By Obinna Ndukwe
Mr. Ben Ahanonu’s article, “The Ikedi Ohakim Dilemma: What Exactly Did the Former Governor Leave Behind in Imo Government House?”, is a fascinating exercise in selective memory.
It is fascinating because while it seeks to dismiss Dr. Ikedi Ohakim’s contributions to Imo State, it inadvertently proves the exact opposite: that fifteen years after leaving office, his legacy remains significant enough to dominate political conversations.
The first question that must be asked is simple:
If Ohakim truly left nothing behind, why is his name still provoking such anxiety?
Why are articles still being written about a man who left office in 2011?
The answer is obvious.
Because history has refused to bury him.
Mbakwe and Ohakim Are Not Opposites
Like many commentators before him, Mr. Ahanonu invokes the revered name of Dee Sam Mbakwe.
Every Imolite respects Mbakwe.
Every Imolite celebrates Mbakwe.
But what exactly is the argument?
That because Mbakwe achieved much in four years, every governor who seeks a second term is automatically a failure?
If that logic were valid, then every governor in Nigeria who sought re-election would stand condemned.
The truth is that governance is not a competition between administrations separated by decades and entirely different economic realities.
Mbakwe built industries.
Ohakim pursued institutional reforms.
Both approaches matter.
Both have value.
History is large enough to accommodate both men.
The Projects They Said Never Existed
Perhaps the most curious aspect of the article is the attempt to reduce Ohakim’s achievements to flowers and sanitation.
That argument might have worked fifteen years ago.
It does not work today.
For years, critics claimed the 10,000 Jobs Programme never existed.
Today, the Court of Appeal has revived the case brought by beneficiaries of that programme, confirming what thousands of Imo youths already knew: the programme was real.
For years, critics claimed the refinery project was fiction.
Today, documentary evidence exists showing correspondence between the Imo State Government and NNPC regarding the proposed Imo Refinery and Petrochemical Project.
Ironically, Imo State now hosts an operational refinery, proving that the concept itself was neither unrealistic nor imaginary.
History has now established that the refinery vision was not a fantasy.
It was simply ahead of its time.
For years, critics mocked the health insurance initiative.
Today, health insurance has become a critical component of governance and continues to flourish under Governor Hope Uzodimma.
For years, critics dismissed IRROMA.
Yet IRROMA represented one of the most innovative road maintenance concepts ever introduced in Imo State, with road maintenance equipment deployed across local governments.
The question is not whether these ideas existed.
The question is why so many people spent years pretending they did not.
The Greatest Test of Leadership
But perhaps the most important measure of leadership is not what happens during office.
It is what happens after office.
This is where Ohakim’s critics face a difficult problem.
Despite the bitterness of 2011, Ohakim never became an enemy of Imo State.
He has supported successive administrations.
He has publicly acknowledged achievements where he saw them.
He has consistently spoken about continuity rather than destruction.
That disposition matters.
Because one of the greatest challenges facing Imo State today is policy discontinuity.
Every administration arrives determined to erase what came before.
Projects are abandoned.
Institutions are dismantled.
Years are wasted.
The state starts over again.
And again.
And again.
That cycle has cost Imo dearly.
Why Ohakim Remains Relevant
Mr. Ahanonu asks why Ohakim continues to attract attention.
The answer is simple.
Because the issues he raised years ago remain relevant.
Economic diversification remains relevant.
Industrialization remains relevant.
Healthcare reform remains relevant.
Infrastructure maintenance remains relevant.
Job creation remains relevant.
The future belongs to leaders who think beyond the next election.
Many of Ohakim’s ideas were designed for the next generation.
Time is slowly revealing that reality.
The Irony of the Entire Argument
The irony is striking.
The article argues that Imo should move forward.
On that point, we agree.
The difference is that some people believe moving forward requires forgetting the past.
Others believe moving forward requires learning from it.
Nobody is asking Imo to go backward.
Nobody is asking Imo to abandon progress.
The real conversation is about who possesses the experience, maturity and institutional memory to preserve what Governor Hope Uzodimma has built while taking the state further.
That is a legitimate conversation.
And no amount of revisionism can prevent it.
A Final Thought
The real dilemma is not Ikedi Ohakim.
The real dilemma is that many of the things his critics dismissed yesterday are becoming realities today.
History can be patient.
Truth can be delayed.
But eventually, both arrive.
And when they do, propaganda becomes very difficult to sustain.
