Lamenting that the state of governance in Nigeria has never fallen this deeper into disrepute, civil rights advocacy group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has dismissed as “illiterate and insensitive” a statement credited to the Imo State governor in which he lampooned opposition politicians as hunger-infested bunch of people.

In a statement, HURIWA said the impression created by the Imo State Governor Mr. Uzodinma that opposition politicians will die of hunger unless they crossed over to All Progressive Congress (APC) is primitive, jaundiced, unconstitutional and a public disgrace to Nigeria in the community of civilized nations.

“It is clear that Hope Uzodinma is bereft of the values of good governance and is motivated to join politics by his desires not to starve since in his warped imagination, politics especially by the set of politicians who hold Public Offices is to come and eat because food is ready. This wrong perception of politics is the reason Imo State is grossly misruled and there is ballooning poverty, unemployment, collapse of essential state infrastructures, apathy and a rapidly expanding frontiers of distrust by the public on the politicians.

“It is our humble opinion that the Imo State governor should take few days to read the scholarly books on governance, public policies, constitutionalism and democracy so he understands the place of multipartism, opposition politics and the essence of public service by the governors which revolves around the will to serve and not to be served.

“We make haste to remind the Imo State governor of what a brilliant brain in public policy stated about the import of public policy that it is first important to understand the concept of ‘public’ for a discussion of public policy.

“We often use such terms as public interest, public sector public opinion, public health, and so on. The starting point is that public policy has to do with those spheres which are so labelled as public as opposed to spheres moving the idea of private.

“The concept of public policy presupposes that there is an area or domain of life which is not private or purely individual, but held in common. Public dimension is generally referred to public ownership or control for public purpose.”

HURIWA tasked Governor Uzodinma to read chapter 2 section 17 of the constitution to understand the essence of government thus: Section 17-(1) The State order is founded on ideals of freedom equality and justice.

HURIWA wondered if Imo State truly has an independent state house of Assembly when they have a governor who spreads the toxic idea that politics is about personal aggrandizement.

The rights group also said the Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, who admitted spending at least 3 days in every month since coming to office as governor in 2019, can as well opt to become the Abuja Liaison Officer of Yobe State so the good people of the State can elect a governor who will govern fully from the State and not someone who visits intermittently like a Colonial Governor ruling from the Federal Capital Territory.

HURIWA said it is logically indefensible that someone elected to govern a specific territory within Nigeria to provide good governance and enhance rule of law within his state is frequently in other places outside of his state and yet is paid by the Yobe State people as their governor.

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