By Stephen Mba
Many have tried every possible way to unearth what could have been the root cause of Governor Rochas Okorocha’s unbelievable missteps and seeming unpardonable blunders, especially as they boarder on politics and business.
At a cursory look, one may attribute his present down moment as a result of greed, nepotism, egocentrism, but others would rather attribute it to law of re-distributive justice. The truth is that Chief Okorocha is at war with his god and the society that made him.
How did Okorocha come to the present political quagmire despite the avalanche of opportunities he has following the ample power he wields as Governor and Chairman of All Progressives Governors’ Forum? What could have accounted for the total diminishing of the stature of a man who was once the most popular Nigerian philanthropist?
It is a truism that we all have our weaknesses as there is hardly any perfect being in the world; and this may not be unconnected with the fact that we need one another to succeed in virtually every facet of life. There are gifted hands waiting at the flanks to make up in our areas of weakness.
Little wonder one of the greatest philosophers, Aristotle pungently said, “man outside of the society is either god or beast’.
Putting it succinctly, any man who claims or pretends to be so self-sufficient to the extent that he needs only himself for himself to survive or succeed is no human but either a beast or a god. Put differently, a situation where one seeks the partnership of others to succeed only to destroy them at the point of pay back, flouting every agreement formerly or informally, can only be described as inhuman and sheer wickedness. Could this be the case with Okorocha following his antecedent of large scale abuse of goodwill, agreement and services rendered?
Going by Governor Okorocha’s testimonies, he had openly confessed how he was helped by the Yorubas and many others from other ethnic groups to overcome abject poverty. Ordinarily, were it not for those good natured Nigerians who were not of Igbo decent nor of the same family lineage, Okorocha, perhaps would have remained an unknown poverty stricken probably hibernating somewhere in a scum. Thank God for his intervention through men of goodwill.
He has also told stories of how a certain man, Prince Eze Madumere, his present estranged Deputy, has kept faith with him, suffered with him during his lowest moments in politics and business. It is also important to note that the relationship was not that of employer-employee nature but friendship or better put partnership. Today, everything about that ought-to-be-sung-relationship is left in tatters, attributable to Okorocha’s envy and it-must-be-me nauseating traits.
Unfortunately, report also has it that he has always stood against anything that will benefit any of his associates except for the left overs. Recently, he was said to have also gone against his long-time confidant and manager of his businesses for daring to aspire to contest Senatorial election of his zone in Abia State. Okorocha filled with envy chose to support another aspirant against the man that faithfully nurtured his business and has continued to do so.
Beyond Okorocha’s political family, all the organisations and political platforms that have ever been associated with him do not have any good story to tell. In ‘Peoples Democratic Party’, his antecedent of self-centeredness still reverberates in the mind of those that crossed path with him. In APP, his disagreeing stance against the common decisions of the leadership was monumental.
In 2011, against all odds, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), favoured Chief Okorocha to be her standard bearer following the horse trading superintended by the then National Chairman of the Party, Senator Victor Umeh, with Chief Martin Agbaso sacrificing his personal ambition.
That relationship still leaves sour thirst in the mouth of all parties involved in the project of making Okorocha a Governor. Of course, the Agbasos got the full dose of Okorocha’s mindless trait with the impeachment of the then Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso. Chief Umeh is yet to reconcile Okorocha’s cruelty with the vicious treatment he meted out to him. What of the business mogul, Chief Emeka Offor, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah among others, who after bank-rolling his campaign and election got the booth from Okorocha?
The multitude of Imolites and other well-meaning who were fleeced of their hard earned money through various deceitful means among which are gold card, Hapurum, SIGs, L.O’s among others with promises of benefits should he win the election. Some members of these groups had to contribute N5million each, others doled out between N500,000 to N1million. Some others took care of all the meetings throughout the duration of campaigns and other political activities from their pockets. Today, they are considered arch enemies of Okorocha because at the inception of Okorocha’s government, he gave them hope and they waited. On the dawn of 2015 elections, he shut the door against them, tacitly declaring them persona-non-grata.
It will also be recalled that the political structure called ‘Agenda’ mid-wifed Okorocha’s ascendancy to power but the story is a forbidden one to the ears of every member of that defunct ‘Agenda’ political structure. Among the elders of the party like, Dr. Hillary Eke, the factional APC Chairman, Chief Ejike Uche among others were treated like nobody by Governor Okorocha and today, they have all found refuge in one political family or the other.
Yes, Governor Okorocha is in All Progressives Congress, a platform he used to secure his second term in office, which shall come to an unhappy end on May 29, 2019.
During the 2015 general elections, Governor Okorocha from all indications never believed that President Mohammadu Buhari could win the election and as a result treated him like a nobody. The only person that believed in President Buhari was his Deputy Governor, Prince Madumere who at all times would gladly donate his own vehicles and accompany him to ensure the former head of State felt comfortable. There was hardly anytime Chief Okorocha made out time to even meet with Buhari then.
It will be recalled that Okorocha was once accused of not campaigning for Buhari even as no poster of his was found anywhere around the State until Chief Rotimi Amaechi raised the alarm over the vexatious issue. As an established opportunist, Governor Okorocha was quick to celebrate President Buhari’s victory more than any other despite the fact President Buhari failed woefully in the State.
Build up to 2019 elections, Governor Okorocha had tacitly hatched out plan to root out all the party loyalists and replaced them with green horns that wield no influence at all so as to secure their sheepish following. This was fought by the APC stakeholders but unfortunately for a reason built on lies and deceit, Governor Okorocha was re-launched after they succeeded in ousting the former National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun.
At the emergence of the Comrade Adams Oshiomole, Governor Okorocha, in that euphoria, cashed in and continued his destabilization of the party. Comrade Oshiomole realizing that Okorocha was on a mission, seeking to maim and destroy the party, decided to do the right thing. Report has it that Okorocha had insisted on handing down the gubernatorial ticket of the State to his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu while he would contest senate for Orlu zone. It was at this point that his level of greed and nepotism played out to the chagrin of the leadership of the party and the presidency.
In his ingratitude and viciousness, campaign to oust Governor Oshiomole as the National Chairman of APC is being led by Okorocha.
Speaking during Church service in the Government House Chapel last Sunday, Governor Okorocha, boasted and threatened how he would ensure that APC loses in the State should his son-in-law not get the governorship ticket.
Against the above backdrop, it is incontrovertibly clear that Governor Okorocha is nonetheless either a god or a beast. Pray, this man who is at all times at war with all men and at all times, more interested in what he becomes at the expense of the generality of the people, is the least of all to ever be considered for any leadership position. It is, undoubtedly clear and not out of place to say that Okorocha is fighting both God and man, which remain his greatest albatross.
.Stephen Mba is a Public Affairs Analyst resident in Owerri