The story:

Nigerians and South Africans lost their minds when Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha on Saturday unveiled a statue of South African’s President Jacob Zuma in Owerri, conferred him an honorary title and named a street after him.

The outrage is justified because president Zuma is facing multiple charges of rape, bribery, looting and corruption back in South Africa. He managed to use legal and constitutional tricks to evade justice for years, but recently an appeal court in South Africa has ruled that president Zuma must be tried for corruption charges.

Furthermore xenophobic clashes in the South Africa against Nigerians has continued Unabated under Zuma’s watch.

Finally, Imo state Governor Rochas Okorocha is owing civil servants in the state back payments in salaries and pensions thus the outrage is understandable when he spends millions erecting statues.

 Our Investigations:

We thought it was rather unfair to write off a two time serving Governor as a lunatic, hence we decided to investigate a bit to find out what he was thinking.

We looked into his online manifestos, dug up interviews and speeches, and looked through ongoing projects in his state and his social media pages. 

Our findings:

He likes white elephant projects: the Zuma statue depicting international relevance is just one of them:

• Governor Rochas Okorocha is laser focused on white elephant projects. He likes to be seen as having done extraordinary things. They seem laudable and impressive but some are practically useless to the people of Imo state.
• He can be called a visionary leader. The mission of urban renewal of Imo state to promote tourism is clear. In his words, whatever you have in Abuja I have replicated in Owerri capital city. To achieve this Imo rescue mission was born.
• Though impressive, this beautification exercise was carried out at the expenses of workers’ salaries.
• Some projects of the Imo rescue mission include: cleaning up the Imo zoo, rebuilding Major roads leading into the City, Two major water falls, total cleanup of the Government house, building the Imo International Convention Centre, (IICC).
• The Statues of more international and local leaders yet to be unveiled is to create the impression of a global and forward leaning Imo state open to investment and diversification.

Grandiose feeling of Self importance

• Governor Rochas  announced that there was no recession in IMO state. He invested in an airline, IMO air without an official license. Thus it became IMO air, operated by Dana Airlines  His objective was to make IMO the first State in Nigeria to own and operate an airline company.
• Though he claimed the airline would bring massive employment to Imo citizens. Nigerians quickly took to twitter to call the investment a hogwash, a scam and the height of misplaced priority when workers are being owed a backlog of salaries
• He always says that he was more comfortable as a business man than a politician and he is rich already.
• The spent quite a bit to put up an image of himself and Obama. Maybe in a bid to hoodwink the people of Imo on how connected he is. He also had a return party for himself
• Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo state, has expressed dissatisfaction With the imo indigenes over the way and manner they criticized his projects and policies, stressing that some group of Imo citizens have vowed not to see anything good in his rescue mission administration.

Chronic debtor

• His track record of debt to workers is astounding. This Governor kept Pensioners waiting for 4 days without releasing their money. State government announced that the pensioners should come to Imo International Conference Center (IICC), to receive pensions. Some of them are being owed for up to 8 months. After days of merry go round, only 10% received their salaries
• His attitude has made the imo state chapter of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) very hawkish and busy. They monitored the arrival of Paris club loan refund and  urged the Governor Rochas to pay arrears of salaries, pensions, gratuities and other entitlements owed workers
• They also monitored the bail out funds sent in by President Buhari and insisted he pay 100% of outstanding salaries.
• He also insisted on paying retirees only 50% of their money

Rochas Okorocha has no Empathy

• The state government on instructions Of Rochas Okorocha rolled in Bulldozers and backhoes into the popular Eke Ukwu Owerri Market, last Saturday and proceeded to reduce it to a rubble. The government said it had given the traders notice of relocation to a new site just outside the state capital.
• Heavily armed soldiers and police, stationed at the market to quell any uprisings by the traders, opened fire killing at least, three people, including a ten year old boy shot in the head and three others injured.
• He fired 2000 civil servants and called them Ghost workers
• Pensioners had a demonstration claiming that he owed them 77 months salaries

He is a complete charmer;

• He had a comfortable lead in the 2011 election because he is a good Orator, with insight on how to get into people’s heart and mind. He tricked the people of Imo state with his charm claiming to be a philanthropist and business man

Our verdict:

Governor Rochas Okoroacha has a Narcissistic Personality Disorder. its  is described as a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy for others.

Common traits of a Narcissistic personality

Preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love;

They believes they are special and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions);

They requires excessive admiration;

They has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations;

They are inter personally exploitative, lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others;

Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her;

Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.