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• Credits OUK with giving Abia, South East national voice
Former Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, has described the administration of former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, as a defining period in the state’s political history, saying Abia “punched above its weight” and commanded national attention under his leadership.
Chidoka, however, said the momentum faded after Kalu left office, with infrastructure deteriorating and the state’s national standing diminishing in subsequent years.
Speaking as guest speaker at Abia State’s 35th anniversary celebration, the former minister said Kalu understood the political realities confronting Abia and the South East at the advent of the Fourth Republic and provided the assertive leadership the period demanded.
“At the beginning of the Fourth Republic, the South East was searching for voice and relevance in the new democratic order. Orji Uzor Kalu understood that moment. Young, assertive and politically visible, he put Abia firmly in the national conversation. Abia punched above its weight,” Chidoka said.
Kalu, who governed Abia from 1999 to 2007, emerged as one of the country’s most visible governors during the early years of the Fourth Republic, frequently intervening in national political issues.
Chidoka said that visibility helped project Abia and the concerns of the South East at a time the region was struggling to establish its place in the emerging democratic order.
But he contrasted the period with what followed Kalu’s departure, saying Abia subsequently lost momentum and Aba increasingly appeared to thrive in spite of government rather than because of it.
“Over time, that moment faded. Infrastructure deteriorated, the state’s national standing diminished, and Aba increasingly seemed to succeed despite government rather than because of it,” he said.
Chidoka said the subsequent decline eventually created another defining moment for the state, arguing that Governor Alex Otti appeared to recognise the present opportunity to rebuild infrastructure, restore public confidence and revive Abia’s sense of possibility.
“Alex Otti appears to have understood this one: a moment to restore confidence in government, rebuild infrastructure and recover Abia’s sense of possibility,” he said.
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The former minister used the contrasting periods to make a broader argument about leadership and institution-building, rejecting the proposition that strong leaders and strong institutions must necessarily be mutually exclusive.
“We often say Africa needs strong institutions, not strong men. I agree that no society should depend indefinitely on one individual. But who creates strong institutions when the institutions themselves are weak?
“Before there were the Ten Commandments, there was Moses.
“My argument is that the real choice is not between strong leaders and strong institutions. At critical moments, societies need leaders with the capacity to build institutions that eventually become stronger than their founders.”
Chidoka drew a distinction between what he described as a “strongman” and a “strong leader,” saying the ultimate test of leadership was the ability to create institutions capable of surviving an individual.
“The strongman makes himself indispensable. The strong leader builds a system that can eventually work without him,” he said.
According to him, the challenge confronting Abia at 35 is to ensure that the current period of renewal does not end with the administration driving it but becomes an enduring standard for governance.
“Can the present Abia moment become the permanent Abia standard?” he asked.
Kalu currently represents Abia North Senatorial District in the Senate.
