I must confess straight away that I was not emotionally prepared for what I experienced last Saturday as our convoy went through major streets in Umuahia en route Igbere my hometown – from the Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. It was nothing planned – just a routine visit to Igbere. But alighting at the Owerri Airport and seeing the mammoth crowd that had assembled to receive me changed the whole configuration of a, hitherto, quiet visit home.
As our convoy approached the Abia Tower (gateway into the city) the atmosphere was charged as traders and other onlookers trooped towards the convoy singing, dancing and hailing. It was a scene better seen than imagined.
One thing was, however, noticeable: in their faces was written agony, anger, frustration, despondency and dimmed hope. The situation got out of hand when we approached the famous Okpara Square – as more people joined – turning the whole thing into a carnival of sort.
I was riding in a Hummer bus – which has been the tradition since I was governor – but I could no longer stay embedded in the bus. So, I had to stand by the door of the bus to acknowledge cheers from my people. They were singing and dancing and jubilating. Some of them – very old and wearied by poverty and neglect in the hands of Governor T.A. Orji’s insensitive government – still found strength to join the crowd in jubilation.
They openly expressed frustration with the current administration in the state and cried out for redemption. To drive home the level of frustration some people in the jubilant crowd handed over pieces of paper itemising their woes and sufferings under the regime of Governor Orji. The notes were hurriedly scribbled. One of the notes read: “Please Sir, save us from the hand of Emperor T.A. Orji.”
Because of the sentiments and outflow of emotions from the surging crowd the convoy was forced to make a detour into major streets in the city where people had already lined up to catch a glimpse of me. There was a particular woman – she should be about 80 years of age – who was among the crowd. She struggled just like every other person to touch me. I was moved to tears as I asked the convoy to break so that I could touch her too. She told me something that tore my heart. She said and I quote her verbatim (she spoke in Igbo but I have paraphrased it in English): “All I wish to tell you, my son, is try and redeem this state from the wicked hands of the evil people. I was shocked.” It was at this point that I broke down. I could no longer control my emotions, which were running riot.
What the old woman said captured the mood in the state: despair and disillusionment.
The story continues: by the time we got to Isi Gate (the centre of the city that once housed the Umuahia Main Market) the crowd had tripled, making it difficult to control them. We were able to manage the crowds, because they were peaceful and orderly. All of them kept shouting: Liberate us! Liberate us!
By the time we left Umuahia to continue our journey to Igbere – my hometown – word reached us that more crowds were building up at designated points along the major road leading to Igbere. Driving through Uzuakoli to Akara was something else. The crowd was dancing and jubilating. In short at Akara (a prominent junction on the Umuahia-Arochukwu Road) our convoy was forced to a stop, with the crowd urging me to walk instead of driving to the palace of their traditional ruler for a courtesy call. I had to come down from the bus and we all trekked to the palace of the traditional ruler, His Royal Majesty Eze Ozo Ukandu, where we were warmly received.
Other traditional rulers were not left out of the jubilation. They turned out in large numbers to receive us. Needless stating that the crowd waiting at my country home was something out of this world.
I have given this brief account to underscore the pain and agony that pervade every nook and cranny of Abia State. I have been imagining what would have happened if this scenario had played out in Aba. I know it would have been almost impossible to control the Aba crowd. The situation of life in Aba is grave. In fact, Aba has been turned upside down by the insensitivity of the government of Governor Orji. I wept when a television station in Lagos was showing pictures of decayed infrastructure in the city last week. I saw human beings and vehicles struggling for right of way on mountains of refuse and water-logged roads. It was a very gory sight.
I wish to ask Governor Orji why he has allowed a beautiful state I handed over to him in 2007 turn into a jungle? The whole place looks like there had never been a government since the state was created. If he had a modicum of conscience he should not have allowed the state (Aba in particular) to be in its present sorry state. Where did all the revenue that had accrued to our state – running into close to a trillion naira – gone to? Even the internally generated revenue of which Aba is a major contributor could not even be deployed in the development of the state! I am shell-shocked.
Governor Orji has shown by his actions and inactions since he assumed office that he was not mentally and morally equipped to become governor. Why then did he create the impression and pretended that he was ready to work for our people when inside him he had a different agenda? I find his attitude offensive, irrational, wicked, and a betrayal. I have understood now why he opted to fight me for offering him advice to work for our people. He had always wanted to distance himself from everybody that worked for his victory as governor so that he could do as he wished.
Up till date, he has not told the world what I did to him to warrant all the antagonisms and vituperations he pours on my person on a daily basis. He estranges himself from anybody who has anything to do with me – all in a futile effort to cover his dirty tracks. This is one man who detests the truth and is ready to fight whoever that promotes it.
Since I returned to Abia State last week to galvanize support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan I have been inundated with all kinds of stories and complaints from victims of Governor Orji’s misrule. It has reached a level that the people no longer care about what happens to them – whether they are killed or left to live. All along they had lived in fear, not sure what would happen to them if they spoke up. There were also different accounts from the victims of how they were arrested and detained for airing their views on issues concerning the way the state is governed. According to them the governor and his son have thugs that go round popular joints in the state with the aim of harassing and intimidating innocent citizens, especially those seemingly opposed to the governor or his son.
Those whose shops were demolished at the Umuahia Main Market and Timber Industrial Market without compensation three years ago have also visited me asking for resettlement. Their stories are heartrending. Now read what one of them told me: I am 82 years old. I owned one sawmill at the Umuahia Industrial Market. I retired a few years ago, handed over the mill to my son, and relocated to the village. That shop is the only source of livelihood for me and my son and our families. We woke up one morning to hear that the government had demolished the market against all entreaties to allow us some time to find an alternative accommodation. Painfully, we did not retrieve a single pin from the shop. As I speak to you government has not said a word to us. Now they have turned the former Timber Market into a private estate of the governor and his son.
There were worse cases than the preceding one. But what I was able to gather from all the tales of woe that had been told me since my return is: our people are suffering and need a redeemer.
In fact, my house in Igbere has turned into a Mecca of sort since last Saturday, with thousands of people streaming in and out.
I have also traversed the entire Abia North Senatorial Zone (my own zone) since I returned and what I saw made me shed tears. Our people are dying in silence. There is nothing on ground in the zone to show the presence of government. There are no roads, no potable water, no medical facilities, and no electricity. The people live under unbearable conditions, yet they have a government that superintends over their affairs. As impoverished as the people are the government and its agents still collect taxes and rates from them.
I could not believe my eyes as we waded through the bad roads. No single new road had been built in the zone by the administration of Governor Orji since 2007. The only available roads were those we managed to construct or rehabilitate between 1999 -2007. Now they need to be properly maintained.
One is compelled to ask what then has Governor Orji done since he came into power? His attention is focused on a few legacy projects he is executing and through which he has siphoned billions of naira. Why has he failed to embark on people-oriented projects that would add value to our people’s lives, instead of wasting scarce resources on white elephants?
For the 8 years he has been in the saddle he has spent 80% of it chasing shadows and fighting perceived enemies. Who told Governor Orji I am his enemy? I could not have been his enemy, because nothing in my character has portrayed that. How could I have been his enemy when I made enormous sacrifices to make him governor? Without God, our people and me there was no way T.A. Orji would have become governor.
The only grouse I had ever had about the governor was that I asked him to stop beating about the bush and work for our people. He took offence at my advice and drew the battle line. If there is any other thing let him then make it known to whole the world. I have kept making this assertion because I have wondered endlessly what could be behind his animosity towards me. He pays out huge sums of money to media hirelings to attack my character.
I have come back to personally lead President Jonathan’s reelection campaigns. Left to the lacklustre government of Chief Orji nothing concrete can come out of it. I know in his usual inanity he would be banking on cutting corners to win election. The era for that has passed. The only thing that can win election for anybody today is hard work, honesty and record of achievements. Regrettably, Governor Orji has none to showcase. How then does he hope to deliver himself, let alone President Jonathan?
There are thousands of people who had made up their minds not to vote for Jonathan before now because of the excesses of Governor Orji. After persuading them and reassuring them that things would change very soon their anger was appeased.
The governor lives on propaganda. He goes to Abuja to gossip whereas back home he is not worth anything in terms of character and performance. Nobody in his right senses in Abia State today would tell you the governor has performed. Those who sing his praise are his acolytes and hatchet men. No more, no less!
One identified problem of the governor is his unmatchable greed and acquisitive tendency. He wants to acquire the entire Abia State as his personal estate. He has bought, in the midst of grinding poverty of his people, almost every available space in Umuahia with his filthy lucre. What a shame!
Governor Orji knows deep inside him that he has lost favour with the people. They are waiting for March 28 to vote him out. If he likes let him apply all kinds of brute force, spend all the money in this world, and threaten fire and brimstone, he will still lose.
The frustration, agony and pain of our people are palpable and can be felt anywhere one goes. The people have compared our two administrations and returned a vote of no confidence in Chief Orji’s government. They recall with fond memories my days as governor – when everything worked. We did not have as much financial resources as the present government, but we managed the little with had to bring succour and hope to our people. We worked for the people, we empowered them and we motivated them. Our government began with the people and ended with the people. We did not allow anything to come between us and the welfare of the people.
It gives me immense joy, therefore, that, at last, we have been vindicated. All the plots of the governor to turn the people against me have failed flat. Instead of antagonism what we receive from the people are accolades and encomiums – all to his chagrin.
I am motivated by the people’s show of love and solidarity since I returned to the state last Saturday. It has been electrifying. I wish to reassure them of my continued support and determination to work for their good. As long as I have breath in me I will never cease defending them against the forces of darkness and exploitation.
Let me, however, urge them to guard their loins and let us work collectively and vigilantly for our emancipation. Abians can only be liberated if they got their PVCs and used the same to vote for the candidates of their choice and defend their votes. As believers in the rule of law and constitutionality, I advise them to remain law-abiding and shun violence.
Let me quickly remind the governor of the two challenges I threw to him, which he is yet to respond to. The first is for us to secure the services of the best audit firms in the world to audit our two administrations to determine which of them had stolen Abia people’s money. And the second is for me and him to walk throughout the streets of Aba to see who will be stoned and pelted with sachet water.
I expect him to accept these challenges as soon as possible or hide his face in shame forever.
As our convoy approached the Abia Tower (gateway into the city) the atmosphere was charged as traders and other onlookers trooped towards the convoy singing, dancing and hailing. It was a scene better seen than imagined.
One thing was, however, noticeable: in their faces was written agony, anger, frustration, despondency and dimmed hope. The situation got out of hand when we approached the famous Okpara Square – as more people joined – turning the whole thing into a carnival of sort.
I was riding in a Hummer bus – which has been the tradition since I was governor – but I could no longer stay embedded in the bus. So, I had to stand by the door of the bus to acknowledge cheers from my people. They were singing and dancing and jubilating. Some of them – very old and wearied by poverty and neglect in the hands of Governor T.A. Orji’s insensitive government – still found strength to join the crowd in jubilation.
They openly expressed frustration with the current administration in the state and cried out for redemption. To drive home the level of frustration some people in the jubilant crowd handed over pieces of paper itemising their woes and sufferings under the regime of Governor Orji. The notes were hurriedly scribbled. One of the notes read: “Please Sir, save us from the hand of Emperor T.A. Orji.”
Because of the sentiments and outflow of emotions from the surging crowd the convoy was forced to make a detour into major streets in the city where people had already lined up to catch a glimpse of me. There was a particular woman – she should be about 80 years of age – who was among the crowd. She struggled just like every other person to touch me. I was moved to tears as I asked the convoy to break so that I could touch her too. She told me something that tore my heart. She said and I quote her verbatim (she spoke in Igbo but I have paraphrased it in English): “All I wish to tell you, my son, is try and redeem this state from the wicked hands of the evil people. I was shocked.” It was at this point that I broke down. I could no longer control my emotions, which were running riot.
What the old woman said captured the mood in the state: despair and disillusionment.
The story continues: by the time we got to Isi Gate (the centre of the city that once housed the Umuahia Main Market) the crowd had tripled, making it difficult to control them. We were able to manage the crowds, because they were peaceful and orderly. All of them kept shouting: Liberate us! Liberate us!
By the time we left Umuahia to continue our journey to Igbere – my hometown – word reached us that more crowds were building up at designated points along the major road leading to Igbere. Driving through Uzuakoli to Akara was something else. The crowd was dancing and jubilating. In short at Akara (a prominent junction on the Umuahia-Arochukwu Road) our convoy was forced to a stop, with the crowd urging me to walk instead of driving to the palace of their traditional ruler for a courtesy call. I had to come down from the bus and we all trekked to the palace of the traditional ruler, His Royal Majesty Eze Ozo Ukandu, where we were warmly received.
Other traditional rulers were not left out of the jubilation. They turned out in large numbers to receive us. Needless stating that the crowd waiting at my country home was something out of this world.
I have given this brief account to underscore the pain and agony that pervade every nook and cranny of Abia State. I have been imagining what would have happened if this scenario had played out in Aba. I know it would have been almost impossible to control the Aba crowd. The situation of life in Aba is grave. In fact, Aba has been turned upside down by the insensitivity of the government of Governor Orji. I wept when a television station in Lagos was showing pictures of decayed infrastructure in the city last week. I saw human beings and vehicles struggling for right of way on mountains of refuse and water-logged roads. It was a very gory sight.
I wish to ask Governor Orji why he has allowed a beautiful state I handed over to him in 2007 turn into a jungle? The whole place looks like there had never been a government since the state was created. If he had a modicum of conscience he should not have allowed the state (Aba in particular) to be in its present sorry state. Where did all the revenue that had accrued to our state – running into close to a trillion naira – gone to? Even the internally generated revenue of which Aba is a major contributor could not even be deployed in the development of the state! I am shell-shocked.
Governor Orji has shown by his actions and inactions since he assumed office that he was not mentally and morally equipped to become governor. Why then did he create the impression and pretended that he was ready to work for our people when inside him he had a different agenda? I find his attitude offensive, irrational, wicked, and a betrayal. I have understood now why he opted to fight me for offering him advice to work for our people. He had always wanted to distance himself from everybody that worked for his victory as governor so that he could do as he wished.
Up till date, he has not told the world what I did to him to warrant all the antagonisms and vituperations he pours on my person on a daily basis. He estranges himself from anybody who has anything to do with me – all in a futile effort to cover his dirty tracks. This is one man who detests the truth and is ready to fight whoever that promotes it.
Since I returned to Abia State last week to galvanize support for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan I have been inundated with all kinds of stories and complaints from victims of Governor Orji’s misrule. It has reached a level that the people no longer care about what happens to them – whether they are killed or left to live. All along they had lived in fear, not sure what would happen to them if they spoke up. There were also different accounts from the victims of how they were arrested and detained for airing their views on issues concerning the way the state is governed. According to them the governor and his son have thugs that go round popular joints in the state with the aim of harassing and intimidating innocent citizens, especially those seemingly opposed to the governor or his son.
Those whose shops were demolished at the Umuahia Main Market and Timber Industrial Market without compensation three years ago have also visited me asking for resettlement. Their stories are heartrending. Now read what one of them told me: I am 82 years old. I owned one sawmill at the Umuahia Industrial Market. I retired a few years ago, handed over the mill to my son, and relocated to the village. That shop is the only source of livelihood for me and my son and our families. We woke up one morning to hear that the government had demolished the market against all entreaties to allow us some time to find an alternative accommodation. Painfully, we did not retrieve a single pin from the shop. As I speak to you government has not said a word to us. Now they have turned the former Timber Market into a private estate of the governor and his son.
There were worse cases than the preceding one. But what I was able to gather from all the tales of woe that had been told me since my return is: our people are suffering and need a redeemer.
In fact, my house in Igbere has turned into a Mecca of sort since last Saturday, with thousands of people streaming in and out.
I have also traversed the entire Abia North Senatorial Zone (my own zone) since I returned and what I saw made me shed tears. Our people are dying in silence. There is nothing on ground in the zone to show the presence of government. There are no roads, no potable water, no medical facilities, and no electricity. The people live under unbearable conditions, yet they have a government that superintends over their affairs. As impoverished as the people are the government and its agents still collect taxes and rates from them.
I could not believe my eyes as we waded through the bad roads. No single new road had been built in the zone by the administration of Governor Orji since 2007. The only available roads were those we managed to construct or rehabilitate between 1999 -2007. Now they need to be properly maintained.
One is compelled to ask what then has Governor Orji done since he came into power? His attention is focused on a few legacy projects he is executing and through which he has siphoned billions of naira. Why has he failed to embark on people-oriented projects that would add value to our people’s lives, instead of wasting scarce resources on white elephants?
For the 8 years he has been in the saddle he has spent 80% of it chasing shadows and fighting perceived enemies. Who told Governor Orji I am his enemy? I could not have been his enemy, because nothing in my character has portrayed that. How could I have been his enemy when I made enormous sacrifices to make him governor? Without God, our people and me there was no way T.A. Orji would have become governor.
The only grouse I had ever had about the governor was that I asked him to stop beating about the bush and work for our people. He took offence at my advice and drew the battle line. If there is any other thing let him then make it known to whole the world. I have kept making this assertion because I have wondered endlessly what could be behind his animosity towards me. He pays out huge sums of money to media hirelings to attack my character.
I have come back to personally lead President Jonathan’s reelection campaigns. Left to the lacklustre government of Chief Orji nothing concrete can come out of it. I know in his usual inanity he would be banking on cutting corners to win election. The era for that has passed. The only thing that can win election for anybody today is hard work, honesty and record of achievements. Regrettably, Governor Orji has none to showcase. How then does he hope to deliver himself, let alone President Jonathan?
There are thousands of people who had made up their minds not to vote for Jonathan before now because of the excesses of Governor Orji. After persuading them and reassuring them that things would change very soon their anger was appeased.
The governor lives on propaganda. He goes to Abuja to gossip whereas back home he is not worth anything in terms of character and performance. Nobody in his right senses in Abia State today would tell you the governor has performed. Those who sing his praise are his acolytes and hatchet men. No more, no less!
One identified problem of the governor is his unmatchable greed and acquisitive tendency. He wants to acquire the entire Abia State as his personal estate. He has bought, in the midst of grinding poverty of his people, almost every available space in Umuahia with his filthy lucre. What a shame!
Governor Orji knows deep inside him that he has lost favour with the people. They are waiting for March 28 to vote him out. If he likes let him apply all kinds of brute force, spend all the money in this world, and threaten fire and brimstone, he will still lose.
The frustration, agony and pain of our people are palpable and can be felt anywhere one goes. The people have compared our two administrations and returned a vote of no confidence in Chief Orji’s government. They recall with fond memories my days as governor – when everything worked. We did not have as much financial resources as the present government, but we managed the little with had to bring succour and hope to our people. We worked for the people, we empowered them and we motivated them. Our government began with the people and ended with the people. We did not allow anything to come between us and the welfare of the people.
It gives me immense joy, therefore, that, at last, we have been vindicated. All the plots of the governor to turn the people against me have failed flat. Instead of antagonism what we receive from the people are accolades and encomiums – all to his chagrin.
I am motivated by the people’s show of love and solidarity since I returned to the state last Saturday. It has been electrifying. I wish to reassure them of my continued support and determination to work for their good. As long as I have breath in me I will never cease defending them against the forces of darkness and exploitation.
Let me, however, urge them to guard their loins and let us work collectively and vigilantly for our emancipation. Abians can only be liberated if they got their PVCs and used the same to vote for the candidates of their choice and defend their votes. As believers in the rule of law and constitutionality, I advise them to remain law-abiding and shun violence.
Let me quickly remind the governor of the two challenges I threw to him, which he is yet to respond to. The first is for us to secure the services of the best audit firms in the world to audit our two administrations to determine which of them had stolen Abia people’s money. And the second is for me and him to walk throughout the streets of Aba to see who will be stoned and pelted with sachet water.
I expect him to accept these challenges as soon as possible or hide his face in shame forever.
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