Today, Abia State is exactly 32 years exactly, having been created by the military government under General Ibrahim Babangida on August 27, 1991. Whether the military was in the best position to embark on the huge exercise of state creation has remained a big matter since the General Yakubu Gowon regime decided to balkanize the country into small units in 1967, in the bid to break the secession attempt of the former Eastern Region.
The reason for the creation of state as stated by our leaders at the time has attracted flaks from political scholars, who still strongly believe that the criteria applied, apart from being wrong, the exercise in itself tended to negatively affect social cohesion between the component parts. Many of them also hold the very strong view that state creation, in the manner it has been executed, killed the spirit of competitiveness, which many agree was very prevalent when the regional structure was in place. The demand for creation of Abia State came amid similar requests at the time. The materialisation brought appreciable level of excitement and joy.
The truth is the underlying objective for the demand for the creation of Abia State was to enhance social cohesion among the different clans in this zone within the larger Igbo ethnic nationality. The people in this zone, cutting through a part of old Okigwe province as seen in Umunneochi and Isiukwato axis, the entire Bende stock spanning from Umuahia to Arochukwu in the northern fringe of the state and the more populous old Aba Division comprising the Ukwa and Ngwa, are boisterous, economically enterprising and very mobile people. Being well off, having a sphere of direct influence wouldn’t be a bad idea, especially when provincial units of similar size had in earlier exercises converted to states. The people of the area felt a sense of entitlement too.
The founding fathers had hoped that having a state would increase their sense of bonding which had high probability to reproduce itself in greater sense of economic pursuit and efficiency and of course economic well-being and development that must follow. Thirty two after, it is still a contentious debate if the laudable objectives have been met at all or to a very reasonable extent. Nearly everyone is happy. At least they got a unit they could point at and boldly say this is our own but beyond this peripheral acknowledgement, a lot of the people seem to agree some changes have taken place but they still insist it hasn’t been very phenomenal as many had expected. This may well be a very fair assessment given that some basic infrastructure remain non-existent or in their very rudimentary level. Inter-connectivity of the entire state hasn’t been achieved while economic development has remained at elementary levels with the industrial base ran down.
The population is a highly literate one and this factor has mellowed what would have amounted to very bitter conflicts arising from distinct clan interest. Talking about social cohesiveness mentioned earlier, the truth is that the Bende and Ngwa distinctiveness in terms of slight cultural differences is throwing up its very unique challenges even though subdued but nevertheless very potent. None of the key actors likes to speak on this in the open but the dichotomy in social relations often constitutes the basis of most political and economic discussions as well as actions in the state. It does regulate conducts as well. Desires and expectations have been driven by this perception. This is the truth most indigenes are afraid to own up to.
The fringe populations in the make up of the state are full of complaints. The Ukwa believe they have been slated for total emasculation by the political players in the state especially by their Ngwa neighbours who they fear have this desire to subsume the people and the area into a monolithic Ngwa group. They are not happy but have elected to take things easy since in the political estimation of their current political players they will need the Ngwa political support to make hay especially if an Ukwa person would make it to the Senate again and governorship and deputy positions in the future.
The Arochukwu people until Dr Alex Otti through self-determination made it, the governorship office felt very alienated; same for Isiukwato and Umunneochi people. If anything the Otti victory has accentuated their anger over perceived negligence in power sharing in the commanding height. During the 2023 campaigns they were very vocal in their insistence that it was their turn to produce the next governor of the state. They tried to make an issue out of it but nobody gave them a listening ear. In fact one of their very illustrious sons with national appeal, Prof Greg Ibe, was on the ballot but the irony was that his people didn’t care to vote for him. They pitched their tent with Dr Alex Otti who has Bende ancestral origin but claims Ngwa origin having been born and raised in Ngwa divide, who many believed had far better chances to win. The governorship contest in 2023 was essentially about clan fight.
The Ngwa and Ukwa alliance wanted an Ngwa from Abia Central to equal what the Bende did by producing a Bende governor from Umuahia after a Bende indigene from Abia North senatorial zone had held office for two tenures totalling eight years in all. The fight reproduced itself in the voting pattern in the governorship poll. Overwhelming majority of the voters from Abia North voted for Dr Otti for reasons we stated earlier. Theory of relativity resonated very well and Abia North indigenes bought well into it. It was such that anyone would think the Ngwa candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had no footing in that part of the divide.
Constitutionally, Dr Otti is right to claim Ngwa origin but given our reality that sectionalism still thrives, a good number in Ngwa still hold very strongly to the view that after all said and done “blood is thicker than water.” The state hasn’t matured to the point where one comes from would be irrelevant in leadership selection. Division exists and it is potent. That is the crux of the point being made. Who succeeds Otti whenever his tenure ends remains a contentious issue. This will be so because the divisive cleavages still run high. The administration of Otti has established orientation agency which would be inaugurated Tuesday. Would this bring appreciable degree of rethinking. Difficult to say. Achieving unity would require solid political engineering.
Has the state made progress development-wise since creation? Are there verifiable signposts since the state was created? This is another of the big questions common place. We have offered a bit of answer to this much earlier yet it requires a little more of detailed interrogation so that history can be placed in proper dimension. As things stand today, demography in age influences positions. Relatively speaking, the older generation would insist a lot has happened even though they admit when a quantum lift into modernity became very necessary there was “transition failure”. The younger generation would insist the Abia experience in 32 years is a clear case of total failure.
Truth is things have been done. The road network witnessed expansion from what existed before the state was created even though the state connectivity was unfortunately not taken into consideration. The omission on this score is fatal. It is inexcusable. Many new housing estates sprang up during the period under review, this is a plus by any measure. Yes, many of them may be in very dilapitated state currently but they have come into existence. Rehabilitation is different from originating. Pioneering efforts are always daunting.
Free education was a policy in this state. Scholarships were given hence developing human capital. Today, nobody or government that will come would begin to talk afresh about rural electrification, truth is most communities are today hooked up to the national grid. This is something worthwhile. Absence of an Abia vision has proved to be very costly, development wise. It is the reason most of the governments that ruled just ran on personal vision which in the end turned out to be a little way off from the standard expectations.
The mistake is being carried over by the current administration headed by Dr Otti. His administration has embarked on mobile free health services for instance when all the general hospitals in the state are in a comatose state. Priority has become an issue. He desires to do six lane road into Umuahia, a much desired policy because the capital has in truth remained like a glorified suburban setting despite Umuahia having had their son as governor for eight long years but the issue is internal roads in the city have gone very deplorable. These constitute what many have termed “low hanging fruits”, projects a new government can latch onto and her legitimacy ratings would jumb very high. What has caused the state so much distraction is the syndrome called “misplaced priority”.
Every case in which states have excelled, careful study would show a blueprint came into existence. Those are the lessons easily picked from the forays of Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states into modernity. Donald Duke even though he borrowed so much, he developed a blueprint in conjunction with a few egg heads like Liyel Imoke whom he handed over to. Duke faced urban renewable with international standards as principle and Imoke applied same to rural areas. In Akwa Ibom Victor Atta dreamt and put it down in a document.
Godswill Akpabio who came after him even though he wasn’t Atta’s preferred candidate found a great document which he stuck to and pushed to very great extent in terms of practical implementation. It wasn’t his idea at all but he worked so hard to earn a well deserved credit. Emmanuel Udom who took over from Akpabio made industrialisation a priority along side infrastructure. This is the beauty Akwa Ibom has turned out to be. Same applies to Ebonyi where Dr Egwu left a blueprint.The crystallization was in the tenure of Dave Umahi who worked tirelessly to give reality to the dream. The gentleman, minus his negative politics as it affects Ndigbo, performed excellently. He touched key areas and did so to world standards.
Abia lost it in terms of priotisation and standards. The worst was inability to transcend to higher levels when it became very necessary. That inability for whatever reasons threw up Dr Alex Otti who if truth be told is working assiduously to do perhaps a little differently but he would have to be very thorough in his processes if his efforts would turn out well. He is very well equipped educationally and experience wise and so should be able to have near flawless procedures. He has started with payment of salary arrears to all including pensioners, this is great and should be sustained even though there are troubling cases of ommisions of persons said to be genuine workers. There is need to take another look at the policies with a view to establishing order of execution. This is very important because of lapses that are glaring.
The other day the governor spoke of his intention to develop Nsulu Games Village; except he intends to use private sector to do it. What the state needs most is an ultra-modern stadium in a virgin area in a place near Aba. Internal city roads should be reworked and marked with beautifully designed street and road signages, modern advertising billboards should be part of it. These can earn revenues, gutters covered, street properly lighted up, and entrances to our cities and even suburban centres expanded and beautified. School buildings can be pulled down and rebuilt in the most modern ways with requisite facilities. Hospitals same. He has started rehabilitation of water schemes. This is commendable. Modern agricultural settlements with integrated farming method established. A jetty built at Ukwa axis, Obuaku city to draw from Port Harcourt. Aba needs an airport. New Aba and Umuahia etc.
Some of us who keep talking, beside taking our constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of expression and any tutored mind knows that in any administration everything begins and ends with the man at the helm of affairs. So it could not have been a case of not offering suggestions, it has more to do with what the leader considers worthwhile. The essence of talking is first and foremost to make benefit of hindsight available for anyone interested to pick and run with it. After all the good of the larger society wouldn’t be for a few. It will be for the benefit of all. It is not to curry favour. As is commonly said, “when rain falls it won’t fall only on one man’s house.”
Should Abians celebrate? The answer is yes. There are plenty reasons we should celebrate. A lot has been achieved but truth is the state is still very far from where it should be. A lot of work is still required to be done. It will require all hands being on the deck. Task is above partisanship. Good news is they are not insurmountable. Abia’s tomorrow is definitely far better than its today. No doubt about this.