Gov. OKOROCHA AND THE CANCERS ON IMSUTH. Behind Demonstrators’ 21 Days Ultimatum to Shut IMSUTH.
There are more behind the recent demonstration by workers of Imo state University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, than can be seen from the surface.
In October 2016, Imo state governor, Rochas Okorocha, established a committee headed by the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Acho Ihim, to examine how the fifteen years old Imo state university teaching hospital, (IMSUTH) Orlu, could be relocated to Owerri
The committee was clandestine in set-up and operations. The few persons who latter got to know about the committee could not grasp the motive behind Okorocha’s move; they were however dismayed that a state governor could imagine such a colossal loss to his state through relocating a fifteen years old hospital from one place to another in the same state - distance of about 25kilometers.
A few days ago, IMSUTH workers embarked on an apparently a stage-managed demonstration inside the hospital’s premises asking to be paid their three months arrears of salaries, or have the hospital shut after 21 days.
How did workers in a government institution stage a demonstration on the premises of the institution, and quickly gave a 21 day ultimatum to shut down the institution if their demands were not met? The spokesman of the demonstrators never blamed government for non-payment of the workers’ salaries, but blamed one management staff for their plight. How could a misbehaviour from a management personnel of a government university teaching hospital lead staff to give 21 day ultimatum to shut down the institution? Furthermore, video clips of the demonstration were quickly planted by the image makers of the governor immediately after the demonstration. How could governor’s image makers quickly circulate video clips of a demonstration against government’s failure to pay workers’ salary?

In the last six years, Rochas Okorocha has nursed the intention of killing IMSUTH. Within the period, the 1.5 kilometer road leading to IMSUTH has remained non-navigable in wet season; all pleas by stakeholders before Okorocha to repair the road were not heeded. At night, it is darkness in the hospital because diesel to run the hospital’s generators were denied by whoever would procure it. Arrears of salaries were deliberately owed workers to make them run away from the hospital. We have now come to the level of stage-managed demonstrations with 21 days ultimatum to shut down IMSUTH. Who is playing the music to shut down IMSUTH?

Behind Okorocha’s killer punches on IMSUTH is his belief that if he flies the kite of relocating IMSUTH to Owerri, some people from Owerri shall in exchange, give his Rochas Foundation business empire a soft landing to become the full owner of the so-far called private-government-owned Eastern Palm University. These have been the cancers that afflicted IMSUTH. Eastern Palm University was built by Okorocha in his home community in Ideato South local government area of Imo state. Okorocha built the university while sitting in office as governor of Imo state. There is yet no law of Imo state government establishing Eastern Palm University as state government property. On the other hand, Imo State University was established by a law of Imo state government as property of the state government and a multi-campus university, with campuses located in the three senatorial zones of the state. IMSUTH was established by law of Imo state government as Orlu zone’s campus of IMSU. This is why in 2011, when Okorocha flew a kite that he was relocating IMSU to Ogboko, there was hardly anybody from Orlu zone who lent Okorocha a voice of support, because of the legal hurdles and moral implications in relocating IMSU to Ogboko outside Owerri senatorial zone.

Okorocha’s efforts to relocate IMSUTH from Orlu zone to Owerri is as good as attempts to kill IMSUTH wrongly for his private business interests. His efforts are seen by well-meaning people in Imo state as a costly affront to the entire state. This is a teaching hospital that has cost Imo state government billions of Naira to establish, has functioned optimally, produced first-grade medical practitioners acclaimed at their places of employment; until locust leadership invaded Imo state.
Okorocha must not kill IMSUTH. His successors shall return the teaching hospital to its former glory.

Chigozie Uzukwu