Problem solving and passion are two of the qualities of a good leader. Another one is honesty.
A good leader knows what his people want, and he does them. He is passionate about his people, their needs and problems, and he solves them.
A good leader is honest with his people. He does not engage in theatrics when communicating with them. He tells them the truth that can set free and launches them on the path of progress. With honesty, passion, and problem solving qualities, a good leader would be able to mobilize his people on the right path. This is what Governor Hope Uzodimma has done.
We have to be honest with ourselves as we look at the condition of the state before January 15, 2020, when Governor Hope Uzodimma was sworn-in.
It is important to remind ourselves that a few days after the governor assumed office, protests erupted in different parts of the state. The protests held at the deplorable roads that were scattered across the state at the time. One of the roads that were in deplorable condition was the Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze Road. Students of the Federal Polytechnic Nekede and their counterparts from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) staged a protest on the road that had actually broken down and was abandoned by successive administrations in the state. They were joined by comedians and skitmakers who made the protest to go viral, as people watched the protest from the comfort of their homes in far away places.
The theme of the protest was that roads were bad in Imo. They refused to give the man who had just been sworn-in as governor any chance to settle down. They said that the government is a continuum and that all they asked for was that the roads should be fixed.
They were right. The government is a continuum, and the governor has demonstrated that.
The governor did not antagonise any of the protesters. He heard them loud and clear. Points taken, the governor went to work and fixed the road.
On September 9, 2021, former President Muhammadu Buhari was in Owerri to commission the road, and he commended the governor for his vision in developing infrastructure for his people.
The former president also commissioned the Egbeada bypass to decongest the lingering heavy traffic on some roads in the state. Today, those roads are serving Imo people, and the protests have since stopped.
The Naze-Nekede-Ihiagwa-Obinze and the Egbeada bypass were not the only deplorable roads in the state that became protest sites. The Orogwe-Ohii Road was in a deplorable condition as well, and it became a protest site. The MCC/Uratta Road was in a deplorable condition, and it became a protest site as well. Comedians and skitmakers had a field day, held mock honeymoons, weddings, and marriage proposals. One comedian and skitmaker, dressed in sparkling white attire, had to fall from a motorcycle into the murky waters on one of the roads, and she became a sorry sight. She aimed to pass the message that roads were deplorable in Imo.
It would amount to dishonesty to have disagreed with the protesters – the roads were actually in a deplorable condition by the time Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma became governor. The Owerri-Okigwe Road, Owerri-Orlu Road, Control Post/Port Harcourt Road, World Bank Road, Yar’Adua Drive, Douglas Road, Federal Secretariat Road (now called Muhammadu Buhari Road), were in deplorable state. Today, these roads are masterpieces. Governor Hope Uzodimma made them so.
The good work done by Senator Hope Uzodimma since his emergence as governor in 2020 is speaking louder than the propaganda and falsehood from the opposition that have since been rejected by Imo people.
It is these good works that Imo people are looking at, not the propaganda from the opposition.
