100 DAYS OF SHARED PROSPERITY: THE CHALLENGES, SUCCESSES AND PROSPECTS
By Ugwumba Uche Nwosu
The significance of marking the first 100 Days in office for a political executive cannot be overstated, not because it passes a judgement on the administration, but because, it better defines the policy direction and convinces the people more about how realistic and impactful the administration’s set objectives are to the people and the State.
Therefore, in joining all Imolites of good conscience to mark the 100 Days in office of His Excellency Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, I will recognize the facts of the peculiar challenges which his administration has had to surmount in order to achieve the commendable feats he has been able to achieve within this short time.
Coming from the distractions of an unprecedented challenge by the PDP, who sought a review of the Supreme Court judgement affirming his victory at the polls, the governor is presently faced with the global health crisis ignited by the Covid-19 outbreak as well as the dire economic straits, which have seen crude oil fall to a near two decades low.
It would require a man of strong character and trained temperament to be able to navigate through these crises within his first 100 Days in office and still be able to have verifiable and tangible people oriented projects and programs to show in his first 100 Days in office, and Governor Uzodimma, by my own unbiased analysis, has navigated the ship of State well, within the resources available to him.
I especially commend the proactive and very intelligent steps he has taken to protect Imo State from a possible outbreak of Covid-19 in our State. Protecting the people from such a rampaging pandemic is an achievement everyone must commend, especially, when we take cognizance of the human carnage and economic disaster that have ravaged Southern Europe, Asia and even the United States of America.
Ensuring the safety of Imo citizens, as well as their assets is another fundamental achievement of the governor. The Operation Search and Flush initiative, inaugurated few weeks after he took office, has gone a long way in restoring peace in the State. Security is central to economic prosperity, and the prioritization of security of lives and properties of Imolites have no doubt led to more economic prosperity in the State as well as opened a floodgate for jobs to be created for our teeming youths.
There is also no doubt that the governor has great ideas and beautiful plans for our educational sector. I will however advise that the very successful free education program initiated by the APC led administration of His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha is sustained, as enhanced access to quality education has been proven to be the most effective way to improve the living standards of the people accelerate rural development and prosperity.
The continuation of projects initiated by previous administration and his insistence on quality, probity, transparency and accountability are also very commendable. I will however advise that these jobs are sped up to beat the impending rainy season.
Within these first 100 Days in office, the governor has made good efforts to sell his policies and programs to the people and there are good signs that majority of the people are keying into his vision and I want to reiterate my call on Imolites to support the administration. We gain nothing by fighting, but we can gain a lot if we come together to work for the prosperity of the State and its people.
Like every people oriented administration, there are bound to be distractions from two groups of people; those who don’t agree with you politically and therefore would have sworn to derail the administration with falsehood and propaganda and those who are misinformed and would therefore speak ill of the government, not because of what they can prove, but because of the misinformation they have been fed with by the first group of people. My advice to the governor is to ignore those who have chosen to willfully derail his administration through propaganda and fake news, but listen only to those with genuine complaints and workable ideas for solving Imo’s problems.
Ugwumba Uche Nwosu.(MNITP, FCA)
President Ugwumba center for leadership development in Africa.
