In a rare show of support and appreciation, Abians bid Governor Theodore Orji, farewell, with an interdenominational thanksgiving service. Adeola Akinremi looks at the record of a man who emerged from captivity to become a front row governor

His whole person exhaled the charm of almost dewy freshness. He wore his light brown traditional dress with graceful carriage and dignified bearing; his shoes were shiny; his cheeks, freshly shaven, had a sort of gloss; and his clear and steady eyes sent out glances of comparative alertness. Throughout, these glances beheld men and women who gathered to celebrate him and his family with a sense of appreciation.

Inside the beautiful social hall, the voices grew animated. Outside, delicacies of conversations were unending. It was Thanksgiving Day and the first family of Abia State led by Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji appeared before the makeshift altar at the newly-built International Conference Centre, Umuahia, where interdenominational worship service embellished with a string of prayers, songs and thanksgiving was held for Orji’s many victories in the last eight years of steering the course of governance in Abia State.

For Abians, the victory cum thanksgiving service was important after such a long haul and successful end as Orji’s tenure of two-term as the governor of the state comes to an end next Friday, May 29.

In 2007, when Orji was first elected the governor of Abia State, he answered the appellation of a governor from the prison. His traducers had planned it that way. But Orji emerged from incarceration to be sworn-in the governor against all odds. Grippingly, in the future of Orji as the then newly elected governor were many battles, including the battle of the godfather. He weathered the storm. Then, he rolled up his sleeves and began to put block over block to turn the tide for the Abians after Supreme Court acquitted him on all counts and gave him a reprieve from several landmines placed on his path by those he often described as the enemies of freedom. He succeeded.
His many achievements are testament. In the past, most parts of Abia State were no-go areas as kidnappers were in control, but through a carefully planned strategy, Orji changed the ways Abians lived from one of fear to freedom.
And in a state where infrastructure was almost non-existent to support economic growth of the state and make life easier for its civil servants to be productive, Orji, despite his own limitations has ensured those facilities needed for the operation of a better society were provided. For instance, in the 24-year history of the state, since it was created from Imo State, it lacked office complex for its teeming civil servants, until Governor Orji built one for the state. And this, the health care sector in the state was in a prostrate position, when Orji took over the reins of power, but that sector has been revamped with the upgrading of Amachara, Arochukwu and Okeikpe General Hospitals, and the establishment of over 750 health centers in rural communities.  On a recent week, the governor unveiled the mother and child ward and the administrative complex built by his government at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), Aba. All that in addition to the very first ultra-modern dialysis and eye centre located in the state capital to ensure that the people of the state are healthy.

In the past eight years, Orji had equally changed the landscape of the state with buildings and network of roads that were not there before. A new state high court, government house, e-library, school buildings, mega mall and motorable roads amongst several others are the reasons he’s now called legacy governor by his admirers who often choose between calling him ‘Ochendo,’ his traditional nickname—the umbrella that protects—and the former(legacy governor) or a combination of the two.

Now Orji rubbed his hands with the satisfaction of a man who finished strong. In a triumphant mood last Sunday, the occasion of the victory thanksgiving service he said: “Being a governor is not easy as a leader has to endure many things. But I’m happy that I am leaving a lot of legacies behind me as I leave. And these legacies I can always divide into two: tangible and intangible. Intangible legacies include, one: security, which people underrate, but which is the backbone of every development. We faced a lot of kidnappings here when I was governor, to the extent that in Aba, the commercial nerve centre, people absconded and it became a ghost town. But I’m happy that we were able to deal with that, and today life is bubbling, both in Aba, Umuahia, and the whole of Abia State.

“The second intangible is that I was able to sort out the polarisation that faced this state when I came on board. When you are not united, you cannot do anything. When I came on board, you had Abuja faction, Lagos faction, Diaspora faction and home-based faction. And these people were operating from different angles. But by the help of God, I was able to bring all of them together under one umbrella and under one belief that Abia belongs to all of us. That’s a major achievement.

“When I came on board, we faced paganism in this state. I’m a Christian. There was idol worship. Before you became a commissioner or given any position here, you will go and pay allegiance to one effigy somewhere. If you don’t do that, there is no position for you.  Talent and credibility were thrown overboard and frivolous things were taken into cognisance in recognising people. But I said, no, that’s not my own brand of politics. We have to recognise you for what you are – the talent that God has given you, your innovation that are inherent to you, what you can offer Abia. So, we started giving positions based on your performance, based also on where you come from. We tried to make sure that every section of Abia State was favoured in terms of appointments. These are some of the intangible things I will leave for you to think over.

“For the tangibles ones, one of them is where we did the function today. I don’t know how many states you can go to and find this kind of international conference centre that we have built. Many people didn’t know that such a structure is in existence in Abia, and that’s why we decided to hold this thanksgiving ceremony in that conference centre, so that those, your friends, your foes, your detractors and enemies, will come and see it. And they came today and saw it, and I heard what some of them were saying like ‘is this thing really here?’ ‘Was it built by Ochendo?’ But that’s a small size of the legacies we are leaving behind.”

Undoubtedly, the Archbishop of Aba ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion and Bishop of Umuahia Diocese, Most Rev. Ikechi Nwosu agreed that the governor has written his name in gold in the state. In his sermon, he described Orji as a great son of the soil who would be remembered for his patience and the general development he brought to the state.

According to him, apart from infrastructural development, Governor Orji brought peace, security, as well as partnered with religious bodies in governing the state in addition to human capacity building especially youth empowerment.

Of course, Orji is not oblivious of the support Abians gave him throughout his journey of eight years in the state and the next one he’s about to embark on as a senator-elect. When he moved through the surging crowd last Sunday, his mind went back to his early years as Chief of Staff to the former governor Orji Uzor Kalu, his dedication to duty and his reward of commitment. “You saw the ovation when I was coming in. There are some existing governors who will not get that kind of ovation. There are some that their people will be booing them. When I drive through the streets, people still wave hands and hail me. So, I’m happy. And they climaxed everything by electing me to the senate. So, my people are happy with me and I’m happy with them. And I’m sure they will always remember me, just as I will always remember them and fight for their cause,” he enthused.