Opinion: Gov. T.A Orji and the way forward

Posted by African Examiner Anambra Election, Latest Headlines Thursday, September 18th, 2014

By Madubuko Hart

There is apprehension among some stakeholders in the business of governance in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. The anxiety was that anybody that would be elected in 2015 to take over from the incumbent governor of the state, Chief Theodore Orji, should not throw in the towel from where the governor would stop.

Governor, Theodore Orji of Abia State

Some would say that they look at governance as complete business; and it behooves on the leaders in the state to borrow if there is a need for that in order to provide qualitative governance. They see the governor of the state that if he wants to borrow today, that he is not doing that for himself, but for the growth of the state, where the dividends of democracy would touch all and sundry reasonably.

In a press briefing recently by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Charles Ajunwa averred that the governor has been building solid foundation for Abia State and hopes that his successor would continue, consolidate, and build upon the those foundation. Ajunwa believed that the governor has been building rapidly for the economic development and social dividends of the state.

Ajunwa had added that the government of his master has touched the lives of many Abia people and beyond. To him, the government was not only set out to building facilities, but, also, in making sure that lives and wellbeing of the people are touched to a reasonable level.

He whispered that those who were saying the contrary were doing so through their myopic stances. The CPS said that the government “legacy projects” were spreading to the rural areas apart from the cities where they have taken prominence. He said that the governor was doing all of that because he wanted the cities to be decongested.

In his views, he believed that if the past governments in the state had performed the way of his master that the state would have developed more than the efforts that the incumbent governor was putting in place. To Ajunwa, it is kudos to the governor for what he said, were the wonderful works that the governor had been doing to seeing that Abia State was among the committee of states in term of development in all ramifications.

A group known as Abia Growth has also thrown its weight in support of the governor and his works in the state, but cautioned against the political quarrel between ex- Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State and the incumbent governor. That was made known a forth night after some of Kalu’s former aides were said in some papers to have cautioned him against his critiques against the present government.

In the communiqué signed by the likes of the former and current Commissioner for Information, Eze Chikamnayo; ex- Commissioner for Works, George Nnanna Kalu; Peter Aguwamba ( Special duties); Don Ubani (former Adviser , and incumbent Commissioner for Petroleum); current Chief of Staff, Cosmos Ndukwe; Ike Onyenweaku (Environment); Emeka Stanley (Works); Chief Mrs. Chichi Okorafor (Special Adviser); and former Sports Commissioner, Uche Mpama, among a host of others, Abia Growth has called on all sides of the divide to proffer solutions in making sure that all the political enemies in the state are reconciled.

It is a sitting matter for all and sundry to make peace instead of fighting which would never better any situation. Like Ajunwa would say, Governor Orji is the best thing that has ever happened to Abia State, adding that without him, Abia would have still been in the mud.

However, it could be recalled that in 2012, Chief Ikoh who’s the head of Mezie Obodo, a socio-political group in the South-East, in an interview with Vanguard, said that to reconcile the Kalu and Orji would be for the betterment of the state.

He, however, advised that one of the qualities of a good leader is the ability to make mend in a situation of quarrel and reconcile with all, which invariably, Ikoh was telling all involve in the fight.

Madubuko Hart writes from Lagos