It was the former American President, George Washington who once said “Our efforts as a nation, can never be swifter than our efforts in education”.
Yesterday, Governor Alex Otti who has continually attributed his success in life to education, furthered his patriotic push to helping Abia youths discover a veritable and viable pathway to success through education when he announced that 150 graduates of the Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic Aba will receive a whopping sum of N150 million in business grants to start off something for themselves.
This impactful donation marked a watershed in the history of the Polytechnic as Otti intensifies his thoughtful and statesmanly drive for the recovery, rediscovery and rejuvenation of the institution that was ran aground over the years by those who came to power through the instruments of threat and terror, and thus saw the institution as a platform for self agrandisement.
Governor Otti, by this compassionate action didn’t just agree with the former British Prime Minister, Mr. John Major’s submission at one of Anyiam Osigwe Memorial lectures, that “Education is the greatest elixir for modern development” but has gone a step further to practicalise it by ensuring that these bright and brilliant youths are not thrown into the badly saturated labour market, where their chances of survival would face enormous threat, given the present economic challenges confronting the nation.
Governor Otti also leveraged his contact and influence to ensure that over 500 million Naira was raised to support the institution, giving the institution a rare privilege of attaining a height envied by other institutions.
As known to Abians, Governor Otti has commenced the payment of the 32 months of arrears of salary and other entitlements owed staff of the Polytechnic by the previous government and assured that those who were disengaged, retrenched or sacked will be paid what is owed them.
The Governor restated his administration’s desire to sustain the transformation it ignited in the school in the last one year and assured that his government would soon commence the construction of internal roads in the school to give it a befitting learning environment, and further assured of plans to secure enough Hostel accommodations for the students.
How time flies. This was the same Polytechnic where hundreds of workers were sacked after being owed several months of salary arrears. Same characters who sacked them would later pretend to have employed thousands of civil servants in different ministries few months before and after the 2023 election; an atrocity they have continued to use to blackmail the present government by falsely alleging that the present government sacked “workers” they employed.
It was the same Polytechnic where staff were owed 32 months salary arrearsŲ making strike action a reoccurring decimal and subsequently led to a massive decline in the number of students willing to study in the institution before Governor Otti came on board.
From welfare of staff, to infrastructure development, curricular review, and now to students’ future, Governor Otti is determined and dedicated to driving the Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic out of the mess and mediocre status it was driven into over the years while rebuilding the Polytechnic to have all the institutional structure, settings and enabling environment to churn out the best that would make Abia proud everywhere.
What just happened is part of the holistic transformatiional initiatives being carried out in the Abia’s education sector, which has seen the Governor commence far reaching reforms in our Tertiary institutions where several months of salary arrears are presently being cleared while the process for infrastructural rejuvenation and retraining of staff has since commenced.
After seeing the former Abia State Polytechnic decline and deteriorate in population, academics and infrastructure for years, the people prayed and hoped for a New Dawn, and finally, the New Dawn is here as the metamorphosis has begun both in nomenclature, infrastructure and academics, courtesy of Governor Alex Otti’s desire and determination to rewrite a chequered history that should not have been written ab initio.
With this new development, the institution would begin to regain its lost glory in all facets as staff and students would once again develop the hunger and desire for success having been given a new inspiration, lease of life and hope by their Governor to aspire for excellence that would automatically bring a heartwarming reward.
Also, the name and reputation of the institution which was badly battered as a result of the stigma of nonpayment of salaries and strike, would begin a process of sanitisation and restoration.
Indeed, the doom days are almost over, as Abians behold their Dawn with joy and gratitude to God.
Ferdinand Ekeoma
Special Adviser to the Governor
(Media and Publicity)
November 8, 2024.
