AWAKENING THE GIANT
Willie Eleje-Abili dreams big for Ebonyi State
When my mind was made up to make this public, it was in the twilight of my middle age. I therefore, obviously had in retrospect, a dream that is supposed to be a prospect. It would appear therefore that the unfolding account of my dream for Ebonyi State is that of a world I would like to leave behind for those coming after me tomorrow and not that which I would have hoped to live myself yesterday. There were two kings with notable dreams in Holy Bible. One is King Nebuchadinezza of Babylon, the other King Pharoah of Egypt. Nebuchadinezza had a bad dream, in fact, he had no dream at all, for he had forgotten the dream he had. Daniel had to dream and interpreted the dream for him.
Pharoah had a good dream. Joseph had to interprete and showed him how to bring his dream to full effect. This he did with a blue print of strategic grains reserve, known as silos. It was a dream that got Joseph out of prison, into which a dream got him. While Daniel had companions, namely Shedrach Meshach and Abednego, Joseph was a recluse to the world from prison, at which he was head. Having no friends or enemies, as it were, therefore, he could govern without fear or favour. Pharoah was fascinated by his sophistication, such that he decreed that only in the throne shall he be higher than Joseph. In other words, Pharoah remained the King, while Joseph the son of Israel became the Prime Minister. A Joseph is therefore, a busy civilian prime minister, that can work behind the scenes, representing the backbone of a skeletal authoritarian structure and configuration of power, of a reigning king, around which the body and organs of state-ship are built, with gopher, meant for an ark or a water-bed.
Emerging from relative reclusion, writing my ‘Scriptural Paraphrases and Illustrations in Ehugbo Dialect’(SPIED), during which I succumbed to the lure of a treacherous terrain of lexicography, I am out here solo, not alone, with a dream of a preferred future for my people. But, the dreamer is never taken seriously, just as a prophet is known, except in his home town. Many of those that saw tomorrow either lived ahead or behind their time. Around the mid 1970’s, some of us saw for instance, flyovers with side-railings and streetlights in Lagos. With time, many of those infrastructure disappeared, some of which transmutated into akara-frying laddles. Was it that Mobolaji Johnson lived ahead of his time? Probably not, for the 70’s only represented vestiges of a fading post-colonial culture. Did Fashola live behind his time? Probably yes, for the values of common good of state that he left behind, might have endured in a society with more consideration of own-self. So, peradventure they emerge at pre-mature seasons of statehood, the leader is usually misunderstood by society and in some cases outrightly dismissed as out of their minds. I believe, that so treated or even maltreated, were great inventors, philosophers and poets of all times. Worse still for the philosopher, he is usually a solo-man and like his father, David, a social fugitive or in the case of Daniel, an economic refugee. But, so be it, if only they served the purpose of humanity at some point in history. Let’s not condemn, but pray for those in authority, for God puts them there in his infinite wisdom for a purpose.
The head is like husband to the ship of state, his wife. If the man can paint a fascinating picture of a preferred future, his date, would disembark from a grand-prix vehicle, to take a long walk hand –inhand with him, to freedom and eldorado. But, as we know, the length of that walk is for a certain distance of time as defined by the law of courting, which is customary and not constitutional, after which they shall part to meet no more. That time-distance is only about one and one and half years of governance and two and half of politicking, totaling four, in the first instance. It is my belief therefore that it should be better to take some key things and deliver them, than to try doing it all at once and end up doing little or nothing at all.
The motive-power unit of the vehicle is the man, which is the head, of the she-cargo unit, his date. So, while, the principles define a walk in helping hand of his date, man-date would then appear to be the power of the head to determine the direction and speed of the van and ship of state. Direction would depend on the vision of his head on the bed, in a dream, how far ahead he can see, while speed would depend on his rev-anew of the van internally generated. Budget is therefore a cardinal principle of the motives of the dream of the head, decapitated in projections and forecasted as superscription on coins or notes of cash of wealth of the king and Lord of land and labour that deliver interest of state in cash flows as water currents.
What then are the intentions of my dream? I believe that, if motive power is the means, given to she-cargo, as energy, with rails and roads seen on the way to be delivered in the first instance, every other thing would fall around if given a second administrative tenure of our next four years. So, the additional grace of four, would enable us work farther afield together. What do I mean by these then, they are subject to questions and answers, but let me conclude with a brief on the vision of my dream.
I see a grand but not grandiose urban area, where we shall try to demonstrate in modeling spaces that Abakiliki can be transformed from a ‘brown town’ to a reserved urban municipality with expansive dedicated parks and streets named after iconic figures befitting of an international city, for inspiration of our youths and in the overall interest of our country. In this wise, I see a mini Champ-Ellyses style autobahn heralding the new city from off Enugu-Abakiliki expressway. …I see a strategic partnership for an international standard of hotelling. I see our modern city infrastructure completely secure and full-tamperproof. We shall explore five-star partnership with Mossad Aliyah Bet. I see a Tse tse fly conservation belt against pastoral herdsmen incursion and a well-trained, equipped and mobilisable ‘Special Militia Volunteer Force’. Our state is blessed with a youthful population and youth is energy which cannot exist in a vacuum. I see a strategic business unit of the federation, with opportunities for economic prosperity and social inclusion, leaving little or no energy for negative channelisation. I see potable water resources, community health dispensaries and health education. I see opportunity in our relative challenge of arable land, internal capacity and IGR, through Public-Private Partnership, fiscal intervention policy programming, comparative advantage in inter/intra-competition and complementarity, in the resourcefulness of our people and in a visionary leadership. I see uninterruptible solar and wind incremental energy. I see a superb inter/intra-network of roads and rail, with emphasis in opening up strategic opportunities in Ogoja-Cameroun axis and seamless interface between our senatorial districts. I see ‘Aladin Hall Literary Scholarship College, to be headed by a Principal Visiting Expert...
Dear ladies and fellow Grand Ebo-Knights. As things begin to unfold, I see the name, ‘Grand Ebonyi Metropolitan State’, taking on our dear state. I see a giant awakened from slumber to a new day, I see jubilation and marvelous hallows of God’s name…