Otti’s vow: “I tell you today, this is a new Abia of our collective dreams. We are only a few days to our 100 days in office and you can see for yourselves that Abia has started moving. Together, we shall get to our destination.”
Otti walking into the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, with his wife
Otti exchanging pleasantries with some traditional rulers
By Ben Duru, Umuahia
For a State that was founded on August 27, 1991, ordinarily, the 32nd anniversary is enough reason to roll out the drums.
But the last 24 years of democratic rule which ought to usher in development has been like a journey in the wilderness for Abia State.
Not anymore. The fourth governor of the State since the return of democracy in 1999, Dr. Alex Otti, proclaimed on Tuesday that the hitherto beleaguered Abia State with stunted development has started moving again.
“I tell you today, this is a new Abia of our collective dreams. We are only a few days to our 100 days in office and you can see for yourselves that Abia has started moving. Together, we shall get to our destination. All I need is your individual support,” a visibly excited Otti said at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia where a distinguished audience of about 500 esteemed guests had gathered for what turned out to be engaging seminars and workshops under the theme: Hitting The Reset Button — a call to reshape our perspectives and embrace a new vision for our cherished Abia.
Otti, who spoke at the event where he launched the Abia State Orientation Agency (ABSOA), appointing Dike Nwankwo as the pioneer director-general, said he needed the collective support of the people to restore the state’s lost glory.
Insisting that the “good old days” of the state were “ruined” by past administrations, the governor was, however, upbeat that Abia has now “started moving.”
“Abia is a great state, rich in mineral and human resources. There is hardly any community within the state that does not hold a lot of promise that if fully harnessed will guarantee great economic outcomes for our people,” Otti said.
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“From best-in-class agricultural commodities to mineral deposits, cultural artefacts and stories worth listening to, our land became the centre of optimism and offered a glimpse of the future that awaited a renascent Igbo nation.
“Unfortunately, successive governments ruined the good old days and brought despair to the land.
“Because no one took responsibility, things began to deteriorate. Our schools became breeding grounds for the things we least desire to see in our children.
“Impunity became the order of the day and in no time, role models disappeared and everyone did just what suited them.
“But I tell you today, this is a new Abia of our collective dreams. We are only a few days to our 100 days in office and you can see for yourselves that Abia has started moving. Together, we shall get to our destination. All I need is your individual support.”
Otti implored the people to embrace the transformation Abia was going through under his watch for a new, progressive State where there would be no bribery, corruption, truancy, lateness to work or other social vices that ruin a society.
The event which climaxed with the unveiling of the Orientation Agency, he said, was aimed at bringing the desired behavioural change, and urged the people to brace up for a different approach to governance with the sole aim of lifting the State high.
“You must embrace the new Abia where things would be done differently,” he said.
The Governor said the essence of unveiling the new Abia State Orientation Agency was to change for the better the way Abia people live and behave. He reminded them that no society can attain sustainable development except it accepted transformation, adding that the agency represented the whole effort his administration was making to bring about a radical change in the way things were done.
He challenged all to contribute to the development of Abia even as he charged the management of the Agency to carry out sensitization towards the right behavioural pattern of Abia people.
Describing corruption and unpatriotic behaviour as the reasons Abia remained underdeveloped many years after its creation, he, nevertheless, expressed the determination of his administration to rid the state of all forms of corrupt tendencies.
Otti admonished traditional rulers in the state against conferring chieftaincy titles on people of questionable character, as his administration would not tolerate such.
He further cautioned teachers against promoting examination malpractice, adding that giving and taking bribes would be tackled head-on.
He charged the members of the Agency to make the state a reference point for good things.
The State chief executive said that the launch of the agency and the choice of the person of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili as the guest lecturer for the event point to the determination of his administration for excellence. He assured Abians that collectively the people would overcome and congratulated all Abians on the 32nd anniversary of the creation of their beloved State.
In her speech, the former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, who spoke virtually advised Governor Otti to deploy technology and sound policies in order to achieve his vision for Abia.
According to her, “Technology is what would transform Abia” beyond expectations and make the state a haven for local and foreign investments.
While urging the governor to formulate sound policies, the former minister pointed out that such must be complemented with conducive environment and infrastructural facilities to promote economic growth.
She noted that “a lot is expected from Abia” given its huge potentials in human capital and natural resources waiting to be maximised by a visionary leader, but regretted that Abia has a problem of “leadership ambition gap” despite the fact that it once produced a great leader, late Michael Okpara, who is credited with “visionary transformation” of the former eastern region.
In his remarks, the former president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, advised Abia government to heed the advice of Ezekwesili in order to make the state great.
In a state-wide broadcast on Monday, Otti had said that his administration was focused on improving the health and education sectors and will also prudently manage the available resources to the benefit of the people.