the party in power and today they now know the one that is better. Even though I was the former chairman of a party in power but I opted out because of the maladministration. PDP under Mr. Ezekwem has done very well and under his watch, the party has done well, having gone through the party primaries that gave rise to the victory of the party in the governorship contest. If he has not done well, Hon. Ihedioha would not have made it. PDP today in Imo State is no more a party for the hijackers and I am very sure that the party under Mr. Ezekwem would continue to do well and if a party is doing well, its flag bearer would borrow a leaf from the party
As a party stalwart, would you subscribe to the probing of the administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha?
Obviously, one thing is sure. Remember it is people that would determine what you have done. I was part of the previous government; though when I was there, things were not the way it is. If Imo people have rejected Okorocha, it means that he has not done well. The people during the last election cried out that he (Okorocha) failed and he never enjoyed any good relationship with the people of the state. Imo within the period in view has received over N500 billion and so he would have to explain to Imolites what he has done with the money.
In the health sector, he has failed woefully. Before his emergence, there were existing hospitals and people have been going there for medical attention before he came in with his lofty methodology, claiming he wanted to revamp the health sector and agricultural sector. Meanwhile, his revamping agriculture has led to throwing away Adapalm and making Avutu poultry Obowo moribund. Today, you cannot access the Teaching Hospital at Orlu that was established by former Governor Achike Udenwa. Before installation, most of the machines, including MR machine, have rotten inside the container. These are some of the things that are continually yearning for answers. So, he must give account of them. You are aware that when Governor Rochas Okorocha came on board as governor, he set up panel of inquiries to probe former Governor Ikedi Ohakim. He must equally give account of his stewardship. It is not in any way witch-hunting. He must give account of what he inherited and what he is handing over to the incoming governor to enable him know where to start and how to go about it.
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Which particular area would you expect the incoming government to focus?
First, there is infrastructural decay. Hiding under the same assertion, I also want the governor-elect to look into human capital development. Imo people are dying of hunger. There is need for the incoming government to recover the state as a mono economy as the only thing that would make Imo get back to her original state. There is need for revamping of Imo in the sense that most of the people have been deprived of their values and such has led to untimely death of many people. As it stands now, most people are sleeping under the bridge because they do not have houses where they sleep. For example, at the mechanic village, a lot of people were living there until Governor Okorocha destroyed the place. So, the governor-elect should set up panel of enquiry to bring them together.
Finally I would not want Ihedioha to start pursuing Okorocha immediately; rather he must set up panel of enquiry because there could be detractors and bad advice coming from people. So, Ihedioha must recover whatever that belongs to the state through the panel. While the incoming government must recover the state because Imo is already decomposing, he must not abandon his assignment to better the lot of Imo people. God has already anointed him to recover Imo State. Let him look in-depth. There are a lot of credible men to appoint that would assist him to recover the state so that at the expiration of the four years tenure, the sky would be his limit.
