Today, I have a word of criticism for my cherished brother, friend and leader, His Excellency, Dr. Alex C. Otti, Executive Governor of Abia State. We have said one or two things concerning his exploits in the good governance of Abia State, which have been widely acknowledged by appreciative Abians and people of goodwill everywhere. The only people who have badmouthed Otti’s work in Abia are opposition politicians like Orji Kalu, Benjamin Kalu, John Okiyi Kalu and Omoyele Sowore.
Gov. Otti trends not just because he does what other high-performing governors do. He also does what they don’t. Within three years, he turned the smelliest state around into the cleanest, with wide, well-paved roads furnished with street lights. From his 414 completed roads spread throughout the state, bridges, Prof. Nnenna Oti Bus Terminal in Umuahia, smart schools, over 200 fully equipped primary health centres to completion of numerous inherited projects. Also, from his ambitious, futuristic projects like the Aba Bus Terminal, Nsulu Airport, proposed Obuaku Seaport, full implementation of the Abia Industrial Park to the proposed regional rail network. In the next five years, Abia will emerge as an epicentre of regional commerce and industry.
Many governors are also working hard to achieve the same. Where Otti rises above his peers is that he is building an Abia State that will be home for all. His government does not operate the “state of origin” concept which is used elsewhere to deny “non-indigenes” their constitutional right to benefit from the largesse of the states they reside in. His free, compulsory education is for all residents. Appointments are based on merit; hence the Head of the Abia Civil Service is Benson Ojeikere, an Edo State indigene who got employed after a meritorious NYSC service year. Prominent non-indigenes who have contributed to the growth of Abia State are appointed mayors.
The same merit that took him from the son of a village teacher and SDA pastor to GMD of a prominent bank and now governor of a fast-rising state remains the scale he uses to weigh human capital for productive deployment. Otti is a special gift we treasure because nobody knows when such a gift will come our way again when he leaves office in 2031. What are the two matters where I beg to differ with my governor?
The first is the rather draconian charges described by the Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agencies (ABSSAA) as “campaign permit fees” imposed on all political parties. To mount campaign billboards in Abia State, the charges are as follows: Presidential – N200m, Governorship – N150m, Senatorial – N100m, House of Reps – N50m, and State of Assembly – N20m. Though these also apply to the governor and his party, they are too hard on the opposition. Anything that promotes godfatherism or makes elections too expensive will ultimately trigger political violence and corruption in government. These are antithetical to Governor Otti’s own “Abia First” code of politics and governance. We must level the ground for all players. I don’t think it is right for government to try to extract revenue from democracy. It will compromise the democracy. The opposition is correct in speaking out against this. I hope the governor will look into it.
The second issue is the recent visit of a delegation of the National Park Service to Governor Otti in Umuahia to request a space to establish the first national park in Abia State. On the surface of it, this initiative promises to bring “federal presence” to Abia State and promote environmental conservation. I am an environmentalist at heart and a conservation buff. I advocate for tree and flower planting, and I practise it in my country home in Abiriba. I advocate for parks and open spaces, especially in urban areas. I have severally brought the need for this to the governor’s attention.
But in this case, I smell a rat. I see a Trojan horse. Call it “conspiracy theory,” the term that the misguided, woke world uses to discredit calling a spade a spade. We, Igbo people, are constant targets of hate governance by the Nigerian state and embittered fellows like the late Muhammadu Buhari, who maliciously called Igboland a “dot in a circle.” People with his warped mindset are fond of insulting the South East, claiming that it is less than a local government in their regions. Everybody knows that we don’t have enough land in the South East compared to our overwhelming population. Only about half of the Igbo population resides in the South East.
Our leaders need to be mindful of this before they dole out scarce land for suspicious jamborees like “national park.” More importantly, if we give out this parcel of land, one day, long after Otti has left office, a Buhari-like Fulani president could simply allocate it to his “herdsmen” kinsmen for ruga because, as they laughably claim, federal lands “belong” to them. Their Fulanisation and Islamisation agenda is a 1,000-year vision which they relentlessly pursue through various stratagems. We must not hand it over ourselves in the name of environmental “conservation.” Ohafia people have been crying since a parcel of land belonging to the Goodluck Jonathan Barracks was allegedly “donated” by an unnamed commanding officer for the settlement of a Fulani community. Let’s also remember how Orji Kalu gave a parcel of land in Lokpanta to northerners and they turned it into a den of kidnapping and human slaughter, which Governor Otti himself deftly resolved.
We don’t need a national park in Igboland. We will build the parks ourselves, and everybody will be welcome to enjoy them. The kind of “federal presence” we need includes airports, seaports, universities, refineries, gas infrastructure, rail projects, things that add value to our people. We don’t want cleverly dressed Trojan horses like “national parks.”
We say no!
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