It is now 18 years since the return of democracy in Nigeria. When in 1999 the country retuned to democratic rule, there were states that everybody looked up to that could turn the fortunes of the nation around for good and one of them is Abia. This is so because average Abia person is hard working and industrious. In addition, Aba is known to be the home of indigenous technology, manufacturing and home grown industrialization in Nigeria. Yet with all these potentials, exept for Dr Orji Kalu’s first tenure the state has not made the anticipated progress since the return of democracy in 1999. At least each of the 3 senatorial zones that make up the state has produced a governor and at every point commissioners are appointed representing every local government in the state. As governors and commissioners, individuals have tried and are still trying their best to bring development to the state. Their best effort notwithstanding, Abia is still not where it is supposed to be.
Although PDP has been the longest ruling party in Abia, there has been a brief presence of other political parties in the government house Umuahia. There was a time a certain governor was elected on the platform of PPA. After a few years he decamped to APGA and later he decamped to PDP. In the last election, APGA won about 11 seats out of the 24 seats in the state house of assembly. Some of them decamped to the ruling party afterwards; meaning that it was not about the platform, it was about the people involved. But We have had some top politicians in the state move from one party to another and switches like that continues.
It is important to mention here that since these 18 years plus, nobody outside indigenes of Abia has governed the state. At every point in time, people from all the zones and local government are found in the ruling party. It doesn’t matter their zone they are all involved.
When people talk about zone and political party it is a mere political propaganda and emotional blackmail to capture power. Irrespective of the zone and the political party, the failures of those who have been given power to lead have affected every part of the state and people across board are complaining.
What does this tell you? The problem of Abia is not the zone the governor comes from, it is not his local government of origin, it is not the community where he comes from, it is not even the political party as we have always believed; the real issue has been the content of character of those who have been saddled with leadership responsibility in the state.
As of today, political parties and the zone the individuals who lead their states comes from has not made the needed difference. We have good governors from APGA, APC and PDP. But we also have bad ones amongst these parties; a critical look into the various states will convince you.
When people point to zoning, religion or just political parties we know they are mere emotional blackmail and attempt to capture power by individuals. A person who wants to govern must be the leader of all in the state. And the general welfare of the people must be his primary concern. No body is elected to govern only his zone or political party or do them any special favours. A good governor must favour everyone in the state and when projects are initiated they should not be based on political consideration. Rather they must be for the greatest good of the greatest number of the people of the state.
In fact, looking at it from political party perspective, parties here are not really based on ideologies; they are simply mere vehicles to convey actors to the stage. The effective performance of such actors on the stage is based on their personal ingenuity.
As much as we can argue that, that is not how it should be in a democracy, the truth is that this is the reality on ground in our society.
Most top politicians have joined different political vehicles at different points in an attempt to offer there services to the people. And I don’t think that is the real challenge for us today.
The truth here is that in every political party in Nigeria today we have the good, the bad, and the ugly. The real challenge is to accept that good leaders can emerge from any political party, money or no money. After all APC is doing well in Lagos, APGA is performing in Anambra and PDP through Dave Umahi is moving Ebonyi forward.
The other challenge is to ensure that there is free and fair contest and that the people’s choice for every position contestable are respected. This will allow a person who wants to offer service to the public variety of platforms and the people will have the opportunity of a wider choice to choose from.
Nigerians have had experiences with different political parties and people who emerged based on zoning and religious considerations. These factors have not really changed their fortunes for good.
At least by now we all know that Government is an artificial legal entity; its efficacy depends on human beings who are valuable. What this means is: If we must make progress, beyond these artificial entities we call zones and political parties our government must be peopled by its most valued human resource and run in the most efficient manner on the basis of the highest ethics, standard and rules of corporate governance.
Behind every great and laudable project and success in life are men and women of vision, men and women with a mission, men and women who define their individual destiny by committing themselves to what they believe. Mere belonging to a political party and coming from a zone have never made the difference, great leaders do. As much as the likes of late Dr Micheal Okpara and Chief Mbakwe belonged to some political parties from which they got to power, we don’t even remember which political parties they were and what role zoning played in their time but we do remember their impact as individual till date, long after they have died.
That explains one thing; zoning, religious denomination and political party are not the problems of Abia. The State of Abia is in need of a quality leader as a governor.
The future of Abia lies with having the right quality leaders, starting with the governor. The zone the individual comes from and even the political party may not be all that important. The people who occupy government house are our greatest resource and not necessarily the assets we entrust to them. We must ensure that only the very best of us, who can think for us, act for us and endure for us, get into the public services.
I have always maintained that societies rise and fall on the pedestal of leadership. No society can make appreciable progress without a well focused, people centered and visionary leadership. Leadership that goes beyond political governance. A leader who knows what he has been called to do and pursues that goal with passion, with focus on achieving the goal. He does not wait for the future to come; he creates the future in the now. Bearing in mind that leaders live on a borrowed time, and thus be a good manager of time and resources; translating vision into accelerated actions to meet the expectation of the people.
Zoning and all those political shenanigans have not helped Abia state. What we need now is quality leadership. Leadership is crucial and critical to development in society. Because leaders must inspire their followers and raise their expectation to heights that help them overcome obstacles and create opportunities.
First, for a meaningful development and orderly progress to take place in Abia state, there must be free and fair contest that allows Ndi Abia to choose who they want to govern them, zone and political party notwithstanding. When the people’s choice is elected a reciprocal relationship will exist between the governed and the government.
But in making the choice of a leader, Ndi Abia must go for someone who posses’ managerial abilities like Dr Uche Ogah who have established a strong bond with people. Ndi Abia must go for someone who will be able to motivate them to perform beyond their expectations by creating awareness of shared belief and values. They must go for a role model whose vision empowers the people. They must elect a governor with global world view, who thinks globally but act locally.
Abia Needs Dr Uche Ogah
Emmanuel Ugwumba
