Okorocha inaugurates community govt … Targets to revamp Igbo language

Rochas Okorocha

It was an ovation galore in Imo State as the state Governor, Rochas Okorocha inaugurated the first ever Community Government Council otherwise known as the Fourth-Tier Government. The governor also declared open the Traditional Parliament structure to give voice to the masses and to promote cultural values of the Igbos. Okorocha, in his speech said it was time for the Igbos to stand up and re-introduce their culture, which had been eroded by Western imperialism.
He said the concept of Community Government was to decentralise power to bring governance to the doorsteps of the rural dwellers and to unlock the hidden potentials in the rural communities. Okorocha said: “It is regrettable that we, the Igbos, depend largely on other tribes for food. This is because we have forsaken agriculture. “But today, I am glad that we are going back to agriculture for food security and economic development of our state. This is what the Community Government stands for.

Let me announce that we have perfected arrangements to establish a Songhai Farm in all the communities and that is why our brother, who owns the Songhai Farm in Benin Republic is here today with us. We must definitely go back to agriculture because it remains the key to development.” The governor formally presented the 49-page Community Government Council Law that captured all the communities in the state and the operational framework of the Community Government recently passed by the State House of Assembly.

According to the law, the traditional ruler would serve as the chairman of the council while those formerly addressed, as president general would serve as secretary. The community liaison officer, woman leader, youth leader would serve as members. Already, some civil servants had been posted to the various communities to constitute the administrative wing of the council.

Okorocha said under the law, communities could initiate projects according to their needs while government would play its part by providing funds to actualize the projects. While urging the traditional rulers to embrace the challenges and make good use of the opportunity provided by the Community Government, Okorocha said his administration remained committed to programmes and policies that would impact positively on the lives of the ordinary people. Speaking further on the traditional parliament, Governor Okorocha urged the traditional rulers to only make laws that would promote Igbo tradition and cultural values, including language and uniform bride price. “History is made today with the inauguration of the traditional parliament.

This parliament, which has all the traditional rulers in Imo State as members, will provide the window of opportunity for us to promote our culture. This is where laws related to marriage, kola-nut and other cultures that are common to the people would be made.” “Today, I empower you to begin to make such cultural laws that will make us not to forget our language because my worry is that if we do not act quickly now, we might be destroying the generation of Ndi-Imo yet unborn and that a day might come when there is no one speaking Igbo language. It is important we bequeath the legacy of our culture to our children unborn,” he said.

Okorocha further challenged the traditional rulers to adopt Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in settling conflicts in their various communities as part of measures geared towards promoting unity in the state. The governor, who posited that Igbos remained the anchor-point that had sustained the unity of the nation, enjoined Igbos to come together and revive the spirit of oneness towards fighting their course in the contemporary Nigeria.

In his speech, the Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly, Benjamin Uwajimogu commended Governor Okorocha for his vision of establishing Community Government, which he admitted would fast-track development at the grassroots. He added that the concept would in no small measure place Imo above other states in terms of rural development and agricultural revolution in Nigeria The Commissioner for the newly created Community Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Prof. Chima Iwuchukwu, described Community Government as the ‘Government of the people for the people and with the people’.

He pointed out that the community government would promote unity, entrepreneurship and the dwindling spirit of self-help in Igbo nation. Highlights of the occasion include the conferment of Governor Okorocha as Owelle Ndi-Igbo and Igbo prime minister by the traditional rulers.

Source: Sun