LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: THE ABA SOUTH LG MODEL
LOCAL GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: THE ABA SOUTH LG MODEL
Ben Udechukwu
Yesterday, I visited Chief Uche Wogu, the Mayor of Aba South Local Government. Upon arrival, I observed he was inspecting ongoing construction of a new Administrative building. If you are conversant with Aba SOUTH council headquarters, you may have seen that building (close to the Chairman’s office) with the frustrating stamp of an irredeemable structure. The building was torched by ENDSARS demonstrators. One of the rare qualities of who should be Chairman of a Local Government in 2024, is ability to convert waste to wealth, have the determination to move his Council from an itinerant status to a robust one. The Mayor refused to be absent minded, he was not scared by the rubbles, he saw light at the end of the tunnel and took the bull by the horns. Anyone who is able to convert waste to wealth is capable of sustaining human capital development, boost agriculture and provide infrastructure even in the remotest parts of our villages.
Chief Uche Wogu, Mayor Aba South Local Government Area
Uche had insisted that photos won’t give me an idea of what they had done to recover one of Aba’s monuments – THE ANCIENT ABA TOWN HALL. You will see a Council Chairman with an eye for aesthetics, decency and quality. He told me that “anything I cannot use in my house, can never be good for the Council”. Now, every Council needs a Chairman who is intentional about quality service and not the haphazard mindset typical of most public officers. You may wish to visit Aba Town Hall and be sure that inside out, someone is taking more than a passing interest in caring for public property.
I noticed that the office tables were not befitting. He admitted that they don’t have good tables. Guess what? He said they are doing WORKSTATIONS not tables. In 2024, Abia does not need a Council Chairman who neither knows what a WORKSTATION is nor understands the need for it.
Within the compound, I saw what looked like a decrepit bulldozer. Yet, it is mounted on a beautiful platform. Aba South Local Government Mayor said upon resumption as Mayor, that the machine damaged by ENDSARS demonstrators was put up for sale. He said the machine should be a profound memento that once, the citizens protested against different levels of injustice in Nigeria. He called the machine RELICS OF ENDSARS, which is currently serving as a tourist site. In Media Management, it is called MEDIA QUALITY PARADOX, where a weakness is converted into strength. When you understand the importance of history and its relevance in human development, you will understand the rationale behind opting for keeps and not for sale.
RELICS OF ENDSARS
I was worried about the lives of the thousands who live at Ohanku, Obohia, Agulanna; the multitude at Umuagbai, Iheorji and those at the boundary between Aba South and Ugwunagbo. Uche showed me a grader purchased by the Council for the purpose of what he called “gradeable roads”. He assured that the Council factors all categories of persons in their plans . Uche said he doesnt believe in leasing what he can own. Perhaps, he knows about the principles of comparative advantage. Already, he showed evidence of varying interventions across rural communities. I wanted to be sure he is not the type of Council Chairman who waits till dry season to grade few roads. To Uche, grading of roads is just a tip of the iceberg.
I saw the gigantic Information and Communications Technology (IÇT) Centre within the Council Headquarters equipped by the Mayor. I refused to be impressed until the Mayor assured me once again that the Centre will be replicated across various villages in Aba South Local Government. It is not about having an ICT Centre, it is having a clear understanding of how to make them useful. The Mayor is targeting school children mostly.
I remembered Aba South has Ahia Ohuru (New Market), Ekeoha (Shopping Centre) and Cemetry (Eziukwu) Market among others. It should be taken for granted that these sources generate revenue. Uche has strategic plans; measurable and achievable goals. These plans and goals sit pretty on timeliness. Uche is envisaging that in no distant time, monthly allocations from FEDERAL GOVERNMENT may be a mirage. The Mayor is developing strategies that would remove petty traders and artisans from the tax net, yet, leverage on other wide potentials to generate at lèast N500m every quarter for Aba South Local Government. I am tempted to believe him, because any Council Chairman who says he prefers to run the Council like a profitable enterprise is sharply focused. Uche is SMART and knowledgeable enough to know how to set goals and measure performance.
I do not know those who are aspiring to be elected Local Government Chairmen in Abia State. However, I know that any person who cannot convert waste to wealth, understand the dynamics of modem day economics, not a “Local’ man, not tech savvy and cannot name without guidance, the nooks and crannies of his local government should please stay away.
UDECHUKWU writes from Aba.
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