The governor of Abia State, His Excellency Alex Otti, is turning Abia State into a beloved state. I do not want to use names and templates that were promised by some governors but failed to transform even their front yard. Neither would I use a biblical name like paradise or heaven on earth, so I do not find myself taking for granted the abode of the divine. All I can say is that Governor Alex Otti of Abia State is doing very well.
First was road construction, which his opponents, like Omoyele Sowore, call a minor development here and there; at least he agreed that there is a development, whether it is minor or major, is a discussion for another day. I also witnessed the power supply, which the critics said is not working in all the cities and villages in Abia State, but at least it is working in some. My father would always say “Rome was not built in a day.” Since I went to Rome in 2010, I have come to understand that saying contextually. If you see what the Roman contractors were able to do without any known construction equipment 3000 years ago, you will know that it is a development that takes years. If all the governors of Abia State since 1999 were behaving like Alex Otti, many Nigerians would have relocated to Abia State. Just this month again, somebody called from Abia State and told me about the free medicals for all the senior citizens of Abia State. I was not shocked, but I was elated that at least there is someone in Nigeria who is thinking in the right direction. When I visited the bus station he built last year, I told my friend that this station can compete with any train station or bus station anywhere in the world. The station has all the state-of-the-art technology and infrastructure.
I do not want to compare Abia with any state in Nigeria, but most of the state governors in Nigeria do not have the interest of the people at heart. How can you call yourself a governor and there is no pipe born water anywhere in your state? No hospital to treat you as a governor. I would not be offended if the governor of a state erected a hospital with all the facilities and personnel in his state and said it is for the rich only. Because as the people who can affortd it go to India and Europe, it could become the hub for African medical tourism.
Some states invest only where they (Governors) can gain, and their paymasters would also gain. The schools in some states are in a sorry condition, and the governors in those states are galivanting and campaigning for the president. I do not want to call names, but I went to Imo State, where Governor Hope Uzodimma has been the governor for over seven years. I commend him for the last year since he agreed that Otti, his neighbor, is doing very well, and he intends to challenge him with development too. I am happy that he is now building new roads and constructing new schools.
If the governors of Abia State from 1999 to 2023 had been proactive and effective, the story would have been different today. When you campaign and the election is over, it is time to work for the people. I know that the central government would like to rig the election, but the will of the people is so powerful that sometimes that plan to rig it will meet a stone wall. We saw Edo State in the time of Adams Oshiomhole, we saw Anambra in the days of Peter Obi, and lately, Alex Otti of Abia State. The saying of our people states that a good market sells itself (Afia di mma na ele onwe ya). When the voice of the people is so loud and clear, the government is afraid of a breakdown of law and order.
The governor of Enugu State is trying his best too. I saw the hospital structure, but I am waiting to make sure that it is not a white elephant project. The amount of taxes he is collecting in Enugu State is not yet commensurate with what he is doing in his state. He started well, and I must commend him for the airline he started, but since he joined APC, the development has slowed down for a reason I do not know. I remember that all the governors joining APC said it was to increase the federal allocation to their state. It has since increased, and development has since died down. Meanwhile, the governor of Abia is not in the APC, and his party is having a leadership problem, which shows that it does not matter which party the governor belongs to if he wants to work for his people.
Finally, I beckon to the governors of the southeast to investigate the state and see what legacy they can create for the people who have suffered under the government of Nigeria for thirty months and counting. The civil war has ended in the sense that the government of Nigeria is no longer throwing bombs, mortars, and shelling, but the economic war is not yet over. No need to wait for the day we will become the president of Nigeria to begin the development. Look at Yoruba land that has produced two presidents since 1999 to date. What is the presence of the president? They can hold on to praise their two sons, who have manned the seat of power for 12 years now. Look at Katsina, where President Buhari came from; it is under serious security problems. I do not want to ask for infrastructure because that would be asking for too much. The government’s primary duty is to secure lives and property. I do not think that any of the former presidents of Nigeria (North or South) scored a pass mark in this area. If we look at the area of Education since 1999, the tertiary students have been at home because of a strike, and the lecturers are not paid at all, or in some cases were paid half because of industrial action, which is their right.
Therefore, I make the case that it does not matter which party you belong to, it does not matter which part of the state or country the leader comes from, if it is a leader like Alex Otti, please vote for him and allow him to showcase the stuff he is made of. Let the other 35 governors copy from GOVERNOR ALEX OTTI.
