By Hon.Barr. Ephraim C. Okafor

“When a tree forgets its roots, the wind of time will uproot it.”

The recent move by the Imo State House of Assembly to rename Douglas Road—a landmark etched into the very soul of Owerri—after Governor Hope Uzodinma, is more than political misjudgment. It is an assault on memory, a betrayal of heritage, and a mockery of the people’s trust.

Douglas: The Man Behind the Name:

Douglas Road and Douglas House were named after Harold Morday Douglas, the British District Officer who ruled Owerri Province in 1902.

Douglas was no hero. He was a tyrant, remembered for forced labour, punitive expeditions, and massacres at Eziama and Ahiara. Historians rank him among the most brutal colonial officers in Igboland.

To immortalize him in our public space was already a colonial scar. To now erase his name, not in honour of the people, but to crown a sitting governor, is to double the injury—trading memory for vanity.

Achebe warned us: “The story is our escort; without it, we are blind.” To distort history is to stagger blindly into the future.

The Road as a Living Artery:

Douglas Road is no ordinary street. It is Owerri’s beating heart: home to Ekeonunwa (Eke Ukwu) Market, banks, traders, shops, and daily commerce. Since the 1970s, Douglas and Whetheral stood as the first dual-carriage roads—symbols of modern Owerri.

Governments before now have tried—and failed—to rename it. The people resisted. Why? Because Douglas Road has become ours, not theirs.

Igbo wisdom cautions: “He who throws away the name of his father throws away his own shadow.” Erasing Douglas Road is erasing a piece of ourselves.

Law, Trust, and Duty:

The Constitution (Section 14(2)(b)) makes the people’s welfare and dignity the core of governance. Public places, names, and symbols belong to the people; they are not political trophies to be shared among the powerful.

As Wole Soyinka said: “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.” Silence now would mean death to our memory.

Vanity vs Permanence:

Governors come and go. History remains. A governor’s name belongs in records of service, not on monuments of heritage.

Maya Angelou reminded us: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” What will Owerri feel when it sees memory sold for ego?

A river that forgets its source must dry up.

The Assembly’s Failure:

This act exposes an Assembly that echoes power instead of questioning it, a House that stamps rather than safeguards.

James Baldwin’s warning rings true: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” If our lawmakers cannot defend our history, who will?

A Plea for Conscience:

I call on the Speaker and Members of the Imo State House of Assembly:

Your loyalty is to the people, not to one officeholder.

Your votes should preserve memory, not mutilate it.

History is not decoration—it is a covenant among the dead, the living, and the unborn.

As the saying goes: “The masquerade that dances in the market square belongs to the people, not to one man.”

Conclusion:

The measure of this Assembly will not be in the number of laws it churns out but in the weight of its choices. To rename Douglas Road is to enthrone vanity and spit on heritage.

Let Douglas Road remain Douglas Road—lest we insult our ancestors, mock our children, and betray generations yet unborn.

Toni Morrison reminds us: “If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down.” Let us give up vanity, and embrace memory.

“Let the kite perch. Let the eagle perch. If one refuses, may its wings break.”

Douglas Road must remain Douglas Road.

Hon.Barr.Ephraim C. Okafor,

Concerned Citizen of Imo State.