The history books are open for the entry of names of performers who are the shakers and movers of time. This rule falls on all kinds of men who have stepped on this earth. It equally takes a spiritual hue. Matthew, 5:16 proclaims: ‘let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.’ Another most quoted line is ‘gold fish has no hiding place.’
So it is with Sir T. A. Orji, the Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District.
Since he got elected, he was yet to lift a foot into the precincts of the National Assembly before they started shouting Ochendo in high crescendos. Ochendo is a man who hardly mixes business with pleasure. In this legislative assignment, he has hardly missed any sitting in the National Assembly right from the inaugural day. We may not need to recount these because he is in public purview and his habit of always contributing confidently to national debates is captured in cribs and tablets.
Despite the political misfortune of the PDP moving from the major party to the minor, he stands staunchly with his party mates ideologically and politically. Instructively, he was the first to cast his votes for the election of Senator Bukola Saraki, the sitting President of the Senate.
As he has affirmed to his friends and colleagues, his stay in the Senate will be meaningless if he does not improve the lot of his constituency and as it stands now, the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Road is already schemed into roads for emergency reconstruction.
Amazingly, in the few months as a tenant of the National Assembly, he has sponsored four Bills. This, if taken from average calculations, are four Bills for four months. July, August, September and October. These bills are Nigerian Investment Promotion Council Act, repeal and reenactment Bill, Food Security Bill, National Planning Process Bill and Deep offshore and inland productions amendment Bill.
At this rate, Ochendo is targeting having 20 Bills and other Motions at the end of 2016.
Ochendo is a new man in the Senate but not new to governance, lifting the poor and disadvantaged. He has continued this trend, observably from the number of people streaming to his office daily for one assistance or the other, just as if he is still the governor.
Detractors may have to change their evil minds if actually they take some time to think. All the years they have spent sleepless nights concocting negative stories and lies, what have they achieved? rather his profile keeps rising. There were so many awards as governor from home and abroad. The frightening case of kidnapping which a lot of people bought into and craved for emergency rule in Abia died like extinguished fire and individuals and groups came in their large numbers asking to know how Ochendo did it.
Did the then Inspector General of Police not say that Abia is a case study?
Did the Abba Gana-led group not bestow on him a Peace Award? General Minima in a visit to Abia in 2014 addressed him as Ochendo Armed Forces. And lots more.
A list of the awards bestowed on him as outlined below represent the diversity of his accomplishments:
• Best Governor on security matters by African Security Watch in Ghana
• Best Governor in Agriculture by All Farmers Association of Nigeria
• ICON of Democracy award by Champion Newspapers
• ZIK Award by Hallmark Newspapers
• Man of the Year 2012 by Daily Independent Newspapers
• Best Governor on Health.
• Housing Governor of the year 2014 by Nigerian Housing Group Abuja.
• Best Governor in Sports by Sport Writers Associations of Nigeria.
• Justice of the Peace.
• Peace Ambassador bestowed on him by The Abba Gana led National Peace Committee.
• Commander Order of the Niger, CON, by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As said in a popular Igbo parlance, how many times do you need to kill leopards to be christened Ogbuagu? Just once! And for the rest of your life, the title remains with you. In history books, Mongo Park discovered Africa once, so was the first man who went to space. Like Archimedes who craved for a little space to move the world, Ochendo has moved mountains of the world from little Abia.
Ochendo has done this many times and would be Ogbuagu X 20 if we have not lost count. We even may go to the 100th power. For me and others who realize this, we cannot but keep hailing ….Ochendo, Ochendo, Ochendo! For those who will continue with detraction and calumny, I challenge them to do self comparisons and check what they have achieved with calumny all these years.
On the contrary we know of some family members who were in the National Assembly and were not quoted for one word all through their four year term. Such we know have sold their shame like the typical case where Christ in His teachings talk about those who would not see the logs in their own eyes but would loudly shout about specks in other people’s eyes.
We are well aware of all these people and have realized that they are only noise makers and super hypocrites who cannot do more than their negative acts.
And Ochendo as always focused, does not need to look at such people who are wretched in mind and spirit.
