.jpg)
Saturday March 7, 2015, opposite Afaraukwu Junction by Aba Road Umuahia, a crowd in village merrymaking emerged from Afaraukwu Village.
Three black, fearsome masquerades, of Ekpo Ibibio was in performance. Directly behind the masquerades was a young man clutching a live cock, the symbol of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Most of the youths in the crowd wore T-shirts with the portrait of Dr Alex Otti, the governorship candidate of APGA.
As crowd and masquerade emptied into Aba Road, the entire neighborhood became ecstatic, with people miming the songs that oozed from a loudspeaker mounted in a moving bus. The lyrics told the story: “Abia bu ndi mbu. Ha abughi ndi ikpeazu”.
Literally meaning, `Abia is number One and cannot come last’. The song is theatrically, an elevation of the state and a caricature of the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with the name `Ikpeazu ‘. Then the sound of sirens and heavy police presence followed by a long convoy of cars heralded the arrival of Dr Alex Otti for the campaign rally scheduled for Afaraukwu Ibeku Village.
As the cars slowly sneaked into the village, the people – mechanics, shop owners as well as attendants, students, drivers, and passerby, all came forward to welcome the Abia liberator. The scene was that of a revolt against an existing political order led by Governor T. A. Orji and his son, Chinedu. It is also a resistance against the effort of the Orji to anoint Dr Okezie Ikpeazu as a successor.
The question is how the people came to this political consciousness. It is imperative when it is realized that incumbent Gov. T.A. Orji had enjoyed tremendous goodwill and support from the period preceding the 2011 elections. Such goodwill had followed his rapprochement with his adversaries who were in the PDP which culminated in his leading his own faction of PPA into the party.
Such rapprochement and support was rewarded with 100% electoral victory for the PDP. His own victory at the governorship election was achieved mainly because of his confession which he made to the effect that he could not perform in his first term 2007 – 2011 because he was held captive by his godfather Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and that any further opportunity will allow him redeem his name.
Such promises brought heightened expectations from the people. The overall effect was that even his critics allowed him the leverage to work. This was followed by jumbo allocations that accrued to the state from the Federation Account as a result of high oil prices from 2011 to late 2014.
However as his second tenure draws to a close in a few weeks time, Abia state has been rated last in all indices of development with a deepening poverty and unemployment rate. Abians will continually remember Governor T. A. Orji’s reign as one that was characterized by a great deal of arbitrariness, sleaze, inefficiency, cronyism, nepotism, abuse of office and outright and mindless looting of the state treasury. Such negative character trait of his governance has undoubtedly found practical expression in the near total collapse of governance as no strata of government is working, be it ministry, parastatal or local government.
The dilapidation of infrastructure in Aba and the entire rural Abia, a comatose civil service, lack of accountability and transparency in public sector procurement, abdication of the powers of the state to to his son, destruction and disruption of family livelihoods through forceful relocation of markets etc has forced the people to the Afaraukwu Junction show.
While Afaraukwu is illustrated above, others are pelting pure water sachets on Governor T.A.Orji elsewhere. On the other hand Dr Alex Otti seems to have demonstrated a huge capacity to bring such progress into fruition. His impeccable credentials, managerial ability, integrity as well as articulated vision for the state development have endeared him to majority of the populace.
This infact is the reason for the warm receptions that is accorded him everywhere he goes. However the snag in it and which is on everybody’s lip remains as to whether the people’s votes will count in these forthcoming elections as promised by Prof. Jega. Will the elections be free and fair? If INEC is able to conduct free and fair elections in Abia State, there won’t be any doubt that the change which the people are clamoring for will come to pass.
*Okereke is based in Abuja. (kalok @yahoo.com
