There’s a tales for the floods being told by one Walter Ononuju Nnadi, who claims to be a member of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (mnse). His supposed technical article that must have been presented more to his fellow engineers than to the greater majority of Ndimo, has been trending on social media.
He entitled his article “The Owerri Flooding ; The Causative Factors, The roles played by some individuals… And the Remedies”.
Reading down, however, we noted that it was the usual “Volume 1, No. 1” sort of lazy man’s work, which ends and goes defunct there at “Volume 1, No. 1”. That’s mostly likely the portion of Walter Ononuju Nnadi’s article, which he ended on a sycophantic note of lies, falsehood, propaganda and blackmail, with “Next To Come”!
He opened his propaganda and blackmail stunt with a display of technical know-how on flooding, concluding that naturally Owerri is a flood-free zone, of which the incidences of flooding according to him were man-made.
It was surprising that the said Walter Ononuju Nnadi decided to leap from the technical explanations of the flood of a thing into his shameless, shameful and disgraceful unedifying and unbefitting show of sycophancy for the failed Uzodimma regime that’s clueless, inept and incompetent about leadership and governance, that he has no answer to the flood menace, except for the treasury siphon hose, which he called “balloon technology”!
He irresponsibly lampooned Chief Ikedi Ohakim, lambasted Owelle Rochas Okorocha and lashed at Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, CON, all former governors of Imo State, for their roles as being the causative agents of flooding of Owerri.
On the other hand, the said Walter Ononuju Nnadi stated thus: “Uzodimma’s giant strides in making Owerri and Imo by extension… Flood free state.” It was on that dishonest and insincere note that Nnadi exposed himself to be a shameless sycophant!
Because we’re involved, our intervention is to the extent Walter Ononuju Nnadi told lies, falsehood, peddling propaganda and blackmail against the PDP/Ihedioha RebuildImo administration. He told lies that he most likely scooped from the pit of hell!
The unedited specific words are reproduced below :
*”Ihedioha’s Rebuild Imo Dangerous negligence*
“Chukwu Emeka Nkem Ihedioha took over an almost failed Imo from Okorocha. He made ndi Imo to believe that he has the magic wand to turn around the fortunes of the state to a more better one but alas, he became vengeful and was bent on witch hunting of all the dissenting voices prior to and during his administration and before he could know it, the rains came knocking and throw him off balance and he quickly lost focus and blamed his predecessor for his inability to at least put up a temporary measure to curb the ravaging menace and made ndi Imo to believe that Work will commence immediately the rains were over but little did we know that he was busy lobbying the Caliphate to influence the outcome of his numerous court cases. His Administration left the most pressing issue and embarked on the least economic important projects like the 27 mini stadia and construction of Office blocks in all the 27 LGAs in the state, We all know that those kangaroo and over priced projects was aimed at settling his cronies and financiers….”!
We concluded Ononuju was on a mission to sycophancy when he veered off into ignorantly and maliciously stressing that” His (Ihedioha) administration left the most pressing issue and embarked on the least economic important projects like the 27 mini stadia and construction of Office blocks in all the 27 LGAs in the state. We all know that those kangaroo and over priced projects was aimed at settling his cronies and financiers..!
How the 27 mini stadiums and the 27 administrative secretariats found relevance in Ononuju’s tales of the floods is still subject to questions on his credibility. It showed he’s a hungry man, who seeks Uzodimma’s attention, with an improbable and even impossible political appointment in view. God help him!
The Honourable Minister of Sports, Mr. Sunday Dare, who visited Imo State and saw the mini stadiums, was so excited and so loved the Ihedioha vision for sports, he adopted it as a national policy on sports, whereby the country would have 774 mini stadiums in the 774 LGAs of Nigeria.
The Minister emphasized that it was the panacea to the dwindling fortunes of Nigeria in global games and sports. Could Ononuju and his ilk possibly know better than Ihedioha and Dare?
The mini stadiums was well-envisioned to develop talents in sports among Imo youths, empower them, and promote economic development of the State in the process.
Ditto the 27 administrative secretariats. It was a basic project in human administration. Governor Emeka Ihedioha noted that many workers in the LGAs didn’t have offices, but were earning salaries. With the approval of the SEC and the LGAs, the need for the office block was agreed upon and work commenced. Ahiazu Mbaise LGA completed its Administrative Secretariat in December 2019, within four months of its commencement!
Ndimo are happy and satisfied with the PDP/Ihedioha RebuildImo administration for such people-oriented projects, which Obote men like Walter Ononuju Nnadi see as “kangaroo and over priced projects”! God forgive enemies of Imo State and Imo people, for they’re only hungry sycophants!
Fact is that like in all other devastated sectors of the Imo State that Governor Ihedioha inherited, he sacrificially addressed the problem of flood in Owerri.
Ononuju should know better because, if he’s the Ononuju, he was once in the expert-team that were invited by Governor Ihedioha into a SEC meeting in the Sam Mbakwe Exco Chambers in Douglas House, to take a comprehensive look at the worrisome flood situation of Owerri, vis-a-vis the poor physical environment which Ihedioha inherited.
A Committee headed by Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie was inaugurated by Governor Ihedioha to guide the think-tank on sustainable solution to the flood menace, etcetera. It’s not certain now whether or not Ononuju was in that Committee!
Now, significantly, that was within the first 100 days of the life of the PDP/Ihedioha RebuildImo administration in 2019. And at exactly the 227th day, on January 14, 2020, the Supreme Court made Uzodimma governor from nowhere and sent packing the Ihedioha administration. The rest is the inconclusive history!
Within the 227 days, half of which fell into peak of the rainy season, the administration took the bull by the horns, frontally and robustly went against the Owerri flood and surprisingly conquered, pushing flood back into Rivers Nworie and Otammiri, and Lake Nwaebere where they rightfully belong.
It’s on record that hundreds of metric tonnes of waste and refuse were desilted and evacuated by ENTRACO from the gutters, drainages and flood channels in Owerri city and environs. Imo people saw hundreds of tippers moving waste and refuse away from Owerri, in the war against flood.
Ndimo are alive to attest and testify that flooding took flight from the streets and roads of Owerri in real time as the rains fell. Truthful, honest and sincere Imolites can confirm that the above testimony is true.
Incidentally, Walter Ononuju Nnadi knows these truths but chose to play the sycophant by lacing the award-winning PDP/Ihedioha RebuildImo administration with ignoble lies, falsehood, propaganda and blackmail. Let goodness, fairness and justice judge him through his conscience.
He sycophantically said that “Uzodimma’s giant strides in making Owerri and Imo by extension… Flood free state” was the next page of his false narratives. What giant strides can Ononuju point at as Uzodimma’s “giant strides in making Owerri and Imo by extension, flood free”?
If it’s the treasury siphon blomblo balloons technology, which has failed flood integrity test, then Ononuju be grossly sycophantic.
Has Uzodimma desilted the gutters, drainages and flood channels as Ihedioha did? Has Uzodimma evacuated hundreds of metric tonnes of waste and refuse that block the gutters, drainages and flood channels in Owerri as Ihedioha did?
Anyhow, we’ll keep our fingers crossed and see what Ononuju will showcase as Uzodimma’s “giant strides in making Owerri and Imo by extension, flood free”! The world is watching!
By God’s grace, Imo State must be rebuilt!!
By Ogu Bundu Nwadike, M.A