₦airaland Forum

Climaths: Please am really kind of confused. Am an ond holder. Presently first banking is calling me for training with them as a contract staff . And am also expected 2 resume training on sunday 17 nov 2013 at police college ikeja. As a constable, although i applied as a panel beater. So am really confuse rite nw. Which job do i pick. Advise please

ChEkWaS IyKe :
Gud day Nairalander's, pls a frnd of mine needs advice from me so I deside to bring it into dis forum. Two heads is beta dan one.

My frnd (Uche) is the 2nd son in d family of 2boys n a gal, he is tru wit secondary skul and his name was shortlisted in one of the striking University of recent. His question is, "SHOULD I 4GET GOING TO UNIVERSITY AND LEARN TRADE AND BECOME INDEPENDENT AND EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR IN FUTURE DUE TO THE RATE OF UNEMPLOYEMENT IN NIGERIA AND THE UNGOING STRIKE, OR SHOULD I GO TO SCHOOL HOPING TO GET WORK IN FUTURE.

Pls I need ur advice.

eremy: Please can Nairalanders familiar with Aba advise on areas that are not prone to flooding in Aba? I was recently posted to Aba to work and am on a lookout for a place to rent.

All positive inputs are welcome and highly appreciated in advance.

BOLAJIAJANI: Chysan, I take it you are waiting for others' replies.

BOLAJIAJANI: Going by the recent wave of responses from Nigerians as regards the state of the nation via social networks, one thing is very peculiar among Nigerians responding to posts on social networks; they easily trade blames over ethnic or religious differences. You can try reading comments on Nairaland.com and SaharaReporters.com to see what am saying.

Hence, am drawn to ask this question: IF NIGERIA WERE TO BE A LADY ON FACEBOOK, WHAT WOULD HER RELATIONSHIP STATUS BE:

A. Single
B. In a Relationship
C. Married
D. Divorced
E. It's Complicated,option E,ITS COMPLICATED WILL BE HER STATUS.

Pick one of the options, and give your sincere reason for picking such.

Let the fun begin.

Mr. Aladin:
What was the nickname of your Principal in
High School ?
Mine was mrs kolo and vp was loukonkoo

mecedonia: This is not Aba, truly I reside in Aba.
In the hearts of residents of Aba, Abia state’s commercial nerve centre and Nigeria’s burgeoning technological hub, The governor’s name will probably never get lost.
His name will remain etched on their consciousness for a long time to come. Reason? Residents of the Enyimba city, as Aba is fondly called, now believe that their darling city is not, after all, plagued by a jinx which made successive administrations in the state look the other way while it writhed in rot. In the six years of his administration, Aba has remained a top priority in governor Orji’s developmental agenda.The result is rapid transformation of the city.
First time visitors can still see fading relics of Aba’s inglorious past in terms of infrastructural decay. Roaring Caterpillars,earth mowers and other road construction equipment as well as busy workmen on a litany of roads within and around the city, tell the story of decayed roads now receiving attention. But when one moves through Danfodio road and branches off toward East branches off toward East street,Waterside,Ngwa road through Clifford road down to Ehi and Ariaria Market road by Ukwu Mango and joins Tenant and Hospital roads, a renewed Aba boldly stares one in the face.
The roads bear a huge testmony to Governor Orji’s aggressive urban renewal in Aba. If the former governor of the old Imo State which comprised the present day Abia State, the late Sam Mbakwe is to come from the dead and visits Aba today, he will certainly be sad to learn that Milverton and Azikiwe roads which he did .Before now, the roads were impassable.
Milverton road stands at the centre of the city so that it is often the first contact any body entering Aba makes. Azikiwe road on its part is the largest two-lane road in the city.
Driving through Ogu road, Eze Ugwuzo road, Uga Street, Nnakwu Street, Okpulo Street and Enuka Street, all within the Aba metropolis, one is not left in doubt that a recent rehabilitation breathed life back to them. A resident explained that the streets and roads were huge gullies and potholes before now, making vehicular movement a nightmarish venture.
The completion of Faulks road, Umuoba road, Brass road, Cementary road, Ogbor Hill, via the junction to the bridge, Asa road among others within the city, now ensures smooth drive within Aba.It now makes motorists spend less man-hours on the roads. Heavy construction equipment on Port-Harcourt road tells the story of a road set to receive the Theodore Orji treatment. Drainage system was almost non-existent in the city. Virtually all Aba drainages were blocked, in addition to some people erecting structures on designated drainage channels. But Mgbeahuru says all the big drainages in the city have been opened up by the Orji administration.
And to bring environmental sanity to Aba, the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency, (ASEPA), within the last three years embarked on the gathering and evacuation of refuse in the city. The agency’s containerised refuse bins are common sight in strategic locations in Aba. And the good news is that residents are indeed keeping the city clean by disposing their refuse in the bins.
Waving a 2002 picture of Aba,Information Minister,Labaran Maku,during the Good Governance Team's tour of the state was not sure whether he was in Abuja or in Aba.This was because what he knew of the city, a decade ago, was radically different from the spectacle of well paved roads and streets that confronted him.Thus, he turned to Mgbeahuru and asked to know where he (Maku) was.” Am I in Aba or in Abuja,” he asked the Commissioner.” You are in Aba, Sir”
About three years ago, insecurity occasioned by kidnapping and violent armed robbery masterminded by the slained kidnap kingpin, Obioma Nwankwo aka Osisikankwu, held Aba by the jugular.But the governor rose to the occasion by ensuring that security agencies in the State got adequate crime-fighting logistics to combat the menace.The result was the killing of the dangerous hudlum by soldiers deployed to the state.
That Aba is today secured is a feat daily celebrated by residents of the Enyimba city.
Massive renovation of class room blocks in the city and the intense infrastructural development going on in the city’s only Polytechnic, Abia State Polytechnic has further given the city a facelift.
There is, however, an interesting dimension to Governor Orji’s unprecedented transformation of Aba.While some of his critics accuse him of abandoning the city, others lament that he is focusing development there to the detriment of other towns in the state. Aba was not working until Orji became governor. “During the the time of Orji Uzor Kalu,nothing was happening. Those days he was governor,nothing was happening. Do you know that during Orji Uzor Kalu’s time,Aba was impassable, but today, anywhere you are going in Aba, you have the way to go”
SO THAT PIX IS NOT ABA

thoniann: Freedom to express my thoughts no matter whose ox is gored. I have seen topics/posts on this forum being dedicated to people and when its right we applaud them and when its wrong we chastise them. A while ago, a topic was posted about the "The Smartest Governor", hmmmm... What can I say? Check that post for my comment. But this one is dedicated to the "DULLEST" of them all. And I give it to Jang. I can recall his face as he was being dragged to the mic by Akpabio to be introduced to the press as NGF Chairman.... He looked like a puppet and I felt grave and be-wildered that a retired military officer was being pulled like a marionette. Now I see what Plateau State is going through.

Ruby_Pearl: I saw that part and I played it as her ignorance. lol




Which Americans?
The one you know or the ones you're making up?
The only place Nollywood movies are being sold are down-trodden African stores, with Haitians and Nigerians the main customers
Lol Even Non-Nigerian Africans here groan with despair anytime I mention Nigerian films
Same old plot, same old face, very hard to understand (sometimes even for me), makes no sense

IGBO-SON:
Nice one! Hope he saw what standard/fit-for-purpose township roads look like.....that's my number 1 grouse with his administration; Umuahia (and Aba) could have been something else, if not for shoddy construction work done on the roads there.

patrikobi: MOMENT OF TRUTH
In this moment of truth and in the spirit of Easter, OUK should tell us who his real father is. We know that his brother Mascot is fathered by Mascot Ikwechegh .

HRM Eze Ukomadu, the traditional ruler of Akpa Mbator, Obingwa LGA says he fathered OUK. If Odiuko is too ill to say the truth, can OUK tell us the truth or beta still subject himself to paternity test. Or is he still maintaining that his true father is d late Nnnana Kalu of Abiriba?

kosi_girl: A leading printing/branding firm in port harcourt is recruiting marketers, Managers for its new branch. call : 08091969225. Time is of the essence.

Finestlex: Am tired of my blackberry curve4 cos the battery doesn't last like my previous bold2... I'm thinking of getting a curve7 but I have no idea about it.. I need your help fellas

patrikobi: http://www.panoramio.com/user/7238079?comment_page=1&photo_page=2&show=all

SugaryBelle: I removed the lace wig and the cap and bond i used has left this long black mark on my hairline.I have been getting embarrassing questions for a week now, Please Dear people i need help on how to remove it before it becomes part of my facial feature.

ocular007: •SOUTH EAST OHANEZE YOUTHS POISED TO RESIST OUK

I recollect advising him to remain quiet in his self appointed political exile. He would not listen. I also knew that in his usual characteristic manner, he wanted to test his popularity. Having seen the torrents of abuses and rejections that followed his declaration of interest to be at the forefront of Igbo Presidency 2015, I also expected him to do the needful – a volte face. He went to Abia and disgraced himself. He has also shamelessly moved to Enugu where OHANEZE YOUTHS have dressed him in the right robe of abject rejection.

Now, OHANEZE and even children (see The Nation, Monday Oct. 8, 2012) under the aegis of IGBO YOUTHS are calling OUK to order. They have insisted that OUK does not deserve to be given the honor of representing the Igbos. They insisted that when he had the opportunity of using Abia State to proof how purposeful he could be as a leader, he only succeeded in selfishly enriching himself at the expense of the collective gains of Abians. They also said OUK is secretly working for a Northerner who would field him as a Vice – Presidential candidate, as he only intends to use the Igbo platform to achieve his usual selfish interest.

I am beginning to see myself as an adult who is supervising the she goat deliver on its tether. Bad as this is, I also need to voice out for the umpteenth time that OUK was (and still is) Abia’s greatest mistake; for laying the foundation of an underdeveloped Abia. As we are arranging our lives, he would do also a great favor by stopping further insult on our intelligence. It is only hat way that picking our pieces would be done without further hitch.

OUK has never worked for the collective good of Igbos. Showmanship is all he does. After that, he engages VIPs in fights to increase his notoriety rating. All his life, he has made more enemies for Igbos than friends. I stand to be corrected as the only thing that can counter this assertion is for him to highlight what he had been able (apart form ise okwu) to attract for Igbos. Let OUK leave us alone to organize ourselves using men of integrity whose views would be respected, whose values are attractive and those who would place service above self. We know his antics and would be too foolish to become second fools. There is no record of any good work while he was Governor of Abia State for eight years. He did not undertake even the minutest capital project and ended up impoverishing the State. Just how can a man who found Abia State too big to govern and too large for him to make any meaningful impact; now ask us to support him to rule Nigeria?which people are south east ohaneze youth?
— with Jane Chi Chi Okeke and 43 others.

ocular007: •SOUTH EAST OHANEZE YOUTHS POISED TO RESIST OUK

I recollect advising him to remain quiet in his self appointed political exile. He would not listen. I also knew that in his usual characteristic manner, he wanted to test his popularity. Having seen the torrents of abuses and rejections that followed his declaration of interest to be at the forefront of Igbo Presidency 2015, I also expected him to do the needful – a volte face. He went to Abia and disgraced himself. He has also shamelessly moved to Enugu where OHANEZE YOUTHS have dressed him in the right robe of abject rejection.

Now, OHANEZE and even children (see The Nation, Monday Oct. 8, 2012) under the aegis of IGBO YOUTHS are calling OUK to order. They have insisted that OUK does not deserve to be given the honor of representing the Igbos. They insisted that when he had the opportunity of using Abia State to proof how purposeful he could be as a leader, he only succeeded in selfishly enriching himself at the expense of the collective gains of Abians. They also said OUK is secretly working for a Northerner who would field him as a Vice – Presidential candidate, as he only intends to use the Igbo platform to achieve his usual selfish interest.

I am beginning to see myself as an adult who is supervising the she goat deliver on its tether. Bad as this is, I also need to voice out for the umpteenth time that OUK was (and still is) Abia’s greatest mistake; for laying the foundation of an underdeveloped Abia. As we are arranging our lives, he would do also a great favor by stopping further insult on our intelligence. It is only hat way that picking our pieces would be done without further hitch.

OUK has never worked for the collective good of Igbos. Showmanship is all he does. After that, he engages VIPs in fights to increase his notoriety rating. All his life, he has made more enemies for Igbos than friends. I stand to be corrected as the only thing that can counter this assertion is for him to highlight what he had been able (apart form ise okwu) to attract for Igbos. Let OUK leave us alone to organize ourselves using men of integrity whose views would be respected, whose values are attractive and those who would place service above self. We know his antics and would be too foolish to become second fools. There is no record of any good work while he was Governor of Abia State for eight years. He did not undertake even the minutest capital project and ended up impoverishing the State. Just how can a man who found Abia State too big to govern and too large for him to make any meaningful impact; now ask us to support him to rule Nigeria?who are the south east ohaneze youth,it seems ur T.A ORJI group,u ll not concentrate on that kobo he do give u whenever u shout for him,that OUK ur blasting if u see him face to face can u tlk to him.u groundnut politician
— with Jane Chi Chi Okeke and 43 others.

Odunharry: one reason why it nt always gud 4 an older lady to date a younger guy...imagine wat d guy wl do nw?
Wait oo,10yrs older?dat na child abuse na,
BTW aw old is the lady in question?bw 30 to 35?wtn do older guys.

ulonnaya21: The chief press secretary to Abia state governor, Ugochukwu Emezue has described as untrue allegation by the former governor of the state, Uzor Kalu that chief TA Orji wants to revoke his degree certificate.

In a statement in Umuahia, Mr. Emezue stated that the former governor is not a graduate of Abia state university as investigations have revealed.

According to Mr. Emezue,there was a petition against the former governor alleging that he was not properly admitted into ABSU not to talk of graduating.
The petitioner claimed that Kalu armtwisted the school authorities to admit him while he was the governor following public outcry then that the state governor was not a graduate.
The petitioner also claimed that Kalu as the governor only came to school for two semesters.
Following this allegations, the senate set up a panel which found out that the transcript Kalu sent to ABSU from the university of Maiduguri did not bear the letter head of that institution.

Secondly, Kalu did not matriculate according to the rules and guidelines of the institution which makes it mandatory for a student to matriculate having dropped out from another university.

Thirdly,Kalu only came to school for two semesters and never graduated.
The chief press secretary stated that ab initio Kalu was not a graduate of the institution and the allegation of revoking his degree certificate is neither here nor there.
Mr. Emezue stated that Kalu knows fully that he is not a graduate of ABSU.
He advised the former governor to go to court to challenge the outcome of the panel’s report if he so desires.

The chief press secretary declared that the university authorities have the right to investigate certificate racketeering when the need arises.
He called on Kalu to leave chief TA Orji out of his certificate scandal.

http://naijanewsreelity..com/2013/02/press-release-abia-govt-say-no-revoking.html

obinalihe: Former Abia State Governor Uzor Kalu got the shock of his life over the weekend as his kinsmen from Igbere practically chased him out from the village having rejected his blood money and infested 10 bags of rice. Our source said Uzor Kalu who sneaked into the village for the cult initiation of some of SUN editors in a bid to hid his mission, decided to cover up by calling the villagers to come and receive their new year gifts. Unknown to him the youths of the village who went to the bush as part of their surveillance saw him half naked during the initiation. As kalu wanted to begin the distribution of rice and paltry 50k the youths started chanting ritual ist , okija man we don't want your blood money and blood rice. It took the intervention of his aides to save him. Sensing danger kalu ran away last nite kidnapping the youth leader a situation that has thrown the village into confusion.

obinalihe: please let me ask a question,what does it profit some people to make Abia look laughable when the governor is busy working,trying to put an edifying and opulent legacy that will stand the test of time? you guys should be careful for all this rubbish am seeing here...i will begin to insult some stupid people who are derive joy is making "jest and mock'' of Abia state..Abia state should be respected,the governor should be respected,and for all these pictures am seeing which are a work of art,photo shop and photo effect,i urge us to put stop to all this because it will not help us...instead lets create means of providing sustainable development on a personal level ,something which our citizen will benefit from....its high time many self-acclaimed activist start going round to see the level of progress the governor has made then with good assessment,we can now capitalize on that to make our argument,i hate the idea of some people who just sit in th
eir house and argue without moving around to see the level of input by the state government....i have seen many things the governor have achieved so far,i will not say he has been backhanded,i will not say he has made less than normal progress ,but all i hear is he has been bamboozling through out his administration,but the honest truth remains that T.A ORJI has done quite outstanding thing that could not be related to any of his ancestral colleagues who left little or no legacy that he should try to outshine,but in all he has carved a niche for himself and i think he is setting record that former governor never made......but am bidding him to engineer a backlog of activities that will set a skyrocketing of beehive of more developmental process that will benefit us the more.......GOD BLESS ABIA STATE ,GOD BLESS T.A ORJI,GOD BLESS THE CITIZENS OF ABIA STATE,GOD BLESS NIGERIA.... thank you

chucky234: The commercial city of Aba in Abia
State used to be famous for the
ingenuity of the locals. They copied and produced all manners of products. In fact, any product that was not made abroad was popularly referred to as Made in Aba or Aba made. Those were the days when the city was groovy.
Today, Aba, which used to be the
economic capital of the South-East, is a failed city. Or so it seems. All the
indices are manifest in the content and character of the city.
The moment you step into Aba, you will notice that the city is sick, terribly sick.
The vibrancy and zest have been
replaced by gloom and frustration
because the city has fallen apart.
According to Chief Charles Eduzor,
Chairman, Nigeria Bar Assoociation
(NBA), Aba Branch: “The economy of
Aba has collapsed because of the
neglect of the town. People are merely
living here now by the grace of God.
They live from day to day, praying that God sees them through the next day.”
That is how deep Aba has sunken,
sliding into oblivion. Aba is paradise
lost. The once vibrant, bubbly city is
lying prostrate, like a criminal in chains.
Aba ia s a shadow of itself. It is like a
lady raped and abandoned in the sun,
dressed in tattered robe, hair unkempt,no make-up, without shoes.
You would not like to be in Aba when it rains. When the heavens open, the
tears, pains and anguish of Aba
residents flow like a river. When it
rains, Aba becomes a floating city
because their drainages are blocked
where they exist.
Living in Aba is, indeed, a nightmare.
To be condemned to reside there is
living in bondage, it is living in a state
of perpetual suffering. It presents a
pathetic picture that can melt even a
stony heart. It is a portrait of a city
criminally neglected.
You begin to feel the situation of Aba
even before you come to town. To start with, it is often difficult to find a cab that will take you from Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State. The reason is not far fetched. A trip to Aba can take anything from five hours for a distance of far less than 100 kilometres. So, only the brave driver can embark on such a trip and the passenger must be ready to cough out about half of the air fair from Lagos to Owerri.
Coming to Aba from Owerri, you will
begin to understand why airport taxi
drivers avoid Aba like a flea when you
get to KM 7 Enugu-Port Harcourt
Expressway. There, vehicles are easily
buried in the gullies on both sides.
When a trailer is trapped in there,
commuters can be stuck there for
several hours. On such occasions, some passengers alight from their vehicles and cross over to the other side and board another vehicle. But it is not usually as easy as that. The depth of the mud on the road is such that if you step out of the vehicle, it will swallow your shoes. So, before stepping out to trek, you must remove your shoes and fold your trousers to knee length.
And after navigating to the other side,
you buy water to wash up before
wearing your shoes again. Another
tragedy could strike while you are
trying to clean up. Your money and
other valuable things could be
snatched by criminals, prowling the
area. Although soldiers mount a
checkpoint nearby, investigations
revealed that travellers are sometimes
attacked there by armed robbers.
.
INSIDE ENYIMBA CITY:-
Aba, popularly known as Enyimba City,is in a shambolic state. Divided into two local government areas, – Aba South and Aba North, it is characterised by infrastructural collapse, particularly dilapidated roads. In fact, the roads can be likened to valleys in the shadow of death.
To underscore the harrowing
experience of commuters in Aba,
lawyers in the city embarked on
peaceful demonstration recently.
Carrying placards with inscriptions such as “Weep for Aba,” “This is Aba, the location of hell on earth,” “The worst roads in the world are in Aba,” and “Live in Aba, live in hell,” the lawyers added a touch of drama as they marched on the streets wearing rain boots. The unique combination was to show how the deplorable condition of roads in the city had compelled residents to dress like people living in the jungle. To booth, they sang songs portraying Gov. T. A Orji as a non-performer.
Also, during the lying in state of former Biafran leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, at the Enyimba Stadium in February, Orji was booed and pelted with satchets of water by angry residents.
Perhaps, it could be said that Aba has
become a jungle of sorts. Virtually all
the roads in the city have failed
portions. Indeed, looking for a good
road in Aba is akin to searching for a
virgin in a maternity ward. The
situation in Aba is such that potholes
have degenerated into craters and
gullies, making parts of the city
impassable. In some parts, whenever it rains, flood will take over the roads and sack some homes.
One of the worst is Ohanku Road. Part
of the road is permanently flooded and residents derogatorily refer to it as River Ohanku. Beside the ‘river’ is a manhole, which sources said had
claimed some lives. Indeed, the
condition of the area is so terrible that
you wonder how human beings reside
and survive there.
The adjoining streets are also piteous
spectacles. Ironically, Ohanku Road
leads to the home of the Minister for
Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka
Wogu, at Iheorji. Perhaps, a canoe will
come to the rescue anytime the
minister visits home.
Ngwa Road, an arterial road, is nothing to write home about. The road is broken and flooded in some areas,making it a Herculean task to get to Ngwa Road market. Worse still, the area is littered with garbage.
Just as Ngwa, Omuma Road is in a
highly deplorable condition. Perhaps,
Omuma is worse. The long stretch is
defined by flooded craters that tend to swallow vehicles. Indeed, the portion of Omuma, connecting Ariaria, is just not motorable. It has been overtaken by bush right in the middle.
Going to Ariaria Market through Faulks Road is a horrifying experience. The traffic is horrendous as craters dot the road. In some parts, large stones are used to fill the holes, making movement clumsy as motorists labour to avoid their tyres being torn.
Your heart bleeds when you get to
Ukwumango at Ariaria. There, you
behold the failure of government. The
water-logged crater there is knee deep.
Only extraordinarily brave drivers and
tricyclists (Keke riders) dare to drive
through and most of the time they get trapped in there. Some youths have found the ugly development a source of survival as they stay in the dirty water, pushing out trapped vehicles and Keke for a fee.
Eziukwu Road is also in terrible
condition just as Osusu Road, which
has remained impassable for two years according to sources. Only big vehicles venture into that axis.
.
GALLERY OF DECAY:-
It is the same story all over the city.
From the “town part” to Umungasi,
Over Rail, Ama Ogbonna, Amamong,
Umule and elsewhere, it is the same
story of neglect and/or abandonment.
Residents of these areas are united in
grief and agony as their surroundings
are in decrepit state.
For Aba residents, the bubble has
burst. Driving or riding in cars is no
longer a pleasurable experience. Many of them have packed their cars,
preferring to trek because there are no roads to drive on. Mr. Augustine
Chekwas, a businessman, told the
reporter: “I no longer drive my car
around because when you do, it ends
up at the mechanic workshop because of the bad roads. So, now, I only drive my car to church on Sundays or special occasions. Living in Aba is a punishment.”
Checks revealed that the area known
as the “town part,” which is the heart
of the city, has lost its charm. For
instance, St. Michael’s Road is
potholes-ridden just as Yorke Street is
dreadful and serves as rendezvous for
drug users. Milverton Avenue, which is the home of transport companies,
travelling all over the country, has
fallen into disrepair. One cannot arrive
from the beginning of the road to the
end because it has been cut into two.
Nigeria’s first president, the late Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe, must be turning in his grave in anger because of the state of the road named after him in Aba.
Azikiwe Road is littered with bad spots
from one end to the other.
As it is in Azikiwe Road, so it is in East
Street, Ulasi Street, Eche Road, Ndoki
Street, Dike Street, Emelogu Street,
Ehere Road, Azuka Extension, Ogbor
Hill, Urakpa Road, Owuala Street,
Onuoha Street, Broad Street, Uzoigwe
Street, Ehime Street and Hospital Road,among many others. Perhaps, Okigwe Road is the only road in Aba without problems but it s a short stretch. Aba –Owerri Road is also good but the absence of drainage makes it a nightmare when it rains.
To travel on the Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road
is akin to embarking on a suicide
mission. A federal facility, connecting
Aba with Akwa Ibom and Cross River
States, it is a no-go area because it has remained derelict for long.
As Chief Francis Ene, an Aba
businessman, summed up in terms of
roads, the city is dead. “I don’t know
what we have done to deserve this but we are appealing to government to come to our aid by giving Aba roads facelift. The condition of roads puts the city in precarious economic situation,’Ene said.
.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION:-
Apart from the ugly state of roads in
Aba, other areas suffer corresponding
neglect. Take this: Epidemic looms in
the city because of overflowing refuse
dumpsites everywhere. For example,
East Street has been overtaken by
refuse. Emelogu Street is home to a
mountain of refuse. Heaps of decaying,smelly refuse also constitute eye sore at such places as Ngwa Road, Asa Road, Aba-Owerri Road, Omuma Road and Aba-Ikot Ekpene Road, among many others. Aba is dirty, very dirty indeed. And it is nobody’s business to evacuate the filth.
Pools of stagnant water on the streets,especially residential areas could have dire consequences for Aba residents.
Among other places, Ehere Road at
Ogbor Hill, Ohanku Road, Ngwa and
Omuma are cases in point. In these
areas, pools of dirty, smelly water
stagnate all year long because of
blocked drainages. In some cases,
residents wade through the pool daily
to access their homes.
The abbatoir at Waterside is another
potential source of health hazard to
Aba people. When the reporter visited
the facility recently, it was in a
distasteful state. An acrid odour hung
in the air like a fog. Worse still, a
decomposing corpse was abandoned
on the bridge, close to the slaughter
point, with flies feasting on it. Indeed, it was an ugly spectacle. Instructively,
soldiers, who had maintained a
checkpoint at the spot beside the
abandoned Enyima Hotel building since kidnappers held the city by the jugular,moved a few inches away because of the stench emanating from the corpse.
It was also gathered that cows at the
abbatoir are sometimes allowed to run
riot on the road causing accidents. Mr.
Andrew Z. Esiaba, a banker,lamented:
“We escaped death by the whiskers the other day when a cow ran onto the road and started destroying everything in sight. It took sometime before the handlers were able to bring it under control. That was not the first time such a thing was happening. In fact, it happens all the time and sometimes people lose their lives. Unfortunately, the authorities are not doing anything to arrest the menace of the cattle and their rearers.”
.
TRADING IN TEARS:-
Ariaria market used to be the pride of
Aba. Then buyers and sellers were
happy going to the market for the
Made in Aba products.
Nowadays, those who do business at
Ariaria and their customers tell a tale of woes. In fact, traders, who can afford to satisfy their needs elsewhere do so with gladness. The reason is not far fetched. Ariaria, like the rest of the city, is in dire straits. Whichever way you access the market, you are bound to be confronted with the challenge of traffic snarl caused by the bad roads. And when you get into the market, the sight that greets you makes you weep.
“A Line,” which used to be the flagship of the market is worse than shit. It is squalid, like a piggery.
According to one of the leaders in the
market, who did not want his name in
print, when it rains, many of the shop
are flooded because there is no place of escape for the water.
He said: “The gutter is filled so when it rains everywhere is flooded, destroying goods in the shops. People wear rain booth in the market whenever it rains.
Yet, we are made to pay all sorts of
levies, including infrastructure and
sanitation levies. We have paid N6,500 each shop this year as well as two-year-rent in advance. If you fail to comply,your shop will be locked up and no businessman can afford that.”
He presented many receipts to prove
his case, regretting that the condition
of the market and surrounding is
discouraging customers from coming to patronise them.
Again, there is no electricity supply
from PHCN in the market. Traders
provide electricity for themselves in the market through generating sets. Some people have turned the situation to their advantage by buying generating sets and supply power to interested traders at N150 per day.
It was gathered that there are 110 sub unions that make up the market. Each snub union has not less than 300 members or traders. However, the traders are in chains, so to say. They cannot speak freely or openly about the deplorable state of affairs in the market because if you do, “they will send Bakassi people to deal with you.” In fact, the fear of Bakassi is the
beginning of wisdom. According to a
source, Bakassi, a vigilance group, is
used to terrorise people in the city.
.
LIKE ARIARIA, LIKE KEKE:-
Investigations revealed that keke riders are made to pay for four different tickets daily and they are issued with receipts after making such payments.
They include ASPIMS Daily Road Safety ticket, Daily Road Income Tax ticket, Daily Infrastructural Development Levy ticket and Amalgamated Tricycle Operators Association ticket. There are also weekly levies.
Residents too Residents of Aba also complain of being compelled to pay all manners of levies with nothing to show for it. According to St. Moses Ogbonna, an activist, “the only thing that thrives in Abia and Aba in particular is levy. There is infrastructural levy, ASEPA levy, gutter levy, keke levy and so on. As I am talking to you, Keke people have been asked to pay N1,000 into the bank.
Nobody knows what the levy is all
about. Bus drivers are asked to pay
N2,000 each. All they do is to collect
levy, no work. That is the situation we
found ourselves.”
Efforts to speak with the council
chairmen proved abortive. However,
the Chief Press Secretary to the
governor, Mr. Ugochukwu Emezue, said in view of the nature of the city, the government could not afford to
abandon it. In a telephone chat, he
volunteered that as soon as the rains
were over, comprehensive rehabilitation work would commence in the city. He added that government
had repaired some roads and opened
up blocked drainages before the rains
interrupted the effort. “The governor
has promised to give Aba the attention it deserves,” he asserted.
LINk:
www.sunnewsonline.com/new/cover/aba-a-failed-city/

Itoroetti :
Abia Government Mulls Probe of Kalu’s Eight-Year Tenure
16 Oct 2012
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Oriji Uzor Kalu
Charles Ajunwa
Barring any last minute hiccup, Abia State Government will commence the probe of eight-year reign of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu.
According to the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Eze Chikamnayo, the move is in response to increasing pressures on the state government to probe the former governor’s administration following hisrecent claims in some national dailies that he left no debt behind in 2007.
Chikamnayo said if available records ofhis administration we anything to go by, the former governor will have to respond to so many questions that will arise from the management of the state’s resources while he was in government.
The commissioner further noted that Governor Theodore Orji, who also served in Kalu’s government as chief of staff, has hitherto avoided the temptation of probing his estranged godfather to avoid distractions from his commitment to leave enduring legacies at the end of his tenure in 2015.
“Recently, there has been a lot of anger, irritation and agitation within the Abia populace as a result of the unguarded false utterances being credited to a former governor of the state, Chief Oriji Uzor Kalu. Everybody inAbia knew how the man, his mother and his family left the state in the darkest pit in the annals of governance and because of the restraint, maturity and peaceful disposition of the current governor, he has refused to open the books but preferred to focus on his mission of leaving legacies for Abia posterity.”
“However, as you know, tired of being in oblivion and looking for cheap relevance, the former governor has made some very untrue and provocative utterances to the extent that he claimed that he did not leave debt for the state and other sanctimonious and unimaginable claims,” Chikamnayo said.
“It is time for service, I wil serve you. Nomore labour loss. Vote for me and I will not disappoint you”, he said. my question is,can the worst performing governor in nigeria's history probe the 2nd worst governor in history?