Abia sets example of Nigeria recovery from power politics
By Njoku SaintJerry A.
Governor Alex Otti and his labour party led government has set a clear precedence on Nigeria journey to redemption, following his planned and focused role as the leader of the New Abia.
Otti has by every indication given hope that Nigeria could be redeemed from its years of woeful political leadership and administrative rascality if electoral body allows the choice of the citizenry to sustain without undue judicial manipulation at the courts.
Both the State and National Political actors at several occasions has admitted the fact that for Nigeria to grow beyond political rhetoric and vain campaign promises that are trashed immediately the elections are over, politics should be disconnected from genuine governance and rather embrace the participation of the best among us.
The Abia State governor has demonstrated the reality of the citizen’s expectation of the kind of leadership Nigerian deserves so much, beginning from his passionate attention on the deplorable infrastructural amenities in the State that used to be classified as one of the worst in South East Nigeria.
There would have been no other magic than confronting the behemoth of decay and lack of those basic amenities that should drive development and economic success. This is what the Abia State government under Governor Alex Otti has done and has not relented.
Although lapses do exist, especially in cases conflicting with responsibilities on the Federal Government (FG) to honor its part of the overall development of the country and State government involvement in driving those developments from the home front, beginning from the reconstruction of roads and other public infrastructures codenamed ‘federal project’ culminating roads that criss-cross the state, linking one to the other across the country.
In the month of June 2025, the Minister of Works, Mr. Dave Umahi of the ruling APC, visited Abia and could not hide his feelings of admiration of a leader like the Abia State governor, whom he commended passionately, in his own statement; “I’ve gone around on my own, I didn’t ask anybody to join me, and I want to say that I’m very, very proud of what you are doing for the Abia people”
Gov Otti has defied that traditional blame game between the State and the FG and taken the challenge to fix those perennially abandoned infrastructures that in previous times had abysmally helped to push the state into descent of dirt and infamy especially in sordid situations where it appears the FG cared less.
In honor of his commitment to take the challenge and fix those abandoned federal projects other leaders in previous administrations has deliberately ignored, the Federal government as quoted by Minister Dave Umahi, has promised to visit Abia State by the end of the year to commission several of those infrastructure projects the governor has taken the responsibility to fix for the sole interest of people of the state.
Only a leader who understands the impact of development on the citizenry whom are the direct beneficiary of any infrastructure built or reconstructed under whatsoever nomenclature could do those things that will attract genuine commendation even from the oppositions.
More so, if the roads are bad and unusable, it is the people that suffer economic loss and negative social impact and not any FG or its agents comfortably seated in air conditioned offices and chauffeured around in choice areas of the capital city in Abuja.
Another feat, the Abia State government has achieved is in its deliberate attempt to differentiate governance and politics by engaging the best in its cabinet, this a replica of administrative systems operational in most advance countries Nigerian leaders run to borrow money or sleep in their hospitals under the guise of medical attention. For every appointee of government of Abia State, there is a record of professional history of achievements both in academic, in character and service delivery that warrants the engagement of the individual and not necessarily compensatory political patronage of some band of Halleluyah choristers that knows virtually nothing about the responsibilities required of a functional government.
This is one of Nigeria’s nightmare in its political journey, the political system has always found it rewarding to engage misfits as ‘pawns’ under the influence of self deception of loyalty in its administrative system and governance and as pawns they never failed to live to the expectation of those who foisted them over the citizenry as they bungle every responsibility of office, abuse of power and privileges and wasting scare resources because they were merely hired for ulterior purposes and never voted for by the citizenry.
Another example Nigerian politicians dreaming to occupy political offices should learn from the Otti’s administration is the inclusion of the rural communities in its development plans from inception and not to only remember communities long forgotten and neglected once the campaign season and the elections is around the corner. As of today, across the 17 LGA in Abia State, the governor has opened up access that has revived the agricultural economies of the rural communities with less fanfare; this includes those roads we refer to as federal roads, a political excuse that has almost become cultural when the state government is deliberately running away from its responsibilities of fixing basic infrastructure of economic development.
Like the governor has continuously emphasized, development is regional and cannot be portrayed as object of wishful thinking, this has led to the establishment of regional development agencies across the 3 senatorial zones of Abia North, South and Central under the supervision of Greater Ohafia Development Authority (GODA) Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA) and Greater Aba Development Authority (GADA) under the leadership of men tested and proven in the assignment of constructive development.
If you visit Abia State today and take a tour of communities that were once neglected for decades by previous administrations of Abia State government, you will notice a very conscious effort by the Otti’s administration to prove that sincere leadership is all that is required to return Nigeria to its place of honor and economic progress whether it is in the selection of aides and teams for the challenging task of governance or in the execution of projects that genuinely impacts on the welfare of the citizenry and favorable environmental situation that warrants economic progress, everything bothers on the sincerity of the man in the helm of affairs to bring quality result to the region.
Let the State compete on spate of development and not on political patronage and affinity to Abuja, Abia has set example of the independence of states to develop every road network running across their state and it give excuse on which road is federal government and which is not, the people in Abuja do not play the roads and may never cared less a f the responsibility of overall development of the city falls back on the shoulder of the leader in the state.
MY THOUGHTS: It was Peter Obi’s birthday yesterday and the celebration was raw, massive and undiluted. Such expression of love and loyalty from the people is rare. There were no rented crowds and no stage managed celebrations. He was genuinely celebrated by the people across the country. As much as the likes of infantile Monday Okpebholo would want to erect roadblocks and toll gates on who should visit or pass through their states, the people know those who genuinely look out for them and the people in return genuinely look out for those who care for and about them. Unlike Obi, Okpebholo is a sad commentary on Nigerian politics and an unfortunate accident on the people of Edo state …. “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
Njoku SaintJerry A is the regional ambassador, State Of African Diaspora (SOAD)