Ikpeazu: A governor as a product and a brand

One way to conceptualise the uniqueness of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state in his approach to governance is to see him in the mould of a brand. He represents a consistent brand with a consistent brand proposition. In Abia today, he may not have reached the sky of his ambition but he has kept his word as his bond.

He has remained constant and consistent in his precepts and promises. He has remained the common governor for the common man. He has remained the son of a poor teacher. He has remained the servant-leader and the classless humorist. He has not transformed from the commoner to an elite. He has not assumed the new carriage of sophistication and elegance of power and opulence. He demystified power and made it a calling and not a privilege. He has remained with his constituency – the masses.

The Ikpeazu brand promise is service and performance. This is what he has promised the people of Abia. Today, he is not only addressing the current needs of the people but their future aspiration. This is the hallmark of great brands and this is self-evident in his scorecard of performance in the last 300 days. He has remained connected with the people on a very strong emotional level. And, like every good brand, he is enjoying a fierce brand loyalty. Even his opponents can’t help but admit the truth that he is performing.

The Brand Ikpeazu is a new narrative in the history of Abia state. How is he able to construct 65 roads simultaneously with 27 fully commissioned at a time of severe economic downturn? How is he able to change the face of Aba and the entire Abia in just eight months? How did he do the magic when Abia’s federal allocation is now less than N2 billion? This is the new unresolved puzzle in Abia today. And the brand Ikpeazu would answer that it proceeds from the inner self, from one’s deep convictions and inspirational obsessions because where there’s a will, there’s always a way. The magic is the conviction that his journey is a calling for service and not a privilege.

The unique selling proposition of Ikpeazu brand is the constant recognition of his trajectory in power as a peculiar covenant. This self-affirmation drives the vision that has found expression in the new approach to governance in Abia state today. How do we characterise or personify the Ikpeazu brand? The brand is selfless, homely, down-to-earth and firm, creative and innovative, a restless mind but a good house-keeper.

Indeed, there are some key tactical actions, worthy of mention, that have helped to shape and form the Ikpeazu brand in the last 300 days and which also helped in the achievement of the new narrative of Abia. In deploying these actions, and when need be, Governor Ikpeazu had no option but to step on toes. But, it was all – “for the general good of Rome”.

There is a stamp of the governor in the formation of the Abia State Rural Infrastructure Development Initiative (ASTRIDE). This initiative is aimed at providing at least one project in each of the 184 INEC Wards in the 17 local councils.  The idea is to close the gap of infrastructural development in the rural areas. The ASTRIDE Committees are expected to choose an un-encumbered site for citing of the project. They are to choose the type of project among project lines of the state government and programme follows the bottom-top approach of developmental methodology.

There is also a special Ikpeazu colour and typeface in the area of agricultural revolution. This is demonstrated in the launch of ‘The Return to Farming’ and ‘Women in Fish Farming Initiative’. The initiative is aimed at empowering the youth and women by setting up farming cooperatives which will help drive key government policy as regards agriculture. The government through the initiative will make land, finance and training accessible for farmers. The vision is to explore the agric-economy as a support base for the state economy. The government has also concluded plans to source   N1 billion Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan for agricultural revolution. This loan will be disbursed purely to genuine farmers and not for political patronage.

Governor Ikpeazu has also indicated interest in going into a massive production of some key cash crops like oil palm, cassava and cocoa.  Abia state used to be the sixth largest cocoa producing state. To cap it up, he ordered all members of his executive council and principal officers to own a farm each in the current farming season.

There is unique branding in the moves to revitalise the old moribund industries in the state. This effort has taken the centre stage in the activities of the governor. He started by embarking on an inspection tour of Golden Guinea Breweries Industry in Umuahia to extract an assurance from the investor that the company will come upstream in May this year. The governor later repeated the same performance at the International Glass Industries, Aba when he personally visited the site for an on-the-spot assessment of the progress of work by the new managers who are working to revamp the moribund industry.

The government is embarking on a large-scale programme of renovation of dilapidated primary school buildings in the state. This is to be done with the funds accessed from Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). There is also ‘The Friends of Abia School Adoption Initiative’ (FASAI) through which the government is attending to the infrastructural challenges of both secondary and primary schools in the state.

The Ikpeazu brand is an ability, an attitude and a state of the mind; an ability to think something new and generate new ideas, an attitude to experiment with new possibilities, a state of mind conditioned by the peculiar circumstances of political birth.

Godwin Adindu