One thing was amiss at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration held at the Aguiyi Ironsi Cenotaph, Umuahia, the Abia State capital. Governor Theodore Orji represented by his deputy, Emeka Ananaba spoke well of the armed forces, and urged other Nigerians to emulate such “selfless” attitude of the armed forces, that this would make Nigeria reach her favourable peak. Let’s hear it in his own word: “The theme of patriotism and self-sacrifice, which the Nigerian Armed Forces epitomise, should be uppermost in our minds. This will create a brighter tomorrow we seek to bequeath to the coming generation. Nigeria of today demands unity of purpose, limitless sacrifice and patriotism from the citizenry to enable the country become prosperous, united and indivisible.”
One would have ignored Orji because Nigerians have known him to be loquacious, but for the records. How could Orji talk about patriotism and admonished Nigerians to express selfless service to nation building when the two words and others he used only exist in his dictionary and not in the field of production? Can anyone believe that Orji who was preaching patriotism and selfless service had not conducted Local Government Areas (LGAs) elections till now?
In September, he promised that the LGAs elections would be conducted in January this year. But what have we seen? Nothing! This is the same way he hyped in the media about his government effort in contracting a firm that would build monorail in Abia State. But what have we seen? Nothing! This is the same way he hyped in the media that he would rebuild Aba. But what have we seen? Nothing, but work that does not meet the eyes! Everyday, Orji is having interactive session with journalists at the Government House, Umuahia. What is he doing, spending the hard-earned money of Abia people to hype the phantom projects he said that he had been executing in Abia State.
Every now and then, Orji is shifting gear in his responsibilities. Today, part of his excuses is that the government would lay importance on Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, rather than depending entirely on the monthly allocations from the Federation Account to develop the state. And the residents in the state are paying heavily on the multiple taxations residents are forcefully meant to pay. How can a government which cannot pity its citizens not neglect their towns and villages? Your guess is as good as mine. Everyday, Orji would tell Nigerians that his government has taken both aerial and ground survey of Aba and would work on the drainages. But what have we seen? Nothing! Who said that Orji is not enjoying the cycle of transition committee administration being operated in the 17 councils for over two years now? This is Orji talking about selfless service and patriotism.
Every well-meaning Nigerian knows that a big joke is going on in Abia State, christened governance, with ever ready attendant-distractors called aides. The government in Abia State is a sad case! It is worse than any presumably disaster on-going at the national level. Observers had to say this of Abia State: “It reeks of filth. No road anywhere. Poverty has soared to an alarming dimension. And yet you see mind-boggling profligacy in government.”
While Orji is preaching about selfless service and patriotism, where was he with the words when he sacked the 17 LGAs chairmen of the state on what his government dubbed “for matters relating to local security”? And many people had asked our preacher of selflessness and patriotism what a local government chairman has got to do with security. Other questions were whether the state was practicing state policing or local government policing; and was the governor saying that there was flood in armed robbery and kidnapping in the state and that the LGAs chairmen were guilty of involvement in those acts. Does he not pocket over N5billion per year as security votes and sacked his Local Government chairmen for insecurity related matters? This is how far Orji would go while at the same with the song of ‘Nigerians be selfless to service and be patriotic’.
Our preacher of selflessness and patriotism sacked his men just that his ineptitude to good governance caused the people in Aba to boo and jar him during the lying in state of late Dim Chukwuemka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Was it not our preacher of selflessness and patriotism who ordered all non-indigenes under the employ of Abia State Government to leave the state? Was it not our preacher of selflessness and patriotism who hiked the tuition fees paid in the state university, ABSU, by over a hundred percent? Do the students in the school now not pay as much as N100, 000 per academic session?
The tragedy called Governor Orji who has been looking for relevance in all direction would tell us that he is the best thing that has ever happened to Abia State since the creation of Nigeria. But Nigerians have been bemoaning that they have never seen a thing like this our preacher of selflessness and patriotism all their life.
Odimegwu Onwumere, Poet/Author, contributed this piece from Aba, Abia State. Email: apoet_25@yahoo.com
