Nosike Ogbuenyi and Benneth Oghifo
8 July 2009
Lagos — Abia State Governor, Chief Theodore Ahamafule Orji, recently squeezed time out of his crowded schedule to speak to THISDAY in Umuahia, the state capital. The Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) governor, who is becoming renowned for his forthrightness, comments freely on several topical issues including the the menace of kidnapping, the recent ban of motorcycles (okada) in Umuahia, Aba and some other towns in the state, his infrastructure development programme, the mega party option, his political future and so on. Nosike Ogbuenyi and Benneth Oghifo present excerpts
Can you tell us how you have been pursuing your developmental programmes particularly with regard to roads, housing and water?
There are many sectors we are touching but I will begin with roads, which is very important to every community and in Abia State we need roads, especially to communicate and to bring food from the hinterland, roads for investors and peoples use. We have concentrated on the development of many roads in all the senatorial zones of the state and what we are developing are quality roads with drainages. These are being done irrespective of whether it is federal or state or local government roads. We are also building federal roads like the Aba-Owerri road, which has been impassable until we rehabilitated it. If I hadn't touched that road, by now many vehicles would have continued to break down on it, but today it is like an expressway, very free and the people are happy. The Aba-Port Harcourt road belongs to the federal government and at a time it was blocked. The two roads passing through Abia State are free. We don't discriminate because these roads are beneficial to our people.
In terms of building roads I think we have tried compared to the resources that we have. When you view our massive developmental projects against those of other states that would show you how well we are using our resources. Compared to what we have in our kitty I think we have done well in terms of roads.
What about the area of environment, how far?
Before now during the military era, refuse heaps used to cover most roads in Aba, causing health hazards, and also in Umuahia. There was a major dump site on Aba road at Osisioma that I closed, because the site was inappropriate. I relocated it to a place where it would not be a threat to people or traffic. I also closed and relocated the dump site at Obak in Umuahia where solid waste used to cover the road. Building a new dump site costs money because apart from the landfill, access roads have to be constructed. Daily, a lot of refuse is generated in Aba and any day it is not evacuated, there will be a build-up that causes great environmental problems. So we clear it daily to make that city clean and the people are no longer complaining about refuse disposal.
Umuahia ranks as one of the cleanest cities in the country. It is almost impossible to see refuse there because they are collected instantly and the bins are always empty. Recently, we purchased mechanical vehicles that can dispose waste on their own and located them at Aba and Umuahia. We are doing this for the good health of our people.
Regarding housing, this is a sector where we are not relenting. We have the Omoba housing estate, which has been completed and would be occupied as soon as the access road is completed. There is the Osisioma mix development estate, which is also ready for occupation. We gave some units to Geometrics, a company working on the state's independent electricity power project. There is the Adelabu Housing estate in Umuahia on Adelabu road being developed like the rest under a public private partnership. The challenge is the disappointment the government had with some of its partners who after being given land and documents abandon the job. We give them the certificate of occupancy and documents and they vanish. But some of them said their work is being delayed by the crash in the stock market, particularly the Adelabu estate where the developer invested all his money. We have given it to another developer who has started work. We have another at Isiekpe and the developer is negotiating with his bankers and once the deal falls through, he would start work.
There are those the World Bank is doing at Amuso Oku, and in Aba. The land has been acquired and investors are on it already. They build and sell to the public. We are not doing badly at all, as a small state and compared to the resources that we have at our disposal.
Concerning water, it is running, because when this government came on board, it did not take us a month to rehabilitate the water works in Umuahia and since then water has been running uninterrupted. We have been supplying the chemicals, buying the gas, maintaining the equipment that pumps the water and it was been flowing in.
Contract has been given for the reticulation of water because the pipes had rust or burst, and the change of pipes would enable water get to every community.
It is only in Aba that there is a problem with water supply because when we came on board, the federal government took up the water project, but the contractor stopped work. When we wanted to take over the project, we were prevented. The problem became very persistent and eventually the project was put in the seven point agenda of the federal government. We have written to the federal government that we are ready to take over, but the government has not replied for us to take over so that Aba people can enjoy. In the rural areas, there are many water projects that we have reactivated and it is our objective that our people have portable water.
Your state is among those suffering from the problem of kidnappings and militancy. Few days ago your government proceeded to ban the use of okada (motorcycles) in major towns in the state, including Umuahia and Aba. Can you throw more light on the problem and the measures your government has taken?
We don't have any militancy in Abia State. What we have is kidnapping; kidnapping is the highest crime in that category that you have now. And the reason why we banned the use of Okada in the state capital and certain urban areas is that from empirical evidence, we have seen that okada is the easiest means that kidnappers use in kidnapping people. This is because it is easier to manoeuvre with it and it can pass through any road including footpaths.
Also it is the means mainly used by armed robbers in their operation and in doing their reconnaissance, obtaining information and other plots. So it had become a vehicle for crime especially in the urban areas and some local government headquarters.
On the other hand, I looked at it and I discovered that it is an industry that employs a lot of people. There are some graduates who are riding okada because of unemployment. Motorcycles spare parts are in that industry; vulcanizers are in that industry; mama put people are in that industry of okada. And that was why I delayed the timing of okada restriction up to this time.
If you look around, you will discover that neighbouring states like Rivers have done it, but I kept my cool seeing that this industry employs a lot of people. I have been dialoguing with them on daily basis; calling on them and pleading with them to help us to fish out these people. You will not deny the fact that you know them. Most of them belong to that your industry; most of them, you transport them to their areas of crime and back and you benefit from that; help us to flush out these people. And nothing positive had come out of that.
Then, the last time I met with them, I told them in clear term that that was the last warning that if there is any kidnapping or armed robbery incident that is traceable to an okada man or okada people, that I will have no alternative than to stop them from operation. I told them and they agreed with me. Just few weeks after that there was this incident in Aba of kidnapping where people were killed and another incident of robbery. Somebody who went to the bank to withdraw money and they just pointed gun at him and took the money and they traced it to okada people. I called them again and reminded them that what I told them I had to abide by my words. And moreover, there were pressures coming to me from left, right and centre to stop okada people from operating.
The business community in Aba came here, the whole of them, to tell me measures I have to take to stop kidnapping. And in truth, this issue of kidnapping has done a lot of harm to our people and society. If you go to Aba, many people doing businesses there are moving away; industries too are leaving because of the menace of kidnapping.
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