end of the second tenure of the administration precisely at the middle of the 8th year that the state received her first one billion naira allocation from the Federal purse. It comes quickly to my mind how it was celebrated then as Abia joined the billionaires club.
That the administration was able to sustain such costly policies without short changing other areas is still a feat that is worth researchig and emulation by present day administrations.
While Not holding brief for that administration, its still a surprise that beats my imagination how Abians seems to have forgotten this laudable policies. Chief Awolowo remains in the heart of every Yoruba man for the singular act of offering educational opportunity to his people, yet in the case of Dr. Orji Kalu, Abians and in fact ndi Igbo see no value this his performance or they seem to have forgotten.
How do we progress as a people if we lack the attitude of gratitude? Even God himself abhors ingratitude. How can we develop the land when we all seem to be suffering from Amnesia (temporary loss of memory)?
Why do we engage so much energy and “wisdom” in destroying those that work hard for our interest and serve us charitably?
Why so much hatred and lets-pull-him-down attitude for our leaders, past and present? We seek to destroy our leaders rather than appreciate what they have done for us. In the eyes of an ordinary Igbo man, all the leaders are thieves, rogues, robbers, corrupt, greedy, poor before they became leaders etc. nothing good is attributed to any leader once he is out of office. while I power we sing their praises and sycophantly raise them to the sky.
I once read a laughable comment on facebook by a young man who was still in secondary school and enjoyed the free education and of cause the subsidized WEAC Examination in Abia State in 2001 saying that former governor Orji Kalu was bankrupt before he became governor and that he has become a billionaire after his tenure. Of cause he must have heard it from somewhere, some of those blind critics of the former Governor, but his Amnesia syndrome could not allow him realize that he was a beneficiary of this man`s policies, something that was not available to his mates in other surrounding states then.
His Amnesia sickness could not allow him to understand that he was a privileged few and that his present day brothers and sisters are not enjoying what he got on a platter of gold the. Of cause how could he have appreciated something that was give to him FREE. Education is his right yes, but did his mates I the other states get it free, nope.
At an award ceremony in Lagos in 2015, a former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Dr Goodswil Akpabio stated that he was encouraged to become a governor by what he saw Orji Kalu do in Abia State, and immediately he became the Governor of Akwa Ibom that his first project was to introduce the FREE Education for his people up to secondary school and full payment of WAEC fees for all students. This model was copied from Abia State of Orji Uzor Kalu. He took the policy, refined it and adopted it to his people, and today one hardly sees Akwa Ibom citizen as domestic servant.
We cannot go far with this mentality of not celebrating our leaders while they are still alive. What sense does it make that we close our shops and declare public holidays to celebrate a dead leader whom we could have shown gratitude for his sacrifices while alive. There might be shortcomings no doubt, but we should not crucify them for their little mistakes, after all they are humans prone to mistakes; but lets look more at how much good they did for us.
Looking back at what the administration of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu achieved, I realized that the administration was the first in the country that started the monthly publishing of State account in the Newspapers which was highly commended by the then president Obasanjo who went further to direct Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to ask the other states to follow suit. So the whole money that came into the
