Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, is one of the most criticised governors in the country. He has, however, not let the criticisms distract him from his development agenda for the Eastern Heartland.
Gov. Uzodimma recently took time out of his busy schedule, ahead of his birthday and coming third anniversary in office, to discuss governance of the state, the challenges, and how he has positively changed the narratives in Imo State, restoring the lost glory.
In this interview with ONUOHA UKEH and IHEANACHO NWOSU, he gave account of his stewardship so far, the return of peace in Imo, his link with President Muhammadu Buhari, among others.
Your birthday is today, December 12, and this is at a time when your perception in Imo State is gradually changing for good. What is unique about this birthday and what is this endorsement of you for a second term by Imo stakeholders about?
If you look at events in Imo State over the last two years, the crisis that engulfed the state and how we were able to come out of it, you will agree with me that we should be thankful to God. Yes, on December 12, I will be marking my birthday. Last year during my birthday, I went to Church, we did not celebrate elaborately because the security situation in Imo State was not friendly to warrant anybody rejoicing. But to the glory of God, we now have relative peace in Imo State, apart from the pockets of crisis on the outskirts that most of us know is the handiwork of hostile political opposition. I am confident that God who has taken us this far will also intervene and put an end to the insecurity situation and crisis in Imo State.
Yes, I will mark my birthday and thank the almighty God who is the author of life, God who has ensured that I am in good health. He has not only managed the security situation in Imo State for us but also given us the vision and grace to execute developmental projects that make our people happy. I will thank God most sincerely and pray for more years in life and greater strength to do more good for Imo people.
For the stakeholders who passed a vote of confidence in me and encouraged me to go for a second term, I think that is also the handiwork of God, I am humbled and thank Him and by His grace I will not disappoint the people. Politics and democracy are about the people, so when you are serving the people and it is being appreciated and acknowledged, it gives additional joy to you. I am grateful to the stakeholders.
Looking at your life over the years, what would you say make you happy and sad?
You know I came into politics from the private sector, and while in the private sector, there was this notion that Hope Uzodimma was a generous man, a community leader who cared for, and helped his people. This made me happy because it boiled down to service to the people. However, I realised that serving the people from my private purse might not have the desired impact that one expected; so, I decided to join politics to have a bigger platform to serve and help my people and make life more meaningful for them. God has been so kind to me, I have used the few opportunities given to me to contribute my quota to the development of my state. What makes me happy, therefore, is when my people are happy and things are going well. What makes me sad is when things are not going well, and my people are sad.
You were at the National Assembly for years as a legislator participating in law making. Now you are a governor with executive power. How would you compare the two, and what advantage would you say you have ,having been in the National Assembly and now governor?
Being a senator in the National Assembly gave me the opportunity to know, understand and appreciate the diversity of Nigeria. I participated in making many laws, and these laws which were subjected to public hearings provided me the opportunity to hear diverse opinions and appreciate different thought processes, some of them divergent and some below expectation. But, at the end of the day you will appreciate the areas of disagreement culturally and in ethnic permutations. I must tell you that I was very committed to my job in the National Assembly and the experience I acquired as a senator has helped me function better as a governor because the bureaucracy of governance, the intrigues, the dos, and don’ts of the public service. I acquired a lot of knowledge through the various legislations we passed, that is why today many people wonder why I have not fell into any of their traps.
I became governor in a state where the political opposition did not want to allow anything to happen unless they are the ones in-charge of the state .I came, mindful of what they were up to, and so far, God has been so wonderful. If there is anything that disturbed me initially, it was the rampant burning of public property and assets and the killing of innocent people in the name of politics, and the propaganda and blackmail that followed to give a dog a bad name in order to hang it. We prayed and God heard us, and we were able to expose those behind the crime.
Today, I am happy because if you are experienced, if you are probably groomed, if you have a proper understanding of Nigeria and the sufferings of our people and the need to probably develop our country at the national level, it means that if you can serve at the sub-national level like in my case, you will be able to address those things. That is why I have committed every energy and have deployed every resource into making sure that those things that make life more meaningful to the people are addressed. It is a big advantage and if I can have my way, I would recommend that before you are given the opportunity to serve as a governor in a state, you should be exposed to the complexities of the nation, so that you gather the kind of knowledge that will help you thread cautiously and do things that would engender peace and progress of your state and the country generally.
Back to your endorsement for second term , how would you react if the opposition accuse you of influencing stakeholders to take the step ? Secondly, would you say you have been able to overcome the actions of the opposition?
I think the most important thing is that the level of tolerance I have exhibited is what true democracy requires. They have also seen my performance to the extent that many opposition leaders now appreciate what I am doing. Leaders of opposition parties are beginning to embrace my style of governance and pledge their support to my government.
If the people are the ones asking me to go for a second term it shows that they appreciate what I am doing, but they should also do it with their votes when the time comes. If they are saying continue with what you are doing, it means that what I am doing is good.
Have you ever felt like giving up, knowing that you are doing your best ,yet some people are trolling you , doing everything to pull you down?
It happens to every leader, but when you are experienced and understand the vagaries of power, you will know how to manage every situation. In this case we have taken the oath of office and we are bound by that oath. That is why democracy and good governance go with social justice. That is why no matter the provocation, you must be able to manage your temperament.
You have invited President Muhammadu Buhari to Owerri three times this year and he came. What endears you to him considering that there are some states in Nigeria he has not visited in the last seven years?
President Buhari is a merit-driven leader. I was barely one year in office when I invited him to commission the first project. He then commissioned two roads – the abandoned Port Harcourt – Owerri Road and the Federal Secretariate road in Owerri, which had not been passable for more than 20 years. The second time, he commissioned the multi-billion project, the Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu by-pass, as well as the new Exco Chambers that I built. President Buhari believes in infrastructure revolution. He believes that we must recover our critical infrastructure to develop as a country. So, he is encouraged to see a governor who believes in and is doing the same thing at the sub-national level. You know that the Owerri-Orlu road had been neglected since the end of the Civil War, but we brought a world class contractor to dualise that road. The third visit was during the Police Conference we hosted. I must count myself lucky that each time I call him to come and commission projects, he comes. I would say that this is a confirmation that the president knows we are doing the right thing in government.
You have been in office for almost three years, yet you have not been able to win over some people from your Orlu zone. What happened?
It is not strange. You cannot win everybody over. The most perfect person to walk this earth, Jesus Christ, had opposition that started from his own people. No matter what you do as a human being, you will face some opposition. And the meaning of democracy is that some people will agree, and some will not. The important thing is that you should try to do things right.
President Buhari has accused state governors of stealing local government funds, causing poverty everywhere. As a governor, what do you say?
President Buhari said those tampering with local government funds. Gov Hope Uzodimma is not tampering with local government funds; so I’m not in the category of governors he condemned. When I wanted to contest to be governor, I undertook a needs assessment. I went around the state to understand the needs of the people and I had a manifesto. Immediately I became governor, I started addressing the needs of my people. The issue of poverty is a global issue, and I can tell you that no Nigerian president has created social intervention programmes meant to address poverty as President Buhari. He has done much in this regards.
There are allegations that your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is afraid of the use of Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) for the 2023 general election. Why is that so?
The Inter-Party Advisory council (IPAC) held a conference recently and the keynote address was presented by former President of the Senate and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim and the issues he raised were neither APC nor PDP issues. All he said was that the BVAS technology should be subjected to an independent verification to establish its veracity. There may be some truth in what Anyim said. We are talking about an election for a country of 200 million people. We don’t want to run into bigger problems while trying to avoid one problem.
Some state governors are accused of preventing the opposition from campaigning in their states. What do you say to that?
If the opposition wants to use my compound for a rally and it is convenient, I will make it available to them. I have no quarrel with the opposition coming out to campaign. The only remedy to weaken the opposition is performance. I will allow opposition in Imo State campaign because the more billboards they put up the more internally generated revenue the government will earn; so it is a plus for me. Democracy grows on political tolerance. We are mindful of this and therefore tolerant of those who oppose us or may not like the good work we do. That is what stands us out.
What advice would you give the electorate as the 2023 general election approach?
I will tell them to vote wisely, and if I have my way, I will tell them to vote for all APC candidates.
Looking at the situation of things in Imo State today, would you say that Imo has recovered?
Imo has been totally recovered, peace restored, and is the hospitality capital of the South East. Owerri has the highest traffic for hotels and entertainment; it is a social space that welcomes people and gradually we have come back to that. Those who gave the state a bad name before by what they did should respect this peace.
How do you plan to consolidate on this?
The first line of security depends on our attitude and psyche. Owerri is safe. People see it and believe it . That is why we have had several visitors coming for people to see that Owerri is back. People are not interested in talking about insecurity; they want to go back to work; we have people who depend on their daily income to eat. They desire and want peace to reign , they do not want a disruption of their businesses which also disrupts their livelihood.
What do you say to those that boast that they will stop you at the next election?
Election is not about one man. What is the capacity of the person saying that? In an election the minority will have their say but the majority will have their way. I am the governor of Imo State for both those who love me and those who don’t. In three years we have done much. We did Owerri-Orlu road; go and check. We did Owerri-Okigwe road; go and check. We restored Port Harcourt and Secretariate roads; go and check. We are doing Owerri-Mbaise-Umuahia road; go and check. We built a brand new polytechnics; go and check. We established University of Agriculture that is functioning; go and check.
We reconstructed MCC road and any roads within Owerri metropolis as well as many rural roads; go and check. We have built and reequipped several hospitals; go and check. We have approved free medical care for our workers; go and check. We have promoted our workers after several years of non-promotion; go and check. We are fixing the bad portions of Owerri-Onitsha road within Imo State to make movement during Christmas easy; go and check. We reconstructed the House of Assembly Complex for our lawmakers to do their job of lawmaking in a conducive environment; go and check. We used the baloon technology to fight erosion; go and check. We have upheld justice, equity and fairness in our project distributions, appointments and actions; go and check. We have done many good things in just three years to endear us to voters. We are confident that all these will count for us in next elections.
There are many failed portions of Owerri-Onitsha expressway, around Mgbidi and others. What are your plans for that road as Christmas approaches?
As I said earlier, we are tackling the problem. A contractor is already working on that road, and it will be ready before Christmas. I have just been governor for three years. To many people, the problems we met on the ground when we came would take more than 20 years to fix, but we have done a lot in three years. We will continue to address the problems and get them fixed. That’s why we are in government.
There is this allegation that a journalist was arrested for criticising you. What happened? Secondly, if you were to write your epitaph, what would you write?
How can I arrest a journalist? The character of Imo politics and the kind of gladiators we have resort to blackmail when they see you making progress. I am almost the most blackmailed politician in Nigeria, but I have not arrested any journalist. The DSS did its job over a criminal libelous broadcast and explained the action. The Broascasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) also querried the station for the libelous broadcast. In social media, they twist a lot of things and heap blame on me. That is the nature of our politics.
What would you write, if you were to write your epitaph?
I will simply say that I am a man who people did not give much rating, but who performed beyond expectation and to the consternation of his detractors, a man who loves his people and who have done his best to give them better living and opportunities.
