I was still in the junior secondary in Lagos State when I read George Orwell’s allegorical masterpiece, Animal Farm. Since then I have remained enthralled with the political prophecy of the celebrated novelist. If the Animal Farm was written in Nigeria, Imo State would have been the epicenter of the novel.

One of the things that have continued to excite me about the battle of the cowshed is that it is the definitive battle for self discovery, battle for life, and ultimately battle between the forces of good and evil.

Make no mistake about it, there will be battle of the cowshed in Imo State, the battle of liberation, the battle for the soul of the state, battle between retrogression and progression, in 2019. It will be battle between good and evil. This battle, though started, will define the future of the state.

Just like Jesus Christ wrestled with the Satan and threw him out of heaven with his cohorts, we are going to make Imo State safe and prosperous by throwing away those who do not like God and those who want to share God's glory, those who have oppressed the people of God: the downtrodden widows, orphans, destitute, etc.

In waging this way, the weapons of our warfare are not canal but mighty through God, to the pulling down of every stronghold. That is our weapon really. The Archangel who wrestled against Satan did not use canal weaponry. The Bible record says: “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’,” Jude 1:9. God will rebuke His enemies and those holding the downtrodden down. God will rebuke those who challenged His authorities and took His glory.

This is why we must win the battle. We are not fighting for ourselves. We are fighting to defend the name of God and protect his people. We are Christians. We are children of God. We are fighting to take Imo State back to the hands of God, the path of glory and prosperity, because it is only when you surrender to God that He takes over your affairs and guides your path well.

God repeatedly said in the Bible that He is the husband of the windows and father of the orphans. He demands justice for them all and anyone fighting them is fighting God. But since taking over power from Ikedi Ohakim in 2011 Governor Okorocha has been on a long collision course with the downtrodden. First he sacked their children who were employed by the Ikedi Ohakim administration to be able to provide food and shelter for their widow mothers and orphan siblings and have pleasant future. Okorocha took food away from them and shattered their future. He went ahead to deal with the widows in the state by owing those of them in the civil service. Not satisfied he cut their salaries by 40%.

Governor Okorocha took his battle against God further by also owing the pensioners, majority of whom are widows and widowers. He cut their pensions to a miserable 40% and cheated them out of their four years pension arrears. This battle against God and His people is unprecedented. And God will not keep quiet because He is a jealous God.

Not only does Okorocha rebel against God, he is a sadist also. The state is rife with news of how he has forcefully acquired lands belongs to the widows, orphans and widowers and other vulnerable groups in the state, demolished their buildings and rendered them homeless and hopeless. Instead of soothing their pains the Governor unleashed armed thugs against them, who also destroyed what were left by his bulldozers. Such an oppression!

These people are the apple of God's eyes and He cannot keep quiet any more in the face of the grueling assault on His people and blatant affront to Him by a mortal whose breath of life He owns, and gave. Those countries and rulers that stood in the way of Israel did not have good stories to tell. In one instance the mighty walls of Jericho fell (like it is falling in Imo) just for the children of God to move on to the land that flows with milk and honey.

The Egyptian Pharaoh and his well armed soldiers were up in arms against the children of God. The sufferings of the people got to God and He did something: He raised a leader called Moses through whom He saved His people. Defiant like Okorocha the Egyptian soldiers led by their Pharaoh chased after the people of God who had miraculously crossed the red sea. But they were drowned!

Okorocha, apart from dealing evil with the children of God has outrightly blasphemed God and usurped the authorities of His anointed. Like Satan the Devil, Governor Okorocha has elevated himself "above" God, doing as he wished and declaring himself the spiritual leader of the people, desecrating the holy temple of God and performing spiritual functions that are the exclusives of God's levitical priests. Nothing is as blasphemous as Okorocha mounting the pulpit in the house of God and anoints people with the anointing oil, the oil of God. This, to most people, is a direct challenge to God.

When King Nebuchadnezzar, Okorocha's antitype, challenged the authority of God, he was forced to realize and confess that: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all His ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble,” Daniel 4:37. This will happen again with the cup of God's wrath already filled for the oppressors of His people.

In case you missed the line between Governor Okorocha and King Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar's policy was to control the population by acts of terror against them. Okorocha has unleashed all kinds of terror on Imo people also. Nebuchadnezzar appointed new governors who were loyal to him; Okorocha recruited urchins who have sworn loyalty to him. And like Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian population, Okorocha did not have to move them to any physical captivity; he only had to be beat them into submission, and he did just that.

Despite his cruelty, Nebuchadnezzar was considered a genius of the gentile world; not only was he the monarch of the greatest nation of that time, but he was also eminently wise. Okorocha is held in awe by those blindly loyal to him. This is the reason Okorocha's loyalists believe he is master of the game and that even when he is beaten he could miraculously turn the tide against his opponents.

Nebuchadnezzar was a proud ruler. Okorocha is an arrogant Governor who has no respect for both his predecessors and other critical stakeholders in the state. Instead of according them respect he goes on deriding them any time he holds the microphone. To cap it, Okorocha does not fear God.

But Nebuchadnezzar was better than Okorocha in many respects. As proud as he was, Nebuchadnezzar had awesome sense of justice and was a good listener to God's prophecy. And perhaps God looked at Nebuchadnezzar's innate sense of justice and showed him mercy. If you recall you would also note that even King Solomon was also commended for his “understanding to discern judgment” (1 Kings 3:11). But the Almighty God of Hosts had to break Nebuchadnezzar's pride first. For his arrogance and indifference to justice, God will do so with Okorocha too.

Anyone who lives in Imo State knows that life in Imo State under Okorocha has been a bullish hell. From no work to do to no salaries for government workers, Governor Okorocha increased the weight of the burden on the people by destroying their businesses, their shops, sending the keke people away and ultimately shrank the economy. Food which used to be taken for granted has become a scarce resource, and anyone who eats one-square meal in a day is now considered blessed.

Imo which used to be the cleanest city under Ohakim has become an environmental disaster. With the Imo State Municipal Transport Service (IMTS) under Ikedi Ohakim, Imo State was a delight to live in with beautiful green scenery. Healthcare services improved, and living in a clean and healthy environment the longevity of the people increased tremendously.

Today, death rate is the highest in Imo, especially infant mortality. This is the reason mortuary business thrives in the state now, with mortuaries rising from 11 when Ohakim handed over to Okorocha to 88 last year. Imo people used to reserve the weekends for burials, but because they now have more people to bury they now bury their dead from Mondays to Saturdays. There is even pressure to bury the dead on Sundays.

As captured by a renowned journalist, Mrs. Angela Nkwo-Akpolu, on her Facebook wall on Wednesday, June 13: "Imo State capital may soon grind to a halt. Roads are blocked. Everybody seems to be trekking. Douglas Road is closed. Wetheral [Road] is a traffic nightmare. People squeeze into Taximo like sardine. The only thing you hear when you board Busimo is how wicked Rochas is. Owerri has moved from construction site to destruction site.

"As if the gods are angry, heavy rains went on destruction spree exposing the 'China quality' of most of the things Rochas built. Death traps.”

Expressing shock on how Imo people have survived Okorocha's inhumanity, she further noted that “Imolites must be made of hard steel – suffering and smiling. How else do you explain why Imo has not exploded by now? May be as law abiding people, we are simply waiting to follow due process in sending Okorocha and his co-travellers into exile in 2019.”

God’s arm is mighty and He has raised it against those tormenting His people. They will drown. Our role is to make ourselves ready as instruments in the hands of God so that we will be part of the historic return of God's anointed servant, Ikedi Ohakim, in 2019. He will wipe the tears from the people. He will recover the state for all of us and put the state into the hands of God again where we will lack nothing because God will become our shepherd once more.

Using him, God will recover all that the locusts have eaten, including stolen funds, assets and demolished shops and houses, grabbed lands and choking business environment. For the first time after 2011 Imo people will breathe again, they will smile again and rejoice in the God of their salvation.

The need to bring Ikedi Ohakim back to government house for just one term is heightened the more by the fact that Imo State is now in a Intensive Care Unit that requires the services and experiences of a medical consultant. Since leaving office in 2011 Ohakim had taken his time to improve himself, studying books, attending workshops, developing his skills and preparing himself for a more challenging leadership and service to Imo people.

If you notice that this is not the Imo State Ohakim handed over to Okorocha in 2011 and that things have gone from better to worse, then you would realise how long Imo Statehas been in the ICU.

With his experience, Ohakim knows the right drugs, the right dosage and the right time to administer drugs on the weary patient. He knows what the ailments are and will therefore begin treatment from day one.

Yes, he knows. And his assurance to Imo people is this: “I know what I handed over to Rochas. I know where they missed the point. I know when they got it wrong. At this point, I need to correct them.

“The condition of this state is near-hopelessness. The mountainous debt (both internal and external) is scary. The damage is monumental. At the moment, what Imo needs is the services of an experienced consultant. Not that of a general physician.

“I am the consultant. I have treated similar ailment. I was there before. I need to resuscitate the state from her comatose condition and hand it over to the general physician.

“I am not staying long. I need one more term. One term only (otu onu) and Imo will bounce back.”

•Collins Ughalaa writes from Owerri. He can be reached via ughalaacollins@gmail.com

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