OPINION/ED
THE ROOF
What Imo people should have been told about our collective disaster.
By Kelechi Abonuyo
It has been about seven days (7) since the roof of the magnificent Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu International Convention Centre (EIICC) in Owerri, Imo State, caved in. By the quality of the engineering design, procurement and construction, the building was a cynosure of all eyes. The building finishings were esthetically appealing. In a hot tropical environment, where people often swelter until sweat droplets cling to their ear like earrings, the installed air conditioners in the facility are so functional and second to none and provide superb cooling effects. The ambience of the environment, the paved walkways, the car lot and the flowers testify quality and purpose. As at the time of writing and going to the press, a high-capacity off-grid solar plant is being installed, which will provide affordable, reliable and renewable source of electricity, which is an energy efficiency defined beyond lips service.
The building in itself is the executive governor’s signature in tangible form. And indeed, a particular badge of honour was imprinted on a designated part of the building as a testament of Odidika’s signature.
But then, the building has been rendered unfit and unusable by the wind gust of the penultimate week. And some government media handlers quickly denied the fact of the incident. It is insensible to deny such a glaring incident with overarching and overbearing evidence, because the fact of the incident is an “existential reality”, like a word made flesh and it dwelt amongst us. The propaganda around this issue exposes one huge deficit in the body polity of Nigeria, especially in Imo State. There has been an abject lack of patriotism, which, in itself, is fueled by trust deficit between the government and the people.
And the incident of EIICC provided a missed opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It was an opportunity for the government to come out straight, take informed position, take responsibility and lead the way, regardless of the detractors’ mischievous designs and calumny. In Imo State, as in the rest of Nigeria, most opposition politicians have no capacity to draw the thin line between patriotism – when there should be collective sense of purpose for the sake of motherland, and politicking – to make cheap points for calumny and run down the incumbent with alternate views. If an atomic bomb were to be dropped in the city of Owerri, be sure that the opposition politician will run to town with the sad news, modulate the incident with fictitious vibes and figments of imagination, without any form of provision(s) to salvage the land, even if their mothers are killed, in order to paint the incumbent government with their tanned brushes, with eyes only fixated on the next electoral cycle and campaign. This is quite unfortunate; this is not shadow government by any measure. And if you ask me, that’s Nigeria’s politics for you.
But a time like this, a people of different persuasions ought to come together for the sake of our common patrimony. Instead, they erred, which led government media handlers to err too.
Firstly, it was wrong for the media handlers of specific pro-government groups to tell barefaced lies. What happened at EIICC wasn’t a case of solar modules that snapped under the strong winds. It was a severe, unexpected wind gust that disturbed and wholly moved the roof members. It was catastrophic. In the coming days, the extent of damage will be glaring to the Imo people and confirms the needless and unfortunate lies of the propagandists.
And here is the main gist!
In all engineering, procurement and constructions (EPC), there is always a contract, which features an important heading or sub-heading called Force Majeure. This concept refers to unforeseen circumstances such as earthquake, hurricane, tornadoes, war, extreme weather conditions, unfavourable environmental hazards and other dangerous circumstances that can make either or both of the contracting parties to fail to fulfill the contract terms for some, if not all, time. In 2007/08, I had to temporarily shut down Huawei telecom project in Kenya, because the political climate in that country, with Raila Odinga and incumbent Mwai Kibaki, was taking a dangerous turn. And it did indeed, as soon as I shutdown and left country. It was a force majeure.
A mischievous opposition might also argue that the unfortunate incident at EIICC happened out of contract, after the project had been commissioned and handed over to the project owner – the Government. Whereas the project had been commissioned for use, it is still within the preliminary acceptance time (PAT), when the contractor is legally binding to provide solutions for the snags arising from partly or wholly malfunction of the facility due to use, and/or operations and maintenance (O&M) until the final acceptance time (FAT), when the burden of responsibility squarely rests on the project owner or the concessionaire.
The missed opportunity to educate rampaging, keyboard-happy mischief makers is regrettable, especially at this time, when persons-in-opposition desperately want materials or news to wag their jaws call it defamation. In the final analysis, the onus always lies on the government to take the lead by force of institutional example to pave the way. If a packet of counter propaganda is deciphered, as in this case under review, and found to be deliberately misrepresented, it makes the job of public enlightenment much difficult. It would subject future, honest endeavours to doubts. It would cost more to repair or rework, which is the tragedy of any initial bad work.
As the rework on the EIICC is earnestly in progress, we hope that lessons have been learned and that the necessary measures are being put in place to forestall a repeat. And we hope too that the relevant government departments have learned a lesson – when and how to seize an opportunity to redeem the dwindling good perception of the people on the government. Government projects are always financed by equity or loans to be repaid by the taxpayers, who actually own these projects.
So, don’t miss this point.
