{"id":3408,"date":"2012-11-14T17:33:11","date_gmt":"2012-11-14T17:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2012-11-14T17:33:11","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T17:33:11","slug":"responsive-governance-and-the-imo-rescue-mission-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/?p=3408","title":{"rendered":"RESPONSIVE GOVERNANCE AND THE IMO RESCUE MISSION VERSION"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the very yardsticks for the measurement of effective governance in a democratic setting is how quick government responds to issues of public concern, whether initiated by that particular administration or otherwise.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is a laudable trait in governance when a sitting government reverses any policy initiated by it, based on the public\u2019s rejection or reaction towards that particular policy.\u00a0 Such acts by any government advance its democratic credentials.\u00a0 However, reversing a policy due to the negative public reaction towards the policy, only increases the democratic credentials of the government, when the policy in question went through due process before it was initiated.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Due process is the administrative and legal yardsticks for measurement of responsible governance or responsibility in government.\u00a0 Due process is both procedural and substantive.\u00a0 Therefore any governmental policy must be both substantively just and equitable, and procedurally fair.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Responsive governance without its accompanying responsibility in government only leads to waste of limited public resources.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When a government reacts positively in reversing a policy, it initiated without consultation, waste of limited public resources, results.\u00a0 This is why any public policy initiated by a government under separation of powers system must be backed by an enabling legislation.\u00a0 This means that the legislature must pass such policy into law.\u00a0 Legislative hearings on any bill allow the public to participate and make their contributions and views known.\u00a0 And if the policy is one that attracts negative reactions from the public, the executive may withdraw the bill, or mostly likely the legislature will not pass the bill into law.\u00a0 This, in effect, allows the government to save the cost that she would have otherwise committed into the execution of the policy.\u00a0 This, in essence, is democracy, and the tenants of our system under separation of powers government, and invariably, the mark of responsible governance or responsibility in government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rescue mission version of responsive governance, so far, can best be described as \u201cto leap before you look\u201d.\u00a0 Consequently, rescue mission government may possibly bankrupt Imo State treasury when it is all said and done, due to policy and project reversions.\u00a0 The rancor and acrimonious relationship between the government and the governed are traceable to these policy summersaults.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a nutshell therefore, responsive governance, while it remains a highly valued democratic credential of any government, remains a wasteful misadventure without responsible government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Two very important rescue mission government\u2019s reversions further buttress this theory of governance.\u00a0 Upon the advent of Imo Rescue Mission government, the relocation of Imo State University main campus from Owerri zone to Ideato in Orlu zone took center stage as one of the primary policies of this administration.\u00a0 All the negative public reactions to the idea of relocating Imo State University main campus to Ideato South fell on deaf ears.\u00a0 Land was acquired, and the construction of structures was immediately commenced.\u00a0 Neither the Imo House of Assembly debated the issue, nor was the relocation of a state Land Grant University undertaken without an enabling legislation.\u00a0 Even the negative public reaction was not put into consideration before public resources were expended in the acquisition of land and the construction of the building structures of the University at Ideato South Local Government.\u00a0 Meanwhile hundreds of millions of naira of limited resources were expended.\u00a0 Upon the completion of the several constructions at the new site, the head of rescue mission government, in an interactive session with journalists and local newspaper publishers announced that the Imo State University is hereby returned back to Owerri zone due to the negative public reactions.\u00a0 The Imo State Governor, in the same interactive session, further stated; that the Ideato South location shall henceforth be known as the Imo-European University and the proprietors will reimburse the state treasury for every penny of the state treasury used or expended on the Ideato South University Site.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This particular controversy is one that could have been averted if the Rescue Mission Government of Imo State observed the barest minimum tenant of due process in governance, in the initial relocation of Imo State University to Ideato South Local Government.\u00a0 Even the new proposed executive bill for Imo-European University and the Turkish University should have been submitted to the house before any construction expenses where incurred in the Ideato South location.\u00a0 The reversal of the relocation of Imo State University main campus, while very much welcomed by Imo people, remains a waste of limited State resources for the followings:<\/p>\n

The hundreds of millions of naira already spent in the Ideato South location could have been used to commence the construction of the permanent site in Owerri zone.\u00a0 Furthermore, the return of the Imo State University site to Owerri, without returning the University to the site approved by the previous administration simply means that all the man hours spent and paid for by the state in reaching an agreement on the permanent site during the administration of Ikedi Ohakim has become an absolute waste.\u00a0 Additionally, these hundreds of millions of naira wasted at the Ideato South location could have been used for the proper take-off of Rescue Mission\u2019s tertiary education policy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, since the rescue mission government of Imo State claims to have aborted Imo State University\u2019s relocation to Ideato South due to the public\u2019s reactions, especially Owerri zone indigenes, a simple consultation and an executive bill to the Imo House of Assembly would have formally exposed the public\u2019s opposition to the relocation and thereby alerting the government of such opposition.\u00a0 This would have in turn saved the hundreds of millions of naira spent in the relocation project.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Government\u2019s responsiveness to the public\u2019s negative reaction on a governmental policy or project is a value trait in democracy.\u00a0 But the Imo Rescue Mission government must be made to understand that prevention is better than cure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Conversely, under the administration of Chief Ikedi Ohakim, Imo State University was renamed Evan Enwerem University.\u00a0 The University\u2019s name change at the time was not done by an executive fiat, but rather through an executive bill subjected to the regours of legislative hearing before passage.\u00a0 With each of the 27 local government council areas of the state being represented by a member, any decision backed by legislation could be said to have been made or endorsed by the people of Imo State.\u00a0 There was some subjection to the university name change however the name change was passed into law by the legislature.\u00a0 Nevertheless upon the election of Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the objection to the university name change persisted resulting in the return of the university to its original name.\u00a0 Therefore any wastage that could be said to have occurred as a result of this roller coaster-type name change cannot be blamed on the executive since the name change was submitted as a bill to be decided upon by the people through deliberation and possible passage by the people\u2019s house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just last week, the Rescue Mission Government of Imo State took another action in uprooting and removing the fire service bull statute.\u00a0 For some time, since the unveiling of a bull statute at the Fire Service junction on Mbaise road by Wetheral Road, the capital city of Imo State and its environs have been enveloped by all kinds of rumours.\u00a0 Every imaginable thing have been said or conjured merely because of this bull statute. There are reports that some Pentecostal pastors have commenced fasting and praying until such a time that the government remove the bull statute.\u00a0 On Sunday evening November 3rd<\/sup> 2012 about two to three weeks after the unveiling of the hideous statute, the Government capitulated to negative public reactions towards the statute and removed the bull statute.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Again, this is a responsive government action by Rescue Mission of Imo State.\u00a0 However, while we must all commend Rescue Mission for its responsiveness to the negative public reaction in removing the statute, the question that must be asked is why was thee no consultation and sensitization by the Government before erecting such a hideous statute on the state\u2019s public thoroughfare?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Administrations come and go, but Imo Government and the Imo people will remain.\u00a0 Under our constitution, the most number of years that any one person could head the administration of any state government is a total of eight (8) years.\u00a0 Consequently any policy or project of a long term nature must be backed by law or popular public opinion before it is embarked upon.\u00a0 This is the essence of democracy.\u00a0 When the head of any administration imposes his will through executive fiat, it is no longer a democratic administration but rather, an autocratic or imperialistic government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The actions and conduct-in-office of the head of Rescue Mission administration is best described as a \u201cbull in a china shop\u201d or a kid in a candy store\u201d.\u00a0 The metaphor \u2018a bull in a china shop\u201d is an apt description of some of the actions of His Excellency Owelle Rochas Okorocha.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A bull has awesome destructive powers.\u00a0 A rampaging bull in a China shop housing breakable plates can commit untold destruction in such a shop, just like the untold destruction of the Governor\u2019s maiden broadcast on the government and people of Imo State.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The genesis of the current paralysis of the third tier government in Imo State is traceable to the maiden broadcast of our Governor on June 6th<\/sup> 2011.\u00a0 It is pertinent here, to recall, that this broadcast on the 6th<\/sup> of June 2012 was before the inauguration of the Imo legislature and the constitution of the Imo State Executive Council.\u00a0 In a nutshell, the Governor\u2019s partners in the governance of Imo State were not yet constituted before the governor took far reaching decisions regarding the state and its people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is this destructive bulldozer like attitude exhibited by the Governor that makes his actions and conduct in office similar to \u201cbull in a China shop\u201d.\u00a0 Similarly, it is this type of governmental behavior that has alienated well-meaning Imo citizens from helping the Rescue Mission government to achieving its goals of a better Imo State.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The repercussions of the governor\u2019s maiden broadcast on June 6th<\/sup> 2011, will continue to hunt Imo State and her people for a long time to come.\u00a0 Over three hundred (300) citizen lawsuits brought against their government can be traced to this particular maiden broadcast and the actions taken in furtherance of the broadcast.\u00a0 At the end of the day, when all the judgements from the various lawsuits may have been entered, Imo State treasury will be so burdened with judgement debts that the state will be hard pressed to finance any capital project.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dissolution of constitutional offices of elected councils and their replacement with illegal transition committee means that Imo State will pay two salaries for every political office in its local council areas.\u00a0 The July 5th<\/sup> Court of appeals decision has already made such a decision.\u00a0 It is the same with the dissolution of statutorily tenured commissions of the state by the same broadcast.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a nutshell therefore, reversals of policies and projects due to public negative reaction to them may be responsive governance and still amount to wastage of public financial resources, but when compared with judicial reversal of government policy, it is still considerably cheaper.\u00a0 May be, this knowledge is what informed policy and project summersault by the administration in the aforementioned situations.<\/p>\n

The metaphor \u201ca kid in a candy store\u201d conjures the unbridled indiscipline of a child borne out of immajurity, when faced with the different varieties of sweets in a candy store.\u00a0 Naturally such a child will stuff him or herself with the different varieties of sweets in the store until he or she becomes sick.\u00a0 The image conjured by such a child in a candy store is exactly the image that comes to mind about our governor with reference to the rescue mission capital projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The award of over hundred roads contracts; award of contract for the building of a hospital in each of the twenty seven (27) local government areas of the state; and the construction of over 320 so called security gates in the capital city of Imo State depicts, indiscipline and immajurity in government when juxtaposed with the monthly income of Imo State.\u00a0 When a governor of a poor state like Imo extracts from the legislature a rolling four year infrastructural budget of 224 billion naira without taking into account the volatility of the states sources of revenue (allocation from FG), then the government can only be described ads immature and indiscipline.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As the saying goes, \u201cHe, who fails to plan, inevitably plans to fail\u201d.\u00a0 This may explain the reasons for the failure of most of the capital projects of Rescue Mission administration.\u00a0 The road projects have all been stalled for over eight months now.\u00a0 Currently there are discussions between the administration and the contractors for scaling down of these road projects.\u00a0 While these discussions are ongoing, the contractors are privately insisting that they must be paid in full before any work will continue.\u00a0 Some of the contractors are even insisting that all the trips of sand already washed away by the rains also need to be paid for before they return back to their various construction sites.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Most of the security gates have also been abandoned leaving an eyesore.\u00a0 Even, it has been reported that the Governor claims that he never approved the construction of these security gates.\u00a0 But the question remains, if the Governor did not approve the construction of the 320 gates in the Owerri metro area, then who did?\u00a0 Additionally, did the Governor raise any alarm regarding these constructions when they were commenced because obviously he must have seen the construction going on when it was originally commenced?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The 27 new hospitals in the state have all been abandoned.\u00a0 At this rate, Imo will be dotted with abandoned and uncompleted construction projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All these, in my opinion, are simply products of irresponsibility in office.\u00a0 Any responsible government bent on delivering its campaign promises, will first and foremost engage in the necessary consultation to sensitize the public on the projects.\u00a0 Furthermore, the government will then reduce the campaign promises to its brass tax, the necessary naira and kobo needed to execute the promises.\u00a0 It is during the consultation phase that such a government focuses on the deliverable projects based on cost constraints.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A credible campaign promise must be made only when the individual making the campaign promise has the financial figures of the state and the cost implications of implementing the campaign promise.\u00a0 Trying to execute campaign promises made purely out of emotions, when the resources are nor available for the execution, only advances the hardships of the general public.\u00a0 A responsible government bites only that which it can comfortably chew.\u00a0 A government that engages in biting more than it can chew increases wastage of public limited resources.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The indiscipline and immaturity of a child in a sea of edible goodies breeds gluttony.\u00a0 Gluttony breeds discomfort.\u00a0 This is exactly the current state of Imo and her government.\u00a0 There is rancour, and acrimony between the government and the governed.\u00a0 Even His Excellency, the Governor of Imo State, by his statement that Imo people are difficult to govern re-echoed the acrimony between the government and the governed. This acrimony is really a product of mistrust between the government and the governed because of lack of consultation and sensitization by the government.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Consultation and sensitization translates to due process.\u00a0 Due process in government is that things which is described as transparency.\u00a0 Without consultation and appropriate sensitization, there is no due process.\u00a0 Without due process, there is no transparency, consequently both the government and the governed conduct their affairs in darkness like two ships passing each other at night and in darkness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Truly, Imo must be better, but for Imo to be better, Imo must be returned back into the hands of God; for with God everything is transparent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BY<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

DR. KELECHI C. OKPALAEKE<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the very yardsticks for the measurement of effective governance in a democratic setting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-view-point"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","elegant-magazine-featured":"","elegant-magazine-medium":"","elegant-magazine-medium-small":"","elegant-magazine-thumbnail-small":""},"author_info":{"info":["Imo Trumpeta"]},"category_info":"News Digest<\/a>","tag_info":"News Digest","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3408"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3410,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408\/revisions\/3410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.imotrumpeta.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}