Alex Otti, Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), a consummate banker and intellectual, is again in the race for Abia State Government House.
His first shot in 2015 was adjudged hugely successful.
It is still believed in many political circles that Otti won the governorship then but the powers that be in the three tiers of government connived to compromise his victory.
Today, Otti is wiser and has tightened his belt once more preparatory to another epic battle in 2019.
He is ready to contest on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the same party with which he took Abia by storm in 2015.
His major challengers now are Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and billionaire oil magnet, Uche Ogar of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
It will be a good fight in March next year.
Otti appears good to go and likely to win if the election is free, fair and peaceful.
Abians who crave genuine governance devoid of lies, deceit and propaganda think Otti should be given a chance to pilot the affairs of the state because of his background in business and the economy.
It may be difficult to have a handle on all the groups rooting for #alexotti2019. But from the dinner friends held for him at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on December 8, a lot of Abians seem interested in his project and are determined to queue behind him again.
That is part of the reason for this write up.
Let’s look at Otti’s vision and mission statements in his “A Manifesto of Hope” which his friends and supporters rate highly.
His vision statement is “To restore the glory of Abia and make her truly Number one state in Nigeria, as really God’s own state.”
The mission statement is “To establish a responsive, efficient and accountable government that will sustainably develop Abia State for the welfare, security and progress of all Abians.”
At the dinner, Otti’s speech – titled Politics: Why We Must All Get Involved – attracted so much applause that many in the audience who had shown apathy decided to commit to every political process that should see them providing leadership in the country.
“Five years ago when I decided to get into politics I, like many of you, had been apolitical and apoplectic about our politics and its enduring horrendous process.
“As I looked around I saw leaders who did not seem to be subject to any variety of democratic constraints ranging from legislative oversights to public opinion,” Otti said in his speech.
Otti added: “I saw political leaders govern with such transactional styles that became the stimulus for authoritarianism and threat to democracy.
“I saw Governors who regarded themselves as the sun in their own universe with no form of accountability to the governed.
“I saw political leaders and office holders who were akin to roaches hence where you find one, there were many others around.
“In my home state of Abia with one of the highest number of university graduates, thriving businesses and economic potential, great entrepreneurial spirit, etc, I saw a lost, disillusioned, confused and hopeless generation of young people with no hope for gainful employment.
“I saw an oppressed citizenry suffering in silence and obscurity, entrepreneurs and investors fleeing the state for lack of an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive, failing health standards and increasing maternal and infant mortality, and more importantly, the endemic corruption and fleecing of its resources by successive administrations.
“So, given the deteriorating undercurrent of events in the state I decided to get into politics not to seek fame or affluence but to be an agent of change.
“In doing so I gave up my job as a bank CEO to the consternation of a lot of people. including many of you here today, and got myself engulfed in a political process and system that is riddled with all manner of vices, one of which is the attendant hypocrisy of our politicians.
“It is the kind of hypocrisy that allows us to demonstrate transcendent curse on our political associates when they commit the political apostasy of leaving for another party and when they come back as prodigal sons lavish them with flattering praise and adjectives such as wisdom and courage.
“However, I was not deterred by any of these, and neither should you, if your purpose of getting into politics was borne out of good intentions.
“So even though we were unsuccessful in 2015 in the sense that the election results were compromised and manipulated, I decided to join the political fray again because of the same concerns that prompted my entry into politics the first time around, and for the fact that, as Neil Young, the American country music singer once said, ‘it’s better to burn out than to rust.’
“It is the reason why I am urging everyone to be part of something greater than him or herself. To be part of a change effort in our politics, our political discourse and the manifestation of the future we all desire for ourselves, our children and future generations.”
Otti’s speech is a clarion call to save, first Abia State from the firm grip of political buccaneers, and more fundamentally, Nigeria that is floundering under political misdirection and uncertainty.
The speech moved most attendees to commit to the political process to change Abia and Nigeria for the better, regardless of where they find themselves.
Abians who attended the dinner and complained bitterly about the state of affairs in Abia were also not limited to party affiliation.
Many agreed that Abia would not have been where it is today if it had been properly run by people with the right leadership attitude of Otti.
One said, “Nothing is happening in Abia besides propaganda … Okezie [Ikpeazu] has set the state many more years backward from where he met it despite the fact that the man who handed over to him was also a big disaster.”
But Ikpeazu insists he has been delivering on his election promises and mandate and deserves another term.
“For the first time in over 20 years, you can now easily drive from the beginning of Faulks Road to the end of it,” he said while commissioning MCC Road in Aba on Wednesday, 19 December.
The governor maintained: “For the first time in over 20 years, you can now access Ariaria International Market through four different brand new routes.
“From Aba Owerri Road, you can drive straight into Ariaria Market without going through Faulks Road. This has not happened here in the past 20 years. I challenge anyone to dispute these facts here and now!”
Okezie’s academic attainment should have been one of the things going for him as a Governor if he was prepared for the responsibility that comes with the office.
His opponents think he does not possess the independent-mindedness to remind him that the hangers-on, political hawks and jobbers, including those in his cabinet, are simply taking advantage of his weakness to advance their selfish interest to the detriment of Abians.
Many complain that Okezie’s administration is not inclusive and he has reduced government business to an Ngwa affair without minding how much voters have been alienated.
Critics say his era has sowed the seed of distrust in the larger Abia community, which ought to be redressed.
Most states east of the Niger, perhaps minus Anambra, are plagued by abuse of office, financial recklessness, corruption, greed, selfishness, authoritarianism and lots more.
Otti says he wants to do away with these vices as the first measure to reposition Abia for economic and social recovery and growth.
Nonetheless, questions are being asked about his party, APGA, which was recently in the eye of the storm over disputed primaries in many states, like Imo.
Fortunately, the feelers from Abia are not about the platform Otti wants to use to become Governor, it is about the candidate. His person. His track record.
Otti is believed to have a deep understanding of the dynamics of the Nigerian and global economy which, when juxtaposed with Abia’s needs, the former Diamond Bank CEO will not disappoint.
To his supporters, Anambra that is controlled by APGA is doing well and it is given that Otti has a template better than that of Anambra to jump start Abia’s growth from 2019.
Like many states in the South East, Abia really needs governance reconstruction to deal with the myriad of problems that include a growing army of jobless youths looking up to their leadership for direction and sustainable survival.
Otti fits the mould of the new leadership change.
As he said in his manifesto: “Abia State needs change, real change. The change that our people desire is not the one on empty sloganeering, false promises and deceit.
“Abia people yearn for a change that is real, tangible, purposeful and sustainable. A change that is verifiable with defined deliverables and structured milestones.
“Thus, 2019 offers Abia State a path to sustainable development. This is the central message of our manifesto.”
Many Abians and Otti’s friends and supporters think he has the intellectual capacity, professional competence, temperament and moral discipline to intervene meaningfully in the state’s affairs like no other Governor since 1999.
They are also confident that he has all that is required to shove Okezie aside in March next year.