The Government Of A Liar

Source: Prof. Protus Uzorma Nathan

According to Aesop the Philosopher, “There was once a dog who used to snap at people and bite them without any provocation, and who was a great nuisance to everyone that came to his master’s house. So his master fastened a bell around his neck to warn people of his presence. The dog was very proud of the bell and strutted about tinkling it with immense satisfaction. But an old dog came up to him and said, the fewer airs you give yourself the better, my friend. You don’t think, do you think that your bell was given you as a reward of merit? On the contrary, it is a badge of disgrace”.

What the above fable teaches is that notoriety or unsavoury reputation is often mistaken for fame. Someone may become famous for being insalubrious and can be celebrated in a morally depraved society like ours. The fable as reflected above has a lot to teach us concerning the present situation of Imo state chief executive, Chief Rochas A. Okorocha.

In the words of Plato, “Human affairs are not worthy of much seriousness, and yet one must take them serious.” For Aristotle, “There are three tenses to a person’s life; what he is, what he has become, and what he is becoming”. Following these two assertions, one is tempted to infer that human affairs ought not to be taken seriously considering the fragile cum brittle propensity of humanity; however, if one considers the implication of not taking it so serious, one will have no option than taking it very seriously.

It is in taking it serious that some people kill for something that does not worth it. When one takes the case of Imo politics serious and relates it to Gov. Rochas, the philosophical analysis of Aristotle of what he is (a governor), what he has become (a liar) and what he is becoming (a political failure) takes full prominence. These aspects of human affairs should be taken very serious but it does not call for war.

If Gov. Rochas Okorocha stops telling lies to Imo people, I shall stop telling the truth I know about those lies. His administration has brought untold suffering to Imo people. Recently it was reported that President Buhari stopped the payment of $2.7 Billion Paris Club Refund to some states including Imo. The Minister of Finance Zainab Ahmed said that five states in Nigeria would not receive the last tranche of Paris Club Refund because of some conditions attached to it. The conditions according to the minister, “…those conditions that Mr. President gave is that we must show that the states have used the previous refund for payment of salaries and they will use this one also for payment of salaries.” This is very clear, but our governor till date owe Imo workers salaries and not even ready to pay them. This he always denied from time to time. One thing about this ignoble manipulation of a lying governor is that when a lie is told, it needs another type of lies to cover it up.

The question then is, how long would this type of lies be allowed to continue in Imo state? Shall this be allowed in 2019? Can Imo afford to gamble the fate of their future generations? Can we continue to manage a sitting governor who thinks that everybody in Imo state is a fool? Suppose another liar emerges as a governor, will he be able to uncover Gov. Rochas Okorocha’s administrative lies and manipulations? Are there lies that time and events will uncover in okorocha’s administration after 2019? Let me at this point highlight that the answers to these questions depend on the choice of leadership Imo people want. No doubt, Gov. Okorocha’s Rescue Mission Programme is deceptive. In 2019, will Imo be governed by another liar? The present condition of our roads and Imo Palm Plantation as well as other projects Chief Rochas initiated is pitiable and has finally exposed the “good intentions of Rochas”.

It is on record that at the inception of Gov. Okorocha’s administration, he went into privatization of state owned sectors like the case of the multimillion naira Adapalm oil settlement which was sold to an Irish company named Roche for #3billion. Gov. Rochas Okorocha later informed Imo people that the #3Billion was used for the construction of Roche-type of classroom blocks in each of the 306 INEC wards in Imo state. Our Governor did inform us that the concession of Adapalm to Roche has yielded enormous dividends to Imo people which was used to build the 306 Roche-type of classroom block which are sited on roads for everybody to see.

When these lies were told, many Imo people applauded Chief Rochas Okorocha for this good effort of his aimed at consolidating his “free education” without knowing that he was telling a bigger lie to cover a big one. But nature has a way of helping people out; today nature has helped Gov. Rochas out as the superiority of falsehood over truth is for a moment.

Some Imo people became doubtful then as to whether our governor used the #3Billion from the sale of Adapalm to truly build the schools as he claimed. Not quite long Universal Basic Education (UBE) inscription appeared on the wall of all the pre-cast building scattered across the state.

The appearance of the UBE trademark on the walls of the schools simply authenticated the fact that those school buildings were the product of the Federal Government of Nigeria, and were not built from the money realized from allowing Roche cater for Adapalm as Gov. Rochas did inform us. Now that we all know that Gov. Rochas told us lies and has continued to manipulate us, what do we do? We can do nothing than to thank those who dislodged him in APC in order to stop his manipulation beyond 2019.

I am aware that many more lies shall be uncovered as soon as a faithful person that is morally sound takes over the position of Rochas because the bell on his neck like the Aesop fable is going about tinkling and he thinks it was given to him as a reward of merit, on the contrary it is a badge of disgrace. Our governor should always learn how to be truthful even when it is against him. Leadership is a thing that requires humility, sincerity and the fear of God. When this is done, the leader would have escaped from the danger ahead.

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