“Abia remains the ultimate beneficiary of all the governor’s public speaking engagements, which are more like his own shuttle diplomacy, that offered him interesting platforms to spotlight Abia in the world map”
Gov. Chioma Alex Otti of Abia State has been up and running since he mounted the saddle of governance in Abia, a position he stoically earned after a dogged, long-drawn, resiliently fought battle.
Without the fear of contradiction, one can correctly say that Gov. Otti came on board at a period the image of the state was at its lowest ebb, having been grossly battered, following many years of greedy and transactional political marauders, who spent a cumulative 24 years in office merely plundering the state resources for their personal enrichment.
A time was during the immediate past administration of former Gov. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, when Abia indigenes and residents were shy to identify themselves with the state because doing so attracted public scorn.
Many felt that Abia, nicknamed God’s Own State, was under a spell after former Gov. Orji Uzor Kalu, alias OUK, allegedly committed the soul of the state to the Ogwugwu-akpu Okija deity between 1999 and 2007. That was an era nobody could take up any political office in the administration without allegedly having to swear to an oath of allegiance with the deity.
There was also the ugly story told in the open about the imposing image and limitless political influence wielded by OUK’s mother, Madam Eunice Kalu, aka “Odiukor namba” during an era they thought would never end.
It was then in 2000, when the renowned Igbo leader, late Ikemba Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, visited Umuahia for the inauguration of Hotel Royal Damgrate on Factory Road, that he veritably described the town as “a rural capital”. That was to underscore the gross underdevelopment of the town with OUK in the saddle.
Kalu’s successor and political godson, Theodore Ahamefula Orji, popularly called “Ochendo”, reinforced the stigma and unsavoury public perception created about Abia under OUK. He came with a mantra that he had “liberated Abia” from the forces of evil that retarded its growth and development. It was obvious that the severing of his umbilical cord with his godfather only happened after his fierce face off with the dynasty that elevated and made him governor above better alternatives.
It was on the basis of Ochendo’s celebrated “emancipation of Abia” that many nursed the hope that he would take the state to the next level. Unfortunately, his unbridled greed and the hijack of his government by his son, Chinedu, ostensibly derailed Abia’s development under his watch.
So, after “mamacracy” under OUK, entered “soncracy” under Ochendo, while Abia and its people became worse off. It was an era of settlement for his cronies and praise-singers, who formed different pro-groups – a trend that excited him to no end. His eight years as governor left practically nothing tangible on ground, in terms of physical development of the state.
It was no surprise, therefore, that the Anambra-born oil merchant, Chief Arthur Eze, berated Ochendo’s government in 2014, when he visited Umuahia, saying that “Umuahia is stinking”. The business mogul spoke against the backdrop of the imposing heaps of decomposing waste that littered the major streets of the town, beginning from the first point of entry at the Abia Tower on the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway.
But the worse was to come between 2015 and 2023, which proved to be the most unserious political leadership of Abia. The eight-year administration of Ikpeazu was simply nondescript! Frankly uninspiring! And neither Ikpeazu nor his wife or son was in charge.
In fact, the ship of state was navigated rudderlessly with no focus or destination in mind. Regrettably, the administration was run through the whims and fancies of a few “powerful boys” that held Ikpeazu captive – some say spiritually and physically. Thus, the man that ought to be the pilot abandoned the cockpit and embarked on a costly frolicking expedition, leaving Abia to float without any direction.
No wonder his noncommittal, laissez-faire attitude to governance earned him lots and lots of unprintable sobriquets. It also cost the state a great fortune. So, while most states were making great progress, breaking new frontiers in economy, science and technology, industry and investment, and undergoing serious infrastructural transformations, Abia stood still.
Consequently, already dilapidated roads became worse and completely impassable. For instance, Port Harcourt Road, Uratta Road, Obohia Road, Omuma Road, Udeagbala Road, and many other internal roads in the commercial city of Aba and Osisioma became closed to traffic. The situation was no better in Umuahia, the capital city, and other major towns in the state.
Another recurrent feature of Ikpeazu’s administration was the ubiquity of refuge heaps that laced the entire nooks and crannies of the state under a governor that superintended over Abia State Environmental Protection Agency in the build up to his emergence as governor by default in 2015.
Many other things went awry with the state, ranging from the dilapidated primary and post-primary school facilities to the general leadership failure, while Ikpeazu was busy partying from one five-star hotel to another across the globe. And also having the choicest, most expensive and exotic wines as well as other “orishirishi” body no be firewood!
The education and health sectors received little or no attention. For instance, the state-owned health facilities, such as the Amachara General Hospital, Aba General Hospital and Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, all became a shadow of what modern health facilities should be.
The same fate befell the state-owned tertiary educational institutions, including the Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, which suffered serious setbacks, carelessly losing their accreditations one after the other under the watch of a governor that proudly flaunted a PhD degree.
Painfully, Abia became notorious for many bad reasons, such as the unpaid arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions. They kept accumulating for months unend until the workers and retirees lost count of the months they were either paid or not paid.
It was in the midst of this unwholesome narrative that both Abia and Ikpeazu acquired a pariah status, such that no serious state or institution, locally and internationally, wanted to have anything to do with them. And the reason was simply obvious – nobody wants to associate with failure.
It was also during this period that Ikpeazu further demonstrated the highest level of unseriousness in office, when he abandoned his duty post and joined the infamous, gallivanting G-5 Governors, where he shamelessly served as Personal Assistent to his fellow Gov. Nyesom Wike.
Indeed, Abia’s deterioration in physical development and political leadership presented the state as cursed and jinxed never to experience anything positive.
But to God’s glory, all those have given way to pleasant and resounding narratives with Gov. Otti at the wheel.
Beyond rewriting the history of Abia with fierce approach to rebuilding the road infrastructure as well as transformation of the health and educational institutions, he simultaneously introduced great reforms in the education sector to restore quality and standard in a way to guarantee that Abia schools graduate boys and girls, men and women that can comfortably and favourably compete with their peers all over the world.
The governor is also working assiduously to restore the lost glory as Aba, which served as an investment destination for blue chip organisations many decades ago. With the current priority on rebuilding the road networks in and around Aba, coupled with the government’s strategic partnership with Geometric Power Plant for steady energy supply, the huge Aba industrial potentials would soon blossom for yet another industrial revolution that would shock the world. This is the ultimate target of the governor.
Today, Abia has suddenly become the beautiful bride and envy of other Nigerians, who either visit or transit through its shores to other states. The governor has raised the ambience, aura and aesthetic value of both Aba and Umuahia to the ultimate delight of residents and thoroughfarers. And to the credit of the present administration and its unrivalled commitment to daily refuse disposal, Aba and Umuahia no longer stinks.
At the moment, Gov. Otti’s sterling, robust and outstanding credentials as a top flight intellectual and globally acclaimed first class economist cum quintessential administrator par excellence, have elevated him to the first choice speaker and lecturer on contemporary global issues of development philosophy, political economy and democratic governance at different national and international fora.
Barely five months after he assumed office, precisely on October 5, 2023, he appeared as the Guest Speaker at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s 63rd Founders’ Day celebration, where he delivered a thought-provoking lecture on the removal of the oil subsidy by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu.
Since then, he has continued to shuttle between America, Nigeria and Europe presenting well-researched papers before very large audience of international scholars, business leaders, policymakers, investors, as well as research students alike.
Also in April, he was a Guest Speaker at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Affairs, United States, where he delivered a breathtaking paper on: “State Governance and Economic Transitions: Meeting the Challenges through a Citizen-centred Approach”.
One month later, he was also at the prestigious University of Cambridge, Judge Business School, United Kingdom, where he spoke insightfully on the theme, “Africa Together: Public-Private Partnership”.
The highly cerebral First Class Honour’s graduate of Economics, University Port Harcourt, was also at the University of Buckingham, England in September, where he delivered a keynote address on the theme: “Building Capacity to Support Sustainable Development Activities: A Case Study of Abia State, Nigeria.”
On October 10, he also featured at the prestigious, world class Harvard University, where he spoke on “Restoring Faith in Nigeria’s Democracy: New Paths to Guaranteed Outcomes”.
Suffice it to state here that the governor was at his best, exceptionally and superlatively delightful in all his appearances.
And although, the scholarly engagements further bolstered his rich credentials, they appear to have made more far-reaching impact on Abia’s image and reputation in the perception of his mixed American and European audience of academics and investment consultants.
Thus, above and beyond the lecture presentations, the governor did not disappoint in seizing every opportunity to speak deeply, passionately and positively about his beloved Abia.
For him, those opportunities offered him a rare privilege to market God’s Own State and its boundless endowments in both human, material and mineral resources that earnestly yearn for investors to harness for the overall development of the state and its good people.
In all, Abia remains the ultimate beneficiary of all the governor’s public speaking engagements, which are more like his own shuttle diplomacy, that offered him interesting platforms to spotlight Abia in the world map for the global community to appreciate that, indeed, something good can still come out of Abia, after the 24 long, wasted years of the locusts. To God be the glory!
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from Umuahia
