27th of August every year has become an
annual ritual, celebrated with fanfare of
multiple hues. There is no doubt that Abia will
triumph. A collocation of factors, most of them
propitious are pointers that could be
interpreted as good omen.
If we take a look at Abia birthday mates who
have trod this earth and other epic events,
you will realize that they left quantum
footsteps and extra large sized shoes, too big
to meet matching feet. Lyndon B Johnson, the
36th president of the United States of America
was born same date in 1908. Georg Wilhelm
Friedrich Hegel, the 19th century German
Philosopher, acclaimed worldwide for his
numerous political and social theories, hit the
earth on August 1770 in a place known as
Stuttgart. Towering above others in service to
mankind was Mother Theresa, the Yugoslavia-
born Catholic nun. As captured above, she
lived and died for the poor and raised charity
work to the highest level. She shares the same
birthday with Abia as she was born in
August, 27th 1910. It is democratically
instructive too that the French National
Assembly issued the bill of Rights of Man and
Citizen on the 27th of August in 1778.
From all the above, it is evident that Abia was
born great, full of promises and like Canaan,
bound to flourish with milk and honey.
Abia created in August 27, 1991 by the
Ibrahim Babangida military regime was a
result of hard work, diligence and synergy of
the founding fathers led by Dr. Michael I.
Okpara, Mr B A Wachukwu, who functioned
as the deputy while Hon Dr MAO Agbara was
the secretary. Other notable members are Dr.
Anagha Ezeikpe, still kicking and highly
articulate, Senator S M Ojukwu, J OJ Okezie,
Hon S U Nwangaga and Prof. J C Ogbonnaya,
former pro-chancellor of ABSU and consultant
surgeon at Madonna University Elele. These
men and other officers of the Abia State
Movement, too numerous to mention living
and dead, marched gallantly to the National
Assembly in Lagos, on July 3, 1980 and made a
formal presentation for the creation of Abia
State. It took eleven years, after most of the
activists have died for their prayers to be
answered.
The first Military Administrator, Group
Captain Frank Ajobena, did the pioneering
work and took off with the existing
structures, converting tiny education
department offices of the then Ikwuano/
Umuahia local Government Area and
classrooms into some parts of the existent
Government House. These rooms make up the
rooms 1 to 20. These rooms are still in use as
Government House Offices, but change is
afoot with the new Government House under
construction by the Ochendo administration.
A succession of military officers continued till
the era of democratically elected government
of Dr. Ogbonna Onu, who himself, had to go
due to another military intervention. The
benevolent interregnum of Gen Abdulsalam
Abubarka ushered in Dr. Orji Uzo Kalu who
exhausted his two terms before handing the
truncheon to His Excellency, Chief Dr.
Theodore Ahamefule Orji.
The founding fathers were aware of some
awful experiences that emanate from political
movements and struggles. Most of the time,
cases abound of deprivations, neglects and
slavish domination; consequently they laid a
solid foundation in form of legal framework
to check such ugly situations. These foolproof
checks were well stated, signed, sealed and
delivered. According to professor S N
Nwabara, in his book, God’s own State, an
account of the creation of Abia State page 43,
‘Abia will be a happy STATE, a model STATE
in the Federation of Nigeria. It is to this end
that the people of the proposed ABIA STATE
have drawn, signed and sealed for themselves
what we call THE CHARTER OF EQUITY. This
is to reassure friends and opponents alike that
everyone matter; that every community
matter; that no part will be neglected; that
there will be no domination of any group in
the STATE by the other; that there will be
even development of the STATE. This is what
is reflected in the motto of the STATE: “ONYE
AGHALA NWANNEYA”.
This Charter ranks as high as other
fundamental declarations like the Magna
Carta and other bills of Right. Among other
articles is the power shift which is a potent
inflammable factor and cause for concern in
other political situations. This all-important
issue of power rotation among the senatorial
zones was fully addressed and has been fully
adhered to. As a testimony, power has shifted
from Abia North Senatorial zone to Abia
Central.
Dr. T.A Orji, from Abia Central Senatorial
Zone has unequivocally pledged his
commitment to this document as to facilitate
the power shift from the central to Abia South
Senatorial Zone, notably, in 2015, his terminal
date. In a Unanimous decision by the PDP
Abia Caucus, ratified by the stakeholders on
21th July 2014, this zone will produce the
next governor.
As a people, there are some pertinent
questions we have to ask ourselves.
Where are we coming from?
What have we achieved so far?
Where are we heading?
In all these years, which persons or group
have served us better?
The Holy Bible states it clearly in Proverbs
chapter 29 verse 2, ‘when the righteous are
on the throne the people rejoice. ’None can
deny the fact that Abians have had it so good
with His Excellency Dr. T.A. Orji in all sectors
of human development. In infrastructural
assessment, Abia leads. If previous
administrations have embarked on such
developmental strides like Ochendo has done,
there will be no bad road in Abia. His
Excellency has transformed bush paths to
roads, bushes to houses and local
communities to townships. Communities do
not have to travel long distances with over
710 Primary Health Care centres, 250 out of
these built by him in all the nooks and
crannies to sooth frayed nerves as, according
to him, only the healthy can enjoy dividends
of democracy.
Diagnostic centres equipped with state-of-the–
art machines like dialysis machines are in
place not forgetting the ultra modern
specialist hospital that is the toast of our
brothers from neighboring states like Akwa
Ibom, Cross Rivers State, Ebonyi and Rivers
State. Basic Education is free with free busing
in Umuahia and Aba. It is instructive that all
the while, T.A has not done anything else but
serve people in multiple capacities. He has a
trail of Legacy Projects as if to answer the
question: what will you be remembered for?
In answer, there are the new secretariat, new
Government House and the 9000 capacity
International Conference Centre which had
denied Abia the hosting rights of international
conferences. Others are the updated Abia
State University Teaching Hospital, the
judiciary complexes in Umuahia and Aba, the
48-room Broadcasting Corporation of Abia
house, first of its kind in Nigeria,
acknowledged by no other than Yemi
Bamgbose, current RATTAWU Chieftain. The
new industrial market at Azueke and the
Ubani Modern Market are still making waves
in the commercial world. What with the twin-
tower secretariat and the E-library with an
idea hub. The Governor as a change agent has
laid foundations for new airport and seaport,
opening new commercial frontiers.
Construction of roads and other utility projects
are continuous processes too numerous to be
listed.
The big question is, ‘why have previous
administrations forgotten these definitive
projects?’ For T. A. Orji, the icing on his cake
is reassembling and genuinely reconciling all
Abians in one big umbrella of PDP as a house
divided cannot stand. As a testimony, all Abia
leaders led him to an unprecedented victory
in April 2011, with Chief Onyema Ugochuwu,
his hitherto political adversary playing major
supportive roles. Ochendo’s honesty in
keeping his promises has disarmed his former
foes in the old political formation, forcing
them to place their cards on the table. It is not
a surprise seeing Chief Ojo Maduekwe, Vin
Ogbulafo, Elder Emma Adelu, Enyi Abaribe,
Chime Asonye, Senator Nkechi Nworgu and
others previously tagged Talibans or Abuja
politicians, dining in one ornate table. In the
same vein, Abia leaders of thought hitherto
cajoled, harassed and negatively profiled for
their upright positions on policy issues, for
these and more scampered to safety but are
now back to reckoning, snuggled on the
Ochendo comfort fur coats.
Crime rose to high heavens in form of
horrible kidnappings and gangster-like armed
robberies which forced banks on unscheduled
closures, have been brought to the barest
minimum. Today, Abia is the investment
destination with groups like the Honeywell
group, Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria,
Spar, Kia Motors, TradeMore, African
Independent Television, Aso Investments and
International Conglomerates like Shoprite,
Broadbased Communication- a fibre-optics
behemoth, Embassies of Thailand, America
and many others are posturing for space.
Agriculture the mainstay of former Eastern
Nigeria is reengineered, made attractive for
our youths to migrate from being ravenous
consumers to the enviable place of producers.
These are just to say a few. www.abiastate.g
ov.ng/new

OP
What Abia state needs is to flush out Orji and all his cohorts that has been choking the state, so that Abia can breathe again.