SCRIPTED BY CHEIF (SIR) DON UBANI
In 1903, being desirous to expand and consolidate on
its trade in the hinterland, the British Colonial
Government decided to relocate its sub-district office
which it had established in Akwete in February 1896
to Aba.
In choosing Aba as a sub-district office, the British
Colonial authorities had taken into cognizance the
centrality of Aba to such places as Port-Harcourt, Ikot-
Ekpene, Owerrinta and Bende.
Aba, as a town, was naturally destined to blossom
into a cosmopolitan configuration. Certain factors
were to combine to give Aba a distinction of its own.
The Aba River that meanders to join the Blue River at
Azumini provided a natural flow of human traffic in
and out of Aba, especially giving a boost to trade in
palm produce. The Ekeoha market became so
magnetic that traders and buyers came from different
places within and outside Igbo land to settle in Aba.
The Enugu-Port-Harcourt Rail Line that the British
Colonial Government had constructed about 1916
was an extra-ordinary advantage for the rapid growth
of Aba into a commercial nerve of the defunct Eastern
Region of Nigeria. The Friendly disposition of the
indigenes of Aba to visitors, spontaneously made Aba
a home for all, even to the extent of some people
misunderstanding this natural disposition to mean
that ‘Aba is no man’s land’.
At the end of the Nigerian/Biafra war of 1967 – 70,
many Igbo decided not to invest much outside Igbo
enclave because of their property that were
unconstitutionally and unjustifiably confiscated,
especially by the Rivers State Government, during
and after the said war and tagged ‘Abandoned
Property’. Aba, therefore, became the second home of
almost every Igbo man. This philosophical upsurge
made Aba, not only to grow in numerical strength but
also in geographical size.
To be fair to the British Colonial Administration, Aba
was very well planned, with an attractive network of
urban roads. Unfortunately, Aba has some challenges
arising from its topography. Unlike Enugu, Owerri and
Umuahia which are situated on hilly terrains, which
make it easy for rain water to be easily drained, Aba
has a flat or table land. This topographical peculiarity
poses a major problem of infrastructural instability in
Aba. The slightest rain-fall in Aba could, unlike in
many other cities, lead to long lasting percolation
and, in most cases, flood. In addition to this natural
handicap, some residents of Aba metropolis do not
help matters as they, knowingly or unknowingly,
block drainages with disposable refuse. The
consequence of these two deficiencies has been
worrisome flooding of Aba each time it rains. The
flood eats up the fabrics of roads and ends up leaving
the affected roads dilapidated and this gives rise to
infrastructural decay in Aba.
Infrastructural challenges in Aba have had a long
history. Many administrations, including the present
one headed by Chief T.A. Orji, have tried addressing
the infrastructural problems of Aba, with specific
emphasis being placed on roads. It would be recalled
that the late Governor of the old Imo state; chief Sam
Mbakwe, Ph.D, had to weep in the open in 1982
because of erosion menace at Ndiegoro and was
consequently labelled a ‘weeping Governor’ by a
section of the Nigerian press.
Despite the enormity of the challenges associated
with the state of infrastructure in Aba, there has been
a clear upsurge in the population accumulation of the
town. Many concerned indigenes and residents of the
Enyimba city, as Aba is fondly called, had, at different
times, advocated that a state of infrastructural
emergency be declared on Aba. Some others had,
however, opined that the issue of declaration of a
state of infrastructural emergency on the city was
more of sentiments than objectivity. The justification
for this school of thought could easily be found in the
fact that mere declaration of infrastructural
emergency on Aba may not necessarily translate to
availability of fund to address the herculean problem
of Aba infrastructurally.
As it goes beyond doubt, nature has a way of
addressing issues. In its commitment to enthrone
equity in Abia state, both the People’s Democratic
Party; P.D.P. and the state Governor; Chief T.A. Orji,
resolved that the next governor of the state should, of
necessity, hail from Abia-South Senatorial Zone. This
is one resolution no fairly-framed mind has
questioned but rather applauded. On the heels of this
resolution is the democratic emergence of a gentle-
man of almost incomparable personality as the
governorship candidate of P.D.P, in the person of Dr
Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.
Again, this is one Unique accomplishment for which
the people of Abia-South, nay the entire people of
Ukwa and Ngwa would continue to hold Governor T.A.
Orji and the P.D.P. very highly and dearly. In Igbo
tradition, if not in every other tradition, it is said and
indisputably believed that ‘no sympathizer cries more
than the bereaved in a funeral ceremony’. It,
therefore, follows that no matter what claims a no-
indigene of Abia-South might make, the onus of
rehabilitating Aba falls squarely on ‘the son of the
soil’.
From this angle of reasoning, which is synonymous
with infallibility, Dr Victor Okezie Ikpeazu; a renowned
academic and quintessential environmentalist, towers
above every other governorship candidate for the
February 28, 2015 election in Abia state. Being a
legitimate biologically-blooded indigene of
Umuobiakwe village in Obingwa-Aba, Dr Ikpeazu has
all it would take to return Aba to its prime status.
Already, Dr Ikpeazu has, on many fora, made it clear
that the infrastructural re-engineering of Aba is
beyond negotiation. As he succinctly put it recently
during his interaction with a large audience of stake-
holders in Aba at Aba Sports Club, the first one
hundred days of his administration will mark the end
of pot-holes on any road within Aba metropolis.
Further more, Dr Ikpeazu assured his audience that,
under his administration, Aba will undergo an
unprecedented physical and urban renewal,
culminating in infrastructural expansion of the town.
Equally importantly, is Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu’s assurance
that every resident of Aba, either indigene or non-
indigene, would be given a thorough sense of
belonging in the affairs of Aba.
The state is finally set. God, using Governor T.A. Orji
and the People’s Democratic Party, has remembered
Aba. The candidacy of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu is a
resurrection of hope for Aba and its residents. God,
the Governor and the Party have played their required
preliminary roles, it is now incumbent on the
residents of Aba to complement this process of
resurrection of hope by voting massively for Dr Okezie
Victor Ikpeazu on February 28, 2015. Any thing short
of this expectation would be disservice to Aba as a
metropolis and Abia State as a polity.
Besides, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu’s election on the 28th
February, 2015 will be a golden opportunity for Aba
residents to reciprocate the time-held hospitality of
the Ngwa man who has shown unprecedented
friendship and accommodation to them and in whose
land God has blessed them abundantly.