Otti: Abia won’t celebrate thieves, drug barons again

…Governor honours Emeritus Professor Oluikpe at 90

By Steve Oko

UMUAHIA — Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said his administration is working to dismantle what he described as a culture of celebrating thieves, fraudsters, drug barons and other questionable characters, insisting that public recognition should be reserved for people of integrity and genuine accomplishments.

Otti spoke at the 90th birthday celebration of Emeritus Professor Benson Oluikpe in Umuahia, where he said his administration was institutionalising the celebration of excellence to inspire younger generations to pursue worthy achievements.

“We want to depart from that inherited culture. It’s not our culture. Culture of celebrating thieves. Culture of celebrating 419-ers. Culture of celebrating drug barons. Culture of celebrating bandits. That’s not our culture. That’s not how we grew up,” the governor said.

He faulted the practice of honouring outstanding individuals only after their death, when they could no longer enjoy the recognition, saying achievers should be celebrated while alive.

According to him, recognising people for their contributions would encourage others, particularly young people, to aspire to excellence.

Otti cited the recent celebration of five Abia schoolchildren who emerged champions at an international competition in Qatar, saying his administration was determined to make excellence, rather than questionable wealth and influence, the basis for public recognition.

The governor also used a personal experience to illustrate the importance of accountability, recalling how his father questioned him in 1989 over the source of the N100 he sent home while working at Citibank.

He said he had earned the money through extra work and daily allowances, but his father insisted on knowing how he legitimately made it.

“That’s how I was brought up. You needed to give account. But these days, people don’t ask questions. We need to go back to that time when we would ask questions. Ask your children questions. Let them give account,” he said.

Otti maintained that people’s values, rather than the times, had changed, citing his son’s decision to provide receipts and explanations for money he had saved towards buying a house in the United States.

Earlier, Oluikpe expressed gratitude for the honour and prayed for God’s blessings on the governor.

“You have honoured me; may God honour you,” the nonagenarian said.

The professor, who disclosed that he first met Otti in 2013 when the governor was still a banker, described him as a humble man endowed with wisdom.

He said the impression he formed of Otti during their first encounter influenced his subsequent support for the governor’s political ambition.

Recounting how Otti once stood up to return an award to him at a public function, Oluikpe said the gesture demonstrated a humility that had remained consistent in the governor’s public life.

He also described Otti’s electoral setback in 2015 as a divine postponement of his political moment, saying events had eventually vindicated him.

“I do believe that God was telling you, ‘My son, wait. This is not your time. The time will come, and when that time comes, you will make a great impact in your state,'” he said.

Oluikpe, who said he had always measured life by its impact on humanity, urged public office holders to embrace generosity and use their resources to benefit others.

“A life without impact on humanity is no life. The wealth we acquire without reaching or touching minds is useless,” he said.

He also cautioned against sycophancy in public life, urging the governor’s supporters to tell him the truth rather than flatter him.

Responding to Oluikpe’s recollection of their first encounter, Otti said the professor’s account reflected his own understanding of the political developments that delayed his emergence as governor in 2015.

He recalled that although he had won the election, he had to pursue his mandate through the courts, eventually reclaiming it at the Court of Appeal on December 31, 2015, before the Supreme Court affirmed it on February 3, 2016.

The governor said the experience reinforced his belief that God’s timing was always the best.

Otti also disclosed plans to celebrate another Abia-born professor and inventor based in the United States in December. He described the individual as a globally recognised scientist whose invention helps in accurately targeting cancer cells.

He said the recognition of outstanding Abians would remain open to all, irrespective of political affiliation, religion or place of residence. “Once you are from Abia and you are doing well, we will celebrate you,” he said.