FROM the 1970s up to the point things began to fall apart, Aba held great promise like no other city. Even in the eyes of high school students growing up in the mid 1970s, Aba was a great town anyone could think about. And that explained why at holiday times, Aba was the preferred destination for many.
As youngsters at the famous Aquinas Secondary School Osuh, Mbano, in present-day Imo State, we always headed straight to Aba from our dormitories every holiday season. Then, Enyimba City, as Aba is popularly called, bubbled with life. Everyone there was happy being a part of what made Aba spectacular. One of such persons was the late Dr Sam Onunaka Mbakwe, one-time governor of the old Imo State, who practiced law in the city of Aba. Dee Sam, as he was fondly called, was known for his rare acclaim: “Aba is Mbakwe, Mbakwe is Aba,” a proclamation that mirrored his undying love for the city.
Then, Aba roads, though not award-winning, were good enough – paved and motorable, they served the people. Aba and Port Harcourt roads and many others, especially those that meet them at right angles, were good.
Because of the undying spirit of enterprise that drove Aba, it deservedly gained the sobriquet of “Taiwan of Africa.” Its countless entrepreneurs were ever busy and doing well. On every street, industrial machines hummed a staccato of songs. Cottage industries and their equipment belched fumes to express how busy they all were. Industrial goods rolled out freely and steadily from Aba mills. Local manufacturers churned out a steady flow of goods which complemented and competed with imported ones that kept all the markets in the city high on performance index. This is the former sunny side of Aba that the present governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, is fighting hard to bring back – to move Aba back to its glorious days. He says, for instance, that he wants “Aba Made” goods tags changed to “Made in Nigeria.” They are the happy moments everyone who knew Aba would like to see replicated now. And God bless anyone who helps to make this happen.
One recalls how, in those days, international traders from Gabon, Cameroon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and even Central African Republic daily descend on the city scouring for goods to buy. Of course, this saw the economy of the city and its environs expanding in exponential proportion. These were the happy days that Governor Ikpeazu says he wants to bring back. And everyone is watching to see it happen.
When Abia State was created in 1991, there was great hope that it would be an exemplary one. That it was given the sobriquet of “God’s Own State,” was not for nothing. That reflects the expectations of its founding fathers who envisioned a state where the fear of God and the well-being of its people, would form the epicentre of government policies.
In the past 25 years, how has Aba in particular and Abia State in general fared? To be honest, both city and state have experienced peculiar challenges of insecurity, kidnapping, poor resource generation and management, neglect and their attendant poverty.Previous administrations had perhaps done their best to save the situation. But the fact still remains that Aba and Abia State are deep in mire. When the present administration came to power eight months ago, there were fresh hopes that things would turn around for the better, especially with its resolve to improve the lot of Aba, the SME capital of the country through improved roads, economic activities and above all improved security.
In the meantime, it is heart-warming that the administration has reactivated and completed 31 roads in the state, in so short a time. Some of these roads are in Aba urban. Those of us who are familiar with Aba fairly well know the situation of the Ndiegoro axis, where we have Ohanku, Obohia and many other bad roads. But it appears that the story is changing with the provision of good drainage systems and rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts going on ahead of the rainy season. It is good news that Aba’s Umuocham, Old Express, Ukaegbu, Kamalu, Umuola and Ehere Faulks roads by the famous Ariara market, and others have all received deserved facelift. With this, Aba and its residents and many visitors are heaving some sigh of relief. But a lot more needs to be done. This is the improvement Enyimba City needs to revive its dropping ‘giant killer spirit’. And the signs are beginning to emerge that before too long, the story may change for the better.
One might not be a fan of Governor Ikpeazu and his government to really give kudos to the on-going efforts at laying a foundation for the take-off of the proposed Aba Industrial Cluster. It was gathered that tens of shoemakers and garment makers and other small scale industrialists from Aba and Umuahia Chambers of Commerce, had gone to Istanbul (Turkey) to understudy their technology for shoe and garment making in particular. This indeed is a good move towards making Aba the SME hub of the country, more so when this was followed up with plans to mechanize the process of shoemaking and garment making in the city. This new undertaking is in close collaboration with the three technical schools in the state namely: Boys Technical College (BTC) Aba, Afara Technical School, Umuahia, and the Technical School at Ohafia. This looks like a deliberate effort to re-launch the spirit of enterprise in the three corners of the state.
Indeed, one of the greatest problems Abia State has at the moment is unemployment. But for the state to have laid emphasis on agriculture by sending youths to Songhai Farms in Port Novo, Benin Republic to undergo internship in mechanized agriculture is commendable. This seems to be an indirect response to the menace of kidnapping and youth restiveness which almost ruined the state in the past. When adequately and logically concluded, this will nip insecurity in the bud and bring back reluctant and runaway investors.
.Omegoh writes from Aba
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