Not a few great and ably placed personalities of Abia extraction have at different times and fora acknowledged the complete absence of building cranes at any construction site close to Abia State, until the gubernatorial stewardship of Sir T.A. Orji. It was a sad reality that starred Abia in the face for over a decade whether during the military or democratic dispensation. With the passage of time, Abians were completely aghast to discover the magnitude of deep-seated executive grandstanding typified by poorly finished road and similar construction works.
I have had cause to variously infer that Sir T.A. Orji is an innocent victim of accumulated and misplaced aggression, occasioned by the people’s angst over decades of infrastructural neglect and decay before his Davidic intervention. Bottled up anger were at the verge of exploding destructively, before the Governor strategically intervened to liberate his people from political gulag and unbridled executive insensitivity, which in the past cascaded over the state like a life threatening dark cloud. The desired breath of fresh air was heralded with the liberation of peoples lives held captive by kidnappers and armed robbers.
The celebrated victory of government over the challenge of security became the latitude, which encouraged growth and a healthy race for the re-branding of Abia State. It evidently brought out the best in Sir T.A Orji as he constantly rode on each mile-stone to triumphantly establish another.
From a hollow state, lacking in identity and the necessities of life Governor T.A. Orji has stimulated a very healthy sectoral growth in Abia State. Development cannot take place in a vacuum, the plat form like the Governor is doing must be provided. It was this understanding that earlier gave rise to the synergy with Millennium Development Goals which in one fell swoop produced over 210 Health Centers situated in all the nooks and crannies of Abia State. Frankly speaking if the Health Center initiative of Governor T.A. Orji did little to arouse the curiosity of Abians, the incredible icing of Abia State Specialist Hospital jolted them and Diagnostic Center delivered in association with Me-cure Health Services, India. Abians whose mind were conditioned to patiently tolerate what they perceived was going to be another misrule, suddenly realized that this Governor could be the Moses, prepared and equipped to lead the people out of Egypt. Abia state Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Center has not only been extended in terms of annex, but has become a reliable one stop shop for diagnosing and treating complicated health situations like liver, kidney, eye and other allied cases.
Scarcely had the people finished dealing with the hospital amazement than the governor stepped up activities in other sectors.
The International conference centre, projected to seat over 3500 people and which some Abians thought was going to be a fleecing conduit, will be commissioned in a couple of months from now. A speculative tourist boom in that regard has given rise to a healthy race in the location of quality hotels and guesthouses in the state capital. Abia Hotels is being up-graded to a 3 Star Hotel to compete effectively in that sector. It is closely followed with workers secretariat, which can stand shoulder to shoulder with others in any part of the world. As earlier on else where acknowledged, the hollow past of Abia is so deep that self-seeking administrators governed the state from the property of late Emeka Omerua which he graciously allowed the state to occupy. I have always wondered aloud each time I sojourned in the thought of wanting to know why successive Governors and Military administrators did not think it befitting to drive the construction of a modern Government House in Umuahia, until a man who knows how to engrave his name in gold came on board. As widely held in Ibo land, you need not kill more than one lion before you are called “Lion killer.” With the reality of a new government House, Abians can testify that the Governor is poised to kill a thousand and one lions. Chronic critics are ridding themselves of that toga having enlisted in the bandwagon of helping the Governor to move the state forward,
Many Abians are oblivious of a brand new layout in Umuahia, which is playing host to these new structures. I have always attributed this ignorance to the reason behind the torrents of vituperations which government suffered in the past. Critics who have had cause to visit the new Umuahia layout have had cause to eat their misguided utterances. They have always discovered that besides the on-going workers Secretariat, International Conference Centre and New-Government House, a shouting distance away will reveal the reconstructed Abia State House of Assembly. A little walk around the expansive premises will also reveal the on-going 28 rooms Constituency offices being driven by the government of Sir, T.A Orji.
The judiciary has also benefited from the Governors season of projects in Abia State. A new and gigantic Umuahia High Court is almost completed and same is being replicated in Aba. The Government of Sir T.A. Orji had earlier built a new and modernized office block at Ministry of Justice even as old Magistrate Court Umuahia is under-going reconstruction.
Broadcasting Corporation, the mouthpiece of Abia State is also a beneficiary of government project initiative. This intervention when completed will usher the station into the League of digitalized broadcasters. Shop rite, a household name in chain stores has mobilized to site; Old garki for the construction of a shopping mall in Umuahia.
It is part of the positive feedback from the reality of Ohiya 132 KVA power station, which re-defined the socio-economic configuration of the State capital. Government-Geometric Power synergy due for commissioning in February 2013 will extend this illumination to Aba metropolis for business revivals and other ambitious projects. That this government matches words with action, played out recently, during the relocation of Umuahia Industrial market to Umudike. Umuahia ultra modern market is poised to follow suit as Ubani is gearing up to permanently host the new market. The housing drive of Abia state under Governor T.A. Orji is looking up.
The elitist Amaokwe-Ugba Housing Estate has been delivered, awaiting the almost completed Ahia-eke Housing Estate. The organized private sector is also sharing in this aspiration and its parading blue-chip players like Aso-property, and Juno-Hermes who have since flagged off their housing projects.
Time and space will fail me to talk about the on-going re-construction of 16 roads in Aba but suffice to say that it’s a practical way of demonstrating the Governors desire to re-engineer Aba.
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Iyke Ogbonnaya wrote in from Umuahia.
