Imo State: COVID-19 AND PEOPLE ORIENTED LEADERSHIP

Viral Photo of the Enugu Isolation Centre used for the suspected COVID-19 Case.

By Hon. Roland Gabriel

Everyday when you follow the activities and news of what is going on in Imo State, all you read is about "who gets what", "who does what" and "who gains or looses what". There is little or no discourse about the important issues affecting the Imolites.



Even the professional critics are only concerned about making sure the government is painted in a bad light without truly holding the government accountable. As a matter of fact, in Imo State, there is no opposition as what we have masquerading as opposition are people who are not happy to have lost out in squandering the resources of the state hence they keep throwing tantrums about.



Through out the 8 years of misrule of the Okorocha Administration, despite the several abuses of the rights of the citizens, there was never a collective protest by the opposition to defend the rights of the citizens. The marathon protests engaged by the PDP following the ouster of Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha as Governor exposed them as selfish elements who only cared about their political gains leaving no thought for the helpless citizens of the state.


The citizens have to realize that actually, they are not helpless and that we are the ones who make the politicians tick as without our tacit support, they would not go far and any progress they make is illusionary. We have to rise up and hold our leaders accountable and ensure that they fulfil their obligations to the people.



The euphoria of the Supreme Court ruling has subsided and we are glad that the Governor His Excellency Dist. Sen. Hope Odidika Uzodinma has set the ball rolling by forming a formidable team to assist him pilot the affairs of government. Looking at the profile of those appointed will tell any astute observer that the Governor means business. It is now left for them to translate their capacity into results to the benefit of all Imolites.



During this period of the global pandemic of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, Imo State is in need of strong People-Oriented leadership to ensure that we come out of these trying times as unscathed as is possible. At this time, the government must be proactive not reactive by waiting to have serious cases at hand before taking steps to that effect.


Seeing the pictures of the Isolation Centre in Enugu that has gone viral on Social Media brings to question a lot of issues concerning our preparedness. Developed Countries like Italy and France have felt a heavy blow from this pandemic even with their high quality healthcare system hence we have a good reason to be worried looking at the state of our healthcare system.



The government must as a matter of urgency setup a team to be in charge of managing the crisis and ensure that Imolites take the necessary precaution to slow the transmission rate and totally eliminate same from the state as the case may be while also ensuring that they assist the citizens to bear any economic burdens that may arise as a result of this pandemic.



The team will be responsible to oversee our preparedness in the eventuality of having Imolites, both indigenes and residents, who are infected by the virus and to ensure that they receive adequate care in a conducive environment.


As the saying goes that health is wealth, we hope that the government will take issues concerning the current global pandemic seriously while providing quality leadership that will make Imolites proud.


As the governor continues with his appointments, we hope that he ensures that the appointees key into to the shared prosperity agenda of his government. The appointees have to be made to understand that governance is not about trying to extort as much money from the people or about trying to intimidate the people with the instruments of government.


The task before the governor is quite enormous and we hope that he can ignore baseless attacks from individuals who do not mean well for the state and concentrate on fulfilling his obligation of returning Imo State to its enviable heights.

- Hon. Roland Gabriel is the State Chairman of Imo Concerned Citizens, A registered Non Partisan Pressure Group seeking to promote good governance in Imo State.