Between Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State and his predecessor, Senator Rochas Okorocha, there is enough bad blood to feed all the mosquitoes in the world for millennia. One might argue that their political perspectives have gone beyond merely antagonistic and taken a new form of eternal hostility. Last time, it was about a closed hotel. This time, it is a closed school.
According to the reports from news people, Governor Uzodinma has taken the initiative to shave off a bit of Okorocha’s influence and accomplishments in Owerri, the capital of Imo State. Uzodinma accomplished this by sealing Rochas Foundation College, a college that is owned by Senator Okorocha and making moves to convert it into state property.
Based on the communiqué from Uzodinma’s camp, the decision to take over the college followed many hours of thorough deliberation, the consequent conclusion being that the college is funded by the State funds that Okorocha looted during his time as Imo State Governor. Thus, Uzodinma’s intention is not to dig up and ruin the legacy of Rochas Okorocha in the State, which would be petty, but to recover the properties of Imo and use them for the benefit of the Imo people.
In response, people from Okorocha’s side have labelled Uzodinma’s actions as base, not unanticipated, and as flavourless as the Uzodinma-led government. While there is hunger in the State, they say, Uzodinma is going around clipping the symbols of hope—perhaps this is the reign of hope he declared at the start of his campaign?
Without question, the back-and-forth between both parties is indescribably vicious, unrelenting, and leaving no stone unturned.
Last time, Okorocha was even taken into custody, and it took the intervention of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, along with several other prominent and influential people, to quell the fires and get Okorocha out. And now, a new fire. Is there any hope for these two? Any chance of reconciliation and friendship? It doesn’t look like it.
