Political Madness - What Ministry of Happiness and Purpose Fulfillment?

According to This Day Newspaper of December 5, 2017, Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha of Imo state have sworn in 28 new commissioners and eighty one transition committee members of the 27 Local Government Councils in   Imo state.

Appointment of commissioners is a usual thing in Nigeria but there is something unusual about this appointment that has kept many people wondering what manner of man is Governor Okorocha. Barely few weeks after the erection of Zuma statute and the statute of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, Governor Okorocha has again aggrieved the citizens of Imo State and Nigeria by creating an irrelevant office named: Ministry of Happiness and Purpose Fulfillment. What an abuse of an office and a mockery of the citizens!

According to Governor Okorocha, “The real essence of life is to be happy and to fulfill one’s purpose in life; Government officials are elected to address this. Happiness and Purpose Fulfillment Ministry therefore, is established for the lost time to correct the policy framework to guide ministries and departments on what they must do to guarantee the citizens’ happiness and contribute better to the society. Governments at different levels have created several ministries and departments to achieve this, yet, people are bitter, angry with hate speeches which lead to crisis, war and even terrorism”. What a flimsy reason?

Meanwhile, Mrs Nkechi Ololo, Governor Okorocha’s younger sister said that the ministry was created not because of family relations but to help secure the welfare of people in need. Why won’t people see it as a family business when Governor Okorocha’s Son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, is the Chief of Staff, his wife, Nkechi Rochas Okorocha, is the Chairman of Imo Amnesty Committee while his father-in-law and the current Minister of State for Education Anthony Anwuka, was the former Secretary to Imo State Government.

People are bitter and angry because their needs are not being met. The welfare of the people in need will be secured when the salaries of civil servants are paid on monthly basis, when pensioners are duly paid, when jobs are created for the teeming youths; to get them out of the streets, when water supply is regular and clean, when there is steady power supply for technicians, hairdressers, welders, etc. to work with and help boost the economy, etc. Will Ministry of Happiness make all these possible? We have good and talented comedians in Nigeria so I don’t think we need this office because it seems to me like this Ministry of Happiness is created to stir up temporal laughter to make people forget their sorrows while their problems linger.

I think this is the height of madness, or are we yet to experience another? Another election season is approaching; the best thing for Nigerians to do is to boycott elections if the candidates are from the present and past leaders. We need a change of leadership please. This political madness has reached its peak.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

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Party Prostitution: The Case of Former Vice President; Atiku Abubakar’s Resignations

Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa has formerly resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC). In the statement of his resignation he noted: “Be that as it may be, after due consultation with my God, my family, my supporters and the Nigerian people whom I met in all walks of life, I, Atiku Abubakar, Waziri Adamawa, hereby tender my resignation from the All Progressives Congress while I take time to ponder my future.

First of all I congratulate the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar for the bold step he took in tendering his resignation for the second time on the grounds of party infidelity towards its principles, and wish that the reasons he gave for leaving the party were indeed to shun corrupt practices and not for selfish reasons.

Decamping from a party and joining another has become a political character of Nigerian politicians that we wonder if it is for the well being of the citizens. There is need to note the consequences of changing from one party to another to find out if it is healthy or destructive to the leadership of this nation. I doubt if it is healthy and wish for a stable political atmosphere.

Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State is known for defecting from one party to the other, depending on the one that is more promising.  Before the 2015 elections, many Nigerian politicians defected to APC like no man’s business because they saw that the air of victory seemed to blow around it. Most of our leaders decamp from a party when they foresee that people have lost hope in that party and will likely vote that party out in the next election. It is not necessarily because that party has failed to deliver in its promises.

It is not hard to create a problem, what is hard is to solve a created problem. Our leaders are the ones creating the problems in their various parties but instead of them to solve that problem; they prefer to decamp to a more promising party, only to find out that the same problem followed them there.

Someone whose house is on fire ought to rally round to quench the fire and not run away from his house. Is it in practice for a man to run away from his family to another family because there is a problem in his family? Is that not a show of cowardice? Is he not expected to think for a solution and solve his family problems?

This issue of running from one party to the other is not helping our dear country. It is a child’s play that must stop because it is a game of python. They make us believe that it is for good and that they mean well, while in the actual sense they are just after their political ambitions; however it is achieved, to them, it doesn’t matter.

We appeal to those concerned to please look into the constitution that guide politics and parties in Nigeria and amend the political laws of Nigeria. The healthy laws that are not been followed should be enforced. Something should be done to maintain a stable political atmosphere. Enough of party prostitution!

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi

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The Controversy over Zuma Statute in Imo State

The statute of the president of South Africa in Imo State erected by the state Governor, Mr. Rochas Okorocha has continued to stir dust in Imo State and Nigeria, Yet, the governor decided to ignore the feelings of the people that joyfully elected him to power.

If it was just the naming of a road after Zuma and giving him a traditional title, it would have been a lighter subject to deal with; but to spend almost half a billion naira to honour a president who is facing serious charges of corruption in his own country is an abuse of office.

What was his reason for this honour? To encourage business relationship and attract business in Imo State was his alleged reason. And what was this business all about? To sign a memorandum of understanding between the Jacob Zuma Educational Foundation and the Rochas Foundation College of Africa, a private educational foundation of the governor; was the so called business. What a selfish business deal to the detriment of those who elected him to office. Why should the private visit of a foreign leader be given such a lavish memorial, and why the president of a country where Nigeria has been at the receiving end of xenophobia attack?

This is the governor of a state where workers are owed salaries and a governor who deemed it right to demolish the market where many of his citizens depend on for livelihood. What pains the most is that the governor blatantly ignored and lashed at his critics; those who entrusted their lives and assets in his hands when they voted him into power; as if they have no say in the matter concerning their collective resources.

The problem here is not the honour accorded a great man from South Africa. The issue here is that such honour should be earned or deserved, and should not be at the expense of poor citizens. For such an honour to be given, there must be a genuine reason. There is no evidence that President Zuma has done anything for Imo People.

Is it not yet time for the church to stand out and judge evil? Is the church waiting for every one of us to die spiritual deaths before they demonstrate the power of God in this generation? Has the church eaten what they are not supposed to eat from the so called politicians that made them seal their moths to the truth? Has the church not slept enough? People are suffering and our leaders think of nothing, and do nothing other than abuse their political offices and squander peoples resources on frivolities, yet our church leaders only pray and treat the matter on the pulpit. Our today’s carnivorous politicians need messages directed to them personally from highly placed men of God, not general messages that address no one in particular. If prayer and pulpit talk are enough to solve the problems, then why is it that the more we pray and preach, the more our leaders embezzle public funds and the more youths and poor masses take to crimes? Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, etc during their own time, did not only pray but also demonstrated God’s judgment upon the then leaders. The political atmosphere in Nigeria today is so tense and does not call for a gentle approach. Our leaders want everybody to remain calm as they perpetrate evil. If we all continue to keep quiet, expecting a change, then this madness will soon become a culture that will be difficult to abolish in the future, and maybe, by then bush meat will not satisfy them but human flesh.

Everybody cannot be a governor and everybody cannot be a president. The same goes for other state and national positions of power. Imo people and Nigerians are not fools to have voted their people into positions of power. All we want are responsible leaders that will manage the resources given to them well, in the best interest of their citizens, and not selfish leaders who have hard copies of good and wonderful promises, who will match into their seats of power with soft copies of their personal and destructive agenda.

Written by Olive Chinyere Amajuoyi