I Cannot Be Poor Again - Okorocha

The Governor of Imo State, Rochas
Okorocha, has likened poverty to HIV/Aids, saying that nothing
would make him, his family and his
entire generation to experience poverty
it again.
The governor stated this at the fourth
Nigeria Governors’ Forum retreat in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.
Recalling his battle with poverty,
Okorocha said, “I was poor and I
decided to fight against poverty and
nothing will make me, my family and
my generation to go back to poverty
again. Poverty is worse than HIV. You
can’t pretend to be poor.
“The governor must
have charisma and the
President, when he
speaks, must have
charisma. You should
also know that political
power is entrusted to
you by the people and
if you don’t hold it well,
they will never forget
you,” Okorocha stated.
Also at the event, a
former governor of Abia
State, Dr. Orji Kalu,
urged current governors
to consider going into entrepreneurship in order to meet the needs of the
people around them after leaving office.
Kalu, who was one of the speakers at the retreat in Port Harcourt, pointed
out that people would still come around former governors or political leaders
to seek one favour or the other, adding that, opportunities could be given to
such people in areas where the ex-governor had investments.
He told the governors, “Know that the burden you will carry as a former
governor is for life. Even if you leave office poorer than you went in, a cynical
public would never believe you. They believe half of the public treasury is
kept in your house.
“They will come daily to line up, telling one tale of woe after the other. If you
give them, they will say they only came to collect what belongs to them. If
you don’t give them, they will say you are selfish and stingy.
“When you become
poor, the same people
will abuse you of being
a foolish man. It is
head, you lose; tail, you
lose. Public service is
truly a thankless job in
Nigeria,” Kalu, who was
represented at the
occasion by the
Managing Director and
Editor-in-Chief of the
New Telegraph
Newspaper, Mr. Gabriel
Akinadewo, told the