Akunyili, Bayero: So, Gov. T.A Orji Can Express Shock?

Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji is really working in Abia State for only those he has marshaled out to be praising him, not for the collective wellbeing of the state. His so-called transformation agenda is tailored towards remodeling the lives of the few of his sycophants. He is a source of happiness to his bootlickers and foot soldiers. He is the pride of all the Ochendo Global Associates that are ever ready to send decorum to the dogs for the lucre that accrue from their Ochendo Global. He works for the progress of these individuals to the detriment of our state.

It was a surprise that Governor T. A Orji of Abia State could express 'shock' when the duo of Prof. Dora Akunyili and Emir Ado Bayero were snatched by death recently. Whereas the governor had not shown any remorse or is showing any sign for such for our state, he quickly sent in his condolences laced with pity to the families of the deceased and their once loved ones. While in the governor's choking messages by his Chief Press Secretary, the gentle Charles Ajunwa, he remembered Akunyili as once a 'dogged, dedicated and patriotic woman who discharged her duties with great zeal', what will Gov. T.A Orji be remembered for in the future? Whatever he has said of Ado Bayero!

It was not surprising that the governor will always be quick to express his sympathy in such sad incidences for political reasons, whereas the agriculture he ones promised our people that will be the bedrock of his administration, has become a story for another era, whereas the world was earlier intimidated by the government that it had doled out N10b for agricultural purposes among farmers in the state, when what we saw was the money written in the papers without any commensuration of the money on ground. Please, who will define the meaning of fraud to us?

The governor is today talking about how to move the South East Nigeria Economic Commission (SENEC) forward, whereas he has not been able to manage the affairs of his state properly. Much as the world knew that the government likes hyping every irrelevant opportunity it gets for political reasons, it did not disappoint in that train when on 26th May, 2014, the Chairman of SENEC, Engr. (Sir) Chris Okoye reportedly paid an 'impoliteness' call on the governor. Imagine that the visit they christened as 'courtesy' was just for the SENEC chairman to thank the governor for 'appointing a special Adviser to him on SENEC and requested for the formalization of his appointment and notarizing same to the entire structure of Abia State Government.' Will they not continue to run our state dry, whereas there are over 450 aides that Gov. Orji operates in his government?

A government of recycling? The story goes further that their 'courtesy visitor' 'requested His Excellency to urge his fellow governors to re-nominate their various representatives on the interim board, especially the ones that have seized to be part of these Governments - States such as Anambra and Imo States.' This is the type of government that we have had in Abia State under Gov. T.A Orji; a government that does not exist to transform anything, except the art it has mastered in blame-game and looking for excuses from the blues as the reason it has not been performing to transform our state like other states in the country. The government has taken the people for a ride and operates a justice system that is as elusive as developing Abia State under this present government.

This government does not see it as the right of Abia people to dare open their mouth and talk, else its machineries that operate with pseudonyms would call them unprintable names and circulate falsehood against them. The government in Abia State continues to operate in deficiency and political sycophancy and total neglect of our state, our people. There is no hope that 'hope' will be restored in our Abia State; the 'hope' that Gov. Orji is bent on giving the people now is his 2015 ambition for the senate, whereas he has not shown any will in governance as a governor. Ikot-Ekpene road around Aba axis and other roads that were once working have developed into 'seaports' since this government.

To other governors, the coffers of their states are well protected to man the wellbeing of their different states, but this is not applicable to what we have got in Abia State. The governor's gangsters called media aides and the governor will always hinge their non-performance on what they call minute resources that come into the state and that are generated from the state, yet they are very careless and arrogant in making the funds not to go round. Because the government in Abia State is a very careless one, many contractors it has awarded contracts hold hand on that and are eloping from sites after huge funds must have been allotted to them for the contracts.

However, no contractor would abandon site if he or she is not working in 'tandem' with the dictates of the awarder. Today, the people of Umuagu Emede Ibeku, Umuahia North LGA are crying that contractors that were awarded some contracts in their area are no longer in sight. Imagine that this is the hometown of the governor and you also imagine what the fate of people from other communities in the state are in term of development. This is what a native of Umuagu Emede Ibeku had lamented: 'In 2011, the government awarded a health center building contract in the above named community. Information reaching us is that the contractor had collected 95% of his money, yet as I write, the health center is yet to be completed. Recently, a ring road, now known as Behold He Cometh Road was awarded to an indigenous contractor.

'In the cause of clearing and grading the road, villagers perimeter fences were pulled down, the community only source of water (by community effort) was damaged. For over four months now, the contractor abandoned the road for no reason. This had left the dwellers of this village in an unimaginable hardship as the road is now worst. The damaged source of water and pulled down fences had remained unattended to, with wide gully erosion threatening the community primary school buildings and the community at large. The villagers are now saying 'the government should have left us in Egypt'. All of our efforts to get words from the contractors as to why these projects were abandoned have yielded no result'

This is part of what our people are suffering in Gov. T.A Orji's Abia State and he is not showing any sign of shock but was quick to express 'political shock' for the deceased to the chagrin of the living.

Odimegwu Onwumere, a Poet/Writer, writes from Rivers State.

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