By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality” – Warren Bennis
The leadership and personality traits of Imo state Governor His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodinma completely align with Bennis’ timeless postulation above.
A careful x-ray of Governor Uzodinma’s silent but wholesome reinvention of Imo since mounting the saddle four years ago clinically encapsulates his vision for the state.
January 15, 2020, ushered in for Ndi Imo, a refreshing dawn of HOPE. On that day, Governor Uzodinma, a man imbued with fecundity of ideas as to how to pull Imo from the doldrums, took over the reins of government, signalling the commencement of the first term of the Shared Prosperity government.
As he stood on the dais set to be sworn-in, Governor Uzodimma was clear about his mission, vision and agenda for the Imo people. His eyes shone with determination and zeal to make a difference, and his face flushed with a glint of inward satisfaction and conviction about his vision having carefully designed and armed himself with a workable blueprint for the re-engineering of Imo.
Of course, prominent in the blueprint was road infrastructure. Essentially, before the coming of Governor Uzodinma, Imo had, for close to a decade, witnessed a stagnation in the critical areas of the economy, particularly road infrastructure.
Imo roads were the gateway to hell. However, within
four years of his people-oriented administration, the Governor, among other superlative achievements, has endeared himself to the hearts of the Imo people with his massive, state-wide road construction.
Governor Uzodinma is arguable, in practical terms, demonstrating and stamping the import and meaning of his name on the Imo landscape. His name, “Uzodinma”, when transliterated means “when the road is good”. Of course, when the road is good, movements are easy, the economy booms and the people are happy! In the last four years, by the grace of Governor Uzodinma, Imo roads have witnessed unprecedented turnaround and intra-state/ community movements have been made easy, the local economy is booming and Imo people are happy. Indeed, UZODINMA happened to Imo!
Governor Uzodimma’s road revolution is on the cusp of making Imo the only state east of Niger with the best network of rural and intra-state roads.
His unparalleled strides in road infrastructure are undeniable as his administration has constructed and completed or is about to complete over 100 roads in the state, spread across the three senatorial districts and the 27 local government areas.
Not only that the new roads open up communities hitherto cut off from the rest of the state, but Governor Uzodinma’s road revolution has also ensured that inter and intra-community movements have become seamless and effortless.
Another elegant commentary about the Governor’s road construction blitz is that it has brought about increased economic activities among the communities, especially the transportation to the local markets of farm produce.
Besides, with brand new roads springing up in hitherto hard-to-reach areas, the Uzodimma administration has virtually turned Imo rural communities into semi-urban areas complete with the accruing socio-economic benefits.
Many indigenes of such communities who had been away from home for a long time hardly recognised the landscape of their communities upon returning home.
Such was the case of Andrew Ubajaka, an indigene of Nempi in the Oru-West local government area who returned home recently after nearly a decade outside the community.
When he returned home, Ubajaka was pleasantly confronted by a beautifully constructed Nemp-Amagu-Akuma road which passes through his family compound.
Ubajaka could not believe that the road which was completely impassable at the time he left Nempi as a teenager was now road users’ delight.
“I can’t believe that anyone can now drive effortlessly from Nempi through Amagu up to Akuuma inward Awo ideally. I can no longer recognise Nempi, even Amagu! This is like magic. Thanks to our Governor, onwa Oyoko”( as Governor Uzodinma is affectionately called by his admirers), Ubajaka said.
The Nempi-Amagu-Akuma road is a strategic road connecting three communities and linking four local government areas: Nempi( Oru-west), Amagu( Oru-East), Akuma( Oru-East) and Awo-idemili( Orsu).
The Akuma end of the road links with Awo- idemili, inward the Orlu-Ihila road, and then connects motorists to Orlu to the right and Ihiala/Onitsha to the left.
Before Governor Uzodinma’s intervention, successive Imo governments had ignored fervent pleas to construct the Nempi- Amagu-Akuma road which has been a nightmare to motorists and other road users for over four decades with the Amagu-Akuma portion of it completely impassable, cut into two by gully erosion.
Apart from changing the narratives in the 27 local government areas of the state in terms of road construction, Governor Uzodinma has also changed the face of Owerri, the state capital with exhilarating urban renewal efforts.
Among the roads the Shared Prosperity government has constructed in the Owerri metropolis and its environs include: Aba Road, Douglas Road, Port Harcourt Road (Federal Road), Assumpta Cathedral/ Aladimma Road, MCC-Uratta Road, MCC-Egbu Road.
Others include Naze-PolyNek road, Poly junction-Ogbosisi/FRSC/Whetheral/Toronto road, Orji-Okigwe road, Owerri-Orlu road, Owerri-Mbaise-Umuahia road, Egbeada bypass among others.
Love him or hate him, you cannot but concede to Governor Uzodinma that he has translated into reality his vision of Imo where the citizens enjoy in abundance, the social and economic benefits of socio-economic and infrastructural development, a state where an economy can be created from ground zero through a deliberate recaliberation of road infrastructure with the attendant high multiplier effect on the economy.
Ndi Imo and indeed Imo communities wanted to continue to benefit from onwa oyoko’s road revolution and his government’s other infrastructural and economic projects and policies hence they didn’t think twice before renewing his mandate for a second term last November.
Indeed UZODINMA, Uzo Imo dinma!
Chidiebere Onyemaizu, an associate member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR, is a former Deputy Editor and served as the Senior Special Assistant on Print media to former Governor Ben Ayade
