By Dr. Engr. Odo Ijere
Stakeholders of 8 clans, 60 communities of Arochukwu and Ohafia and other interested parties in the government of Dr Alex Otti gathered today, the 28th of August to attend the historic flag off of 41 kilometers road corridor linking Ohafia and Arochukwu local communities and peoples that has been a nightmare for at least 4 decades.
The Ohafia to Arochukwu crossing had constituted a big embarrassment and shame to successive governments both at the state and federal level. The road at some point literally cut some communities along its artery off from completely being accessed within Abia state geographical boundaries unless you are coming from nearby states.
It became more economically logical at a stage to bypass the road through Bende to Akwa Ibom State and back again to Arochukwu through the back door. Akwaibom state out of magnanimity and strategic economic planning constructed the road corridor up to its boundary with Arochukwu since 15 years ago to ensure the linkage to the historic town but that bold initiative couldn’t progress beyond its boundary with Arochukwu LG. The less than 5 kms stretch from that axis entering Arochukwu is again a nightmare to drive in.
Subsequent Abia State government could not build on the initiative started by Akwaibom state to link Arochukwu town thereby making the state a laughing stock and a mockery to the people. But Alex Otti and his team has come into the picture like a messiah and like a messiah will take the praises at the end of 18 months when the job is expected to be completely delivered.
But the road from Ohafia to Arochukwu has more interesting historical verses than its actual neglect stemming from plethora of past efforts to break the jinx of delivering that road. The jinx later turned to a cause and ultimately resulted in a meltdown. The inhabitants of the area became known by the sorry word.
It will be worth remembering, the very bold and statesmanly efforts started by no less a person than Mazi Sam Goomsu Ikoku of glorious past memories to deliver the 100 kms road from Umuahia through Uzuakoli, Bende, Isiukwuato, Alayi, Igbere, Abiriba, Ohafia and through to Arochukwu.
Mazi Sam Ikoku rejected a mouth watering offer of a befitting Julius Berger constructed country home offered to him by General Sani Abacha in recognition of his patriotic services to the nation but preferring instead for the money to be used to give his people a befitting road to Arochukwu. Mazi S.G Ikoku it was known could pull any strings with Abacha being then his closest adviser. He chose doing the road for everybody instead than building a mansion for himself. Mazi’s socialist ideals were unmatchable.
Abacha too amazed by such unprecedented acts of selfless integrity ordered that Arochukwu road from Umuahia be listed in the infrastructure intervention programs of the newly created Petroleum Special Trust Fund to be headed by then General Muhammadu Buhari.
Thus the 100 kms road from Umuahia to Arochukwu became then in 1994 the only road project announced by Buhari’s PTF for the entire southeast region. Strabag Construction multinational, then considered one of the best in the industry was selected to handle the job. Strabag just before mobilizing for that project announced its sudden pullout from Nigeria. The rest is history.
The project subsequently then was renegotiated for a Lebanese company known as Elite Construction company which began the rigmarole and conduit pipe approach that led to the non completion of the project until the death of Mazi Sam Ikoku in 1997 when the project was barely then crossing Igbere. Abacha was later to order that the construction of the road must be completed to Arochukwu for him to commission it on the day of Mazi S.G Ikoku’s burial.
The CnC’s order then posed an engineering impossibility at the time given that the burial committee only allowed for three months of planning to the burial date. Abacha was so informed and so late Mazi Sam Ikoku was buried four months after without the honor of having the road to Arochukwu completely delivered in his lifetime.
Buhari then as PTF Chairman who also represented the Head of State, General Sanni Abacha at Mazi S.G Ikoku’s burial promised completing the road to Arochukwu in his speech on behalf of the Federal Government and subsequently getting it commissioned in honor of Mazi S.G Ikoku.
That promise was cut short by the sudden death of General Sanni Abacha in 1998 and the interim handover of government to General Abubakar to start a new transitional government leading to the enthronement of the civilian administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. One of the New policy dispensation of Obasanjo was the disbandment of Buhari’s PTF and thus, the dream of completing the road to Arochukwu could only then reach as far as Old soldier junction in Ohafia.
The project could not see the light of the day again till the second coming of General Buhari after transmutating to Alhaji Mohammadu Buhari in civilian garb in 2015. Behold we were to witness yet the birth of a new era.
Arochukwu leaders were to be led then by Senator Mao Arukwe Ohuabunwa to meet with justly sworn in Buhari in 2015 to first of all congratulate him and then secondly to remind him of the unfinished Arochukwu road project started under his PTF. With Buhari’s pledge of support, then started another journey of new budgetary procedures, processes of allocation of funds, contractors deployment to site, and many other rituals, etcetera, very different from the fiat of the PTF days.
Politicians after politicians took their turns introducing their preferred contractors with propensity for self promotion and to take credits for completion of the job and other shenanigans. The issues around the Arochukwu road became compounded, complicated, convoluted and later jinxed.
The many interventionist politicians and contractors were turned to a soldier go soldier come Jekyll and Hyde. Arochukwu became cut-off resulting from the jinx. It will only take Alex Otti to break this jinx of history. History favours him, ancestry favours him, time favours him, position favours him, the gods favour him and God the Almighty also is in his favour.
Dr Alex Chioma Otti has taken the baton from where Mazi S.G Ikoku stopped in 1997 to hopefully bring to an end the age-old cause against Aro citizens that says “odighi uzo aza aga Aro di nfe”. This singular feat calls for wild celebration. We shall celebrate this one.
Dr. Engr Odo Ijere
