IMO STATE: *Talk Is Cheap*: The Voodoo Candidates.By: Prince Eze Ugochukwu
*IMO STATE PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT*
IMO STATE: *Talk Is Cheap*: The Voodoo Candidates.
By: Prince Eze Ugochukwu
Ronald Reagan’s fiscal policies during the 1980s were labelled Voodoo Economics. Reagan’s policies led to the highest fiscal deficits the United States has ever known.
Here in Nigeria, the phrase “Voodoo Politics” was minted by Professor Wole Soyinka in 1993, when he detested the whole scenario of Nigerian politics.
Here in Imo State, one could be tempted to assign the candidates of the opposition parties with the label of Voodoo Candidates. The reason is that voting any of them into the office of governor will bring about the highest developmental deficits in Imo State history, more calamitous, and catastrophic than we saw in the recent past.
Without any known agenda, we see some of these candidates drifting around Imo State forgetting that It'll take more than galavanting around to achieve a governorship ambition. They have not provided any blueprint of the policy agenda they will pursue if elected. They don't want to be scrutinized.
What we have seen are frivolities, mindless photo-ops, and ridiculous funeral appearances with sound bytes aimed at gaining positive media coverage. Of course, Imo people have largely ignored them because they don't understand what they represent. Governance is a more serious business.
Just take a look at the issue of insecurity where the voodoo candidates have hit a new low in their campaign. They are so desperate they’ll do anything to get ahead. — They can’t win the governorship election by falsehood.
Let’s hear from the politician who did more than Governor Hope Uzodimma to tackle the issue of insecurity. Non of them withstood the bandits as much as Uzodimma did.
It's important to understand that the opposition were fully responsible for the escalation of insecurity by supporting and promoting the bandits all along. They bear full responsibility for all the consequences of the attacks witnessed in Imo State, which have not achieved their goals of making the state ungovernable.
It was only Uzodimma who confronted the enemy and defended the Imo people by utilising every available options to strike the enemy in response to their aggression.The attacks against Uzodimma have failed, and the opposition and their voodoo candidates bear responsibility for what happened. The blood that was shed are on their hands.
The Imo electorate has dismissed the governorship ambitions of these voodoo candidates because they have not heard of any plan to improve their lives. Ask them what is their plan for education, health, security, and the economy, and they start scratching their hair, telling you that when they get to the bridge, they will figure out how to cross it.
These "I feel good" candidates with their "happy-go-lucky" campaigns
filled with empty promises are a sorry sight to behold. As a result, the trust between them and the citizens has been severely ruptured.
Candidates for the office of a governor, are expected to be amongst the brightest minds and are looked up to for leadership in tough situations. When they come short of that expectation — especially on the back of empty promises, the citizens naturally pull back from them.
Imo people are disappointed, and embarrassed at the incoherence of the opposition candidates. They are appalled at the lack of any sign of competence, courage and doggedness in the characters of these fellas who want to hold sway in Imo State as governor. The people are worried about the lack of leadership ideals in these wannabes. The truth is that, with these opposition candidates, it is almost unthinkable that they will solve any of our problems.
The difference between Governor Uzodimma and the voodoo candidates who thrive on vainglory is how thoroughly the Governor has thought through the issues of governance. While they are already feeling burnt out and need to go on sabbatical, Uzodimma is fully charged up. Let us consider the Governors' recent dialogue with the Lagos State government as a case in point. While the voodoo candidates were sleeping on duty, without saying a word, the Governor it was who went and brought succour to Igbo traders affected by the demolitions of market buildings especially at the Alaba International market. That is leadership at its best.
When candidates go out of their way to be deliberately misleading; then the citizens become unsure of what to expect from them moving forward.
Looking at their impact, they are not anywhere near in capacity when compared with the present governor. The world is changing and we must take advantage of these changes for our good. Therefore, we must critically examine those asking for our votes. Can they exercise any form of influence? Who amongst them has the power to leverage the office of the governor to attract federal programs like Governor Uzodimma did with the new Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Teaching Hospital, and Alvan Ikoku Federal University of Education.
But why are they termed voodoo candidates ?. The answer is because their quest for power are based on highly improbable and extremely implausible and unrealistic ambitions. They are full of abracadabra, hocus-pocus, and mumbo jumbo, conjuring grandiose self-image of themselves that means absolutely nothing in the art of good governance.
Imo people cannot afford to take risks with their lives and voting for Governor Hope Uzodimma's re-election is the only guarantee to the good life for the people. Despite the challenging economic times that we are currently experiencing, Governor Uzodimma is embarking on many life-touching projects- projects that align with his campaign promise of Shared Prosperity.
