THE OTHER MAN DR. UCHE OGAH, AND ABIA STATE.
Reflections on "the man and his people"...

The name rings a sudden bell. The dogged fighter for justice and equity. Most Nigerians first glimpsed him at the limelight when he dragged the sitting Abia State Governor up to the Supreme Court of Nigeria in a fair fight for justice and equity. The aftermaths of that epic event in the history of Abia State seems to have been swept partially under the carpet. Perhaps Nigerians still have the impression of Dr. Uche Ogah as another power-hungry politician who took a long futile dive at the Abia State Governorship. Or perhaps an oil magnate desperately seeking political relevance to improve upon the image of his multi-million-dollar business empire. Give or take, make or mare, hate or love him, there has never been a man in the history of Abia State since birth, that has struck greater fear among ruling politicians than Dr. Uchechukwu Samson Ogah. Those who fight him know him better politically. At the prime age of 45, his youthful and brave venture into politics was immediately seen as a formidable threat against power-control by the so-called ruling class of Abia State. This is a man that was surely come to break the oligarchy of the State's ruling class. Everywhere he went, the masses thronged after him. Women's voices rang high in ululation (the core african way). Those who were young enough to be surprised at his evident affinity to the common people, never hesitated to ask questions. And not surprisingly, the answers always queued them behind his already bursting supporter-base.

It was the first time a man his age was boldly gunning for the Abia State governorship position from outside the political corridor. So here was a fresh blood, politically un-contaminated and with all the strength and vigour of youth behind him, stretching out a bold hand to ask for the leadership mantle of Ndi-Abia. Most disturbing of all pointers to his looming victory, was the vast mass population of Abians who automatically sank anchor and pitched tents around him. Nobody wanted his money for their vote. Abians appeared rest assured that this man could be trusted with heart and soul. The shock of it all was that for once, the masses were not hungry for promises and handouts from a guber aspirant. Something deep and reassuring seemed to convince them that this man need not make them any promises. It was a blind and reassuring faith to calvary that "this man will deliver us from hardship". All these massive support garnered across the lengths and breadths of Abia State, surprisingly, had taken form within a few weeks of word on the street that Dr. Uche Ogah had declared interest in contesting the PDP Gubernatorial Primary Elections. The teeming majority of the Abia Electorate only breathed for the day they will shame the ruling political elite by casting their votes unanimously for Dr. Ogah. Of course it gave the seasoned politicians in power a looming cause for alarm. They were looking stark in the face of a man who had no need to "buy over the masses". One does not need buy what he/she already has, anyway. So here was the man and the people, in a government of the people by the people and for the people. Yet ironically, some powerful persons saw a raw threat rather than salvation in "the man and his people".

The other man Dr. Uche Ogah was born December 22, 1969 to Chief Wilson Ahamefula and Ezinne Pauline Ogah of Onuaku Uturu,Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State. Eighteen (18) years later he had secured a job with the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and two years after, he set his focus on improving on his academic career. His first degrees, diplomas and post graduate qualifications were obtained across institutions including the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu State, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ogun State University and University of Lagos. In addition, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a Fellow of the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria; a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Shipping, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, and several many professional bodies.

Dr. Uche Ogah started his professional career as a banker with a year of National Youth Service at NAL Bank Plc. At the end of his National Service, he took up full employment at the All States Trust Bank where he worked for about two years before joining Zenith Bank in 1997. At Zenith Bank, he set a record of growing a new branch from a zero balance sheet to over N9billion and later rose to the position of an Assistant General Manager (AGM) with the bank. He resigned voluntarily in 2007 to pursue a personal career in entrepreneurship. His ten-year adventure into the banking industry had moulded him into an entrepreneurial godfather. With this he founded the Masters Energy Group -a conglomerate with a workforce of over 42,000, with interests in aviation, banking, construction, dredging, energy, insurance, logistics, oil & gas, shipping and tourism. In 2014, Dr. Uche Ogah received a national award - the 'Officer of the Order of the Niger' (OON), by the Federal Government of Nigeria, under Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's Administration. And up till this time, Dr. Ogah had not tried on a political vest. So the irony of the panic he stirred among the ruling political class of Abia State is still one that must never be swept under the carpet that quickly. It is a story worth retelling at all times. If need be, it should be called, the Love Story between "the man and his people".

Love for power is often mistaken for love for the people within the Nigerian political context. It is in the light of this misconception, that Dr. Ogah should be discussed. The battle-line should be drawn here if we must embrace the core source of the never-before-experienced fear that Dr. Ogah's pioneer political venture unleashed among the Abia ruling political class. The story is well-tinged with irony. Dr. Uche Ogah was then a member of the Abia State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and a renowned financier of the Party in the State. It is well known that the Governor T. A. Orji Administration of the State relied heavily on Dr. Ogah for the purchase of about a thousand vehicles for distribution to Abians as youth empowerment packages. It is also rumoured that the governorship ticket was promised him as a reward for such grand benevolences and that his eventual loss of the PDP primary ticket and ensuing court battles against sitting Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, were all in the effort to pay back eye for an eye to the State PDP. However, that will usher in Dr. Ogah as a man driven by the "love for power" (for which the Abia State PDP is renowned) rather than "love for the people". Ironically still, that is exactly what his political opponents know that Dr. Ogah is not and can never be!

Very few Nigerians have the slightest knowledge that Dr. Ogah's love for the people was crystalized in 2011, when he set up the Uche Ogah Foundation. Ever before this official unveiling of his philanthropic footprints, Dr. Ogah has been known in his native community of Isuikwuato and environs as a man sent to his people by God Almighty. This is a man who has built numerous modern bungalow apartments for widows and families living in substandard housing conditions, absolutely free of charge. This is a man who has been conducting annual youth empowerment schemes for Abia people, absolutely free of charge. This is a man who has placed numerous families under monthly allowances to aid alleviate their sufferings. This is a man who has built and equipped schools and hospitals across the country and handed them over to the host communities, absolutely free of charge. This is a man whose scholarship schemes and academic grants in all its forms have benefited tens of thousands of students and academic staff across the country. The launching of the Uche Ogah Foundation a few years ago, was merely a formality to enable his benevolence reach and be officially accessed across every region of the country. All these were achieved without an eye for any political portfolio, until he realised how so dearly the Abia masses wanted him to become their leader as Governor of Abia State.

As a private person, Dr. Ogah had mastered the art of business management and social construction by using personal resources to improve on the vast society without disrupting his business empire. The final venture into politics was the peak of his expression of deep-seated love for Abians. Here, he would have had the opportunity of letting people hold him accountable for accomplishing feats in people development -a terrain he is too familiar with as a private billionaire. During his brief but most formidable campaign, he unveiled a development blueprint that would have turned Abia and especially Abia North into an industrial zone outclassing the notorious Aba City. His agenda was clear, precise and absolutely achievable. As a "Leader by Example", he built the first industrial city in Abia State -the Masters Industrial City, Uturu. This private investment targets employment and training of youths mostly from Abia State. The Industrial City is into the manufacture of products ranging from polymers to food consumables and fabrication of luggage tricycles, etc. Not surprising, Dr. Ogah is alone among his political peers in such private capacity investments in people development, all across Abia State. Little wonder the masses rallied and pitched their tents around him. They were bent on paying him back with their votes, absolutely free of charge.

Ironically and unknown to him, Dr. Ogah's tact, knowledge and good intentions for Abians, was casting a monstrous shadow across the camp of the PDP leadership of the State. Here was a man with the requisite skill and resources. The ruling oligarchy in their ingrained myopia would not be able to control him. They would rather have a novice in administration who can be relied on to make all the foreseeable mistakes and each time run back to them for guidance. The other man Dr. Uche Ogah, was not in any way that choice of man. He realised too late that the Abia PDP is being run like a cult in which member interests supersede the people's interests. It was a realisation that tested his loyalty to the Party, until his voluntary exit into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. Obviously, the Renowned Reformer had hit a stubborn rock within the Abia State PDP. He realised too late that he was surrounded by people who were committed to "the love of power" as against "the love of the people".

Only two years into the Administration that was denied Dr. Ogah, Abia State has become a stark and helpless witness to all the sociopolitical and economic disasters the Renowned Reformer sought to assuage. The key sectors of the State's economy have been rendered all but redundant. Money supply is at an alarming all-time low. Salaries are being paid 'reluctantly' in several-months arrears. The unemployment society has trebled across sectors. Pensions and gratuities have all but become last options in the deliberately engineered 'paucity of funds'. Youth empowerment has all but disappeared from the agenda of government, excepting a handful select grassroots political loyalists who are handed pittances as rewards for their past electoral support. Local commerce has been crippled due to lack of government support. Food production's present all-time low standards has shot up commodity prices across the State. Thousands of parents and guardians are unable to afford tuition for their wards. The public school system has totally decayed. In the midst of inflated local taxations, the government has nothing to show in the form of diversified and balanced infrastructural provision. All Abians hear about over the State-controlled media (especially several private and State radio houses) are the bogus claims of a million road constructions -as if Abians will be mandated to relocate to the quarter-baked select roads for residency. Abia State is still a major importer of primary consumables such as fruit juices, noodles and biscuits from the South-Western parts of the country. Abia State is still not industrialised amidst the mouth-gaping abundance of both natural, human and fiscal resources.

Dr. Ogah's determined resolve and "love for the people" was recently exemplified by his defection into the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. It was his unfortunate realisation of the rigidity of his peers in the State PDP that fueled his prompt disassociation from the Party. He perhaps is convinced that this move will pave a positive political path for his people towards the epicentre of power in Nigeria (the Odumegwu Ojukwu style of politics). Or better still, he has established a solid distrust for the cult group known as the leading members of the Abia State PDP. Dr. Ogah appears determined to make "Abia Rejoice" again. His personal doggedness in his private entrepreneurial adventures (which has seen enviable progresses in the past two years), as well as his gargantuan philanthropic footprints and people-centred initiatives so far, are altogether an indisputable evidence, that the Renowned Reformer is still very much worth his salt. Although, Dr. Ogah (OON) has not made public any intentions of contesting the next gubernatorial primaries under the flagship of the APC, the grassroots temperature keeps warming up to this messianic possibility. Abia State is overwhelmingly characterised by masses who have been severely and intentionally abused by their very own political office holders. Their thirst for political redemption from the dictatorial clutches of their own indigenous and abusive leaders has, over the years, created a strong desire for political revolution among the masses, even if it tinges towards the verges of violence and social disruptions. These Abians had willingly affirmed a messiah two years ago in Dr. Ogah. They peacefully rejoiced and gladly pitched tents around him in unconditional support. However, on a twist of faith and in their thirst for a visible 'change' in their local polity, they were lured by the recent calls for secession -which was erroneously aimed at the Federal Government, instead of a focus on internally ridding the South-East of its very own resident evils masking as the peoples' elected political office holders. A minimum average of N20billion is allocated to the region every single month. Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States have some visible developments to account for these allocated sums. Yet it is only in Abia State that people cannot put a solid finger to any achievement so far.

The other man Dr. Ogah, has ingrained the qualities of an entrepreneurial godfather and seasoned philanthropist. Without scuttling his financial empire, he put his personal income to use in visible social construction and people development. The combination of these qualities make him a people's choice for leadership. There is no doubt that he will deliver Abians from hardships. Abia State has had a Civil Servant govern them and yet salaries and pension arrears were left unpaid. Now they have a Lecturer governing them and asides a worsening situation over the non-payment of salaries and pensions and widespread infrastructural collapses, the public school system has decayed under the very watch of a Lecturer-Governor. It is surely a cause for concern for all Nigerians regardless of States of Origin. The Abia Middle Class and Peasants are mostly entrepreneurs in their varying pedigrees. They breathe commerce and local production. Even in the face of evident government neglect and exploiting taxations, they are undeterred in their drive for self-sufficiency. It would have been better if Abians stopped forcing square pegs down round holes. What Abia State needs is a governor that is akin to Abia people as water is to fishes. Abia needs a Leader by Example. A Man of the People. A seasoned entrepreneur who understands the heartbeat of the people and is prepared to give directives that will drive their talents and passions to the peak of success. Abia needs a leader who recognises the inherent strengths of the people and strives to improve them in that direction. Abia does not need a leader who will be overwhelmed by the sudden sight of fiscal resources. Abia needs an entrepreneurial godfather and seasoned philanthropist whom the sight of fiscal resources only triggers into action for social construction and people development. Abia needs a tested and trusted leader. A leader who has an established affinity with the people. A leader who already owns a public reputation as a Man of the People and so is at risk of shaming face in leadership should he fall below known standards. Abia does not need untested and dubious power-hungry politicians who jumped into the Government House and became billionaires overnight. Abia State needs a certified academic and rugged entrepreneur who can take advantage of the unique human and natural resources the State is endowed with, and steer the State into self-sufficiency and balance in infrastructural architecture. Abia needs a change of leadership from the crop that has been her bane for over a decade today. All well-meaning Nigerians and lovers of the people of Abia should sit back and reflect on the possibility, that perhaps, what Abia dearly needs, is indeed the other man Dr. Ogah, "the man and his people".

Remember that this story must never be swept under the carpet. It is a true life story (well tinged with irony) for all Nigerians to reflect on and draw positive lessons from. Without exception, every Nigerian should be concerned about the political situation that has brought untold sufferings to Abia residents. All well-meaning Nigerians must stop and ponder, identify and align their efforts towards the betterment of the first Nigerian State (by alphabetical order). And perhaps one day soon, Nigerians will narrate a happier and lasting episode of the love story between "the man and his people".

By: Ginger Kalu Okore.