_BY JUDE NDUKWE_
As Dr Okezie Ikpeazu commences his “Second Missionary Journey” as
Executive Governor of Abia State from May 29, 2019, people of the State
already seem to know what to expect from their governor. With the
resoundingly successful performance in his first tenure, and the promise
to cover more ground, the people had no hesitation whatsoever to keep
faith with him when it was time for the 2019 governorship election, and
did so in an overwhelming manner to the extent that his closest
opponents came distant 2nd and 3rd respectively. It was indeed one
election that has been adjudged the freest, fairest, most peaceful, most
transparent and most credible in the history of the State. It was an
election where the people did not only speak but spoke loudly about
their choice to stick with the incumbent despite a cacophony of calumny
and deliberate misinformation that became the hallmark of his political
opponents in the period leading to the election.
But having seen what Dr Okezie Ikpeazu was capable of doing in his first
tenure despite multiple baseless and bitter litigations instituted
against him that lasted for three years, the booby traps of propaganda,
half-truths and outright falsehood launched against him by his political
opponents, lean resources accruable to the state and such other
challenges, the people refused to be swayed by any other factor except
the plethora of incontrovertible evidence of strong sociopolitical and
economic policies and verifiable projects that have etched the name of
the Governor indelibly in their hearts as the right man to lead them on
the next phase of Abia’s journey to The Promised Land. An Igbo saying
has it that when the first journey is sweet, we embark on it a second
time even with enthusiasm. That is exactly what Abians have done with
the reelection of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu with massive numbers at the last
election.
There is hardly any other state government in Nigeria that can boast of
having completed over 70 road projects with 90 others at various levels
of completion in just four years especially with Abia’s well
documented lean resources. Ikpeazu has not just built those numbers of
roads, he builds roads that are of strategic importance to the people
especially as a state renowned for its unmatchable and age-long prowess
in trade and commerce.
For example, the seemingly incurable Faulks Road at Aba, though still
undergoing top notch engineering surgery, now wears a new look and cured
of its incessant tempest of seasonal flooding. Before now, people of
Abia and those who ply that road had thought that there were some
supernatural forces dwelling at Ama Ikonne and Ife-Obara that were
resisting all previous efforts at totally eliminating the perennial
flooding that militated against the solid construction of Faulks Road
until those “supernatural powers” were arrested by the superiority
thinking and engineering masterpiece deployed by the Governor. Today,
Faulks Road has been delivered of its “principalities and powers”;
it is now a beauty to behold and a joy to ply.
To achieve this feat, not many know that Dr Okezie Ikpeazu had to sack
the contractor that was hitherto handling the project when it became
obvious that the scope of the work was beyond his ability. Probably the
enormity of what was expected of him by the governor overwhelmed him.
Then SETRACO, an A-list construction company was awarded the contract
while the Governor specifically requested for a site engineer from the
Netherlands who are the best in underwater management to come work with
local consultants and then give a plan for the job. That plan came with
a 6.5km underground drainage with pumps designed to pump water
intermittently along the way to Waterside from Ife-Obara. This also
culminated in the dredging of Waterside and Ife-Obara to ensure that
they can take water in their full capacities without spilling to the
roads and cause flooding.
It is important that these details are highlighted to underscore the
importance Governor Okezie Ikpeazu places on scientific assessment of
such challenges, the meticulous planning that goes into tackling them
and the political will to do novel things that bring world class lasting
solutions to local challenges.
The reason why any governor would go this far in tackling any challenge
in a state is because such a governor does not want to do just any job,
shoddy and cheap, to hoodwink the people for political purposes, only
for the roads to collapse shortly after. Such a governor like Dr Ikpeazu
takes his time to ensure quality job is done every time because he has
not the next election but the next generation in mind. And this mark of
quality is etched on every of his project. This is why the ongoing
Osisioma flyover is imbued with quality; this is why the renovated
Enyimba International Stadium reeks of quality; this is why the new
Model Schools that dot different parts of the state ooze quality, etc.
Talking about the model schools in particular and the education sector
in general, Governor Ikpeazu has rolled out policies and projects that
guarantee Abians of continued top performances in both local and
international exams. For example, it is on record that Abia State is not
only first in WASSCE among states of the federation, she has maintained
this position for four consecutive years: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and
still counting. Despite efforts by far more financially endowed states
to overtake her in this regard, Ikpeazu has ensured that does not
happen, to their continued chagrin.
The latest JAMB/UTME results show that a 16-year-old Abian is among the
best two out of over a million candidates that sat for the exam across
the nation.
With the construction of 359 new classroom blocks, 70 of them
reconstructed and 4 new model schools spread across the three senatorial
districts of the state, locally manufactured furniture deployed for use
in them, equipped with modern libraries and laboratories, feeding of
pupils in Primary 4 – 6 every school day making Abia the only state
in the entire federation where all her pupils are fed in school since
the federal government feeds pupils of Primary 1 – 3 nationwide, etc
it becomes so easy to decipher the mindset of the Governor about our
children and youths. As leaders of tomorrow, Dr Ikpeazu who himself is a
scholar, knows the importance of giving children of the state a
befitting learning environment to bring out the best in them always,
prepare them for the onerous task of leadership and nation building, and
give them a future that ensures they are able to compete favourably
anywhere in the world and be the best they can be without fear or doubt.
Little wonder school enrolment rate in Abia jumped from about 115,000 in
2015 to over 600,000 today!
During one of his recent visits to some schools in the state, Dr Ikpeazu
directed the immediate construction of 13 new more Model Schools and 300
more new classroom blocks across the state while vowing to continue the
State school feeding programme with the possibility of even extending it
to junior secondary class students.
The teachers who have the enviable responsibility of moulding these
children are also not left out. Over three thousand primary school
teachers have undergone different forms of training and retraining by an
Australian NGO. About 40 other teachers will soon go to Australia in
furtherance of the training and it is expected that when they return
they shall in turn train others. This is one of the reasons for the
establishment of the Abia Teacher Training Continuing Education Centre
at Umuahia by the Ikpeazu-led administration.
In order to further empower Abia youths and entrepreneurs, Governor
Okezie Ikpeazu personally got involved in the promotion of Made in Aba
goods, sponsoring exhibitions for them both at home and abroad, sent 30
shoemakers to China to enhance their skills with those trained returning
to train others back home, and procured modern shoemaking machines from
China to greatly enhance quality, quantity and speed of output of Aba
shoemakers. Today, military and paramilitary organizations procure their
uniforms and boots from Abia State; the same goes for several federal
institutions who now turn to Abia for their scientific, technological,
garment, leather, wood and other needs.
The Enyimba Economic City is what informed economic watchers and
political analysts have dubbed “Mother of all Projects” in this
clime because of its gargantuan scope and expected humongous returns and
benefits to the State and her people in particular and Nigeria in
general. If there is any project that befittingly crowns Dr Ikpeazu as a
true trans-generational leader, it is the EEC. It is a project that
mirrors the limitless possibilities of his thought processes and his
fearlessness to achieve the impossible.
As its name implies, Enyimba Economic City is an industrial hub spanning
a huge land mass of about 9,800 hectares covering three local
governments of the state with strategic proximity to 9 southeast and
south south states, seated directly on a large gas reserve belt and
bordered by potential seaports, all of which enhance the industrial
viability and business opportunities of the new “Dubai of Africa”.
The concept and development of EEC has been attracting rave reviews from
both local and international investors for its vast potentials. Even the
Federal Government has bought a 20% stake in it. The cherry on the cake
is that the City has been designated a Free Trade Zone, a mouthwatering
incentive for investors worldwide. On completion, the City which shall
have uninterrupted power supply is expected to offer a massive 700,000
jobs to the youths and also enhance the already existing business
clusters all over Aba and beyond.
The larger implications of this is that even if oil dries up in the
nearest future or goes out of need by the world as is being projected,
Abia State will still survive, thrive and prosper comfortably based on
the massive revenue she will generate from the EEC. What this means is
that while others do not know where their next meal would come from when
oil goes into extinction, Ikpeazu has already secured the future of
Abians against such shocks. It takes a man of uncommon vision to think
far ahead and make hay for his people while the sun shines. The Governor
alluded to this fact himself concerning the EEC and his vision when he
told ThisDay newspaper “…in doing this I needed to be futuristic, I
didn’t need to be an election politician but I want to be politician
for development.” And I dare add, a politician for the next
generation.
All this would not have been achieved if the governor had not taken
security serious. Today, despite the malignant security threats
afflicting the nation, Abia has remained the safest State in the
country. Despite the violent deaths that marred the last election in
different parts of the country, Abia recorded no death.
To prove that Governor Ikpeazu’s works of fulfilling his promises of
today and guaranteeing the future for Abians has already started bearing
real fruits, Abia was recently rated among the first three States with
the highest Foreign Direct Investment only after Abuja and Lagos, and
one of the only five states with the best ratings in the Ease of Doing
Business index. Others are Kaduna, Enugu, Lagos and Anambra. These are
no mean achievements by the Governor; they are not accidental feats but
results of brilliant thinking, deliberate planning and uncommon
doggedness to see things through to their logical conclusion, coupled
with the Governor’s exceptional ability to build a team of stars who
completely share his passion for a greater Abia.
From the foregoing, it is very clear that Dr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is
not only concerned about the Abia of today but also an Abia of tomorrow.
This is why his policies and projects of today have a sociopolitical and
economic umbilical cord tied to our tomorrow. Whatever he does serves
the people today and also serves as a pedestal upon which our tomorrow
stands solidly. These are part of the reasons he is Abia’s
trans-generational leader!