My personal thoughts on Abia roads – @JohnOkiyiKalu

If the idea behind sharing pictures and videos of bad roads from Abia State is to let me know that we have bad roads in my state, please don't waste your time.

I know how bad some of our roads are. I use those roads myself whereas you probably only see pictures and watch videos.

Nobody has ever told you that Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has fixed all the roads in Abia State in 30 months of coming to power. At least not me.

What we told you is that he has fixed some roads in Abia State and will continue to fix more roads as long as he has funds to do so.

If any politician is telling you that he would have fixed all the bad roads in Abia state within 30 months tell the person he is a fraud and a nefarious politician who does not mean well for Abia.

Our road infrastructure decayed for such a long time that not even 4 years of focused work will be enough to make very significant impact.

The federal government abandoned us and allowed Aba-Ikot Ekpene, Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene, Umuahia-Arochukwu, Ph road Aba, Enugu-PH highway (Abia sections) Aba-Owerri road and other key roads to decay and become dead traps.

Even NDDC messed us up in Abia State by awarding road contracts to people who know nothing about good road construction. That is why Ohanku road is in a terrible mess even though awarded by NDDC since 2012. In fact there is no NDDC reconstructed road in Aba that ever survived one rainy season. If you know any please tell me.

On its part, state governments, before the coming of Governor Ikpeazu, didn't act profoundly enough to meet our road infrastructure challenges. No defined plan and action rather what we had was random "I did something" efforts aimed at keeping our people quiet. Nothing long lasting was done.

OUK was a master of such "action" government and of course before the time he left office in 2007 all the roads he "painted with asphalt" at Aba had collapsed.

The Ochendo administration focused more on road maintenance rather than road reconstruction, especially at Aba. Though he fixed some key rural access roads around the state. To his credit, Ochendo shouted and screamed for federal support to fix some key roads at Aba and that help never materialized.

Yet it is to the credit of Ochendo that he actually identified the wholistic challenge and started the process of obtaining AfDB facility to reconstruct as many roads as possible. The needed approval were not obtained while he was Governor otherwise he possibly would have ended up as a road reconstruction master.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu is deliberately working to sustainably renew and create new road infrastructure in a manner that will ensure that whoever succeeds him in 2023 will inherit many good roads and then be able to add more new roads for our use until we get to the point where all our roads are the way we want them.

Please don't waste your time sending or tagging me to pictures and videos of bad Abia roads. I actually know first hand how our roads are. Additionally, I know what Governor Ikpeazu is doing about our roads and the extent he can go because of the limit imposed by funding.

For instance, there are over 400 critical roads requiring different kinds of attention at Aba. Our 4 years annual revenue put together can't fix all of our bad roads at Aba alone.

That was exactly why Governor Ikpeazu opted to speedily process the $200m AfDB facility in order to fix as many roads as possible while co-opting other international development agencies to also help out.

Significantly, the same people who hire "bloggers" and social media warlords to take pictures and videos of Aba roads are the same people moving from office to office and holding nocturnal meetings of political witches and wizards to stop the AfDB facility from being realized. Even when they know that the money will never come directly to the purse of Abia State Government but instead AfDB will hire their own contractors, deploy and pay them directly to fix the roads.

Why are the same monkey pox politicians working hard to block any kind of help to our people that will help improve our roads?

It is all malicious politicking and they simply want negative talking points for 2019 and don't really care about our people or our roads.

I call that uchunization of politics in Abia State.

It is instructive to note that many of those now whining about the poor state of our roads were former this and that hanging in and/or around governments for the past 18 years. Can you just ask them to show you what they did about our road infrastructure while they were in government or friends of government?

Some of them occupied private and public sector positions where they could have helped fix our roads and yet they did NOTHING. Some opted to fly helicopters, others relocated from Ohanku road rather than fix it while many others pocketed money meant for road projects in their areas and misled our people.. Some others built Taiwan roads at the cost of USA roads and those roads decayed within one rainy season.

Yet these are the same people hiring bloggers and social media activists to post pictures and videos of bad roads in Abia.

And so I ask: what exactly do they want to prove?

That you shamelessly did nothing until you left power or stopped enjoying patronage?

Here is my personal promise to Abians: Governor Okezie Ikpeazu will continue to reclaim, renew and reconstruct our roads one by one without stopping, as funds permit him.

Our Governor is self motivated to do good without nepotism and frivolities. He really and truly wants as many roads as possible to be fixed and is managing our limited funds in a prudent manner to ensure that at least every month a new road is delivered to Abians.

Many key roads will soon be fixed for our people to use:

-Faulks road is receiving good attention to the glory of God.
-Aba-Owerri road will receive accelerated attention in the coming weeks
-Significant re-construction work will commence along PH road this month
-Osusu and Omuma roads will be fixed
-Ngwa road will be fixed
-Aba road Umuahia will be completed this dry season
-5 new roads will be commissioned at Aba in January 2018
-Osisioma Flyover will be delivered before time
-And many more ongoing road projects will be completed

On your part, these are the things you need to do.

1. Support and pray for Governor Ikpeazu because "a good and effectual door has been opened....but there are many adversaries".

2. Question any politician who rants about the poor state of roads in Abia to show you what he did before 2015 to fix any road in Abia State. If he names blablabla road please ask him to show you proof that the road is still standing to date. Otherwise ask him what happened to our money and how he became rich by hanging around governments.

3. Pay your tax to support new road works, monitor all road projects and report any poor job immediately.

4. Keep hope alive and know that soon a road near you will be reconstructed by Governor Ikpeazu.

5. Examine individual motives and see if altruistic or powered by disconnection of his/her personal drain pipe that ensured that we didn't get our roads right before now.

6. Ask them if any of them constructed roads and Governor Ikpeazu destroyed it.

7. When they tell you Governor Ikpeazu has not done any road please hastily ask them if the following roads were good before he fixed them or started work on them:

1. Omeni road - Aba (completed)
2. Adventist close off Ahiaba umeze road -Aba (Completed)
3. Kamalu street- Aba (completed)
4. Umuocham road- Aba (Completed)
5. Umuehilegbu road (erroneously called tonimas) - Aba (Completed)
6. Umule road - Aba (Completed)
7. Owerri road off okigwe road- Aba (Completed)
8. Ochefu street off Azikiwe road - Aba (Completed)
9. Weeks street off ochefu - Aba (Completed)
10. Owerrinta street off ochefu -Aba (Completed)
11. Ukaegbu road -Aba (Completed)
12. Umuola road- Aba (Completed)
13. Ehere road -Aba (Completed)
14. Umuobiakwa ring road obingwa - Obingwa (Completed)
15. Egbelu mbutu/owerenta road- isialangwa south (Completed)
16. Chima Nwafo Road- Aba (Completed)
17. Afara by-pass- Umuahia (Phase 1 Completed)
18. Okonu-Ohafia bridge- Ohafia (Completed)
19. Imo Ndinkpa Bridge  - umunneochi (Completed)
20.  Road 2, Housing estate - Umuahia (Completed)
21. Abiriba Ring Road phase 1 - Ohafia (Phase 1 completed)
22. Akoli Imenyi Erosion control - Bende (completed)
23: ongoing Faulks road to Brass street
24. Ongoing Ovom street Ogbor Hill Aba
25. Ongoing Emelogu street Aba
26. Ongoing Aba road Umuahia
27.  Dozie way Umuahia (Suspended due to low quality work)
28. International conference center road Umuahia. (Completed)
29. Ongoing Dualization of Ururuka Road, Aba
30. Arochukwu road with bridge-Ongoing
31. Ongoing Abiriba-Nkporo road
32. Ongoing Ndioji/Ndi okereke road of 33km
33. Ongoing Idima-Abam road of 10km
34. Ongoing Nkpa road
35. Ibadan Street off Ngwa road (completed)
36. Agharandu street off Ngwa road (Completed)
37. Emejiaka street off Ngwa road (Completed)
38. Onyebuchi Street off Ngwa road (Completed)
39. Ongoing Umuatako road Umungasi Aba
40. Ongoing St Paul's street Umungasi Aba
41. Ongoing Nwaigwe street Umungasi
42. Ongoing Amechi street Umungasi Aba
43. Ongoing Umuocheala Abayi Ihie road in Isiala Ngwa south LGA
44. Ongoing Umuaro-Ntigha Ekwereazu-Akwa Ibom road
45. Ongoing Umunkpei-Amaiyi-Umuru road
46. Umunka-Ugwunagbo Road  (Ongoing)
47. ISIAHIA UMUODE ROAD (ongoing)

Some of the roads Governor Ikpeazu re-asphalted in the past two years include:

1. Georges street - Aba
2. Pound road - Aba
3. Park road - Aba
4. East road - Aba
5. St Micheal- Aba
6. Jubilee Road - Aba
7. Hospital Road- Aba
8. Ube street - Aba
9. Adazi street - Aba
10. Umuwaya road - Umuahia
11. Abam street - Umuahia
12. Kaduna street - Umuahia
13. Awolowo street- Umuahia
14. Uwalaka Link Road- Umuahia
15. Ubakala Street - Umuahia
16. Warri by Club Road - Umuahia
18. Niger Street-Umuahia
19. Mosque street Aba
20. Kent street Aba
21. World Bank road off Orpet

In addition to the above:

A. The Ultra modern Abia Investment House was constructed and commissioned by then Acting President Yemi Osibanjo..
B. Okon Aku bridge at Ohafia local government was delivered and is currently in use.
C. Nneato Bridge leading to Eziama  Umunneochi was also commissioned and put to use.
D. Street lighting projects were executed along selected roads at Aba and Umuahia.

Abians should please continue to work hard in whatever good work they are doing and give no thoughts to ndi ochongoloko playing politics with their welfare.

God will handle all of them for us.

Personally, I perfectly understand the clamor for the Governor to do more roads. No matter how many roads the Governor fixes until the road in front of one's house or shop is done you will never really feel satisfied.

Moreover, for a people that have been waiting for someone to come and focus on their road infrastructure everyone should naturally shout and get his own road fixed as against celebrating the fixing of another's road.

Fair enough to me because I don't see how that amounts to saying "he has not done any road". Our people are simply saying; do more for us because we know only you have the mind to do it.

Emesia o ga adi nma.



Caveat: Everything here is my personal view as a tax paying citizen of Abia State only. Feel free to respond if you pay tax in Abia.