There is a state in Nigeria with the name Abia. In the alphabetic arrangement of states in Nigeria, this state comes first. It has the identity of Gods own state as Abia is a name in the Holy Bible, with Hebrew roots that can be given to both boys and girls. The name has various interpretations and meanings. One common interpretation is “God is my father,” which comes from the Hebrew words “ab” and “yah,” meaning father and God, respectively. The state has powerful academic institutions of excelence like Government College Umuahia that produce litrary legends like Chinua Achebe, Christopher Okigbo, Ben Enweonwu, Okalla and others and Methodist College Uzoakoli, one of the oldest academic instituntions in Nigeria and Africa. This is added to many Universities and other professional academic institutions.
This is the state that owns one of the greatest and oldest market cities in Africa, called Aba. A city with such industrial and commercial potentials that its influence spreads to the entirety of West Africa and to the eastern lands of the vast continent and beyond. All these added to the overwhelming natural and human endowments of this powerful state, one expects such a state with spiritual and natural blessings to be an Eldorado in Africa. But alas, the opposite has been the woeful tale of this state for the past twenty four years. It is not the wish of this writer to enumerate the woes and sorrows that befell this land and her wonderful people in that period of darkness. Only one phrase of two words will describe the reason for the darkness that fell on Abia state in that period – Bad Governance.
The people strived and really struggled to free themselves from the shackles of these wicked rulers of MARLBORO (Many African Rulers Love Boasting Of Ruining Others) power. Nothing worked until it became obvious that what was holding the state down was more spiritual than physical. Then the people knelt down and Prayed and Fasted. An election came up in 2023. The opressors activated all the machinery of maintainance of hold to power, but it did not work. All their briberies and rigging attempts totally failed. A woman emerged, a Deborah of our times was asked to control the election. All intimidations and coaxing failed with her. She delivered a just and true result as against those of the past twenty four years. Out of the ashes rose a phoenix. God heard the prayers of His children and gave Abia a helper with a heart for the state and the people, then suddenly the face of the neglected state started shining. The prior downcast and miserable people started looking up, with glowing faces and joy in their hearts and great expectations… to be continued
