On Monday, August 6, 2018, all roads will lead to the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, for the unveiling and public presentation of the book, THE SCHOLAR IN GOVERNANCE: A Kaleidoscope on Dr. Okezie Victor Chibuikem Ikpeazu, under the distinguished chairmanship of Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The book will be reviewed by a distinguished academic, Professor Blessing C. Didia, Vice-Chancellor, Rivers State University.

The Scholar in Governance is an empirical and expository appraisal of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu's philosophy and life experiences, his vision for Abia State and their cumulative impact on the socio-economic fortunes of the state. It dissects and analyzes Dr. Ikpeazu’s performance in two and half years as the Governor of Abia State and found out that, being a distinguished scholar and consumate academic, Governor Ikpeazu came prepared, with a shared and transformative vision, Okezuo Abia. This inclusive and all-encompassing blueprint seeks to transform Abia into an economically vibrant state and uplift the lives of its people.

The Scholar in Governance reveals that Ikpeazu inherited a state with poor and dilapidated infrastructural network and in dire financial stress, coupled with nationwide economic recession. It also unravels Dr. Ikpeazu’s multi-facetted travails and how he ultimately triumphed over them. His magic wand being an in-depth knowledge of the State, its people and their existential predicaments, coupled with an irrevocable commitment to service above self.

The book likened Governor Ikpeazu to Socrates who believes that the secret of positive change and transformation is to focus all of one’s energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

Little wonder he has succeeded in overcoming the vicious circle of underdevelopment which hitherto had appeared to have an irredeemable grip on the State. He has embarked on and completed projects that were considered to be impossible tasks by successive governments, both federal and state. These include the control of the notorious and hydra-headed perennial flooding along Faulks, Ukwumango, Ama-Ikonne, Ariaria axis, construction and dualization of the 4.6 kilometre Brass Street / Faulks Road; the 6.8 kilometre dual underground drainage from Ifeobara to Waterside; the reconstruction of Aba Road, Umuahia, the ongoing reconstruction of Port Harcourt Road, Aba, as well as a state of the art Abia Investment Complex which facilitates ease of doing business in the state, etc.

The book also beams its searchlight on the revolutions in agricultire, education, trade and investment, and reveals that, with improved security and infrastructural network, and the attendant ease of doing business, Abia has started witnessing resurgence in growth and development. Appreciating Governor Ikpeazu’s unprecedented developmental feats, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, enthusiastically remarks, "on each of my visits to Abia State, I see something new, something different and something innovative. I am proud of Governor Ikpeazu and the passion he brings to governance”.

In this work, the Abia State University serves Abians and the general public a delicious delicacy encompassing the Vision, Travails and Successes of a Philosopher-King Midwifing the Abia Dream. The University solicits the support of all Abians, captains of industry and members of the general public.

More-so, the Governor has magnanimously dedicated all proceeds from the project to the erection and equipment of an ultra-modern post-graduate research laboratory in Biochemistry at the Abia State University.

May we all herald and savor this book and the cause to which it is dedicated with delight as Dr. Okezie Victor Chibuikem Ikpeazu triumphantly leads Abia to the promised land.

DR. SAM AGU
Director, Business Resource Centre, (Entrepreneur),
Abia State University, Uturu.