By: Sam Osuji
What surprises several people in Imo State today is how its landscape has dramatically changed. To be sure, these changes were foretold by the revered Father Ejike Mbaka. However, it is certain that most people could not envisage the changes of this magnitude. They came like a whirlwind, systematically redefining its infrastructural trajectory. The tempo and texture of the transformation makes it historic and fascinating.
History is made by human agency. The documentation of history is also done by humans. Since its creation in 1976, Imo can be said to be in its second golden era. The era of the late Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe came with unprecedented momentum in infrastructural development which, unfortunately, was not sustained by succeeding administrations (military & civilian). Today, there is a deliberate and determined agenda to upscale and expand the hitherto deteriorating infrastructure of Imo for posterity, thus, granting Imolites the much needed reprieve.
The Senator Hope Uzodimma administration in Imo has turned the stress that once defined Imo into strides of momentous scale. Before the governor’s emergence, Imo had failed roads at every corner. Accessing Owerri from any community was quite stressful. Those coming from Orlu, Okigwe, Obowo, Mbaise, Umuahia and Portharcourt, among others, had an uphill task accessing the state capital. Dilapidated infrastructure dotted everywhere. People had expected the governor to simply make emergency repairs on the roads like his predecessors. But the governor shocked everyone. He rather opted for total reconstruction. No one saw it coming. And not by your usual contractors. Not by the same league of construction workers that literally destroyed Imo roads after which it was blamed on acid rain. The governor went for a construction giant, Craneburg. When they mobilized to site, cynics dared the governor to complete the task if he was man enough. Most people did not believe that these projects could be delivered in their life time.
There is something emotional about the leadership of Gov Uzodimma. When he assumed office on January 15, 2020, not many gave him a chance. Naysayers prognosticated bad times in Imo. Doomsday prophets spoke in unsavoury tones. The preceding administration acting as a judge in their case, gave verdicts of horror. Then came a grand conspiracy to turn Imo into a war theatre. The aim was to compromise the security of the state, instill fear and make it ungovernable. Even road workers were abducted in the process of constructing durable roads for Imolites. Construction equipment were vandalized or even set ablaze by these agents of darkness acting a script. Was the governor distracted? Did he abandon the roads? Did he abandon his shared-prosperity agenda to concentrate on insecurity as most of his peers would have done? After all, insecurity could be cited as an alibi for not performing well in critical sectors of the economy.
Today, the 3-R administration of Senator Hope Uzodimma has proven to be a divine mandate. Whoever thought this much would have been achieved in six years. It has remained a wonder to many how a new Imo was steadily and stealthily built by a humble and unassuming achiever. Time was when Imo boasted of garrulous leaders who practically did nothing to build an infrastructurally strong Imo. A stressed Imo is gradually becoming history, giving way to the Imo of our collective dream. In the era of a stressed Imo, there was no good road that linked the state with neigbouring states. Roads, hitherto written off, suddenly became a tale of transformation. There was an Owerri-Okigwe road that had several failed portions that kept commuters for hours on the road. The Ekemele area in Akabo Ikeduru was a nightmare in rainy season. The Orlu-Owerri road also had several failed portions that made the 37 kilometre road look like a 137 kilometre stretch. The Owerri-Mbaise-Umuahia road equally had several failed portions. The governor took up all these roads and beautifully reconstructed them. When he took up the Orlu – Mgbee – Akokwa road with several gully erosion sites and large craters, one would have thought that it was beyond the capacity of a state government. Today, the road is a fantastic story of what sincere leadership does. The erosion sites have been recovered and the road is steadily nearing completion.
Like a leader in a haste, the governor has begun the reconstruction of Owerri-Portharcourt road with several failed portions in Umuagwo and Umuapu that kept commuters for hours. The irony is that the Rivers portion of the road is good while the Imo part of the road is a tale of horror. What Gov Uzodimma did was to rewrite history and change narratives. There is no more comparison between parts of the stretch in Rivers and Imo. The Imo side of road is already “singing a new song” and commuters are “dancing” to the melody. Work has thankfully advanced on the project to the admiration and relief of Imolites and Nigerians that ply the road.
Determined to make Imo a one-city state, the governor only last year took up the entire stretch of Owerri-Onitsha road and resurfaced it, complete with road furniture and street lighting. It is noteworthy that the governor has been delivering quality and finished projects for Imolites. There is virtually no road he builds without flood lights. The lighting project gives a sense of security at night as pathways are illuminated.
In a dramatic turn of events, a hitherto stressed Imo has become a huge construction site of transformational development. This is a developmental strategy once thought impossible. Time was when solid road projects were alien to Imo State. Roads were built to sign off huge sums from the public treasury. That was the time two dysfunctional flyover bridges were built and two doomed tunnels constructed.
Today, the Control Post twin flyover, a majestic signature project constructed at a time Imolites had given up on solid infrastructure, stands a piece of beauty to behold. For one, I feel proud of my state seeing motorists navigate the length and breadth of the flyover. Gov Uzodimma constructed the project and commissioned it for public use. The entire landscape of the area was recalibrated and the aesthetic ambience greatly improved. This is the story of a new Imo that is steadily emerging under a sincere and consistent leadership personage, Senator Hope Uzodimma. Imo is now a testament of excellent leadership and transformed infrastructure. God bless Imo State!
