Governor Okorocha,Ohakim ,Udenwa
If there is one subject that has generated much heat in the capricious Imo polity in the countdown to the 2015 general election, especially among members of the dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it is the Imo ‘Charter of Equity’. This is a pact supposedly made between the three senatorial zones in Imo State - Imo West (Orlu), Imo North (Okigwe) and Imo East (Owerri) - for the choice of state governor to operate on rotational basis so that no zone is marginalized.
It is uncertain whether this charter is real or imaginary: its promoters have been unable to provide evidence of its existence. Still, the principle of rotating political office/s in a given constituency such that it fulfils the standard of fairness encapsulated in the English expression “what is good for the goose is also good for the gander” or the norm captured with greater exactitude in the Igbo idiom “emenyere Nwogwugwu, emenyere Nwanosike” stands to reason – notwithstanding that rotation or zoning of political offices always has an inherent potential of promoting mediocrity.
Taking a chronological look at the administration of Imo State from the regime of the first civilian governor of the old Imo State, Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe (Okigwe zone) to Chief Evan(s) Enwerem (Owerri) to Chief Achike Udenwa (Orlu Zone) to Chief Ikedi Ohakim (Okigwe zone), it seems that a political convention in tandem with the principle of rotation was already taking root in Imo State until the attempt by PDP to secure a renewal of Ohakim’s mandate for a second term in 2011 truncated it with the victory of the APGA (now APC) candidate - incumbent Governor Rochas Okorocha from Orlu zone.
Understandably, the most strident campaign for restoration of the status quo is coming from Owerri zone which, ordinarily, ought to take a turn after Okigwe. There have also been loud shrieks from Okigwe zone with political pugilists from that zone laying claims to the 2015 governorship slot on the grounds that Okigwe zone was denied a second term to which it was entitled because of what it considers, rightly or wrongly, “sabotage” from other zones.
In fairness to Okigwe zone, during the 2011 governorship elections, when keeping faith with the Charter of Equity was the focal message of the PDP, Owerri zone blundered until one of their prominent sons hawked the APGA platform to a candidate from Orlu zone, the contest was a straight battle between Okigwe zone candidates – Ikedi Ohakim of PDP and Ifeanyi Araraume of ACN.
Thus, if any zone should take the major flak for breach of the ‘Charter of Equity’ that occurred in 2011, it is Owerri zone even as it cannot be denied that the Ohakim/Araraume debacle itself turned out to be a political faux pas.
Also, from the results of the 2011 governorship election held in Imo State on April 26, 2011 and the “supplementary election” held on May 6, 2011, Owerri zone provided the bulwark of the votes that tilted and eventually sank the ship of the ‘Charter of Equity’!
In fact, the combined votes of the three core Owerri LGAs (Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West) surpassed the votes cast by twice that number of LGAs in Orlu zone outside of the homeboy catchment areas of Ideato. It was only Ikeduru and the three-wise-men Mbaise triumvirate (Aboh, Ahiazu and Ezinihitte LGAs) that showed steadfastness to the charter by demonstrating a preference for maintenance of the status quo.
After a perplexing silence, Orlu zone some of whose members have been championing the ‘Charter of Equity’ restoration agenda of Owerri zone has finally issued a declaration dismissing the Imo Charter of Equity as a mirage.
To support this position, the Orlu Declaration noted that every election in Imo State since 1979 has been keenly contested by interested aspirants from every zone and that 2015 would not be different.
Orlu zone irredentists have gone further to posit that even if a pact existed, 2015 is Orlu’s turn because if Orlu zone took its last turn in 1999, Okigwe zone took its turn in 2007, Owerri zone traded off its turn in 2011, Orlu zone should take the next turn by logical deduction because between equal equities, the first in time prevails.
Prior to the Orlu Declaration, the zone had been sitting on the horns of a dilemma, apart from the fact that the incumbent governor is from that zone; the sheer size of Orlu zone compared to other zones presented a peculiar challenge. For instance, by what sharing formula should Orlu with 12 LGAs, Owerri with 9 LGAs and Okigwe with 6 LGAs be entitled to equal shares on the political cake-sharing table?
In effect, while it would take an Okigwe zone aspirant 16 years to access the office of governor, an Orlu zone aspirant would need 32 years to achieve the same! Clearly, there is no end to the argument.
Polemics aside, however desirable it may be, without a consensus, without enforceable sanctions, without uniform compliance by political parties and political aspirants, and without any unanimity among stakeholders, the Imo Charter of Equity will remain elusive.
For now, to the average man, the Imo ‘Charter of Equity’ comes across as little more than another gobbledygook aimed at the consecration of the opportunism of the political elite to perpetuate their insatiable appetite for power at the expense of the pauperised masses.
Rather than the ‘Charter of Equity’ which is raising so much dust, what should be the concern of serious aspirants seeking the public mandate to govern Imo State in 2015 should be a ‘Charter of Prosperity’ – a new covenant with Imo people of government with a human face.
In spite of the much-advertised robust infrastructure development scorecard of the Okorocha administration, what Imo State has experienced in real terms between 2011 and 2014 is an unprecedented escalation of poverty and impoverishment.
The disarticulation of the economy resulting in a high level of unemployment and underemployment in Imo State owes much to official preference for foreign products and alien contractors, the ill-advised disengagement of 10,000 civil service personnel, the injection of paralysis into the local government system, outright abandonment of farmers and total neglect of agriculture, and a bizarre job creation strategy that is long on gimmickry and sloganeering but short on effectiveness and sustainability.
Put simply, the economy of Imo State is deflated and what is required to reflate it in 2015 is a ‘Charter of Prosperity’, not a ‘Charter of Equity. QED!
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