By Gloria Acholonu (Imo State Correspondent)
For several weeks, in recent months, Imo state, which is popularly known in the South East, Nigeria, as the "Heartland State", has been on the boil, with reports of violent assaults on public facilities, the gruesome murder of some of her citizens and visitors alike, and even kidnappings. IMO, as some parts of Igboland, was completely under siege by unknown gunmen, anarchists, arsonists, and other categories of criminal elements. The air of insecurity in the state was pervading.
But presently, calm has sufficiently returned to Imo state, once again. A statewide visits by NIGERIAN NEWS-LEADER Newspaper Online (www.nigeriannewsleader.com) Correspondent to most of the communities in the state's local councils, and particularly in the urban capital city of Owerri, shows that peace and tranquility, for which Imo was known before now, has indeed returned to the Igbo Heartland.
However, the current peace in Imo state came at a great price to the state governor, Senator Hope Odidika Uzodimma and his Special Adviser on Homeland Security and Intelligence, Dr Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, a US-trained security expert and crisis manager. The governor had deployed strategic measures designed by his security advisers to quickly arrest the total state of anarchy, fear, and gloom pervading the state, some few weeks ago.
Then, Imo state was a no-go area. Residents of Imo were fear-struck such that people dared not venture out without adequate safety caution. Visitors to the state completely kept away for fear of their lives. The prevailing development, unfortunately, became a challenging task to the government and especially to the governor's Adviser on Security, Dr Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, whose portfolio it was, to engineer strategic modalities, drawing from his wealth of international security experience, to address the insecurity challenges in the state.
Through the security crisis and the peace and calmness that has so far been achieved, however, the US-trained Homeland Security scholar, Dr. Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji, has emerged a very effective spokesman for Governor Hope Uzodimma in the critical matter of securing the state.
In a recent interview aired on Monday, June 21, 2021 by Orient TV in Owerri, and monitored by NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Newspaper Online (www.nigeriannewsleader.com), Ugorji provided a coherent and articulate illumination of security challenges in the state and offered an impassioned defense of the administration’s security measures so far. Speaking in a tone of decency and compassion, Ugorji paid respect to those who had lost their lives in what he referred to as “security skirmishes” in the state.
He also spoke about the state government's great efforts in bringing about the existing peaceful atmosphere and calmness in the state. Ugorji further gave a comprehensive explanation of the recent events in Imo State and assurance that the state government has taken actions and developed plans, but that those involved know what they are doing. He however assured the people that help is here already around the corner and that a great degree of “normalcy” is returning to the state.
While also presenting a more compassionate and gentler aspect of his Governor, Hope Uzodimma, which was hitherto perceived to be different from the tough-talking persona the governor had earlier presented to the Imo people, Dr Ugorji said that the Governor has demonstrated strong leadership especially through his behind-the-scene approaches in addressing the challenging security situation.
For instance, Ugorji explained that the governor has reached out with compassion and care to the families that have lost their loved ones in the struggle to restore security and safety in the state. The Security Adviser said that governor Uzodimma "feels the same pain and anxiety the residents of the state feel because he too had been targeted and his country home attacked". Ugorji emphasized that both the lives of security officers and those of residents who died were important and valued by the state government.
Dr Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji has shown requisite capability, competence, and experience in the intricate matters of local and international security. Coming with a solid scholarly background in the area of security and strategic studies, Ugorji possesses a doctorate in Educational Administration. He also has a Master’s degree in Homeland Security.
Ugorji however gave a deep insight into the new outfit known as the Imo State Security Organization (IMSO), which Governor Uzodimma recently established in the state. He painted the picture of a community-based, statewide vigilante organization headed by a retired Nigerian Army General, ready to collaborate with the Federal security outfits in the state to secure the homeland.
He pointed out that the Imo Security Organization (IMSO) has a human rights and civil liberties clause in the law that established it, and also noted that Governor Uzodimma “has no control over the Police and Army in the state.” This appeared to be a subtle but clear attempt to distance the Governor from the reported cases of “extra-judicial” neutralization of so-called unknown gunmen.
On why he was not personally overwhelmed by the level of insecurity that recently overcame Imo to the point of returning to his base in New Jersey, United States of America being a diaspora based, Dr Ugorji simply remarked that his life was no more important than those of the residents of the state. He advised that those committed to public service must not “cut and run” in moments of crisis. The governor's Security Adviser added that as a well-traveled man, there was nowhere else in the world where he felt his full dignity as a Black man and as an African as he feels when he is in Imo State.
On the possibility of the existing calmness and peace in Imo state enduring, the seasoned expert in crisis management and communication was quite confident and re-assuring. With a command of facts, Ugorji spoke forthrightly and eloquently about those facts which he balanced with certain equities in recasting his narrative. He seemingly has excelled and emerged as a grounded, credible spokesman for the Imo State government.
For Governor Uzodimma, it was good that Dr Ugorji Okechukwu Ugorji was not one of the SAs disengaged from the government a few weeks ago. The value he adds to the government is evident and somewhat unimpeachable. NNL.
