Governor Otti: Of Bricklaying And Journalism

By Steve Osuji 

Last Friday, the well spoken Abia State governor caused a ruckus. Gov. Alex Otti barred his teeth at a journalist he considered impetuous and irresponsible. Mr. Otti’s public shower of invectives on an innocent journalist and the ensuing conversations that trailed the event has thrown up the need to take a bit more look at the duties of governors in Nigeria, their attitude to journalism practice and their impact on the society at large.

First, more background: Journalist Chuka Nwabueze who represents BON Media Group was at the Abia State government monthly media chat last Friday. As the story went, it was his turn to pose his question to Gov. Otti.

His query went thus: “Sir, can you provide concrete quantifiable evidence – beyond visible infrastructure projects – to demonstrate how your policies have impacted the lives of the average Abian since you got to office.”

Yours truly was not at the media chat but can feel the deadly silence that may have ensued.

When the governor “reacted”, it was like a tornado.

“You cannot come to a media chat and ask me to provide data about measurable impact on work that’s being done in the state that you live in. It’s irresponsible,” the governor  bellowed.

He dug in: “That we throw this open for people to ask questions doesn’t mean that people should be stupid. So let’s take this very seriously. So when you come to my media chat, you must be prepared: if you don’t have a question then you don’t raise your hand,” the governor surmised, seething with self righteous anger, as reported.

This column avers straightaway that that’s a most intelligent question. One wonders why Governor Alex Otti, himself a very brilliant and, highly cerebral mind couldn’t see it as such.

Perhaps it’s the political atmosphere in the state which is so charged that the incumbent seems perpetually on edge. He alluded to it that the interviewer was pandering to the opposition.

But even if it were so, a governor is not allowed to show such a level of emotionality which borders on tantrums, in public, in the purview of life telecast.

There are a thousand and one ways Otti could have responded with utmost dignity and equanimity. 

One: I pass. I would rather not answer that question because I consider it tendentious.

Two: sorry, we don’t have such data yet. 

Three: we are still grappling with an acute infrastructure deficit neglected since 1999.

Four: Most Abians can feel the impact of our work in such a short time and I would rather you ask them directly, etc. 

In other words, the question doesn’t call for abuse or insults. It doesn’t need to raise the hackles of the governor. It’s a question he could have dismissed with a gentle smile especially if he was sure, it was being orchestrated by the opposition. At Alex’s level and his walk through life, no question, whatsoever should unsettle him, even if it were on HARDtalk, the inimitable BBC interview show.

A LOOK AT OTTI IN ABIA:  There’s no doubt Governor Otti is the shining star among his peers and contemporaries today. He hit the ground running on May 29, 2023. He has never looked back since then. Otti’s trick was that he may have vowed to himself to deploy Abia’s resources for the good of the people. He has lived up to that credo to the admiration of the world. 

Abia had been a wasteland worsted by unconscionable leaders like Orji Uzo Kalu and Okezie Ikpeazu who was the immediate past.

Aba particularly, the potentially most viable commercial cum industrial city in the southeast was left in ruins until Otti came along. He has done in Abia State, so many things people thought couldn’t be done. Most important, he has rendered most governors in Nigeria shamefaced, making many look stupid and out of sorts.

ANOTHER LOOK AT OTTI: Back to that touchy question about data and impact by that ‘annoying’ fellow, Chika Nwabueze.

As pointed out earlier, it’s by miles, the smartest question on the day and shorn of political underpinnings, Gov. Otti knows it. His background and trajectory point to the fact that he knows about data and digital governance. The question is simply about the Human Development  Index (HDI) of Abia State.

NO GOVERNOR IN NIGERIA CAN STAND DATA POWER: Every state in Nigeria ought to have a well established Statistics Office. But because most Nigerian governors are wired roguishly, they make sure that all important office is not only nonexistent, they obliterate traces of it. Why. No governor in Nigeria can stand accurate data generation in his state. Data is power. It eliminates rubbish. It even cures madness in governance! It is the pristine and rarefied level of modern work, administration and governance. 

GOV OTTI THE BRICKLAYER: Until the day a state government can produce and publish monthly/quarterly HDI reports of activities, what’s going on today can still be called child’s play.

This is why Governor Otti, in all his exertions and glowing performance, he can still be described as a bricklayer because his work is not data-backed.

 This column therefore seizes this space, this day and this opportunity to proffer that if he didn’t have a statistics bureau, he must have one ready by the end of Q2.26. If he does, it would be his badge of honour, his bona fides as a true pacesetter and his defining place in history as the man who broke the rules and reset them.

For instance,  what’s the current population of Abia? How valid is that figure? Can the government plan with it? What is the birth rate in Abia, the death rate, male-female ratio? Infant mortality? What’s the current school enrollment at all levels? What shall it be five years down the line. How many students are in primary school in Abia today? How many primary schools are there? How many primary schools teachers are there? What exactly is the overall income of LGAs in Abia State? What percentage is deployed to education, health,  agriculture and human development?

This is the whole gamut of the social impacts question Journalist Nwabueze asked Governor Otti. Again and again, it was a most brilliant question. Otti simply needs to put a proper Bureau of Statistics in place to mine these enormous data and deploy them.

 Mr Nwabueze is not stupid nor irresponsible, Otti was the one actually responding like a bricklayer.

Nigerian governors must begin to benchmark against the world’s best standards and govern with impact and planned outcomes.

Finally, this column suggests that Gov Otti should make a show of apologising to. Mr Nwabueze, his wife and children; his employers and and the NUJ in Abia State generally for the public assault on a journalist carrying out his Legitimate duty. We were taught in journalism school that no question is stupid. It’s actually answers to questions that get murky.

A generous apology as espoused above would hold up Otti as truly the statesman he is aspiring to right now.

Lastly, we also look forward to reading monthly reports of ASBS: Abia State Bureau of Statistics.That would be the day for this column and indeed, for Nigeria!

LASTLINE: UPDATE ON SUPERTANKER SKIPPER, PLEASE 

Some stories don’t die, they merely bide their time. One such example is the crude-laden supertanker, Skipper which was arrested by the US Coast Guards and Navy , December 10th, 2025.

The very large crude carrier (VLCC) was believed to be hauling about 1.8 million barrels of stolen crude oil suspected to emanate from Nigeria.

Though stateless, the ship was traced to a Nigeria registered firm, Thomarose Global Ventures.

Though Nigeria’s government through NIMASA had rushed to deny knowledge of the supertanker, the story lingers and versions continue to emerge daily fingering NNPC, the Nigerian state oil firm, as well as security agents, including the pipelines security guards.

While we await results of a thorough investigation by NNPC, this column suggests that time is now to establish a proper coast guard army to secure our pipelines and our enormous coasts. Enough said.