Since the inception of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration on May 29, 2015, it has been rain of awards. The awards have come from religious groups and secular organistaions and these awards have greatly reflected the reforms the governor has initiated in the state.
The awards are outstanding and none should be singled out. But the award” Nehemiah of Abia” conferred on the governor sometime last year by the Men Ministry of the Assemblies of God, Ukaegbu Road, Aba deserves a prominent mention because of the import of the award and the character associated with the award- Nehemiah.
The exploits of Nehemiah in rebuilding Jerusalem is a familiar story, especially among christians.Nehemiah, son of Hacaliah, held the job of official cup bearer to the king. He led the third return of Jews to Jerusalem to serve as governor and direct the rebuilding of the wall in 444 B.C; under this period the law was taught , the covenant was renewed, and abuses were reformed between 444-432 B.C; and Nehemiah began his second appointment as governor of Judah (possibly 424 B.C).
From the above exploits by Nehemiah and a critical analysis of the two characters under review, Nehemiah and Ikpeazu, it can be deducted that the Men Ministry of Assemblies of God Church was apt in conferring Ikpeazu with the title “Nehemiah of Abia”. Reformers are visionaries are visionaries are reformers. They are not deterred by ugly circumstances in their reformation pursuits.
It will be recalled that Jerusalem came under serious sieges in 606, 597, and 586 B.C and was conquered and destroyed by the great Babylonian King, Nebuchadnezzar. The temple, palace, houses, and wall around the city were razed by fire. Many of the elite upper clas of the Jewish people were taken captive to live in Babylon in 606 B.B, and most of the rest of the population were either killed or taken to Babylon in 597 and 586 B.C.
Nehemiah’s story had everything to do with his vision of a preferable future for his people and their beloved city of Jerusalem.Despite strong opposition he fulfilled the vision process of vision, implementation, opposition, and completion.Nehemiah was attached to the Persian court—he had been the king’s cupbearer. He was appointed governor of Judah and authorized to rebuild its fortifications. He demonstrated his organisational skills and had the walls of Jerusalem up in 52 days. He was greatly hampered by the opposition of Sanballat, governor of Samaria. Tobiah, governor of Ammon. He divided his forces into two shifts—one to stand at arms, the other to build.
Just like Nehemiah, Ikpeazu met a state, especially Aba, the commercial nerve of the state, lying literally prostrate. But his his vision of a preferable futture for the people of Abia forced him into action. This vision has converted the entire Abia into a construction site with scores of roads, bridges completed and more undergoing construction. This vision has subjected the state into an agricultural hub and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the state must have achieved the planting 7million palm seedlings by 2019. This vision has elevated Abia State to a Small and Medium Scale hub. The vision has caused revolutions in the health, education sectors of the state. The ongoing reforms, just like the reforms of Nehemiah in Jerusalem has saved fortunes that can be translated to millions from the ghost- worker syndrome that bedeviled the state all these while and eaten it up like a locust.
Furthermore, the vision has initiated the creation of the Aba Urban Renewal Agency with the mandate to drive the government’s urban renewal of power. It has demystified power in the state by de- emphasising the pomp and ceremonies that create the power mystique. The vision has communized the governor and simplified the age-long image of the man of power.
This vision has introduced the cement technology, also known as “Rigid Pavement Technology in road construction in the state. The technology ensures the mixture of crush rock-based materials and other items to achieve a thickness fill and compaction to the level of 300mm. This is followed by a concrete reinforcement cast with 8mm to10mm-high tensil (mash of wires) reinforcement bars over the stabilised base before treating it with prime coat and asphaltic concrete. Though the cost of this technology is higher than those of the conventional construction methods, Gov. Ikpeazu chooses this technology as a means of strengthening the load-bearing capacity of roads in Abia and to boost the strength and quality of the finished work.The technology has a sustainability guarantee of10 to 20 years. Cement technology is one of the technologies used in the construction of airport runways, tarmac and places with heavy loads like machines and equipment. The technology is a good solution for achieving sustainable roads in Nigeria.
Indeed, Gov. Ikpeazu is a philosopher king” as conferred on him by a catholic clergy. Plato opined that a Philosopher king is a ruler who possesses both a love of knowledge, as well as intelligence, reliability, and a willingness to live a simple life. Such are the rulers of his utopian city Kallipolis. For such a community to ever come into being, “philosophers [must] become kings…or those now called kings [must]…genuinely and adequately philosophize” (The Republic, 5.473d).
Ikpeazu , as a visionary and reformer,has demonstrated that development is not deterred by funds but by lack of the spirit and courage to execute it.According to him,“The overriding import is service; we are desperate to give service to the people of Abia state. We will continue to do it as the funds are available. It is better we die serving Abia people. So, what are we keeping the money for? If money is available; we will use it to serve the people. Funding is not a barrier. The prayers of the good people of Abia will find the funds for us to do what we want to do. We are in government to serve the people and remember that in my early days, I said I was going to be common governor for the common people”.
It is indisputable that visions and reformations are strongly opposed like Sanballat and Tobias did in Nehemiah’s era. In the contemporary times opposition to visions and reformations can come in the forms of protracted litigations aimed at distracting the leader; negative media publications with spurious, unfounded and baseless allegations which only aim is to denigrate the soaring fame of the leader. But despite how intense the opposition may be, by the grace of God, the vision process must be completed. To God be the glory.
Written by Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
