PHILLIP NTOH, Abia State Commissioner for Finance and World Bank consultant, in this interaction with Assistant Politics Editor, DANIEL KANU, speaks on the developments in the state, the security challenge in the country among other issues
Security challenge in the country
Philip Ntoh
I think people are playing politics with the security challenge in the country. You can imagine the utterances of some governors in the North East and comments by All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and statements credited to their party. It is not a welcome development in a nation that is faced with serious security challenges like ours. In the past, we had some challenges in Abia where the citizens of the state were almost chased away by kidnappers. Everybody united against the fight. Because of that, it was very easy to fight the scourge to a standstill. It was part of the reason the governor, Theodore Orji, succeeded because all stakeholders collaborated, whether of APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). It was a common challenge. The kidnappers did not know whether you were an APC person or not, they never discriminated on who to kidnap, they kidnapped even pastors. So I think it is time Nigerians united to fight this menace. It is no longer a situation where somebody will stay at the comfort of his house to accuse the government or President Goodluck Jonathan. I believe it is a common challenge, a common problem that concerns all, and every Nigerian must unite against this war on Nigeria. It is not a situation that we say the military should do it alone. A security problem of such nature cannot be handled by the military alone; it requires a lot of intelligence and reports from the indigenes. The time the children were abducted from their school premises, did people not see them? Did they report to the military authority? That was why I said the problem requires joint effort from all of us, no matter your position, political affiliation, religious affiliation etc.
Apprehensions on 2015
I am not afraid; we have had similar problems. There is no way it can stop the 2015 election. If you check, it is only the North East, and even in that North East, three states are critically involved. So, there is no way it can endanger the 2015 election; it is not possible. The election will hold, and it will be peaceful. Those thinking of using the security challenge to scare Nigerians from the 2015 elections should better have a re-think because Nigerians will unite against this battle, if it continues.
Assessment of Abia government
I think the administration of T. A. Orji is doing fine. If you assess it from the theoretical point of view and from the practical aspect, you can see that the man has laid a solid foundation for the take-off of the state. If you check round and see what he is doing, you will see solid infrastructure he is putting in place. You will see the policy framework and the institutional framework he is putting in place. You will know that Abia is now in the right path to development. What is happening is an all-round developmental initiative. There is no sector that is neglected. Although the governor would say his priority is on security and health, there is no sector that is not on the priority list. All the sectors are carried along and given priority attention. That is what I call ‘the Ochendo magic’. Just some weeks ago, an ultra-modern eye clinic was commissioned by the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu. Before now, he had also commissioned an ultra-modern diagnostic centre. The education sector, housing, agriculture, youth empowerment, women development initiatives and Works Ministry are also not lagging behind. Schools are being renovated and new ones built. Health centres are scattered all over the state, with required equipment and drugs.
Subventions to institutions are also increased, even when some of these institutions are supposed to be self-funded. Farmers are given the right incentives. When you look at the government institutions, you see new secretariat and international conference centre built. The building of Government House is in progress and the governor has vowed not to leave behind uncompleted projects. So you can see the zeal and commitment to serve the people.
Nothing much being done
Well, you know, this is a political dispensation. If they say the governor is doing well, by implication, it means that the person should continue in power or hand over to a successor, a person of his choice. But because the critics also want to take over power, even when they know that they cannot perform better, they will go ahead making noise. The critics want a person of their own choice. The truth you may want to hear is that those people you see as critics are all sponsored and you can count them on the fingers of one hand. There is nobody who is somebody in Abia that would not tell you that the governor is performing. It is the reason we have political harmony in the state; it is the reason there is no opposition. Those people you call the opposition cannot unseat an ordinary councillor in the state election. It is the reason Abians are urging him to run for the Senate because he is one that carries the people along. I call those you see making those negative criticisms the Aggrieved People’s Congress. Of course, the governor welcomes positive criticisms; he is not averse to criticisms, but when they are negative, he ignores you. It is no longer business-as-usual. The governor is still working, commissioning projects as if he started yesterday. Go to many states now and you will find out that their governors are no longer doing anything, especially those that do not have another term. That is commitment to service at its highest level.
The man, T. A. Orji
You cannot capture him in one sentence or adjective. You cannot classify him. It depends on the angle you are looking. Let me just say he is a complete leader; somebody that has intention to assist and lift the citizenry.
Ambition
My ambition is to become a professor, and that was what my father requested from me before he died. The truth is that, now I see Ochendo as my father that is living, having been impressed with his vision on humanity, his ways. Whatever he decides, I cannot contest it; but if I am to choose, the university remains my priority.
