By Ochiagha Nnanna Okere
This is a celebration of the life of His Grace Rev. A. J.V. Obinna, the recently retired Archbishop and Metropolitan, Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, who many affectionately refer to as the spiritual father of Ndigbo.
Bishop Obinna has served the Lord and our Church with gladness – tirelessly, faithfully, and with great compassion for the flock. He has planted seeds of hope and love in our lives and truly made a difference. He has shown hospitality to all and given encouragement to many. Now, as the story of his life opens to its next chapter, my prayer is that may the God of Grace richly bless and watch over him, may the God of Peace grant him peace always and may the God of Abundant Joy shower him daily.
He has not only touched our lives spiritually he has also touched our lives culturally and politically through his cultural and political intervention, including his famed quest for good governance for his beloved Imo State and Nigeria in general. In a country in which elected officials soon forget the core reasons why they were elected, Bishop Obinna had been among the few loud voices calling them to give account of their stewardship to the people.
As a cultural ambassador he has shown much concern and interest in the wellbeing of Ndigbo. Through the Odenigbo lecture series which he instituted in 1996, he promoted evangelization vigorously encouraging the use and development of the Igbo language, together with the Ahiajoku Lecture series.The Odenigbo has helped to revive the spirit of Ndigbo among the Igbos. No wonder his episcopal motto is: “To Serve God and His people.”
To say that the wellbeing of Ndigbo is of great concern to him is an understatement. That is why he cannot stand mediocrity in governance and corruption in high places at the expense of the development of the states of the region, including Imo State.
The Bishop was not too long ago quoted as saying that the only retirement gift he wanted from his state governor, Hope Uzodimma, was the development of Imo State. He did not ask for any personal entitlements for his retirement. He asked for the entitlements of Ndi Imo. That was vintage Bishop Obinna!
As a matter of fact in March 21, 2020, the governor of Imo State Hope Uzodimma vowed that he would shock Imo with great achievements in one year. He made the avowal after a church service in honour of Bishop Moses Chikwe, the auxiliary bishop of Owerri Archdiocese, at St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Uzoagba, in Ikeduru Local Government Area. Here was what the revered Bishop Obinna who was present said, “It looks like the governor knows that I will be retiring in 12 months’ time, so these expected achievements will be a befitting retirement gift for me.” Two years down the line, the Bishop has finally retired. Are there pointers to confirm that in his retirement, Uzodimma gifted him great achievements as promised?Some of the achievements of Uzodimma include, but not limited to the following; He has succeeded in restoring democracy in the state; His government was founded on the democratic principles of open, transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance; there was once upon a time, when the governance process of Imo State was shrouded in secrecy. Not only did Imo people not know how their state was governed, there was in fact a big wedge between the people and the government.He runs an open, transparent, accountable and inclusive government. He restored the process of open, accountable and inclusive governance. He has banished the dark ages of government by necromancy and replaced it with the government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Governor Hope Uzodimma has delivered in various sectors.
The sectors included road infrastructure, security, local government administration, revenue generation, agriculture, tourism, health, land administration, commerce, industry and education, among others.
One of his greatest achievements in the education sector is the recovery of the K. O. Mbadiwe University for Imo people. As you may well know, the University was built and furnished with tax-payers money of not less than 40 billion naira. Yet, an individual abusing his office as governor, brazenly wanted to appropriate it to himself as a privately owned establishment. He has received a certificate of ownership for the university on behalf of the government and the people of Imo State.
Today, that university is now the rightful property of Imo State.
On commerce and industry, the administration had commenced moves to revamp all moribund industries in the state.His administration has paid off debts owed to Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) by successive administrations in the state in respect of the Imo Standard Shoe Industry. The sum of 1.3 billion naira was negotiated down and full and final payment made. Operations will commence in the industry soon.
On agriculture, Governor Uzodinma recently renovated and commissioned the Achara Ubo Farm Estate as a training centre for the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) meant to provide sufficient protein through livestock and ensure food security and sufficiency for Imo people in particular and the South East in general. The renovation and activation of the farm project is a hope come through and a hope for Imo youths and Imo people. A laudable move that will engage and remove the youths from crime and criminality with the provision of several jobs.
On infrastructural development, no fewer than 90 roads have either been completed or about to be completed across the state. The infrastructural projects cut across urban and rural areas within the three senatorial zones of the state with an urban renewal programme that has given Owerri the state capital a facelift.On health, the governor has made giant strides through the provision of basic medical services in primary, secondary and tertiary health sectors. He made efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic in the state including the rehabilitation of 305 health centres across the state to enable Imo people live healthier lives.
The governor believes that a suitable society is governed by law, which guarantee security of lives and properties. Governor Uzodimma in this quest, launched the Operation Search And Flush, an outfit which guaranteed a 24 hour surveillance on all the parts of Imo State by a combined team of security agencies.
Governor Uzodinma provided 100 brand new pickup security vehicles with modern state of the art communication gadgets and deployed the combined team of security agencies, consisting of the police, the military and civil defense, to patrol the whole state and provide security.
There was also a toll free call centre, linked to the patrol vehicles, which the public can use to contact any of the patrol teams to report a confirmed or suspected crime, which help to create a synergy between the people and the security agencies deployed to protect them against harm and also to ensure that the good security architecture expected of them is achieved. That very measure has paid off as crimes such as armed robbery, thuggery, cult activities and kidnapping have rapidly reduced to the barest form.
The government has also organized the Imo State Security Summit, which had the Inspector General of Police and other security chiefs in attendance, to synergize the sense of belonging between Imo citizens, residents and security agencies.
It is however, important to note that at the time Uzodimma made the promise the enemies of progress had not taken their frustration to the level of destruction of lives and properties in a scale that have never been seen since the creation of Imo State. That Uzodimma achieved the aforementioned and more under the climate of insecurity created by sore losers is a miracle. And I hope that the Bishop who I have no doubt believes in miracles will understand. And appreciate the achievements Uzodimma has gifted him in retirement at this time. As the revered Bishop knows, the government of Imo State under the stewardship of Uzodimma is barely two years old. It is still a work in progress. More developments will continue to be the portion of NdiImo that will gladden the heart of the people’s Bishop. Wishing the retired Bishop all the best this life has to offer in the new chapter of his life!
– Ochiagha Nnanna Okere is the Convener and Coordinator Imo Diaspora Support For Governor Hope Uzodimma and writes from Finland