What is bad is bad and what is bad in the south east now is the leadership. That the ordinary Igbo man is hard working and trying his best to make something out of life is not in doubt. Yet the potential of the igbo nation remains largely untapped because the LEADERS have refused to create the enabling environment. Especially, when you compare Igbo land with other parts of Nigeria, you debase its potentials for greatness. There is nothing that says the Igbo nation cannot set the pace in Nigeria and hasten other regions to achieve greatness. But with the kind of hollow characters you have in government in the south east (with the exception of few) you have a groundswell for misgovernance and backwardness.
As it stands currently, the resources coming to South Eastern states are not being applied for its development and that has continued to drive our people out of the region into other regions and countries where our people now constitute the building block and the engine room for their development. Igbo governors steal money belonging to south east people to go and invest in private businesses in other parts of the world. One primitive one I learnt even went to build a university abroad while another one who is noted for his voodoo prowess and his son has industries built in Lagos and Ogun after looting their state for 8 years. Some of their appointees and legislators have not done any better; they have not only gone along with some of these primitive governors to invest their looted funds abroad, they have also refused to tell them to develop infrastructures in the south east. Thereby helping others to develop whilst the south east is left to decay.
They like It when secessionists gets the people distracted and failed politicians make everybody believe that Buhari and the federal government is their problem. Meanwhile, everything due to the South East in terms of allocation and infrastructure from the federal government they have been getting. They will rather pocket and share amongst themselves than develop ala Igbo. They are not only wicked, they are evil.
The federal government have not stopped any of them from building quality roads in their states, they did not stop them from bringing private investors to develop Azuinmiri seaport, build south east railways, Onitsha inland port, Abakiliki dry port, Uguta inland port, Enugu dry port, Akwa Aeropolise and Export Zone, Ngalagu cement, South East Gas pipeline, 50 ring power beds that will take the zone away from the epileptic national power grid. Federal government did not stop them from bringing foreign investors who are everywhere looking for serious minded business proposals that will encourage them to develop any geography that is ready for business and of which the ordinary me Great Imo knows many. Federal government did not stop South East governors from paying workers salaries. Rather, Buhari gave them bailout to pay workers, in addition to Paris Refund they got. They looted all of it and then turned around to tell Ndigbo that Buhari is their problem. One of them once queried the foremost Abia industrialist for building an industrial estate in his state. That is how wicked they are.
It does not matter how much you try to paint the situation, those who left the region and those who have refused to return to invest in it have first hand experience and cannot be deceived.
The truth is that we must call out our LEADERS and must hold them accountable. With the exception of individuals like Dr. Uche Ogah, Peter Obi, Dave Umahi and few others, we have had bad LEADERS in the last 20 years. Especially, Abia state has been the worst hit and the one that is governing the state now is the worst misfortune; he has a PhD but he is ignorant, primitively corrupt, inept and visionless. In the last 4 years he has received over 500 billion naira but have ended up plunging the state into economic woes and infrastructural disableness. A state with greater potential than Lagos, neighbouring 7 states, with potential for a seaport and quality land for agriculture, industrial productivity, artisanal manpower and new city development around the designated Enyimba Economic City.
If the Igbo nation does not wake up and face this characters now, it is a matter of time before the region becomes a reference for backwardness. To pretend that we are good at the pace we are going is to say the least most unfortunate. Especially when we begin to compare ourselves with people we should be naturally better than, we give room for future disasters.
At least within the framework of our current democracy and the limits of our constitution we can craft a vision for ourselves, develop a master plan, set our own standards, build world class infrastructure, equip our children with world class education that can guarantee them jobs anywhere in the world, make the South East a home for investment and pleasure, and ensure maximum security of lives and properties.
All the agitators and activists in the south east should focus their energy now on how to ensure that our local government chairmen, legislators and governors perform their duty. We must begin to ask questions and scrutinise income and expenditures. The outrageous cost for building a substandard kilometre of road and patching potholes in the South East must be reviewed. Ghost workers must be exorcised and real workers paid living wages as and when due, with job target well defined and Expected Role Performance well explained.
Lastly, we must stop respecting characters who have supported bad LEADERS and are in cahoot with them in the squandering of the resources of the Igbo nation. I mean we should start disregarding royal fathers, pastors, retired generals/officers and good for nothing old men who claim to be LEADERS in the south east but cannot reprimand our misbehaving governors. Only those who have shown their capacity for honour should be accorded such honour and we should know them when We see them. We have had honourable men like Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, Sam Mbakwe and their likes amongst us, we cannot afford to end up tolerating “ndi okenye ojoo” in our own time. Nobody praises an armed robber and his collaborators for robbing him; it doesn’t matter if the armed robber came wearing political agbada, royal regalia or clergy cassock. Anybody who want honour amongst us must merit it. We cannot continue to eulogize mediocrity and expect to make progress.
Especially with the class of youths that dot our spaces now we need to do something fast before our region becomes absolutely debased. The time for tolerating nonsense should be over, this should be the time to retrieve Igbo land from primitive characters and build it into a great geographic space.
God Bless Ala Igbo!
Great Imo Jonathan