Orlu military invasion was a result of Uzodimma’s inexperience in governance – Okorocha

Former governor of Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, has said the security situation in the country has overwhelmed President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Okorocha who represents Imo West Senatorial District in the national assembly said the country reached a crescendo where the people have to help themselves, while still looking up to the government for support.

He further said that the military invasion of Orlu happened because Governor Hope Uzodinma lacked experience in managing local issues.

He said: “Security has become a major challenge in our country. The security challenge that we are facing today is a result of accumulative issues that we ignored in the past that now accumulated to this dangerous point we find ourselves. And if nothing is done now, it might get worst in the next 20 years than we have now.

“God forbid! So, security is a major challenge. What we can do right now is to call all and sundry and make it our issue and not just the government’s issue so that where the government is failing, the people themselves should not fail.

“In other words, we have our traditional rulers; we have our communities; we have our leaders at various levels, even in Chibok. We have youths; we have people because it has gotten to a point where we have to look inwards on how we can help ourselves, while still looking up to the government for support because if the government had had the final solution to this, they would have solved it.

“The security right now has proven stubborn beyond a reasonable doubt. And if the government has the solution to stop it right now, they would have done that. So, what we need to do is to completely decentralise the security network such that we just assume, for instance, if you come to your community and you know that there is no police or army to help you, the youths can also gather together to see how they can help themselves and then, ask the police to support them in helping themselves.

Speaking on the issue of self-help, the Senator said every security is local, adding that people from every area should be the first to start solving their security problems.

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He said: “Self-help does not amount to carrying guns right now. It is not what it is. But you see, every security is local. Everything that happens, happens within a community. That is the point I am making. It happens within an area. People from that area should be our first point of contact to start solving that security problem, while the government comes and listens to the people on ground to guide them and help them on how to solve that particular problem. But you see, we do our master plans here from Abuja and we go without local information and we strike, striking the wrong places. It is not really producing any result”.

Okorocha also slammed the mismanagement of the nation’s economy, stressing that nothing is wrong with Nigeria as a nation.

He said: “Now, there is nothing wrong with the economy of Nigeria. But there is something wrong with the management of the economy of Nigeria. There is nothing wrong with Nigeria as a nation.

The wealth of this nation is still intact. Nothing has disappeared. The gift of God is all together, both human and material resources. They are all together. Nothing has left us. But it is the management of the human and material resources that led us to where we are now. So, it is the management of the resources of this land. Take, for instance, I have an economic policy that is called KMR. Kobo Must Return.

“Kobo Must Return means all participatory economy where an ordinary person can participate in the economy of a nation. But right now, what we have is few people up there, practising an economy, or doing an economy that others are suspecting us. That is why I don’t like football.

“I enjoy it as a game, but I don’t like it. It is a selfish game where only 22 people play and about 100,000 people watching them and at the end of it all, 22 people get medals and other people will go home.

“So, that is the Nigerian economy. This is all participatory economy. And you know agriculture speaks the language of kobo and oil speaks the language of the dollar.

“That is why the exchange rate is doing what it is doing and nothing can bring down the exchange rate in Nigeria unless we make agriculture the main budgetary pivot upon which other economies must revolve.

“So, this is it. And it is called KMR, Kobo Must Return. That is my economic policy and when you go into details, you will see that it goes into security, it goes into power, and it goes into everything.

“It is KMR. I had developed what I call again; let me give you another word that might be interesting to you. I have two economic terms that are localised to me. People don’t like it when I speak my own English.

“It is Ohashierism and Ofushierism. What Nigeria is practising today is Ofushierism. Ofushierism means Ofuonye, one person preparing food for the entire nation and the nation is hungry. But I am going to practise Ohashierism, which is a bottom-top approach, where everybody is participating and cooking for the nation and the nation will have a surplus. That is the simple way of achieving it.

He described the military invasion of Orlu as unfortunate, adding that was all due to the inexperience of the government in handling local issues.

“Now, there are rules of engagements. First, as a governor, remember I am a senator representing Orlu. And I was governor of that place for eight years. The rules of engagement are one, you engage the youths of the areas, call them for a meeting, what is really happening? You get the first reason. But these are not spirits, they are human beings.

“Thereafter, you move to the level of traditional rulers and the clergies. Tell us what is really happening, how can we solve the problem? This is how to go. Even before you bring the civil defence to give you information, Security Council meeting, then you bring the police.

“When the situation has gotten beyond that, the army will now come in and when the army comes in, it has reached a terrorist level where it has gone beyond Mekwatansy, that is, it has gone beyond repair.

“Then, the Air Force will come because when you get Army and Air Force, they are coming to shoot and kill. That is what it actually is. And it hasn’t gotten to that.

“I went to Orlu. I mean, it hasn’t gotten to that stage. But I think what the governor is doing is that he is using the scaring method to scare people and I think he is tying it to his re-election so that people can get scared of him so that if he decides to do the Ben Johnson way of his election, he can do it easily. That is the only reason I can give because it was uncalled for.

“And after Air Force came there, nobody was arrested because Air Force doesn’t come down, they stay on the air to shoot. Now, the people of Orlu are scared. What really has happened? What led us to this? So, I think it is inexperience on the side of the government”.