By Onu Yakubu
Three months after Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo state promised to get jobs for 4,000 indigenes of Imo State who want to relocate to Europe or Canada, the hapless youths continue to wait for the fulfillment of that pledge .
The expectant youths who had greeted the news with wild jubilation when the governor made this pledge last year as part of his “Skill Up Imo” programme have since then been jostling to be included among those to be sent as expatriates working overseas.
Governor Uzodinma had made the pledge on September 28 at a campaign rally ahead of the November 11 governorship election which the governor subsequently won.
The governor had shortly before the elections told a crowd of mostly young Imo residents that any of them with the relevant employable skill set who wanted to relocate to Europe or Canada could count on his government to ease their entry and adaptation into a life abroad.
According to the governor, “by December this year [2023], 4,000 Imo youths will be employed in Europe,” adding “Let me tell you something: I have gone further to negotiate with the European Union companies and the Canadian companies. They are sending us areas of visible skills which our youth will also learn.”
The excited youths had burst into song and dance celebrating the governor’s achievements as the governor concluded that, “Once that letter comes, the governor will pay for all your air tickets.”
The news that Governor Uzodinma would be securing paid employment for thousands of Imo youths overseas quickly went viral although many greeted it with scepticism. His opponents for the polls said it was mere desperation on the governor’s part to cling to power.
The candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in the November 11 governorship election in Imo State, Dr. Kemdi Opara had described the plan by the governor who was the All Progressives Congress candidate at the time as nothing but a deceitful gimmick.
According to him such “dissimulation is a confirmation and testament that his administration has failed the youths and the generality of the Imo people.”
Public commentators and social media denizens had also lampooned Governor Uzodinma for making such extravagant promises that had no possibility of been redeemed.
At the time the governor’s promise trended on X, formerly known as Twitter, with many tweets condemning the governor’s action, calling it a wild goose chase.
One FS Yusuf, shocked by the governor’s promise, tweeted, “A governor is promising 4000 youths japa. A state governor o. No! This is the height. I’m done here!!!”
Another person, Ossy FA, who said he was from Imo State and was disappointed with the governor’s quest to retain power, tweeted, “Man is a disgrace to us Imo people. May APC never happen to us again.”
“A man who cannot create job opportunities for his citizens in his state wants to get jobs for them in Europe; no, be Juju be that,” another with the handle “Panache” tweeted.
Mr. Uzodinma’s video where he made the promise has since generated hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter and the sheer implications of a governor actively plotting to relocate young Nigerians to grow the economies of Europe and Canada has continued to rankle.