NEWS
ROAD CONSTRUCTION IS NOT COSMETIC PROPAGANDA: A RESPONSE TO THE IGNORANCE DISGUISED AS “QUESTIONS” AGAINST GOVERNOR ALEX OTTI’S 414 ROADS ACHIEVEMENT
By @TheKELVINATOR
There is a dangerous trend in Nigerian politics where some individuals deliberately weaponize ignorance, misinformation, and selective blindness in a desperate attempt to discredit visible developmental strides. Unfortunately, the recent commentary by one Chief Sir Ejikeme C. Alozie-Nwagboso regarding the reported 414 roads executed under the administration of Governor Alex Chioma Otti falls squarely into that category.
Ordinarily, asking questions in a democracy is not a crime. Citizens deserve accountability, transparency, and responsible governance. However, when questions are framed not from genuine concern but from deliberate mischief, intellectual dishonesty, and political bitterness, they deserve a comprehensive response.
The first major problem with the writer’s submission is his apparent lack of understanding of what road construction truly means in modern civil engineering and public infrastructure administration.
Road construction is not limited to opening virgin roads alone.
That outdated and primitive interpretation only exposes the writer’s shallow understanding of infrastructure development. Across Nigeria and the world, road construction encompasses several engineering activities including reconstruction, rehabilitation, expansion, dualization, asphalt overlay, rigid pavement replacement, drainage construction, erosion control, stone base stabilization, culvert installation, shoulder reinforcement, and complete structural upgrades of failed roads.
When a previously failed road is excavated to subgrade level, re-engineered with proper drainage, stone base, asphalt layers, and returned to durable motorable condition, that is road construction not “cosmetic patching” as ignorantly insinuated by the writer.
No serious government anywhere in the world abandons existing roads simply to satisfy critics demanding only “brand-new roads.” Development is about restoring functionality, improving transportation efficiency, reducing travel time, stimulating commerce, and enhancing the quality of life of the people.
Under Governor Alex Otti, Abia State has witnessed extensive road reconstruction projects that many previous administrations abandoned for decades. Roads that were death traps have now become economic corridors. Communities that were inaccessible are now connected. Businesses that suffered losses due to failed infrastructure are now thriving again.
It is therefore laughable for anyone to reduce such massive engineering interventions to “surface re-tarring” simply because political hatred has blinded them from reality.
Interestingly, while other Nigerians, foreign observers, investors, development experts, and even visitors to Abia State openly acknowledge the emergence of a New Abia under Governor Alex Otti, some local political merchants still pretend not to see what is physically visible to the naked eye.
This is no longer opposition. This is self-inflicted blindness.
Aba, Umuahia, Ohafia, Isiala Ngwa, Arochukwu, Bende, Obingwa, and several other parts of Abia have experienced road interventions at different levels under the present administration. Markets, schools, hospitals, businesses, transporters, and residents who use these roads daily can testify to the transformation.
The writer asked whether the roads are “engineered roads” or “mere pothole patching.” Such a question further exposes either ignorance or deliberate refusal to visit project sites before speaking publicly.
A simple visit to the Abia State Ministry of Works would provide detailed project records, engineering specifications, contractors handling various projects, road classifications, project scopes, and execution stages. Public officers are there for inquiries. Government projects are not hidden in caves.
Better still, Chief Ejikeme C. Alozie-Nwagboso should leave social media sensationalism and physically visit the roads himself.
He should drive through Port Harcourt Road Aba, Ohanku Road, Omenuko Bridge axis, Ossah Road, Arochukwu-Ohafia Road corridors, Umuimo Road, Library Avenue extensions, and several reconstructed urban and rural roads across the state. He should speak with traders, transporters, artisans, and ordinary residents whose lives have changed because accessibility has improved.
Development is not measured through bitterness. It is measured through visible impact.
The obsession with demanding a “spreadsheet” before acknowledging physical roads people drive on daily is intellectually dishonest. Transparency is important, yes, but pretending completed roads do not exist simply because one has political grievances is absurd.
More importantly, Governor Alex Otti’s administration inherited a state where infrastructure decay had become normalized. Abians were psychologically conditioned to expect failure from government. Today, roads are being fixed, salaries are being paid, confidence is returning, investors are paying attention, and governance is gradually regaining credibility. That reality is uncomfortable for individuals who built political relevance around defending failure.
What Abians need today is constructive criticism, not desperate attempts to undermine progress for political relevance. Opposition should be factual, objective, and responsible, not emotional outrage designed to create confusion.
Nobody is saying government should not provide records or continue improving transparency. Governance thrives better under scrutiny.
However, scrutiny must be informed by facts, technical understanding, and honesty not propaganda packaged as intellectual analysis.
The truth remains that Governor Alex Otti’s road infrastructure interventions are visible, measurable, and impactful. Roads abandoned for years have received and are receiving attention. Economic activities are improving. Public confidence is rising. Even critics secretly acknowledge the transformation when they travel through these roads.
History will ultimately remember those who contributed to rebuilding Abia State and also those who chose to fight visible progress simply because it did not originate from their preferred political camp.