My Stand On Gov. Rochas Victory!

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Lance Armstrong, the Texas-born professional road-racing cyclist, once said,“When you win, you don’t examine it very much, except to congratulate yourself. You easily, and wrongly, assume it has something to do with your rare qualities as a person. But winning only measures how hard you’ve worked and how physically talented you are; it doesn’t particularly define you beyond those characteristics.

Losing on the other hand, really does say something about who you are. Among other things it measures are: Do you blame others, or do you own the loss? Do you analyse your failure, or just complain about bad luck? If you’re willing to examine failure, and to look not just at your outward physical performance, but your internal workings, too, losing can be valuable. How you behave in those moments can perhaps be more self-defining than winning could ever be. Sometimes losing shows you for who you really are.”

In same vein, Adolf Hitler said “if you win, you need not have to explain…If you lose, you should not be there to explain!” Many reasons could be attributed to this double standard, but they are not my major interests for now. Certainly, we all know where every winner comes from and why, just as we know where the looser comes from and how. Rochas’ winning truly we know how it came, we also know the manipulations that characterised the first election (April 11).

We know how he came and this makes it absolutely compulsory for him to be very careful, especially as he has verily become a slave of conscience and of no other man or god that could claim having assisted him or fought for his re-election. To this effect, Rochas owes his conscience for this “victory” and in paying it back, he must be careful as all Imolites are stings wringing to whip it to bleed profusely.

In all these, history has just been made again and life continues, as the great French nationalist, Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “history is written by the winners.” Winning an election to this effect is laudable but is a testimony that history has been made either on a faux pas or on vrai pas. And as Winston Churchill would say, “this is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, and this is just perhaps the end of the beginning.”

When a cannon sounds or gun shot resounds (gbim!) near a river area, the echo returns to the upland with the sound (ofokwaa - And it still remains!).

What is of paramount interest at the moment now in Imo State, is that which still remains. What is it or what are they? They are what Rochas must do or the warnings that flow from the rest of Imolites watching him at this latter victory that is circumstantial, having decided to keep momentary silent and let peace reign in the State since one man’s ambition is not worthy the blood of any Imolite (As I trail President Jonathan’s words).

First, and as the British literary icon, Oscar Wilde admonished, “one should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.” Rochas of a truth must be very careful this time than before and must desist from his former ‘the more you look, the less you see’ administrative style that characterised the past four years otherwise the Boko Haram raided states of the northeast Nigeria may be better than Imo for him to govern because Imo youths will not just sit and watch him; no, we will react in a more peaceful way and manner if he continues with his family cum in-law business.

Rochas must play fairly with all. He must with immediate effect, issue appointment letters to the “25,000” youths-must-work that he engaged with the ‘more-you-look’ administrative and employer’s pattern because their bad thoughts or thought-bewitching in the spiritual realm is greater than food poison. They must be duly and officially employed, graded and paid all their arrears. These youths certainly matched out to vote and defend the votes of the mindless employer who owes them their graduate dignity and the dignity of human labour and of youthful settlement- Unless Rochas has turned the Latin Nero and thus a beast without conscience.

Secondly, the 10,000 jobs that he sacked are mandatory that he recalls them. There is no point calling everyone to come together and build Imo to be a formidable state while those that have started building their lives as good Imolites were reaped off by a mindless leader, who perhaps has decided to be mindful at the end time now. Let’s watch and see! Why I say these is that, while listening to his acceptance speech, I heard Rochas emphasis on job, employment and industrialisation for this second tenure. These certainly he may do, but since he has played a sadistic employer with the past two sets of employees and in the past four years, it is possible that these new foci will be mess too, and full of administrative deceits. This is because, no sadist leads or rules with love.

This new leadership is a new life in which the old has gone but memories of it trail our minds, and must be led with practical love of State-fatherhood. To this effect, and as a slave of conscience, Rochas must shun hypocrisy and be a true child of God, otherwise this new infant mandate in his palms will be wrenched away by divine whirled wind soonest that has wrenched such off from the gripping palms of his predecessors all over Nigeria and in many levels and arms of government.

Rochas still must be very careful about his basket mouth whenever he mounts the stage- The way he speaks, the sort of jingles that his paid media: The Orient Fm, etc, in their paradisso theatre lance, which echoes Imo beyond Imo State as a battle field. Rochas we know won the election by slavery to conscience, and since this leadership is not by choice but accidental, I remind him what Napoleon Hill once said, “leaders live by choice and not by accident.” It is worthwhile too that he must take the opposite direction and imitate the most contemporary leaderships train and steps of President Goodluck Jonathan and the President-elect, Rt. Gen. Muhamadu Buhari who both have transcended beyond party ties and antics to making Nigeria a true democratic society where the winner does not win all or the looser sulks eternally without solace. This trend has been imitated all over Nigeria today, but Rochas rolls and will not treat opposition as due equal like Buhari and Jonathan.

Okorocha’s victory as he knows well in his conscience, is a sacrifice. No sacrifice, no victory. These sacrifices must be reciprocated to all Imolites without discrimination and in all facets of life to ensure that democratic dividends are dispensed to everyone, even to the remotest areas of the State. When he does all these true human dispositions of a God-fearing leader and father of Imo youths that he has bruised, I bet and assure him my full support. I am not tired of picking my pen again against him but will pause awhile and watch; as I will not support hypocrisy.

These notwithstanding, I make bold to congratulate Rochas for the first time in life for his victory, and in line with the footsteps of our contemporary national democratic icon- President Goodluck Jonathan. Congratulations Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha (OON)! Certainly you will meet me in court where the two greater lions will fight the last fight, but having fought like a lion and won in this, I congratulate you Owelle and have warned you ahead.

By Prof. Protus Nathan Uzorma (Imo youth mayor).

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Articles by Nathan Protus Uzorma