Abia state and developmental politics (Part1)

Note: A thoughtful piece by a former commissioner of Imo state and professor at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, on human capacity and enterprise developmet.

African Examiner

5 November 2011

Abia state and developmental politics (Part1)

By Peter Orji

One unhappy story among several others that seem to play out more prominently

is the lack of constructive development within Abia state. This is not one of such

routine critique on leadership.

This piece is borne out of native patriotic urge to see the birth of Economic

prosperity for the people of the state.  Abia State is endowed with the gift of

people. Educationally the state is ranking high-judging from average enrolment of

pupils and number of institutions spread around it.

The thrust of this contribution is keen on visualizing the possibility of Economic

breakaway of the state from the slow, unimaginative, sterile condition to a

revolutionary masterpiece.

In Nigeria, development seem somewhat to have been predicated on the

provisioning of roads and other basic civic infrastructure by successive

governments which is a good start. But at best very basic. Revolutionary and

civilization-impacting developments that took place around the world like the one

in China and India revolved around the model of developing the capacities of its

own people. In the last century India and China were almost in the same peer

economy as Africa with third and second world ratings. Today they have fast-

stepped into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa)emerging

economic bloc.

Aba as a town is a convergence of bright technical talents. Aba is home to

thousands of vocational outfits run by youths of unbridled energy with unqualified

propensity for innovations. You see the dynamic array of jostling youths eking

living from very basic personal inventions powered by innate drive and ‘success-

curiosity’. Tailoring outfits abound. Machine and metal fabrication shops are in

their hundreds. Craft centers, shoe-making centers, Radio shops, Foundries,

plate- making centers, the native-fabric weavers name it.