WHY NO ONE SHOULD TROUBLE IKPEAZU AGAIN;BY GODWIN ADINDU

IG of police with Abia governor Okezie Ikpeazu

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has a way of being

witty, sarcastic and serious at the same time. He is a master

of humour. Yet, he may not have read the American ace-

humourist, Mark Twain, but he delivers the spoken word with

the wit of Twain, interspersing message with the comic side

of life and drawing from the rich Ngwa heritage of proverbs to

create concrete images. It is a very rare gift which has

formed a potent arsenal for a leader, for he does not only

hold his audience spell-bound, he disarms his traducers and

rules his world only with the art of the word.

So was he being funny, witty or serious, in his characteristic

fashion, when he declared: Let no one trouble me again for I

bear in my body the mark of our lord Jesus Christ? The

Governor made this declaration few minutes after his victory

at the Supreme Court. Re-echoing the words of Paul of

Tarsus, he told his detractors to give him a break and a

breath of life. But, can the governor actually avoid being

troubled? Can he avoid the Shakespearian slings and arrows

of outrageous fortune ? He is in the eye of the storm; he is

sitting on the hot seat; his head is wearing the crown and

uneasy is his name. Can he, in all honesty, ever avoid the sea

of troubles?

Back to his declaration. Was this a plea, a clarion call, a

warning or a charge? What was the Governor actually telling

his detractors? The declaration is all of the above a

paradoxical plea and a clarion call. Beyond asking not to be

distracted again and not to be caused to dissipate energy

unnecessarily, the Governor was speaking both to himself, his

loyalists, his co-workers in the vineyard of governance and to

his traducers. To himself, he was renewing his oath of

allegiance to the people of Abia. He was self-motivating

himself and recharging a covenant of service that has seen

him construct sixty roads simultaneously in just eight months.

He was speaking to himself about the new challenges ahead

and the task of conquering new frontiers just like Apostle Paul

had to conquer new territories with the message of salvation

in the Greco-Roman world.

This drive to conquer new territories quickly found expression

in the flag off of the Nkpa Road in Bende Local Council,

Umuda Road in Umuneochie and the Nkporo road, two weeks

after the supreme court victory. It found expression in the

effective tactical measure which Governor Ikpeazu deployed to

quickly tackle the menace of kidnapping that was rearing its

ugly head in the sprawling city of Aba and the environs. It has

been demonstrated in the large-scale programme of

renovating all dilapidated primary school buildings in the state,

with the funds accessed from the Universal Basic Education

Commission (UBEC). It is a testimony to the new brand

promotion for Aba-Made-Goods, sponsored by the

government and which climaxed with the trade fair in Abuja.

Beyond asking not to be distracted again and

not to be caused to dissipate energy

unnecessarily, the Governor was speaking both

to himself, his loyalists, his co-workers in the

vineyard of governance and to his traducers. To

himself, he was renewing his oath of allegiance

to the people of Abia. He was self-motivating

himself and recharging a covenant of service

that has seen him construct sixty roads

simultaneously in just eight months. He was

speaking to himself about the new challenges

ahead and the task of conquering new

frontiers…

Significantly, we could see the new impetus for work in the

effort by Governor Ikpeazu to revive and activate the moribund

Golden Guinea Breweries in Umuahia and the International

Glass Industry in Aba. After an inspection tour of the Brewery

last week, the governor disclosed that he has been assured

by the managers that the brewery will commence operation

by May this year. It is being exemplified in the governors drive

to link Abia to the sea through the development of the

Obuaka City Port in Ukwa East. This will give a great boost to

Aba as the commercial hub of Eastern Nigeria.

The new persuasion is also being given a meaning in the

formation of the Abia State Rural Infrastructure Development

Initiative (ASTRIDE), which is aimed at providing at least one

project in each of the 184 INEC Wards in the 17 local

councils and closing the gap of infrastructural development

between the rural areas and the cities. The ASTRIDE

Committees are expected to choose an un-encumbered site

for citing of the project and the type of project among project

lines of the state government. It translates into the planned

rural electrification and beautification of Ohafia, the third

largest urban centre in the state which will commence very

soon.

Indeed, we could see the motivation being translated in the

governor’s move to source N1 billion Central Bank of Nigeria

(CBN) loan for agricultural revolution. This loan will be

disbursed purely to genuine farmers and not for political

patronage. It is connected to the state integrated

infrastructural development project aimed at bringing donor

agencies and development partners to assist in the

development of the state.

Again, just like Apostle Paul also preached the message of

love, Governor Ikpeazu, by that declaration, also proclaimed

the message of love, forgiveness and Abia unity by

brandishing the olive branch to his opponents and traducers.

By pleading not to be troubled again, he is figuratively

beckoning on them to come and join hands with him in the

crusade for the sustainable development of the state. He is

soliciting for a ceasefire and calling all warring factions to

sheathe their sword. By that declaration, he moved from

politics to statesmanship, assuming the unbridled role of the

father of the Abia nation. By this role, he must seek for the

good of all and protect all lives and property, irrespective of

varying political leanings.

The declaration, precisely, is a statement about the new

energy injected by the assurances of the law, an affirmation

of victory and a vindication. It is the new political will which

will inspire and drive the governors moves in the years ahead.

But, much more than that, it is a proclamation of innocence,

a conviction of the fact of being a messenger and an

instrument of a divine mission. Governor Ikpeazu is simply

saying: let s fulfill this mission as one body and he may have

said it in his characteristic humour. Yet, we can discern the

signs.

Godwin Adindu is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Abia State .