–By Ifeanyi Amanze<\/p>\n
Time there was when all you needed to do to win an election in Abia State
\nwas to be colorless, a stooge and a card carrying member of the Peoples
\nDemocratic Party (PDP). Time there was when all you needed to do to win an
\nelection in Abia State was to be in the good books of the Orjis\u2013from Orji
\nUzor Kalu to Theodore Orji.
\nIt was (and still is) a brand of godfather-ism that neither transformed to
\nmeaningful development for the State nor raised policy discourses during
\nelection season. Back then, votes never counted and the peoples\u2019 will were
\nroutinely trampled upon with glee. The ordinary folks never mattered in
\nthe larger scheme of things, it appeared.
\nAll of that is perhaps changing and for good as well.
\nWhen former GMD\/CEO of Diamond Bank, Alex Otti, left his plum job at the
\nbank to pick up the Abia governorship ticket on the platform of the All
\nProgressives Grand Alliance (APGA), he was unwittingly playing the role of
\nthe game changer in the politics of his home State. He\u2019s brought an array
\nof colours to the race on the stomp grounds and Ndi Abia will doubtless
\nrecall this period in their electioneering history for decades to come.
\nOtti\u2019s campaign structure is patterned after a 21st century one, complete
\nwith a grassroot movement that keeps endearing the candidate to a wide
\nspectrum of eligible voters. The Otti campaign has perfected the
\ndoor-to-door campaign initiative where young men and women volunteer their
\ntime and resources to woo prospective voters for candidate Otti. In the
\nblazing sun and in the pouring rain, these denizens of Abia can be seen
\nensconced in charm offensive sessions with ordinary folks from the
\ncountrysides to the urban settlements.
\n\u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ll be doing this and it\u2019s all because at long
\nlast some of us have seen a candidate who shares our aspirations and who
\nwe can identify with\u201d, one volunteer in Umuikaa, Isiala Ngwa south told
\nthis writer one humid afternoon, a wide grin emblazoned on his fine
\nfeatures. \u201cI\u2019ll be voting for the first time and it is worth the while
\nconvincing other young folks to vote as well. Abia has to be rescued\u201d, he
\nsaid, before proceeding to the next compound to woo more undecided voters
\nfor the candidate.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s like one of us\u201d, said another volunteer who simply identified
\nherself as Ngozi. \u201cWhen we meet him, it\u2019s like talking to the guy next
\ndoor. When you engage with the guy next door, it\u2019s only natural to go the
\nentire hog for him and for the State he envisions\u201d, Ngozi said.
\nThis grassroot on-the-ground movement of the Alex Otti campaign is matched
\nby an ebullient campaign online. Facebook and Twitter pages trumpet the
\nOtti campaign mantra of #AbiaFirst and #HelpIsHere and the candidate
\ninteracts directly with his Twitter followers through his personal handle
\nof @realalexotti. The aforementioned Twitter hashtags have since assumed
\nlives of their own. The messaging has been consistent online and offline
\nand the candidate is winning more friends to his cause by the day.
\n\u201cAbia has had a raw deal with Governors since it was carved out of the old
\nImo State. This seems like one opportunity to get it right\u201d, a trader in
\nAriaria said as she pointed to the unkempt surroundings and pot-hole
\nridden roads before her. \u201cHow successive governments have allowed this
\nplace to degenerate into a jungle, is beyond us\u201d, she added.
\n\u201cThat is my Governor\u2026. God bless Otti\u201d, wrote Kingsley Chimezie on the
\n\u201cFriends of Alex\u201d Facebook page opened by the campaign. \u201cMy amiable
\ngovernor\u201d, wrote Oleka Nnanna Obiejemba on the Facebook page as well. The
\n\u201cFriends of Alex\u201d facebook page is fast becoming a canvas on which the
\nnext phase of a new Abia is being scrawled. Otti\u2019s Facebook friends also
\nchip in with policy suggestions of their own for their \u201cnext Governor\u201d.
\n\u201cI am ready to work for you for free. Just say the word\u201d, one gentleman
\nwrote on the page.
\nNigeria\u2019s looming general election is shaping up to be one of the best in
\nrecent memory on the continent. And Abia State in Southeastern Nigeria
\nappears to be blazing the trail on the campaign and excitement front.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve suffered for too long\u2026for far too long\u201d, Chimezie, another Otti
\ndisciple, told this writer in Umuahia.
\n__________________________<\/p>\n
Ifeanyi Amanze wrote in from Umuahia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
–By Ifeanyi Amanze Time there was when all you needed to do to win an election in Abia State was to be colorless, a stooge and a card carrying member…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n