NEWS
ABIA STATE MOVES TO REIGNITE COMMUNITY-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT AS ATSAC CALLS FOR PUBLIC INPUT ON NEW SKILLS ECOSYSTEM
In a powerful reflection on the resilience of the Igbo Nation and a bold call for collective action, the Chairman of the Abia State Technological Skills Acquisition Centre (ATSAC), Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, has urged communities across Abia and the wider Igbo region to embrace a renewed model of community-driven development focused on equipping young people with critical skills for the modern economy.
Recalling the historic response of Igbo elders in 1970, just months after the Biafra War, Ekekwe highlighted how a people whose homes, schools, hospitals, markets and savings had been devastated chose not despair but determination.
According to him, those elders, the “Greatest Generation,” rose from the ruins with an elegant and powerful blueprint: every community must create a development union and rebuild its own destiny.
He noted that across Igbo land, communities embraced this mission. In his hometown, Ovim, the Ovim Community League (OCL) became so influential that it paid teachers and deployed them to public schools, while also funding technical education in areas such as motor vehicle and woodwork technology. Across Igbo communities, basic infrastructure, from schools to markets and clinics emerged through communal sacrifice and ingenuity.
Beyond infrastructure, Ekekwe pointed out that the elders designed what has become one of Africa’s most successful economic ladders: the Igbo Apprenticeship System. They sent young men from devastated communities to opportunities in Kano, Lagos, Accra and beyond, charging them with the timeless instruction “onye aghana nwanne ya” — do not leave your brethren behind.
That system, he said, fast-tracked the recovery of the Igbo Nation and ensured that its homeland did not become a wasteland of poverty after the war.
“I salute that generation,” Ekekwe declared.
However, he noted that today’s challenge is different: a generation confronted with scarce jobs, rising competition, and the limitations of certificate-based education. He stressed that the future belongs to those who possess skills — digital, technical, agricultural, creative, and entrepreneurial.
To address this, Abia State, under the leadership of Governor Alex Chioma Otti, is pioneering a new phase of community-driven empowerment. ATSAC is set to unveil major projects next year aimed at building skills ecosystems across communities in the state.
But ahead of these rollouts, Ekekwe announced that ATSAC is seeking public input. He invited Abians and other Africans to submit ideas that will help shape a revitalized, community-based development model fit for today’s realities. The ideas gathered will be refined and deliberated upon during a Zoom Town Hall Meeting scheduled for early 2026, after which implementation will begin.
“Our Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has given us a clear mandate: equip young Abians with relevant skills across all communities.
“The Greatest Generation rebuilt the Igbo Nation after the war. Our generation must retool it for the opportunities of this era,” he stated.
Members of the public are encouraged to contribute their ideas through the ATSAC online form: https://forms.gle/RTobYVnci5xYYpH27
With this renewed push, Abia State aims to rekindle the enduring Igbo spirit of self-help, innovation, and community development, this time to empower a new generation with the skills needed to thrive in the 21st century.