Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a group of Imo state professionals under the aegis of IMO ARISE NETWORK has launched an online platform, IMO ARISE, http://www.imoarise.com/ “to mobilize all Imo sons and daughters to fight for real development by arising to reclaim the state from the clutches of bad governance in 2019, and beyond.”
The group, which describes itself as “a movement of all Imo sons and daughters, at home and in the diaspora, committed to good governance of our dear state,” seeks to actualize its mission by persuading every son and daughter of Imo State, 18 years and above, to join Imo Arise Network (IAN), and get involved in the conversation, and the way forward; build the movement grounds-up by having every member mobilize his/her friends and family members to join IAN; and encourage every member who is or will be 18 years and above, in 2019, to register to vote.
Imo Arise Network (IAN) has also promised to sensitize as many Imo people as are possible who live outside Imo state to register and vote in Imo, in 2019, especially those living in the neighbouring states of Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, and Rivers State; and to rally support for a credible candidate ahead of 2019 elections
Consequently, the Imo Arise website has been designed as a centralized web platform where members can engage with each other, create groups, upload videos, and share information from the platform on their social networks with their family and friends from Imo state.
The site will keep Imo people updated with the actual state of infrastructural development – schools, hospitals, and roads – across the twenty-seven Local Government Areas of the state, so that Imo citizens can see variances, if any, with government’s claims across all sectors.
As an online advocacy movement, the group has outlined and articulated seven issues, which they believe are most pressing in the state, and has therefore encouraged Imo people to join in the conversation on the way forward with these issues, which they believe that if addressed headlong by the incoming administration in 2019 will set Imo on the path to sustainable development.
The identified issues are – scant regard for rule of law; gradual destruction of the public service system; mortgaging Imo’s future; and the scourge of brief illness. Other issues highlighted are government shrouded in secrecy; youth joblessness; and insecurity
Imo Arise Network, which has also catalogued the present government’s shortcoming in its social contract with Imo people has therefore promised to galvanize progressive sons and daughters of the state to elect “a passionate leader with clarity of purpose” going forward.
To turn its mission into reality, the group is currently using its newly-launched website to encourage Imo people, at home and abroad, to join the growing community.
