The phenomenal transformation of Ohiya, the sleepy community spangled in a hill and valley got me dusting my history books to see if I could find such growth equivalent.
A peep into the growth of towns and cities of Great Britain revealed that the growth of towns and cities were so much predicated on the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries.
For example, the cotton districts of Lancashire, Blackburn town that grew into a manufacturing city, the iron-making towns of Middles-Borough, the railway town of Crewe and the brewing town of Burton. These, like phoenixes, all rose from their ashes of rural and suburban status into super cities.
Phenomenal still, Ohiya which hitherto could not be located on the map of Nigeria, doesn't manufacture anything except harboring what many thought were illegal miners of kaolin, but a close inquiry testified that they were certified.
Was it mere luck or compensation for rectitude? When you are in a habit of hosting people, you may not know when you receive angels.
An Ibeku maxim prays thus: "May my luck surpass my strength". Ohiya's luck has greatly surpassed her strength.
Some years ago, the local government creation excised Ohiya from the Umuahia North Local Government Area, where they were complacent with their Ohuhu clan, somewhat forcefully grouping them into the Umuahia South Local Government Area.
Some grumbled that it was an exercise in bad faith and they trudged along, unaware that providence was going to smile on them profusely. By dint of hard work, an Ohiya son rose to the position of the President-General of the the Ohuhu clan, organising one of the most celebrated Iwa Ji festivals which attracted the Governor's presence in 2009.
It was a statement that despite the placement in another LGA, that they were unwavering in their integration as Ohuhu kith and kin and at the same time emitting a resounding political undercurrent of unshakable affinity with Dr T. A. Orji.
Ohiya has emerged the silicon valley of sorts spawning enviable possessions. For samples, do you know that the 133/132Kva power station, a project of the Federal Government but evacuated to Abia communities with billions of naira by the Abia State Government led by T. A. Orji is located in Ohiya?
The Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, the mechanic village, the behemoth luxury bus motor park, World Bank Estate, the Fadama 111 Office, the fertilizer plant, NEPA quarters and others are dotting the mineral-rich landscape of Ohiya? The state government egged on by the foresight and benevolence of Ochendo who acquired and judiciously allocated the portions of land has catapulted the fortunes of Ohiya town and indigenes.
Ideas rule the world, they say, thanks to Chief Emeka Nwachukwu, aka Longman who deftly blended political maneuver with traditional audacity.
In 2007 Chief Nwachukwu was the state party chairman of APGA. Unlike previous political experiences where election results are fiercely contested, rejected and wrangled, Longman led APGA to congratulate Ochendo when he was sworn in as the third democratically elected Governor of Abia State. Not too long, he hatched and executed the brilliant idea of organising the other parties in the state under the umbrella of CNPP to collaborate with the government of T. A. Orji. This objective action did not go unnoticed or unrewarded as His Excellency gave a slot of the Executive Council positions to the opposition parties.
This conciliatory move by T.A. assuaged frayed nerves and reduced the temperature of the boiling polity. Chief Nwachukwu, the first son of Ohiya to serve as President-General of the powerful Ohuhu Welfare Union in recent times, has scored so many firsts as he is the first Ohiya son to serve in the Abia State Executive Council. He is currently serving as the Special Adviser on NEPAD.
Ohiya did not ask for much, rather they gave out the much they could. Today, you can see the mast of the NTA towering above Ohiya hills, the Bishop Nwedo Seminary at the foot of the hill and other State, Federal Government and private installations at other elevations and artificial promontories.
This should be a lesson to other communities who grumble when there is request for land for development. It is not that they do not have knives, guns and cudgels to protest like other communities do, they have always believed in dialogue, constructive engagement and diplomacy.
These have paid off in many ways. It is on record that His Excellency has paid three official visits in five years to Ohiya, namely in Iwa Ji Ohuhu in 2009, a traditional marriage in 2010 and the recent superlative hosting where he was bestowed with the instructive title of Okaome of Abia. During the visit, he made promises and gave assurances. For a man who keeps his words like bonds, Ohiya is due for wonders.
Ohiya is no more the bride that is the cynosure of all eyes but the groom that has won the most coveted bride. Ohiya has become a game changer, an emerging city on the hill.
For Ohiya, it is morning yet on creation day. Think like Ohiya! Love Abia!
Mr Eddie Onuzuruike, a public commentator, wrote from Umuahia, Abia State
Vanguard Nigeria