Governor, Theodre Orji
Political Correspondent, Wale Odunsi, was in Abia State for the first annual Ochendo Lecture Series which was part of activities to mark the Abia Youth Empowerment Summit, A-YES.
The lecture had in attendance prominent Abia indigenes and guests, including former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Major-General Ike Nwachukwu (rtd), Labour Minister Emeka Wogu, PDP National Publicity Secretary Olisa Metuh, Governor of Central Bank Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission among others.
In an interview with DailyPost, Ugochukwu Emezue, Chief Press Secretary to Abia State Governor, Theodore Ahamefule Orji, speaks on the significance of the programme, the build-up to 2015 and why his boss stands out from past Abia Governors.
The choice of Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to speak at the annual Ochendo Lecture Series, turned out to be a wise decision. Besides, those who attended the just concluded A-YES programme described it as a huge success. Why Youth Empowerment Summit?
The reason we had that programme is the fact that the youth of every society represent the future. We have come to realize that if you can empower the youth and make them comfortable, they become self-reliant and as such you are solving 90 per cent of the problems in the society especially in the area of employment. And like we all know, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. The state is mindful of this and it has decided to take a definite stand by empowering the younger generation because they are the bedrock of any nation. If you take a look at some of us in the present government, look at our age bracket, you’ll realize the vision of the man who drives this great state, Chief T. A. Orji. He is building young leaders who are achievers, versatile, brilliant, digitally-inclined and exposed; so it tells you where we are moving. The aim of the government is to make everyone a boss of his or her own. Whether you are a graduate, secondary school certificate holder or have a skill, we want you to be an employer of Labour. To assist them, we give out sewing machines, barbing kits, hairdressing kits, computers and photocopiers for business centres, and so on. Today, they are doing well and most of them have at least one person on their payroll. Those who used to be jobless are being gainfully employed. Then the big one; we just gave out vehicles to our youth. That means we have made them transporters; entrepreneurs in the making. Now we decided to bring an intellectual to come and sensitize our youth. We concluded on a man who has attained an enviable height in the financial industry and you saw the way he spoke; you saw the way he ignited the atmosphere and you also heard him as he charged government at all levels to take care of the youth. The CBN Governor’s presence was a huge one for our youth; they see him as a role model and they have been talking about it ever since. The message we passed was: ‘you can be like him’. And of course, we proved to the world that the Abia is a youth-friendly state and the safest in Nigeria.
Why did it take a long time for such a gathering to hold? Is it that successive administrations considered it unnecessary?
At every point in time in the history of a society, somebody comes on board and makes that big difference the people yearn for. In every milieu, every stratum, it gets to that point. This is a man that was prepared for the job; a man that has the pedigree; a man that has the vision. All the things he is doing across the state was planned, it isn’t accidental. There is a blueprint already and we’ve been following it to the latter. You get nothing but the best of service when you have a man so intellectually endowed, charismatic, capable and selfless instinct. You have some people who were in governance and all they wanted was ‘oh, let it be said that I was once a Governor.’ But the question is ‘what did you achieve?’ This is an entirely different gentleman and he is giving to this generation what others couldn’t give. So for us, it has taken this long because those before him never had the foresight. They were not intellectually inclined; they had other things in mind. They simply weren’t prepared for governance. Mind you, if you check the credentials of those who used to be here, you’ll then realize why this man is doing wonderfully well. I repeat that, those who used to be there had no intellectual capacity and it is a fact. Chief T. A. Orji is a graduate of the University of Ibadan, he read English. He was in the civil service where he served as a Permanent Secretary which is the pinnacle. He was a Chief of Staff for eight unbroken years and now a Governor. That tells you he is equipped for the job. I have said it at several fora and I want to re-echo it, the person that will take over from the governor has a lot to do because of his achievements. His legacies are visible; you can see, feel and touch it. And aside all these, he is extremely humble, very easy to relate with. For us at this point in time, God has raised a man for this generation to make the difference.
I noticed that the state has embarked on a number of projects; some at an early stage and others near completion. I have also noticed the ongoing construction of a new Government House. Why has it taken 22 years to build a secretariat that would accommodate its Ministries, Departments and Agencies?
This is exactly what I explained earlier. We used to have people who had nothing to offer the good people of Abia. Most of the buildings you see here do not belong to the government; some are guest houses others are rented apartments. In fact, beside this very structure used to be a secondary that was converted for official use. You can imagine that. From day one in office, the governor had visualized what he wanted for the state. With all due respect, those criticizing him went into office unprepared. Yes, at the initial stage, he had some problems that he needed to sort out. They were some very challenging issues, including the legal tussle during the first tenure. But as soon as that passed, our people witnessed a new dawn. He is laying a solid foundation; making the state being heard all over the country and beyond. Recently he was at the John Hopkins University in America to deliver a lecture. And of course you cannot take it away; he is a sound man doing what he was elected to do. With the paltry monthly allocation vis-à-vis the projects on ground, his performance is remarkable. In terms of prudence, his fiscal discipline is compared to none. He is passionate about the welfare of the people and we believe that all ongoing projects will be completed in record time. Our prayer is that God will continue to give him the wisdom, good health and resources to continue the great works.
Abia State used to be in the news on a weekly basis for the wrong reasons. It’s either a case of robbery or kidnapping, sometimes both. But in the last few months, this menace has been brought under control. What measures or strategies were put in place to achieve this?
One was determination. When you are determined in life to succeed, nothing can stop you. The Governor was determined. The issue of kidnapping almost crippled the state; everything was virtually on a standstill. He tried every measure, it didn’t work. At some point, he had to go into partnership with Mr. President who in actual fact has been very supportive of this administration. So what you are seeing now is the result of that partnership. The military had to come in to compliment the efforts of other security agencies and they are doing a vast job. If you go round, you’ll see them at strategic spots. To sustain peace is not an easy task and that is why the Governor is making a lot of sacrifices, putting in resources to see the end to the scourge. This he has achieved with the huge assistance from the federal government. When we said the issue of kidnapping was not just an Abia phenomenon, the opposition disagreed because they wanted to score cheap political points and rubbish the government. They missed the point and are now covering their faces in shame. Also, on the political scene, he reached out to stakeholders; he brought harmony, re-uniting the political class. Before now, political giants, worthy sons and daughters of the state were at war with the previous regime which saw them as Talibans. For this reason, they did not come home, but saw the brilliant General Ike Nwachuckwu (rtd) among many others at the event; they all used to stay away. And you have others too like that, all that is gone, it is now a thing of the past. This is one of the things that have attracted more Abians to the Governor. He is loved. Ask civil servants, they respect him because he is a man of his words; he has made their working environment very conducive. He wants them to be happy in their duties and an attestation to this is the increment of salary to N20, 100.
If you were to address global business leaders, how would you sell Abia state?
Abia is an investors’ destination. Nothing can be achieved without peace and stability and that is one of our selling points. The Governor has provided that platform upon which investors can do profitable business. In the last one year, they have been falling head over heels. Presently, a lot is going on in terms of Public Private Partnership. As I speak with you, work has commenced on Shoprite; the foundation stone was laid few weeks ago. Abia Hotels is underway; it is a partnership. Mecure, is also in partnership with the Abia State Specialist hospital to build a world-class diagnostic centre. We also have one of our brands Dubic Beer which hitherto was grounded. However, due to our collaboration drive, it has been acquired and is now running production in Aba and Umuahia. Here is an investors’ delight and that is why we had the Abia Investors Summit, the second edition will hold soon and we will invite you to come and see for yourself. So indeed, Abia has taken off.
Governor Orji was the Chief of Staff to his predecessor, Orji Uzor Kalu, throughout his two terms of eight years in office, but we all know the status of their relationship at this point. It has shocked many because they used to be very close. Now the Governor too will do eight years; does he have a candidate for Abia Governorship election in 2015?
2015 is two years away. Every day, you see the Governor moving up and down to see that projects are going on according to plan. Honestly, he is preoccupied with that and not an election that is still far. His attention is focused on how to continue to empower our enterprising youth and make them successful leaders that will do the state and Nigeria proud through their chosen endeavours. His attention is focused on how to develop agriculture, to commission roads, hospitals, schools, portable water, ultra-modern markets and so on; to assist those in rural areas with farmlands, for them to go there and come back with high yields and that is why he has subsidized fertilizers. So I can assure you that concerning 2015 governorship poll, we shall cross the river when we get to it.
A lot has been happening with regards to the forthcoming general polls, will the Governor support President Jonathan’s re-election bid?
Governor T. A. Orji has said it over and over that if, and I repeat if President Goodluck Jonathan decides tomorrow to contest, he will give him total support. Whether anyone likes it or not, Mr. President has the right to run for another term and we will queue behind him because he has been very supportive of Abia state. Like I mentioned earlier, with his help, we have been able to arrest the issue of insecurity; with his help, we have a barracks at Ohafia. Recently, he awarded the construction of the Ohafia road, Umkporo road; the expressway at the Abia end is also receiving attention. If you cast your mind back, Abia state gave president Jonathan 100 percent votes in the 2011 presidential election and we will do it again. And don’t forget that lately, the Governor was one of the few Governors Mr. President brought into the PDP caucus which is the highest organ; you can see the partnership between the two men. So for the Governor, there is no doubt about it; he will solidly back President Jonathan’s re-election bid the moment he makes up his mind.
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