Associate Editor TAIWO OGUNDIPE, who recently visited Abia State, writes on the feats recorded by Governor Theodore Orji in the last three years.
The vast undulating architectural layout is what instantly strikes a first-time visitor. The sprawling market is designed in rolls based on what a consulting architect on the site termed ‘architectural atmospherics.’ The market is devoid of the choking atmosphere that most major markets of its type have come to be known for. At the freshly ‘minted’ Ubani/Ibeku Modern Market at the outskirts of Umuahia, the capital city of Abia State, there are large openings and spaces which allow for free circulation of air and unhindered movements of both buyers and sellers as well as merchandise. The shops and stalls are neatly arranged in rows and sections according to the types of business or trading each group of traders is engaged in.
As at the time of The Nation’ s visit to the market, frantic efforts were being made by both the traders and the construction workers to put finishing touches to the shops and other facilities. The roads have been asphalted. In an encounter with the Chairman of the Relocation Committee of the Ubani /Ibeku Modern Market, Sir Ebenezer Offor, The Nation was told by him: “We are relocating the old market to this new one. The old market is at the centre of the town. It is an eyesore for anybody coming into the town. When you get into that Okpara Square, you see that the place is very noisy, very dirty. You see all sorts of things, keke, wheel barrows and other things around that place. It is not good for the state capital.
“Today you are seeing fewer crowds. Yesterday, the people were many. This week is the end of the relocation exercise. We must make sure by weekend most of the allotters are here. By Monday we are going to seal off the old market though we are not going to destroy anybody’s property. We’ll allow them to pack their wares gently and bring them to the new market. We are going to organise the new market the way it should be. We are going to sectionalise everything according to what each group is selling. We also have a place we call relief side. It is for those who were trading on the rail line before in the old market. They are so many that it is always difficult for people to pass through the place. We have a free zone for them. They are also eager to come into the new market. We are making sheds and stalls for all of them.”
The Nation asked Offor about the transparency of the relocation exercise. Offor, a retired civil servant who claimed to have a reputation as a strict, incorruptible person, said: “They know I don’t take and I don’t give. Those who are working with me have to follow my footsteps. Anybody who does that will be dealt with. We are now focusing on the people who have sheds in the old market. When we are through with them, then from next week we’ll start considering those who do not have sheds in the old market.”
The Nation also learnt during the visit that the issue of doors not having been fixed on some of the shops was raging. The chairman said only a few of the marketers were affected – about two to three percent of them. He revealed that the governor directed that each of them should be given N25, 000 to fix the door if they so wished out of the N100, 000 deposit they have made. Each shop goes for N400, 000 to be spread over a period of four years.”
The Nation also spoke with Ejidike Onyebuchi, The Chairman of the Association of Market Men and Women. Speaking in deeply accented and halting English, he said: “We now have a very conducive market. We traders in the market are jubilating over how our governor has located this new market for the masses. Each shop is supposed to go for N1.3 million but realising that we traders don’t have money, the governor decided to carry us along. He got the shops to be prized at N400, 000 each to be fully paid back in four years. So we are very very happy. In the old market, there is virtually no amenity. Here now, every amenity that can satisfy people is here. You have the fire service, potable water, access roads, security etc. The market buildings are of high standard. There is nothing like magomago. I am the chairman. I know the people inside the market. I am the person who will put my stamp of approval before a shop or stall is allocated to anybody by the allocation committee.”
The Nation also met Chief Sunny Nwakodo, the state Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, who disclosed that the government also made provisions for vast open spaces for various groups of those in transportation business in the state. He said each group is supposed to develop the portions given to them through self efforts. He, however, added that the government made available to them supportive infrastructure including electricity. He also testified that the new market is “very conducive and everybody is impressed.”
The Ubani/Ibeku Modern Market is one of the major legacy projects that the administration of Governor Theodore Orji is bequeathing to the people of Abia State. Apart from the market being equipped with most of the needed facilities, there is also a school and a clinic. There is a housing estate very close to the market. Roads are being built and widened into the new market. Also introduced by the government, are brand new buses carrying the traders to the market and back to town at a much reduced price. One of the traders quipped: “What else do you need? It’s a question of doing your business and going back to town.”
Granting an audience to The Nation, the governor spoke at length regarding the evolution of the new market. “You have a market at the centre of the town, obstructing the aesthetics of the whole place and stalling the development and expansion of the town. It is incumbent on me to remove the market to another place so that Umuahia will expand. Some people don’t realise that these things need sacrifices from the citizens. In Umuahia, people’s lands are highly encumbered by government. They don’t have farmland any longer. Some of them find it difficult to find land to build their houses. But yet they have made that sacrifice to give the ones they have to the government for development to thrive in Umuahia.
“In some other places, you don’t get that cooperation. If you go there, you tell them you want to take their land and you send a caterpillar there, they’ll fight the people who have come to work on the land. They would destroy the caterpillar and drive you away. But such things are not happening here because they are happy that the state capital is in Umuahia and they want development to be there. “
On the relatively cheap cost of acquiring a shop in the market, he had this to say: “I’m building the market to help the traders. The primary intention is not to make maximum profit. But we will make money. However, it will be minimal over a period of time. I don’t want the burden to be on the traders. You should know that change is difficult to accept, especially by the traders. If you check history, you’ll see that relocating a market is not easy, especially this one in Umuahia. The idea of relocating it first came up in 1935. Since then till now, no government has been able to do it because the traders had been resisting it. But the approach we took made it easy for the relocation and the traders are extremely happy.”
Governor Orji claimed that the government built the new market without assistance from anybody. And, according to him, the standard of the shops is very high. He stated: “If you evaluate the cost of each, you’ll know the cheapest you can get it for is about N1.5 million. Some people would be willing to pay that. But I said no, these are traders, we have to help them. That is a very magnanimous gesture on the part of the government. The traders are on their own moving into the market without being forced. “
The Nation also paid a fact-finding visit to the recently relocated industrial market housing largely those who are dealing in building and industrial materials. The traders moved into the market a couple of months previously. The Nation noticed a number of lapses in the market. The roads have not been fully asphalted as that of the main Ubani/Ibeku Market. The drainage system is also noticeably poor.
The governor, during his interaction with The Nation, acknowledged the lapses. “We are not totally through with the work on the industrial market. We made some mistakes in the relocation of the industrial market and we are being guided by that in handling the Ubani/Ibeku Modern Main Market. When we wanted to relocate the industrial market, the workers were extremely hesitant and very aggressive. They even took us to court. Then we had to put our foot on ground to tell them they had to move. Therefore, we were building as they were moving in. Now that they have moved in, we are still building, making the drainages, asphalting the roads so that the place will be conducive for them. We are still on the development; we are not through with it,” he said.
Governor Orji was asked to react to the criticism from some quarters alleging that he is concentrating all the legacy projects in Abia Central, especially Umuahia axis where he hails from. He gave this defence: “I am the governor of Abia State; the whole of Abia State voted for me. And as such, they are supposed to be participatory in government. We don’t discriminate here in terms of sharing the dividends of democracy. We have three major senatorial zones: Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. I am from Abia Central. But that does not mean that Abia North and Abia South are neglected. We are spreading development to all the nooks and cranies of Abia State.”
He spoke further: “Starting with Abia South which is Aba area, Greenfield is building a major mall in Osisioma, very close to Aba. There they are going to develop 600 stores of international standard. They have started work. We’ve given them land and they have already started work. ABIC is also building another market in the same area. We are also developing another market in Ukwa East. You know Aba is mainly a commercial area. We have a specialist and diagnostic centre in Aba. We are building a major operating theatre in Abia State University Teaching Hospital in Aba. These are all in Abia South.
“We have built a lot of roads in the whole of Abia South. Virtually all the local governments have been touched. Aba urban, especially, has witnessed unprecedented road construction, or rehabilitation. We are also making sure that Aba is neat. There is a lot of environmental improvement. Refuse is being carted away on a daily basis. People are no longer complaining. In that same Aba, if there is any rainfall, you’ll notice minimal flooding because we undertook the opening up of all drains and construction of new ones to channel flood water into Aba River.
“We are also helping Geometrics, the private power station in Aba, in many ways including the construction of roads and waiver of taxes to make sure that the company starts generating power. We are encouraging the small scale industries that are all there. And more importantly, we have provided good security for the whole of Abia South, especially Aba because the major security lapses we were having in those dark days came from that zone – from Aba, Obingwa and Ukwa West. Now it is no longer like that. In Abia South, also, the courtrooms are being renovated, schools are being built, hospitals are being upgraded and additional ones – general are being built in Aba, Osisioma, Ogunabo and Ukwa East Local Government Areas, Okipe.”
Focusing on Abia North, he declared: “Itis the same story in Abia North Senatorial Zone. We have also constructed numerous roads. In Isikwatto Local Government Area, we have about five roads undergoing construction. Some of them have been completed. Also in Umuneji, we have done roads and completed a bridge that was a problem in that locality. We are building a general hospital in Arochukwu. We are building another one in Ohafia and Izia. We are renovating the schools in these areas. We are also working on Ndioji/Ndi Okereke, a major road that had remained bad for donkey years – it is through this road food items are transported from the rural areas to the urban areas. They don’t have another road. By the time we leave office we want to make it an express road. The people of the area are extremely happy about the development.
“We have entered into an MOU with a company that is going to produce cement in Arochukwu which is blessed with a lot of limestone deposit. We have250 health centres all over Abia State and they are adequately distributed to Abia North, Abia Central and Abia South. Those who criticise us do so out of ignorance because they don’t know what is on ground. “
Governor Orji, however, maintained that Umuahia deserves the preference it is enjoying with regards to ongoing projects. In his words: “It is a fact that Umuahia is the state capital and preference should be given to it so that it will look like one. Somebody can come to Abia and just end up with Umuahia and go. The impression he gets about Umuahia is the one he has gotten about Abia State. So we have to make the place look like a capital city. All governors live in states’ capitals. And we’ve never had any Government House in Umuahia. So I’m building a new one there. Also, where do you expect me to go and build a secretariat? Outside Umuahia? Here is the centre of government. And the civil servants are supposed to live around here. That is why I’m doing what I’m doing. You need a specialist hospital to take care of all these people. And that is why I’m building one around here just like I’m doing in the other areas. These special structures are the ones that are supposed to be at the state capital, Umuahia.”
The governor has also been variously criticised for not doing much in the area of industries. Reacting to this during his interaction with The Nation, he said: “When we came on board, I made it specifically clear that government has no business being in business and what we want to do is provide an enabling environment for industries to thrive and private people to invest. That, we have done on our part as government. And we are getting the dividends in terms of the small scale industries that are coming up and being maintained, especially in Aba. As for the existing industries, what we have done is to attract people to come and take them over. An example is the Golden Guinea Breweries Limited where an investor has come all along but is handicapped in reviving the place by the economic crunch. The man comes in everyday to explain to me and to tell me the progress that is being made. Another example is the Modern Ceramics Industry which has been ceded to UCL owned by the Catholic Church. So government is not running the place.”
Should a church be involved in business? the governor was asked. In reply, he argued that UCL is a commercial arm of the Catholic Church. And in his opinion, “I don’t think a church can mess up in handling such a thing. So we ceded the place to them.” He, however, stated that UCL was experiencing some difficulties which they are striving to overcome in reviving the ceramics company. He also cited the textile company in Aba which, he said, was also seriously damaged. He reported that his government was trying to see if it could bring in people who can invest and revive the place.
In concluding his view on the issue of industry, he affirmed: “But for our government to say I’m going to build an industry – well, any government can go and do that – personally we are not going to do that because we have seen series of failure on the parts of the government’s investing money in setting up and maintaining of industries. What we’ll do is to provide the enabling environment.”
Is he considering having an airport in the state, a move, some believe, might enhance the fortune of the state? “Sure,” he said, “Yes it’s there in the pipeline but as of now it is not a priority because we have Owerri airport very close to us, which was built when Abia and Imo States were of one government. The airport is serving us for now. We have Enugu Airport that is also close by, now an international airport, serving us. We have another one close by in Port Harcourt, Rivers State also serving us. We also have another one close by in Akwa Ibom State. So, as of now, the issue of a state airport is not our priority. Our priority is to lay the foundation for an economic take-off of the state. Having an airport is one of the desirables but we want the foundational structures to be on ground. A strong economy, educated and healthy people make up a vibrant state.”
What specific efforts is he making to promote and sustain his proclaimed Aba Brand agenda? He recounted: “Several times, I have travelled outside the country on trade missions with the Aba Chambers of Commerce. This is to attract investors. We are also organising workshops and facilitating banks to give them small loans that will help them. Importantly, what I want to do in Aba is to develop a brand – Aba Made. As of now, Aba people are not yet confident in what they are doing and they are not doing much to market it. They feel that when they put the tag ‘Made in Aba’, people may say it’s a local material. But they are manufacturing goods that are of a superior quality and they use another brand name to sell it. Like clothes, bags and shoes, when they make them, they write Made in Italy. They also fabricate very good spare parts for machines and other products. They also manufacture good drugs and drinks.
“I want to instill that confidence in them, that when they make such things they should be proud to market them directly. This was how China started. Before now, Chinese goods were derided but today the difference is clear. They have moved from experimentation stage to perfection. That is what I want to happen in Aba. We have the manpower and resources in Aba. Aba is the only town in Abia State where you don’t have unemployment. Every person who is in Aba is self employed. It’s either you are learning how to be a tailor, a mechanic, fabricate spare parts or become a welder. Even teachers that are sent to Aba end up in the market as traders. So there is no unemployment in Aba. People are not lazy or idle in Aba. What we have to do is galvanise all these talents to make it a brand. And that is what we are working toward. We are holding seminars to inculcate this outlook in them. We are organising fairs to help them to market themselves. You won’t believe that most of the military boots that are worn by the soldiers are made in Aba. Some think the boots are made in South Korea. They have the potentials, we are galvanising them.”
A number of critics have decried the move by President Jonathan to organize a National Conference as a ruse and an attempt to take people for a ride. Known for being one of the staunchest supporters of the president, he was asked to react to this criticism. He shot back: “The National Conference is not a ruse and the president is not taking anybody for a ride. Afterall, the president did not just wake up overnight to introduce the conference. He took the decision based on people’s agitations. There was pressure on the president. And as a listening president elected by the people, he has to do what those who elected him want him to do. And that’s what he did. He answered the clarion call of the people. I believe that something good will come out of the conference. Nigerians want us to talk.”
What does he think of some observers’ arguments that instead of wasting time and money on a new conference, one of the previous ones, especially the one held during Obasanjo’s tenure, should be reviewed and worked on, and also that the conference should be sovereign?
In reply, he reasoned: “You cannot say because such actions had been taken before, there should be no new one. No, it wasn’t Jonathan who instituted that one. He is the one who has instituted this one and I’m sure he will implement the outcome of the discussions faithfully. The new conference is a progressive move. In any case, the people who were agitating for a conference were not calling on him to come and implement an old one. The call on him is to summon a fresh conference, which he has done. By making a call for a fresh conference, that suggests that the people are not satisfied with the outcome of the former conferences.”
On the issue of sovereignty, he stated: “How is it going to be sovereign when we have a national assembly that has the constitutional right to discuss certain issues? This conference is for people to come together to air their grievances as well as views on how to move the country forward. “
The Nation also asked Governor Orji to comment on his succession plan, if he has any? He replied: “It is ideal for every leader to want somebody who will continue with the good legacies. No leader would want a successor who would come after him and start rubbishing the good things he had done. You know you cannot predict human beings. Although a leader cannot make the choice himself, he has to be careful in leading the people to choose rightly. Every leader has that in mind. I have that in mind. The time for that is, however, yet to come. Right now we are facing the completion of our legacy projects. We don’t want to be distracted. Politics has not started in high velocity. It is still being done in low key fashion. People are just holding meetings here and there, trying to formalise things. When politics starts in earnest, we’ll then see what will happen.”
He also commented on the argument of whether somebody from another zone other than his should occupy the governorship after his tenure. He said: “We have a peculiar situation in our state. We have three senatorial zones and we have two major ethnic groups: Bende and Ukwa Ngwa. We also have Abia Charter of Equity, not made by me but by the founding fathers of Abia, on how governorship should rotate in the state. Some of these founding fathers are alive while some are dead. I believe for fair play and equity we should abide by that agreement. I will not be the governor who will disrupt it because the words of our fathers are words of wisdom. If you follow the footsteps of our fathers and abide by what they have said, you will always excel. But if you don’t, nemesis will catch up with you.”
Which zone does he have in mind, he was asked? “Ukwa Ngwa, he replied, because, as he said, “These are people who have never been governor. Abia North has produced a governor. Abia Central has produced. Bende has produced. Umuahia has produced. For fairness and equity and for peace and in keeping with the Abia Charter of Equity propounded by our founding fathers, it should be Ukwa Ngwa. That is what is written in the charter. The people of Ukwa Ngwa should go and prepare and bring up their choice. But that does not mean that the other zones should be barred from contesting. It is an open thing. When I and my predecessor were contesting respectively, people from the other zones also contested. But I believe for fairness and equity, Ukwa Ngwa should bring out somebody.”
