HIS EXCELLENCY, ROCHAS OKOROCHA’S DAUGHTER’S WEDDING CEREMONY: A BAD EXAMPLE OF HOW TO BE A PUBLIC FIGURE by Isaac Oluyi

On Saturday, 11^th October, 2014, the Nigerian Television Authority International on the DSTV cable beamed the wedding ceremony between Uju Okorocha, daughter of the Governor of Imo State and one Uzoma live. It was a spectacle to behold, as it attracted the crème-de-la-crème of the society! Politicians, business men and women, technocrats, political jobbers, et al filled the venue of the event. The event, which was anchored by the celebrated presenter of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’, was a testament of His Excellency, Governor Rocha Okorocha’s wealthy status. Prior to Okorocha’s foray into politics, he had demonstrated to the Nigerian public, through his philanthropic activities, that he is blessed materially. So, I have no problem with his ostentatious display of wealth! In fact, I rejoice with him and congratulate him on the success of the wedding ceremony. May God bless the union.

That said, I need to say that the wedding showed how not to be a good example of public figure. Some years back, the Central Bank of Nigeria came up with a policy that banned ‘spraying’ of money at parties. This policy was received with mixed feelings. While some were not favourably disposed to it, many applauded it as a welcome development in a country where success is benchmarked with how much money you can amass and display either to oppress or impress. Despite the mixed reaction, the policy stood and sanity returned to parties in terms of money ‘spraying’. So, we thought until the show of shame aired on NTA last Saturday (11/10/2014). Perhaps, I would not have been moved by the recklessness with which the Nigerian currency and some foreign currencies were being sprayed at the event in a country where more than 50% of the populace live in destitution, but for the calibre of the people at the show. The roll call includes former Head of State, former and serving governors, senators, house of representative members, among others. Even some people who are canvassing for our votes in the forthcoming election were not left out! The question now is: Is this how to be a public figure?

In a saner clime, public figures are always conscious of how they do what they do, bearing in mind that they are role models. It is rare, if not impossible, to see the likes of Barack Obama, Cameron and other world leaders to be seen contravening the laws of their societies. Some may argue that Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, was a bad example of an exemplary leader and so it is not peculiar to Nigeria. Good argument! But the rarity of such in the developed world cannot be disputed. Methinks that it is too common to notice unbecoming attitudes among our own leaders in Nigeria. To worsen the situation, they do not seem to care! That they do not care a hoot about how we feel was foregrounded through the way ‘Ghana-Must-Go’ bags were being used to pack money on NTA during Rocha Okorocha’s daughter’s wedding ceremony. While this may encourage criminal tendencies, especially among the army of jobless graduates in Nigeria, it is also an insult to our collective psyche as a nation. It’s like saying ‘who cares about the law of the land. After all, some of us are above the law’. 

Are we in George Orwell’s Animal Farms, where some animals are more equal than the others? Even if we are, can’t we show it discreetly? Must we rub it in for people to know? The wedding ceremony has actually confirmed my scepticism of All Progressive Congress’ claim to ideological politics because the event was populated by the so called progressives of APC! I think like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), like APC. They are two of a kind. What future awaits my beloved nation with this kind of ostentatious display of wealth on a national television in a nation where poverty, joblessness, crime, insurgency and other vices reign supreme? If one must say it as it is, then the spraying of money at the wedding ceremony of Okorocha’s daughter showed clearly how not to be an exemplary public figure!

Isaac Oluyi, a change agent, entrepreneur, motivational teacher and social commentator can be reached via isaacoluyi@gmail.com and on twitter via @oluyiisaac..