Those that believe that Senator Rochas Okorocha and Senator Hope Uzodimma are quarrelling are those that don’t know about their age-long fraudulent political partnership.
What’s seen as their “quarrels” are actually what’s known as “perception management”, to divert attention and distract the people, while they’re looting Imo treasury dry.
Recall that all that was required to give Rochas an unmerited and undeserved second term in office as Imo governor in 2015 were the last minute massive illegal votes Uzodimma wrote in from his Oru East LGA.
Uzodimma was then an APC mole in PDP. That anti-party act empowered Rochas to do more ferocious damage to Imo treasury, land and other property.
Five years after the same Uzodimma that empowered Rochas to loot Imo dry is pretending to be probing the same Rochas and pretending to be “recovering” the land, money and property they jointly looted!
When something began to run around our heads on the subject and themes of this short essay, we remembered the great writer, Pini Jason, of blessed memory, who once wrote an essay which he entitled: “Something Ballyhoo About Domkat”! In that essay, he tackled issues concerning the then military top brass, Lt. Gen. Domkat Bali.
Incidentally, here in this short essay, by way of a parody, we could also entitle this: “Many Things Rochas About Uzodimma”!
We remembered the once upon a time when we wrote a short essay, which I entitled: “Something Roaches About Rochas”!
A good observer of the expected quaky drive by Senator Hope Uzodimma so far in Douglas House would have underscored that indeed there are many things that he does which are too similar to the things done by Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
The latest is Uzodimma’s appointment of a Zenith Bank manager as his Commissioner for Finance.
Recall that shortly after he was sworn-in as governor on May 29, 2011, Rochas promptly appointed the then Manager of Zenith Bank Plc, Prince Chike Okafor, his Commissioner for Finance, who allegedly taught him the “chop and block” tactics of public treasury looting through the financial institutions!
He was that chap that allegedly packaged and delivered the consortium facilitation of an upfront granting a loan facility of the entire four-year budget in one fell swoops of a transaction.
Now, ten years after, Uzodimma has picked another staff of the Zenith Bank Plc to be his Finance Commissioner. It’s not only God but also those us in the organized opposition in Imo State that know what attracts Rochas and Uzodimma to Zenith Bank Plc. We’ll leave that as the main topic for another short essay!
The relevant question then is: “Could it be a coincidence or are there really things Rochas shares in common with Uzodimma that make their paths cross in the same trajectory?”
Whatever, the unarguable fact is that there are a lot of similar fiscal skeletons in the cupboards of the two enigmatic, maverick, controversial politicians in their relationship with the Zenith Bank Plc. But as already hinted, they aren’t part of the central theme and purpose of this write-up.
In our brainstorming session in the organized opposition in Imo State, we distilled factors that are structurally dovetailed to produce a single explanation for the unmistakable semblance between the leadership capacities and styles of Rochas and Uzodimma.
First, using the force of affixes and morphology, we isolated “iberiberism” and thereafter “Benjohnsonism”.
Then, we got “Iberiberism of Benjohnsonism”, which could also be presented as: “Benjohnsonism of Iberiberism”.
Instructively, while “Iberiberism” is a Rochas’ creation, “Benjohnsonism” is an Uzodimma’s creation. They’re simply twin children from different mothers!
It’s easy to agree that there’s something “Benjohnson” about Rochas, just as there’s something “Iberiberism about Uzodimma”! Ukochukwu na de same people!
The foregoing pun isn’t intended to provide a lighter mood comic relief situation for the esteemed reader. Indeed, it’s not a laughing matter. Rather, it’s a very serious matter that serves as apt entry behaviour into the main purpose of this short essay.
Besides hiring staff of Zenith Bank Plc as their Finance Commissioners for obvious ulterior motives, they’re anti-people in thoughts, words and deeds.
For example, while Rochas sacked 10,000 workers that were employed by PDP administration of Chief Ikedi Ohakim, Uzodimma has since sack hundreds of staff of ministries, departments and agencies, with 108 staff of ISOPADEC being the hallmark point of reference.
To that extent, both Rochas and Uzodimma have records of sacking Imo workers in their hundreds and thousands, when they shouldn’t sack but employ. That must be too horrible, if it’s not a premeditated coincidence.
One other thing that’s so Rochas about Uzodimma is the sworn covert policy of non-payment of salaries and pensions to Imo workers and pensioners. It’s a case of like Rochas, like Uzodimma!
Rochas made demolition of people’s property one his primary assignments and preoccupations. As it has turned out, Uzodimma has now marked many houses of his political opponents and taken up the weapons of demolition, hammering down and bulldozing houses and business places of Imo people.
Rochas was known for “China Roads” and Uzodimma has become known for “Achaere Roads” as sobriquets for the poor substandard, non-durable roads they patched and paint in Imo State.
Rochas wastefully broke and built roundabouts, without minding the terrible conditions of the roads, Uzodimma has started breaking and building roundabouts, while disregarding the roads that the roundabouts service.
Rochas went too far into borrowing and got Imo people into extreme sorrowing in the process. Uzodimma started with borrowing and seems ready to end up with borrowing.
That has proved that they lack ideas on how to grow the economy and generate increased internally generated revenue (IGR), but living in bondage of borrowed money.
Rochas extensively romanced Aso Rock and APC to his own detriment, and in the process impoverished Imo State and Imo people, while enriching strangers in Abuja, Edo State, and elsewhere with Imo money to the tune of multiple billions. Uzodimma has followed suit as if truly he’s the incontrovertible reincarnation of Rochas.
We would therefore understand why on January 15, 2020, the day after the Supreme Court made Uzodimma governor, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, a notable national leader from the northern extraction, described Uzodimma as “Okorocha Senior”!
It reminds also of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo the then Nigerian President’s sermon on to Imo people with the theme, “Ohakim, Rochas, small thief and big thief”. As “Okorocha Senior”, Uzodimma may have broken the records held by Rochas.
The only probable difference is that while Rochas dealt deathly blows on Imo for eight years, Uzodimma has been dealing ferocious killer blows on Imo State and Imo people with his first 15 months failure in office.
Having situated the points in issues and made our points, we’ll conclude this short essay with the reiteration of the admonition for Imo people to begin to ask Uzodimma relevant questions that they failed to ask Rochas.
Failure by Imo people to steadily, bumper to bumper, be asking Uzodimma relevant questions about what he’s doing in Imo State with Imo money will end in another “had I known”.
It’ll result in a belated attacks after he must have completed the looting and dry cleaning of the treasury of Imo State, and gone away with the booty, smiling.
It’ll be tantamount to shutting the cowshed after the cow had escaped. It’ll be same as striking the ground with clubs after the cobra or anaconda had escaped from the scene. It’ll simply be a case of crying over spilled milk!
Imo people should wake up and take their destiny in their own hands to work out their salvation without fear and trembling. He died in him who keeps silent in the face of tyranny, oppression and suppression.
