Appreciating the economic benefits of Gov. Otti’s breathtaking Buckingham lecture
– Written by Eagle Okoro
Gov. Alex Chioma Otti of Abia State made another grand showing of his towering intellectual prowess on September 20, 2024, when he leveraged the forum provided by the International Conference on Human Rights, Sustainability and Climate Change, held at the School of Law, University of Buckingham, United Kingdom, to take the narratives of his developmental initiatives and the envisioned New Abia to the foreign land.
It was, of course, a golden opportunity for the erudite governor with a First Class Degree in Economics and he did not disappoint in showcasing the profundity of his excellent academic credentials and intellectual sagacity, sharing his vast knowledge of the theory and principles of the central themes of his lecture topic: “Building capacity to support sustainable development activities: A case study of Abia State, Nigeria”.
Expectedly, he took his scholarly audience through the various global development paradigms across different epochs and ages.
The former bank chief executive undertook a detailed tour of the different sequences of development initiatives at the global level, looking specifically at the Post-world War II development efforts that focused on infrastructure, social services, and governance.
He also examined the new development paradigm that preceded the Cold War era in the 20th Centuries, where development studies migrated to the existential philosophy that leaned toward “the interdependence of the global community in the pursuit of the common good and imperatives of advancing the collective capacity to repel the threats that put nations and their people at risk.”
This development perspective emphasises “globalisation”, in respect of the approach to dealing with such threats to human existence as terrorism and wars, within the context of a ‘global village” by the global community under different political and geographical blocs.
He validated his lengthy presentation with copious references from various renowned authorities and their research outcomes on the subject of development at different eras of human existence.
He also discussed his administration’s strategic efforts in building the capacity of the Abia citizenry, particularly the women and vibrant youth population, in order to prepare them to take up the national and global opportunities and prospects to contribute to the development of a New Abia.
As already examined by some public affairs analysts, the governor’s lecture tells the story of his administration’s mission to align Abia’s development strategy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), placing emphasis on achieving poverty reduction, access to quality education and good health services, and creating employment opportunities for the teeming vibrant and energetic young men and women of the state.
It also showcases how the administration has planned to navigate its way off the traditional public service-oriented approach to development toward a more pragmatic and result-oriented private sector-driven governance philosophy for Abia to experience a more rapid socio-economic growth, environmental preservation and forest protection.
The governor also elucidated on his government’s drive to close the infrastructure gap toward creating “strong enablers for private sector-led growth in our areas of comparative advantage, especially trade, agriculture and light manufacturing”.
He further spoke on his government’s policy on Climate Change and measures being adopted to mitigate the impact of the phenomenon, including the development of renewable energy.
He said: “Abia State, I am proud to inform this special audience, has elected to adopt an integrated approach in dealing with the threats of climate change because as I earlier mentioned, everything is intricately connected.
“In the 2024 fiscal year, we made substantial provisions to finance our climate actions.”
He further took his audience through his administration’s sustainable development framework that has consistently promoted the intentional building of the human capital component of society.
He said, “We are very mindful of the dynamics of sustainable development and have taken measures that place us in a vantage position to reach important milestones in the next few years.
“To achieve the lofty objectives we have set out for ourselves, capacity building must be taken seriously. Thankfully, we have taken that head-on.”
Great presentation, no doubt. But beyond and above the depth and finesse of the erudite and magnificent lecture on sustainable development, was the marketing of God’s Own State and the lofty development initiatives by the Labour Party-led government to comprehensively rebuild and recreate a New Abia from the debris of 24 long years of the “rot and ruin” perpetrated by callous, reckless and transactional political merchants.
And in consonance with his belief in collaborative development approach, he extended an invitation to his hosts, soliciting collaboration and partnerships that would help to drive the process of his government’s sustainable development agenda.
He said: “We are a government that treasures collaboration and partnerships across institutions and agencies on the one hand and between government and those in the private sector of the economy on the other.
“We are also keen to expand the scope of our partnerships with international agencies and development partners.
“We regularly interface with organisations and groups that have shown interest and demonstrable capacity to work with us to achieve important milestones in our development agenda.
“We are open to grants, capacity-building programmes for our teachers, health workers, and farmers, as well as equipment and material support for our schools, hospitals, and registered local NGOs.”
According to the governor, the state is currently working with several local and international partners to reduce poverty and hunger through programmes and projects that empower the people to earn on their own through prudent use of the untapped local resources, including very fertile agricultural land and water bodies, large population, which easily translates to steady market for food and agricultural commodities, and very strategic markets, such as the famous Ariaria International Market, the Ekeoha Market, currently undergoing remodelling, and several others in Aba and Umuahia, where thousands of customers from across West Africa troop in and out daily for business activities.
“We said, not long ago, that we are not a hand-out driven population; our people are resilient and love to earn through enterprise, creative engagements and honest labour.
“What they need to soar is the right support and enabling environment that will spur them to take advantage of the abundant opportunities around us.
“This explains why we have remained strongly committed to rebuilding the state’s stock of physical infrastructure, especially roads and public institutions and improving the aesthetics of the environment to reflect the taste of the age.
“The overall objective is to dismantle the many obstacles that have stood between our people and their true potential.
“I am happy to announce that while we are not exactly at the point where we can finally proclaim Uhuru, it is now beyond dispute that Abia is rising, and a new era of optimism has arrived.
“We shall remain open to support from interested partners because Abia is an important community that is exceptionally strategic to the future we all seek to create through the instrumentality of the sustainable development framework.”
Truly, the governor’s brilliant outing at Birmingham reinforces his sound and sagacious understanding of the principles of sustainable development, which he has meticulously applied in providing good governance in Abia since he assumed office on May 29, 2023.
So, with his passionate and clarion appeal for institutional collaboration and partnerships, it is expected that Abia would sooner than later begin to reap the huge dividends from the economic perspective of the Buckingham lecture. To God be the glory!
– Eagle Okoro is a Public Affairs analyst and writes from Umuahia