“I will not fail to give to Abia people and those of us in Labour party the credit of patience and sincere alliance with the leader to get practical results of nation building void of billboard sentiments of events that are just not there. The road to South East economic development has been carved here.”
By Njoku SaintJerry A.
Any person or business man from the South East residing outside the region and engaged in any kind of commercial activities and has not taken time to pay close attention to the situation in Abia State today under the Alex Otti administration may be doing so at his own loss.
Abia has been rebuilt and intentionally repositioned to accommodate every Nigerian and foreigners interested and willing to explore age old virgin opportunities in south east center of SME
The Small and Medium scale Enterprises made up of artisans, regional marketers and distributors are the backbone of any economically viable society, they will thrive under a deliberately coordinated environmental development process that recognizes the significance of a regional economic web cycle and will maintain an unbroken grip in commerce as long as the environment in which they operate provides a guarantee for sustainability.
Somebody quipped; “What’s it about Otti and Aba, we have been trading here before he came on board.” The answer is not far-fetched; the volume of trade and gradual increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is traceable, business goes where there is ample provision of supporting amenities to make the commerce thrive.
This is one reality you cannot play politics with; “Aba stinks’ used to be a common adage by Nigeria’s known billionaire investor, Arthur Eze during the infamous days of PDP’s chokehold, virtually everyone stayed away from the filth including some of us ordinary people, of course, there was trade and commerce, a tradition that is intrinsic.
Unfortunately Aba was in a pool of its own filth, those trade and commerce were merely in a vicious circle of retrogression and mockery, state political actors made that happen and every signs of development remain loudly echoed on billboards, certainly by sycophants and decrepit fellows feeding on the filth and infamy of their political actors, perhaps the leaders were ignorant or so they chose, they remain culpable – you do not claim to hold Phd and LLB degrees and various bogus professional titles yet you don’t know a jerk how the economy operates neither do you flaunt your ignorance of the significance of social infrastructures in nation building.
Like the wise teacher said; if you’re angry and wish to change the political leadership system, go to the polls and upturn the ballot box. That was exactly what happened in Abia state, the masses couldn’t take the deception any longer and one day they rose in anger and upturned the ballot box and the journey to a new home of trade and commerce began.
Now back to the question about Alex Otti and what’s new in Abia; beginning from latest, between January to June this year 2024, Abia has recorded an increase in its IGR that preceded the former days of infamy of political manipulators, hitting N15.5 billion and just a shift to early July 2024 it has hit over N17 Billion scaling from 58% to 59% and now 62% and still growing.
Without dribbling around the field, what made that possible was simply applying the art of putting your house in order for that special guest, keep your environment clean, maintain a decent fiscal administration, provide those basic amenities that will improve the purchasing power of members of your spider web economic circle, do not withhold their money to buy a house in London and Europe that will not bring in any dividend to your homeland, open up, spread your reach of influence and be genuinely committed to the cause of nation building, it will not be long, the business community will take notice and divert attention towards you and your region, then the growth begins – This is the simple magic that happened under the Alex Otti led Labour party administration.
This is beyond politics; however I will not fail to give to Abia people and those of us in Labour party the credit of patience and sincere alliance with the leader to get practical results of nation building void of billboard sentiments of events that are just not there.
The other day, another friend asked; But there are 17 LGAs in Abia, it appears the entire noise about a new Abia is centered around Aba and Umuahia alone while the rest of the towns like Ohafia, the third largest urban town in Abia state suffers neglect.
The Alex Otti’s development template was specific in its approach at inception till today; How and where will you get the money for all these laudable promises of rebuilding Abia and paying off humongous debts of salaries stolen by previous political state actors.
‘Aba’ emerged as one of the answers to that honest probe, and you will ask what has the city of Aba got to do with the neglect of Ohafia or other LGA’s among the 17.
The answer will bring us back to the improved IGR situation, what does it entails for a sustainable economy, LAGOS comes to mind.
What makes Lagos economy thick is the IGR and where does it comes from, Trade and Commerce; who are the drivers of Trade and Commerce in Lagos. Without shying away from the realities on ground; I will tell you that the drivers of Lagos IGR that made it Number 1 in Nigeria are the offshoots of Aba SME.
Last time I told you of regular trips of Aba to Lagos night bus rides loaded with goods that were shipped from Lagos to Aba and re-transported back to Lagos from Aba overnight, as confused as anyone may be art such awkward business arrangements I can bet you the Alex Otti government has unraveled the mystery that engineered such awkward business arrangements and has taken the bulls of economic drivers by the horns to grow the Abia IGR to match with Lagos and build funds for the rest of the LGA’s including Ohafia,
What are the economic drivers; access to basic amenities across entire business environment, Ariaria International market, Ekeohia Shopping complex, and entire Aba municipality are undergoing intense overhaul including emptying and rebuilding drainages once filled with filth, improving the city aesthetics to arouse any visitor’s interest to relocate to a region of safety, orderliness and vibrant economic activity. You will only need to visit ABA to get the first impression. The road to South East economic development has been carved here.
This is the gateway to any viable economy, leadership commitment to deliver those captivating campaign promises of a better environmental condition and sincerity of purpose to employ judicious management of state finances for the benefit of the state and her people. Aba leads, others follow; the IGR grows and the frontiers of businesses expand from Aba to Umuahia to Ohafia, Arochukwu, Ukwa East & West back to Isiukwuato and the great exodus from Lagos to the South East commences in earnest.
Welcome to Abia State.
Njoku Jerry A is the State Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Abia
