By Ernie Onwumere
My interest in Donald Trump before he became American president started with his reality TV show ‘The Apprentice’ and his book ‘Think Big and Kick Ass’. From the maverick entrepredneur-turned-politician, I learned valuable lessons that I think His Excellency, Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti and Ndi Abia should take note of as desperate politicians have now railroaded us into premature politicking for a distant future election.
The hard-hitting, fearless and unapologetic Donald Trump in his book mentioned above advises readers to retaliate strongly against those who wrong them, emphasizing the importance of maintaining respect and not letting bullies go unchallenged. Hear him: “Respond to wrongs with severity to demonstrate strength and maintain respect.” In business, politics and sometimes even social relations, some situations demand such Trump-like stern responses because ‘nice guys’ or gentlemen can be taken for a ride in a ruthless world.
Let’s come home. In 1983, Dee Sam Mbakwe, former governor old Imo State fearlessly stood up to FEDECO when they wanted to play hanky-panky with his election, showing that bravado is the language desperados understand. Unfortunately, Abia State may today be witnessing a repeat of similar stories in our political space, and we can’t afford to fold arms and play gentlemen to see the people’s mandate brazenly hijacked by desperadoes from Abuja.
We have seen it all before: electoral mandates stolen from the late Prince Vincent Ogbulafor in1999, Onyema Ugochukwu in 2007, and Dr. Alex Otti in 2015 due to the Obingwa magic. Will history repeat itself in 2027? God forbid. But given the opposition’s strategy in Abia now activated in full throttle, I urge Abians not to take this threat from Abuja lightly. It is real, and it is time to take off the gloves and beat them at their game, lest we enter regret mode after their unholy abracadabra will have been pulled off.
On August 31 this year, Financial Times, an international media network, published a story titled ‘Nigeria enters campaign mode – with elections two years away’. The opening statement of the story goes thus: “Nigeria’s politicians have plunged into campaigning for the country’s 2027 general election, jostling for plum posts at the helm of Africa’s most populous nation but raising eyebrows for chasing votes still two years away.” Well, outsiders may raise eyebrows at the theatre of the absurd that the Nigerian politics has become, but citizens have grown accustomed to being hapless spectators to all the absurdities.
Since politics seems to have become the most lucrative enterprise in Nigeria, only true visionaries think about citizens’ welfare while self-seeking politicians think only about the next election. The fact that most Nigerian politicians suffer from the pathological insanity of obsessing over the next far-away election, instead of fulfilling their present obligations, is nauseating enough. But now, guess what could be more sordid and shameful? It is the nuisance of a political desperado like a House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu abandoning his duty post in Abuja, gallivanting to Abia State every now and then, and distracting a busy governor with paranoid hyperventilation that APC will take over in 2027.
What an egregious act of political rascality and hubris. Is the position of Nigeria’s House of Representatives Deputy Speaker now so ceremonial and idle that the occupant has all the time to be parading himself in his home state in the name of politics? In fact, Governor Alex Otti had barely settled down over two years ago to the business of fulfilling the mandate given him by Abia people when the desperadoes started ranting about APC taking over the state. They don’t really care about Abia State’s wellbeing; all they want is to turn the state into an APC fiefdom and become the beneficiary as governor.
In recent times, the idle, petulant irritant invaded the state again to rant about their APC’s hallucinatory takeover in what now amounts to dancing naked in the marketplace. He falsely accused Governor Otti of “not doing enough” with increased revenue from federal allocations. He has turned himself into the ‘auditor-general’ and ‘chief justice’ of the state, probing and convicting the governor on baseless allegations.
So ludicrously hypocritical, arrogant, sycophantic and self-seeking, the demagogue has been throwing around the name of President Bola Tinubu to push the APC-must-take-over narrative. His real intention, however, is to grab power for himself and fellow travelers by hook or crook in order to loot and set Abia backwards to the dark past. If not an act of blackmail and an inordinate greed for power as license to loot, why would anybody in his position in Abuja be coming to Abia to attack a governor who is up and doing? And who is in the best position to pass a verdict on the governor’s performance if not the Abia people who elected him and now enjoy the benefits of good governance?
Today, apart from the uncountable accolades by several credible observers who have visited Abia and seen real transformation, Ndi Abia are happy with the Otti administration’s impact on their state. He has transformed the state in ways many never thought possible due to past decades of decadent misrule. Since taking office in May 2023, Governor Otti has focused on governance reforms, infrastructure development, and revitalisation of the economy and social services in Abia State. Prompt salary and pension payments, elimination of corruption, merit-based appointments, and inclusive governance are the new order of governance.
In road construction and rehabilitation, the Otti government has undertaken major road projects in urban centres like Aba and Umuahia, and in rural areas, using a combination of direct labour and experienced contractors like Julius Berger. More than 400 roads, including Omenuko Bridge project, are either delivered or under construction across the three senatorial zones. Completed projects include the reconstruction of the Port Harcourt-Aba Road, Ohanku Road, Umuahia-Uzuakoli-Ohafia Road, and the Abam- Ndiokereke -Arochukwu Road, among several others improving connectivity across the state.
There is the Greater Aba Development Authority which the governor established as a long-term strategy for guided urban development and growth in Aba. There are modern bus terminals being constructed in Aba and Umuahia to improve transportation. Regular power supply is becoming a dream come true with the Otti government partnering and supporting the Geometric Power Plant which provides a dedicated power supply to boost industrial activities.
Healthcare is also getting quality attention from Governor Otti. For instance, major hospitals, including the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH) and General Hospital, Amachara, have been renovated and re-equipped. This helped ABSUTH regain its accreditation in 2023. A plan is underway to build or rehabilitate 200 primary health centres across all 17 Local Government Areas. The government has launched a Free Medical Service Initiative offering diagnostics and drug supply, and a new eye clinic was opened in Umuahia. Even more, the government has since approved the recruitment of over 700 medical experts to address manpower shortages and is prioritising the welfare of health workers.
Abia’s future leaders are being carried along under Otti government. This year, the government introduced a policy of free and compulsory education for all children from primary school to junior secondary school (JSS3). The construction of 20 ‘smart schools’ is underway, with newly recruited teachers deployed to public schools. The administration has implemented teacher training programmes and recruited new teachers to improve education standards, while programmes like ‘TechRise’ are training youths in digital skills, with the Abia Innovation and Tech Hub providing digital training and job access.
On the economic front, SMEs in Abia are enjoying solid support. The Aba Industrial Development Project has supported small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with better access to finance and infrastructure, leading to significant growth. Investments and policies aimed at attracting both local and foreign investors have created new jobs within the state. What’s more, the Abia Global Economic Advisory Council was established to help build a sustainable economic hub.
Abia State is not just doing well in all the above indices of development, it is also now one of the safest and most secure in the Southeast region. Governor Otti’s security initiatives like the multi-agency security outfit ‘Operation Crush,’ a Security Advisory Council, and the Abia Security Trust Fund have significantly reduced crime in the state. The demolition and reorganisation of the Umunneochi Cattle Market have also contributed to a major drop in crime. Above all, the state government has refurbished and provided operational vehicles to security agencies to enhance operations.
Now, the egoistic pirate and his co-travelers turn a blind eye to all the undeniable progress and unprecedented transformation being made by Governor Otti and seek to truncate it all just for him to take over and take credit. As a foremost Abia stakeholder and industrialist Dr. Uche Ogah was quoted by ‘People ofAbia’ online blog recently, “It is only people that are made of darkness that can deny that light has come to Abia State.” In other words, the forces of darkness now desperately seek to dim Abia’s shining light on the altar of their selfish ambitions. If not, one wonders what new, better magic of performance the Abuja freebooter has to offer that he badmouths Governor Otti so disrespectfully and turns himself into a national disgrace to Ndi Abia? Surely, the escalating gutter antics of the rampaging raider raise alarm bells for Ndi Abia, who must be ready to resist his self-serving theatrics and sinister plans to rig himself into Umuahia Government House in 2027.
By the way, when we shift attention from petty party politics of whether Abia State should be under Labour, PDP, APGA or APC flag and focus on the personality, integrity and quality of leadership, the noisy desperado is the most unfit. The 54 years old lawmaker’s journey from relative obscurity to his current unearned, undeserved Deputy Speaker status has been a public knowledge in Abia. But he has chosen to behave like the proverbial Nza bird from Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” whose unbridled ambition leads him to fly too high and overreach himself.
Yet, another instructive proverb from “Things Fall Apart” aptly depicts their ilk: “Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble.” The man was helped to his present status by a former governor of Abia State whom he has paid back with brazen ingratitude, hubris and treachery. Today, he has leveraged his position to elevate himself alone while neglecting even his direct constituency in Abia. A review of his tenure so far reveals a wide gap in tangible contributions to Bende, the constituency he represents in Abuja, despite the humongous salaries, allowances and perks he draws. This then raises the question of how he has metamorphosed into a self-styled critic of a governor who is actively doing the work of transformation.
Thus, it can be seen that the pirate’s flailing attempts to vilify Governor Alex Otti emanate not from a place of concern for the state’s progress but rather a hunger for power that threatens to plunge Abia back into the shadow of neglect. As earlier hinted, the desperado cloaks his ambitions with the guise of wanting to support President Bola Tinubu and the APC in their quest for electoral dominance in Abia, but this veneer falters under scrutiny. It is evident that his motivations are steeped in his own self-interest rather than genuine service to the people of Abia or even APC. His relentless opportunist forays into Abia’s political space, replete with reckless threats and brash accusations, factor more into a strategy of anti-progress mischief than that of a visionary leader.
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As vigilant, intelligent citizens, it is imperative that Ndi Abia remain alert to the machinations of politicking cloaked in mischief. As for the desperado, he would do well to return his attention to the duties he presently occupies in Abuja to help President Tinubu solve urgent national challenges of extreme poverty and insecurity still afflicting Nigerians, instead of continuing his nuisance to undermine a performing governor.
When 2027 comes, it is the Abia people who will decide with their votes whether Governor Otti should continue or quit, not a self-appointed messiah from Abuja. But if the push comes to shove, the incumbent governor can play the political game with gloves off. At the same time, H.E. Dr. Alex Otti as our reformer in the driver seat now is at liberty to decide on which vehicle that can take us to the Promised Land and Abians will join him. As someone well known to President Tinubu long before he became president, Governor Otti has the flexibility to play his cards. What we expect of him is a responsibility to reassure the Abia people that their mandate will be defended by all means fair and decisive, so that they are not cowed to surrender to bullying. Renegades should not be allowed to overrun the media space with their boastful grandstanding and rabid hyperventilation to unseat the governor. Neither should we play laid-back gentlemen and watch them play their hatched plans to rig the election via bribing voters, snatching ballot boxes, compromising INEC officials and unleashing violence to steal victory.
- Onwumere, a public affairs analyst, writes from Onitsha.