Uzodimma’s Impressive Economic Summit Attendance In Abidjan: Why Imo Opposition May Not Have Cogent Reasons To Condemn His Participation

Posted on January 27, 2022

NJOKU MACDONALD OBINNA

In a true democracy, the beauty of opposition is to keep the government and her functionaries on their toes. Admittedly, the new generation of opposition in Imo political space is quite awake, informed, and politically conscious, thus, giving the government of the day the consciousness that it is being held accountable to the people as a lot is expected of the man at the helm of affairs; who now religiously executes government’s projects, programmes and policies with all sense of responsibility and diligence despite the gathering storms of dissenting voices.

Funny enough, the organised opposition in Imo State, yesterday, was very silent as there was relative decorum on the cyberspace when the news flickered online that the State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, was the focal governor leading three other state governors; H.E. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari , for the African Development Bank (AfDB) – EPI sponsored Special Agro -Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme in Abidjan- Cote D’ Ivorie; aimed at fast-tracking agro- industrial transformation, creating jobs and economic growth in its areas of concentration which Nigeria is prominent among them.

Luckily enough, Imo State was included in 2021 as one of the beneficiaries of the AFDB’s Agro-Industrial initiatives through the assistance of the Federal Government giving impetus to the handlers of Sen. Hope Uzodimma to unanimously eulogize his political sagacity as a dangerous boardroom strategist, who has Federal presence and also plays at the center. The alluring noise is understandable as Gov. Hope Uzodimma remains, for the record time, about the most criticized State Governor in the history of Imo State for varying reasons.

Needless to say, that the opposition was simply startled. They couldn’t believe it, not even in a foreseeable future. This is ‘Hope Uzodimma’ and not ‘Emeka Ihedioha’. While the former is known as a political Maradona, the later is known as an organised astute administrator, who during his short stay as Imo Governor, had such laudable initiatives to attract both Direct and Indirect Foreign Investments to Imo State through the assistance of Development Partners; World Bank, USAID – US Agency for International Development, African Development Bank Group and other donor agencies.

While Imo people, keen observers of Imo politics, the critics and Diasporans are quite impressed with the outing of Gov. Hope Uzodimma at the African Development Bank’s sponsored Agro-Industrial Processing Economic Summit in Abidjan, yesterday, they are also waiting with breathed air the resultant economic impact of that singular outing.

Ironically, the joint opposition; blind and destructive ones lost out this time. Even those, who ordinarily wanted to pick up some faults with the governor’s outing yesterday, later reneged for fear of being under public opprobrium and media bashings from discerning minds and other conservatives.

They kept quiet and allowed the sleeping dog lie. Unlike Governor Hope Uzodimma, who is usually distracted by the security challenge in Imo State and heavy pressure of running governance. This time, we saw a new Hope. A calm and calculated governor, who wanted to change the narrative of the beleaguered Agricultural Sector in Imo and put the state on the global map of economic resurgence in critical sectors of the state economy through the timely interventions of the Federal Government, AFDB, and other critical development partners. Imo won!

Basking in the euphoria of a possible economic breakthrough in the Agricultural Sector of our beloved State, Imo, an overzealous supporter of the Shared Prosperity Administration was quoted to have said, ” The blind opposition had covered their faces in shame”. While I may not completely agree with that assertion, I am of the candid opinion that Governor Hope Uzodimma should also come forward with related development-driven economic programmes as to ensure improved performance in governance and infrastructural development across the state. That is the only way to silence the opposition as yesterday’s outing in Abidjan could be used as a template.

By that singular outing, Governor Hope Uzodimma did not only prove that he is in charge, but also has some stake in the current political leadership discuss of Nigeria. He has kept the political dynamics of Imo State on his own terms by making his play for power-control more intelligent and insidious.

As a good student of power play, he shifted the conflict and war to terrain of his choice, altering the pace and stakes that suit him. To this end, no sane or reasonable homosapien, no matter their political leanings or party affiliations would ever fault or criticize Imo State’s inclusion in the African Development Bank’s catchment area for the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme. In this regard, having controlled the overall direction and framing of this particular battle, anything dissenting voices do to oppose it would play into the hands of the Shared Prosperity Administration under Governor Hope Uzodimma, to his own advantage. That is why the opposition cannot condemn this particular outing since it is for the overall best interest and economic growth of our beloved state, Imo.