BY ANAYO OKOLI

HAVING taken oaths of office and allegiance for another four years as the governor of Abia State, what is uppermost in the mind of Chief Theodore Orji now is to assemble visionary men and women , who will help him take Abia to the level it ought to belong. This, no doubt, is not an easy task, but with strong political will he  will get the right people to do the right thing to enable him achieve what he has in mind. He is in dire need of good men and women to assist him drive his vision because he has a big date with history which he must meet to remain very relevant in the politics of Abia State and the nation. This, the governor knows as much.

Abia State is not where it ought to be. The state is 20 years old. The level of development today does not befit a 20 year old state. Abians know this. Governor Orji knows this himself. This is why he had always said that he wanted to take the state to the next  level, and that he was very much in a hurry to do this. Recently, the governor said while addressing the people in Umuahia that the attitude and orientation of the next government and the people would change this time around. Specifically, he warned that it would no more be business as usual, and that there must be discipline, especially among Aba residents. This must happen if the governor must realize his vision for the state.

Coupled with change in orientation and attitude is the issue of appointing competent and credible people to work with him. Abia state does not lack competent and credible people. They are here in abundance. It is just for the governor to have the political will to keep stakeholders aside this time and go for the people, particularly experts in various fields, to help him drive his vision to fruition.

There are many other areas stakeholders’ lobby and influence could be deployed but not in the main cabinet that will pursue his vision, more so when he had said severally that he was in a hurry to develop the state. Consultation with the cream of Abia-born international bureaucrats- the Okonjo Iwealas, the Aruma Ottes, the Godswill Obiomas, the Anya O. Anyas, among others, for input and perhaps suggestions on likely people to help him drive his vision, will do him some good.

This is time for putting right people in the right place, a square peg in a square hole, no more a square peg in a round hole. No, that era must go and go for good. Governor has just four years to make a statement. His date with history must be accomplished. Four years is too small so he must maximize the gains from the short period.

He cannot be governor of the state again. This, he knows pretty well, hence his pledge to use every minute and hour of the four years ahead to work for the development of the state. The governor knows very much of the background where he is coming from and that anything short of making a loud statement with this four year opportunity will definitely spell doom for him in his future political career.

Therefore, what Orji needs this time around are not eye service commissioners or aides, but people who are bold and sincere. People who will not fear but respect him and do the job assigned to them with zeal and patriotism aimed at moving the state to the next levels where it ought to be originally.

The governor should go for men and women who will have the courage to look him straight in the face and tell him ‘no’ when he takes wrong decisions; people who with superior argument will convince him on the best way forward; people who will tell him that water is not running in Aba, Umuahia and other places; that some roads here and there are not good; that some structures will be pulled down and compensation paid to the owners to expand roads or redesign some areas. These are the manner of people he direly needs now, not people who will not give him the true situation of issues or things simply because they want to avoid his hammer. That era must go. Abia is vast and talents are abound in all the nooks and crannies of the state.

He has to comb far and wide, home or Diaspora, to fish them to assist him drive his vision. He cannot to fail and he must not fail. Sanity must return to Umuahia and Aba. Touts must be cleared from the streets. Council chairmen must be made to find very decent ways to enhance their internally generated revenue, not by using thugs to harass people, including visitors. This must be a new Abia as promised by the governor. There is no doubt whatsoever that the governor has a good vision to move the state forward. He knows that he did not do much in the last four years due to the ugly circumstances he had always pointed out.

There should be no reason why he should not accomplish his vision this time. He knows this is an opportunity to re-write his story in Abia state. He has started and must complete it irrespective of whose ox is gored. He must be prepared to step on some toes, including powerful toes who may try to be stumbling block. That is the only way to move forward.

History and the masses will be with him if he does well, though the parasites may be against him. The entire state is watching to see what he does. Specifically, they are watching to see how he will consolidate on the security of the state, rebuild and make Aba a real industrial city; expand Umuahia as the capital; revive the state’s abandoned industries which will ultimately create employment, and improve the quality of education in the state. There is also the need to embark on building of low and medium income housing estates in satellite cities to decongest Umuahia and Aba. These things can only be successfully realized by assembling men of integrity, sincerity, transparency, courage and hard working into his new cabinet.