Dame Patience Jonathan wife of the President FRN being received on
arrival in Umuahia by the Abia state Governor, Theodore Orji for a
grand civic reception organized in her honour by the Ohuhu clan in
Umuahia North LGA.
By Eddie Onuzuruike
The period of Xmas annually is a time for serious movement for Ndi Igbo all over the country and the world.
wherever they live in offering services and cohabiting with their hosts, they gravitate homewards to celebrate the birth of Christ, recreate with friends and families, engage in meetings and informal seminars to improve their community, attend nuptial ceremonies of white weddings and traditional. It is not a nocturnal movement of running away from creditors or hiding from the police for one crime or the other. It is our nature that has become very cultural.
Welcome brothers and sisters!
Whether you are living in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Kano or Sokoto, Abia is your first home.
You may be shocked that Ogwumabiri Umuahia is no more, Timber, Ngbuka markets are gone. They are now beautifully and spaciously housed in different locations.
This is still Abia, God’s own State. You may be pleasantly surprised that most of the features you are used to seeing in the state capital are missing or that the road to your village is tarred and that the path that goes through your local school has been blocked and fenced off, the buildings renovated, refurbished or completely rebuilt. Don’t be afraid, it is no invasion. These are the dividends of democracy that you opted for while electing Ochendo.
For your information, Chief T A Orji has sworn to make Umuahia look like other state capitals of Nigeria. There is a place called Ogurube Layout, marked to be the new Umuahia. This place is beautiful and imbued with a lot to show off. There are twin buildings, architecturally designed and built as the secretariat, ending the experience of working on official files and classified documents in rented houses.
The lodge and office of the Governor known as the Government House is energetically under construction, a befitting and flamboyant, multi-roomed edifice to accommodate lord, stock and staff. Before you get to the new stately structure as you approach from the Women Development Center built by Osinulo, on your right, opposite the Central Bank is the famous International Conference Centre. Do you know that Abia has been denied hosting of high caliber seminars? But now, according to former minister of Information Mr Labaran Maku, the ICC in Abia can host seminars and rub shoulders with the ones in Pretoria and Johannesburg in South Africa and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The ICC has seven halls of different sizes. There are some at the basement and others at the top. The main hall can accommodate a 5000 audience. It is highly sophisticated and has a language translation studio. There is a telecast center that beams all activities in the place to worldwide satellites. It equally boasts of the biggest outdoor space as parking lot or any other event. Yes, this is in Abia!
The world has gone electronic. Banks have all gone electronic. In this light, Ochendo is building an E-Library with multiple computers and other thrilling E-factors.
The BCA, the best voice East of the Niger, the earliest star is now a bride of multiple suitors beautifully housed in a-48-room place and will soon be fully digitized. These are true of ASUBEB- the education behemoth, ASEPA, Joint Accounts Allocation Committee of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs house with numerous chambers, auditorium and offices for Ndi Eze. These previously neglected traditional stools are now elevated to play their roles creditably and respectfully.
Abia State has become a referral tourism destination for health and other things. The Abia Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre at Aba Road, Umuahia, with multiple annexes in Aba, Amachara and Ugba Community Health Centre have checked medical exodus to India, Europe and America. There are over six dialysis machines, eye centres that can carry out laser therapies, chest centre and ENT- ear, nose and throat investigations. Check very well, you must have benefitted from over 710 Primary Health Centres in all the communities and the 100-bed hospitals in 10 Local Government Areas. These are all in the bid to localize health services to increase our life expectancy.
Do you know that Ikwuano, Isiala Ngwa North and Umuahia South have jointly become Airport Towns? Ukwa has attracted a Seaport project. These will be fully realized in a matter of time as the policy framework has been concluded, land acquired and construction commencing in a few months. These projects and policies are fundamental. A new governor will start with new projects and not to be doing these allover.
Abia will survive and prosper with your cooperation and prayers. These are not all but a few important ones.
Drive carefully and safely as you go back. Be law abiding wherever you live and please be security conscious.
Always have Abia in mind. If you cannot vote at home, you can leave goodwill messages; it is the tonic that galvanize leaders into action.
Bye Bye and God bless you in the New Year.