National Youth Games and Imo State’s perennial nose dive

By Ori Martins

Every verifiable ranking index points at the deplorable condition of Imo State in the present. It is heartbreaking that Imo known in the past as the most peaceful state in the country, is now more chaotic, more toxic than most of the states in North East Nigeria ravaged by Boko Haram and banditry attacks.

Since the last two years, Imo has obnoxiously  entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the state with the worst security reportcard. The most viscious were the killings of harmless citizens by security agents armed with ammunition procured with taxpayers money. The activities of what has metaphorically become a new lexicon as “unknown gunmen” have also been quite condemnable.

In brief, according to international observers,  about 200 persons have been killed., properties worth billions of naira destroyed., businesses have completely crumbled while meaningful time, resources and energy have equally been unnecessarily lost in the ensuing melee made possible by insecurity in the state. In the process, Imolites, a people who have been described in several accounts as hard working, ingenious and dedicated, now ask: what is amiss with our dear state? The simple answer they get is: Imo State is in this sorry state because of bad government. That is, leadership failure which is as a result of the ineptitude of the governor. And this was made possible because a man  who had no idea about governance, grassroots growth and  development was imposed on the masses against their wish. Remember, southern governors have said no to open grazing policy in the zone. Only Uzodimma aligned himself with the feudal north because of his pecuniary interests. This is sad.

As you read this, Imo State’s sobriquet  is now Kill. Its acronym is DESTRUCTION. Few days ago, two traditional rulers were murdered while attending a meeting alongside their colleagues with the council chairmen in attendance in Njaba LGA.  This is the first of its kind. Imo is now desolute, almost a failed state as almost all the indexes and elements that qualify an entity as a state have inexoronably packed up.

To make matters worse, basic amenities that sustain an enclave even when the institutions have decayed, are in their various stages of eclipse in Imo State. For instance, roads, be it community/ local government, state or federal, are embarrassingly impassible. Commuters find it extremely difficult to move from one village to another. As it is in Ihiagwa/Nekede/FUTO, Ahiara/ Aboh Mbaise, MCC/Urtta/Toronto, Ngor Okpala in Owerri zone., so it is with Onuimo, Ehime, Okigwe in Okigwe zone., and so it is and even worse  in Orlu zone where Governor Hope Uzodimma hails from.

Just last week, this year’s edition of the National Youth Games was concluded in Ilorin, Kwara State. The final medals table is a horror to whatever sports is in Imo State.

The table revealed that Delta State finished tops with 60 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze making it 114 medals in all.  Lagos was second with an overall haul of 72 medals just as Edo State was third with 40 medals and Bayelsa fourth. With the exception of Lagos, Imo State was created ahead of the other three.

It is imperative to disect properly here that except Bayelsa, all the other states above that came first to third operate a sports commission model which was what the administration of former governor Emeka Ihedioha put in place and placed in the hands of seasoned sports administrator Chief Fan  Ndubuoke as chairman. Within that brief period,  Imo participated in the 2019 National Youths Games and came back with a reputable result. Within that period, the erstwhile great Grasshoppers bounced back and finished third in the 2019 national handball competition – they would have been champions now had Ihedioha continued in office! Within that period, the Imo State hockey team, the Flickers, emerged national champions once more even as the once burried state sports festival got underway again. The height of it all was the construction and reconstruction of the then abandoned Dan Anyiam Stadium whereupon Heartland FC played their home games in Okigwe due to poor ground and desolute.  Ihedioha got the turff regrassed. The tartarn tracks were rebuilt, the teracces – both the VIP and popular stands were reconstructed  just as  a new indoor sports hall with Olympic sized gymnasium was put in place. To crown it all,  modern sports equipment of over a 40ft container was purchased for the athletes. Indeed Imo was described by the sports minister, Sunday Dare, as the Home of Sports.

Most unfortunately, enemies of democracy and those who are averse to modernity and all its noble accomplishments ruthlessly truncated that vision and mission to launch Imo one path of technological advancement, scientific development and rapid industrialization in all the sectors.

The stench emiting from the Ihedioha ouster is in legions. Still from the National Youth Games, you can gleam that Imo, the once pinnacle of sports, placed 29 out of 36. This is shameful. It is irritating. It is more shocking to note that all of Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, Taraba, Jigawa, Niger and Kogi states finished ahead of Imo as they were placed on 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. 26 and 27 respectively. Also, Anambra, Ebonyi and Abia states performed better than Imo as they finished 15, 25 and 28 accordingly. This is not a very good time to identify yourself as an Imolite because of the avoidable and man-made tragedies that have been on the way of the state in the past two years.
Imo State is almost a ghost state.

.Martins, a seasoned journalist wrote in from Owerri