Opinion: Abia’s tortuous journey to 22

by Ndukwe Ugbuaja

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The kidnapping menace that nearly crippled activities in the state is now a thing of the past. That is why the state has remained the most peaceful state in the country today and has become a haven for prospective investors.

By August 27, Abia State will be 22 years old having been created out of the old Imo State by the Ibrahim Babangida administration. Scientifically, the age of maturity for human being is 12 years, but at 22, Abia State is still crawling. Successive governments in the state, especially during the military era, ran its affairs with impunity and recklessness. But they did not do it without the collaboration of civilians from the state who often served as fronts for the military to loot the state. Under the guise of businessmen and government contractors, they registered phoney companies and government contracts were awarded to them and funds released to them. At the end, no contract would be executed and nobody would ask for the refund of the public fund already paid to them.

That was the kind of leadership provided for the state for more than a decade. The hope and expectation of the people for a change in the status quo with the inception of democracy in the country in 1999 was never to be a dream come true. This was because the same characters that connived with the military leaders to impoverish and under-develop the state for almost a decade ploughed the looted funds into the politics of the state and hijacked the political leadership.

So nothing changed in terms of leadership style, aside of change from military rule to civilian democracy. Desperate to recoup after years of military rule, some politicians served as conduit pipe to siphon state resources and to suppress the people. Between 1999 and 2007, there was no sign of governance in the state, especially in the area of infrastructural development. But government in the state ranked top in the promoting unnecessary political controversies to attract undue attention from the public and in the area of media propaganda.

Decayed infrastructures begging for government attention were abandoned, while officials built their business empires and those of their family members, converting government assets into family assets at will. The state-owned newspaper was destroyed and its printing press used to establish an anti-government private-owned newspaper in Lagos. Voodoo politics was also introduced in the state and an intriguing matriarchy took charge of government decisions, while the son became the ceremonial leader of the state. A suburb in Bende council area of the state became a Mecca of sorts for politicians seeking appointment into the government. Nobody dared ask question or criticise government policies or actions, which were in most cases anti-people.

By the time the second term of the government expired in 2007, the state was left worse than it was met in 1999 in terms of decayed infrastructure, absence of access roads, a health sector in shambles as residents sought medical care in neighbouring states. The state of education was pathetic and the rate of examination malpractices was at the peak as special centres which encouraged examination malpractices became dominant in the state. The state debt profile was as high as N29.9 billion. No foundation was laid for the incoming government to take off. The civil service meant to drive government’s policies was bogged by petty and clannish politics, encouraged by the government. The state capital Umuahia remained the same glorified village it was upon its creation in 1991.

Coming into the office as governor in 2007, Chief Theodore Orji, a seasoned public servant came with a vision and blueprint on how to transform the state. But his predecessor on whose party’s platform Orji was elected had a different agenda which was the maintaining of the status quo in the state. Stifled and hounded on many fronts, Orji was just a figurehead and the system at the national level encouraged the situation at that point. Having seen it all in government as Chief of Staff for eight years, Governor Orji tarried for the best time to strike and liberate the state from the menace of godfatherism, a feat he achieved before the 2011 general elections, after due consultations with the people on what they wanted. Thereafter, the state breathed air of freedom. And since then, Orji’s government has been in hurry to cover lost ground. It is no doubt a daunting task, but the government has remained resolute.

Today in the state, there is no incessant political crisis especially in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Brothers do sit down now and discuss the way forward for the state. A new Government House befitting of a state capital of 22 years old is under construction. So also is an ultra-modern International Conference Centre, a new Workers Secretariat, and so many other giant developmental strides in different sectors of the state including the civil service that has been reformed and repositioned for effective performance. The kidnapping menace that nearly crippled activities in the state is now a thing of the past. That is why the state has remained the most peaceful state in the country today and has become a haven for prospective investors. There is also steady power supply in the capital and its environs courtesy of the power evacuation from Ohiya power station by the state government in partnership with the Federal Government.

It is obvious that the present government that is laying solid foundation for the development of the state. And in the face of this obvious fact, some misinformed and hired arm-chair critics who were part and parcel of the poor leadership that bedevilled the state for more than a decade plus are now expecting the present government to use resources and funds realised in the past six years to tackle accumulated decayed infrastructure of more than a decade. This is without raising eyebrow or asking questions on what happened to the funds that accrued to the state since its creation that were obviously mismanaged by successive governments before now.

The Abia liberation paved way for the solid foundation laid by the present government and what is paramount is sustaining the situation and improving on it to ensure that the dark years of political godfatherism and looting will not find its way back to the government of the state. So ahead of 2015 general elections, all hands must be on deck to ensure that people of questionable characters will not find their way into the Abia Government House. They are already jostling for the seat, but when the time comes, the people will make their choice. They are wiser now, and the present government has set a pace that the incoming government must follow to make great impact.

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Read this article in the Vanguard Newspapers

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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