No, I cannot boost of being a great singer or a songster. But, today, a song has come naturally to me and my voice is sublime. I am singing a song of jubilation. I sing because I am happy. I sing because I am free. I sing because in few days to come, precisely on 2 October 2024, a new and great thing will happen to my people. The long-awaited construction of the 19.1 kilometre Itungwa-Omoba-Amaise-Amairi, Mgboko-Ahiaba-Obinkwo-Elechi Road would be flagged off for construction. I sing because a great dividend of democracy has come to Obingwa and to our Isiala Ngwa South brothers. I sing to thank Abia State Governor Alex Otti for this priceless gift to my people.
I sing because the road construction will improve my life and the lives of my people. This road is about rural and grassroot development. Remember that I am a rural boy, bred in the village, in complete rural peasantry. This road is going to open up my world and beam the light of civilization to my people. I sing because the flag-off ceremony will mark the commencement of the Rural Access Mobility Project (RAMP) in the state. I sing because it is taking off from my place. A great idea, RAMP is a pilot project designed to boost rural infrastructure and rural mobility by opening up the hinterlands. This long stretch of road will significantly impact several communities along its pathway.
Though RAMP had long been launched in Abia State as a rural development programme, it has remained in the cooler without really taking off. Thus, the planned flag-off ceremony would represent a jinx-breaker, a pace-setter and a trail-blazing initiative in Abia State. The governor is making history as the one who got RAMP to work, who translated a great idea to action, who moved from the drawing board to the site. The New Abia is actually here and the Labour Party is living its promise.
There are many benefits that will accrue from this road. It will mark the turning point in rural development in Abia State. It will cause a massive transformation of the rural areas to semi-urban centres. It will cause the springing up of cluster business points along the stretch of the roads. It will primarily create access to the remote parts of the villages and make transportation to the cities easier for the rural dwellers and thereby open up economic opportunities. It will transform Obingwa and fasten the movement of urbanization that is rapidly overtaking the area.
At a time of government emphasis on rural/grassroot development, RAMP is coming handy as a partner in progress. Good road remains a key social amenity that benchmarks the legacies of any government. I believe that Otti will be imprinting his footprints in the sands of time with RAMP. Ururuka etched his name with roads and pipe-borne water.
Let Otti cease the moment as history beckons. Let RAMP go!
