The 2023 governorship election in Abia would be very significant for a number of reasons. The election of March 11, 2023 in the state would offer Abians an opportunity to offer their verdict on the performance of the ruling class since 1999; do we want more of the same or do we want to chart a new trajectory for ourselves? Do we want to continue to watch our pensioners, civil servants, teachers, health workers and other diligent and hardworking Abians live in destitution due to complete neglect and abandonment by the government of the day? Do we want to continue with a leadership system that pays humongous sums for substandard road projects that wash away after a few weeks of rainfall? We can go on and on but suffice it at this point to say that the 2023 guber race presents us a great chance to begin anew, reject failure and take our collective destiny in our own hands. We must therefore reassert ourselves by rejecting the empty promises of those who brought us into this sorry state in the first place.
The message of building a new Abia where the welfare and prosperity of the people drive government policies and programmes was introduced to us some years ago by Dr, Alex Otti, OFR. Dr. Otti’s message of rescuing and restoring our dear state may have been heard yesterday but the essential ideas remain as relevant; or even more relevant today than it was when we first heard it. We have survived several years of dishonest leadership, watched the political elites in the state fritter our collective resources away and made us serfs in our fatherland. Ndi Abia from all parts of the state, whether living in rural or urban areas have suffered the grave consequences of unaccountable leadership and crass incompetence.
The death and impoverishment of our fathers, mothers, friends and colleagues in the civil service, the poor state of urban and rural roads across the state, absence of efficient public water supplies to our homes, the dilapidation of our educational and health institutions, very high youth unemployment rate, heaps of refuse overtaking our streets and major roads, clogged and smelly drainage pathways producing very offensive odours are some of the manifest expressions of the poor leadership we have witnessed in the state for many years. Dr. Alex Otti, the Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate for the March 10 guber election believes that the solution to these problems lies in competent and forward-thinking leadership.
Who is Dr. Alex Otti and what can he do differently when elected?
Well, better than any other candidate in the governorship race today, Dr. Alex Otti has demonstrated a practical understanding of the issues facing the state and offered realistic solutions to tackling them. Dr. Otti’s manifesto is the most robust and has detailed plans, timelines and financial projections for accomplishing specific development targets in critical areas such as social and economic welfare of the citizens, education, health, urban renewal, infrastructural projects like roads, housing, public water supply, power generation in collaboration with strategic local and international partners, urban renewal, manufacturing and industrialisation. Dr. Otti also has very specific programmes to drive the restoration of Aba to its status as a premier industrial and economic destination in south east Nigeria. Unlike his rivals and this is with due respect to each of them, Dr. Otti understands the place of Aba and its social and economic significance as the economic hub of Igboland. This explains why he has never stopped demanding that serious attention be paid to the infrastructural and social development of the city to make it more accommodating for enterprise, relaxation and family life. He also knows what he can do to turn Umuahia into a befitting state capital, one that Ndi Abia can indeed be proud of. These two major cities in the state have enormous potentials that Dr. Otti has promised to unlock to further expand the frontiers of economic and social opportunities for our people.
As a first class economist, banker, entrepreneur, investor and leader, Dr. Otti understands, again better than his competitors, the imperative of paying workers their entitlements as at when due, paying retirees their pensions and gratuities. He understands that an economy grows when money circulates and regular payment of salaries and pensions represents an effective means of keeping money in the hands of individuals and households who in turn patronise and support businesses in their communities. He is also keen on creating a robust, favourable atmosphere for economic development in all parts of the state by building supporting tangible and intangible infrastructure and systems in order to attract private investments which open up the local economies, create jobs for our teeming youth population and birth ancillary and support industries.
Dr. Alex Otti’s promises and campaign manifesto are not just different from what his rivals are offering, he has also shown himself to be a different breed of politician. He has remained consistent and unwavering in his commitment and belief that Ndi Abia deserve better, that a worker is worthy of his wage and our youths should not be allowed to remain idle because they have no jobs. He stands with our long suffering pensioners and has never relented in calling on the government of the day to ease the burden of our senior citizens by paying them their pensions and other entitlements regularly even as others watch on in conspiratory silence or active connivance with the powers that be.
No other aspirant has been as vocal and consistent as Dr. Otti in demanding for a better deal for the good people of Abia State. He believes that the opportunities of the modern world should be available to our people whether they live in urban or in rural communities. He is convinced that technological advancement has opened several new frontiers for prosperity which our people must tap into. This explains why he has crafted a special programme to broaden broadband internet penetration across all parts of the state as a way of further unleashing the creative potentials of our young minds who have all it takes to create the start-ups that would define the future of everything as we know it today. The awareness of the potentials of technology in driving multi-sectoral development explains why he sees Abia beyond the parochial prism of clannishness. He believes that the dream of the average young man in Ohafia, Arochukwu, Umunneochi or Ikwuano is not different from the aspirations of his peers in Aba, Ugwunagbo, Obingwa, Ukwa or in Isiala Ngwa. Our young men and women want a society that works, a place where their great dreams and talents can find rewarding expressions. What these bright minds that abound in the state need is a leadership that is focused on delivering the goods and opportunities of the modern world to them, wherever they may live.
Questions remain as to whether Dr. Otti has what it takes to, as we say, defend his votes at the poll in view of the ugly event that happened not too long ago. Well, the times have changed. Don’t sell your votes because that would amount to self sabotage. Remember what you have been put through. Refuse to sell your birthright for a mess of porridge, however tempting it may be.
Vote Dr. Alex Otti and let us collectively build the Abia of our dreams. Vote for Labour Party, LP, Papa, Mama, Pikin for an Abia that works for you and I. – Dodo Okafor is a Public Affairs Commentator.