Beyond politics, there is one asset for which all the people of Abia States must embrace Governor Alex Otti. He is an unencumbered leader. The buck stops at his table. The coming of the giant, multi-national construction company, Julius Berger, to Aba is one sign of an unencumbered leader. Recent leaders of Abia had struggled with the burden of gratitude to their benefactors and had been hindered by such encumbrances.
The Port Harcourt Road Aba, which has been commissioned for Julius Berger, is a sad legacy of the old regime of encumbrances.
Otti’s gratitude, unarguably, is to no one in particular or group but to the people of Abia, to the masses and electorates. He can not be said to have been made by a particular godfather. It can not be said that power was handed over to him by a particular clan. He is not answerable to an overbearing city elders or party stakeholders. He is only answerable to God, his conscience, and to the people of Abia State. This has caused the end of the surreptitious sharing formula and the end of multiple layers of power. He is standing on his feet and holding the mantle. This, to me, is the real freedom and the true liberation for a people.
Indeed, I consider this victory as a giant leap for our dear state of Abia and as a great milestone in our journey as a people. It is certainly the higher ground of our socio-political development as a people united by our common humanity and ancestry. I have not heard of the governorship being constructed as belonging or gratifying a particular section or clan but Abia. The perception of Governor Otti is that of a true statesman who is looking at the entire Abia as his territory. The message is that our task of nation-building has just begun.
Many may not realise the barriers we have broken and the steps we have climbed up the stairs of our anthropological movement. Only those who know the enormity of damage caused by the baggage of encumbrances will appreciate the tenacity of purpose exercised by Otti in ushering in the new Abia. The ripple effect is that the old encumbrances of cabals and clannishness are over and a new day is born in the state.
Today, the giant Julius Berger has set sail in Abia without the hindrances and bottlenecks usually orchestrated by the cabal. Julius Berger signals a new beginning. It signals a leader without encumbrances. It signals hope and the assurance of better things to come. As the governor rightly stated, the construction of the 6.7 kilometre Port Harcourt Road is a testament to the willingness and determination of the new leader to “rebuild ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated as contained in Isaiah 64;4”.
The Port Harcourt Road, when completed in the next 18 months, will open the floodgate of business revival and the recovery of Enyimba City as the economic epicenter of Southern Nigeria. In his speech entitled, ‘Building on the Solid Rock of Excellence’, the governor threw light on the economic importance of Port Harcourt Road: “For us, it is either we reconstruct Port Harcourt Rd and do it well or we don’t do it all. Remember that during my many stops in this great city at my campaigns, I made one thing very clear; we shall only go for the best because you deserve no less”, declared Otti.
Indeed, Aba is a city of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and reputable for its large spectra of men and women of skill, trade and craft. There is a very rare attribute of creative ingenuity characteristics of the artisans and tradesmen of Aba. From the Aba tailor, the Aba shoemaker, bag-maker and all leather workers to the fabricators, there is a generic talent that grows in the ancient city, a talent that has been partly hindered by the poor road network and poor infrastructure of the city. Thus, the intervention on Port Harcourt Road will be a great boost to the SMEs operations in the ancient city.
Aba is also a centre of commerce and trade with presence of many booming markets. There are Ariaria International Market, GSM Market, St Micheals Road Aba, Cemetery Market, Eke Oha (Shopping Centre), Ngwa Road Market (Ahia Ohuru) Good morning Market, Ehere Market and the Ehere Timber Market, Ala Ojii Motor Spare Parts Market, Asa Nnetu, Orie Ohabiam, Nkwo Ngwa Timber Market and many others in the adjoining local government areas. This status of Aba brings about a large influx of people into the city from the neigbouring states and beyond. They come to do business in Aba, mostly buying products to use or resell in their various states and centres. Aba is also a well-known trading post for all manufacturing companies in Nigeria. Because of its large markets, Aba is usually a point for market experimentation for their products, goods and services.
These reasons and many more create the need for a solid road network inside the city and the major entry points. To satisfy this need must be a major preoccupation of any leader of Abia State. Otti has blazed the trail in confronting the seemingly intractable Port Harcourt Road and the other inner city roads like Cemetery Road, Jubilee Road, Ehi Road, Umueze Road(Teaching Hospital Road), College Road, Umuimo Road to Udeagbala and many others. This has been complimented by an emergency war against waste management and environmental protection. All these efforts are directed towards restoring the glory of Eyimba City.
But, significantly, there is a loud message arising from Julius Berger’s presence in Aba. Julius Berger in Aba represents a practical metaphor of renaissanceand re-awakening. It speaks resoundingly of the ascendancy of a new regime and a new consciousness; of change and its corollary of rebirth and invention. There is a sense in which it reinforces the fact of the independence of the leader and the fact of a governor without any fettering chain of encumbrances. This is a great asset for the Abia posterity, an asset that many will soon come to appreciate.
There is a silver lining in the sky.
Adindu, a media consultant, writes from Umuahia
