Reasons Behind Abians’ Quest For Prof. Greg Ibe

Reasons Behind Abians’ Quest For Prof. Greg Ibe

By Richard Agwu

According to Mark Skousen “We shall never change our political leaders until we change the people who elect them.” It is therefore important that Citizens should elect leaders taking into consideration their ability and capability to make a difference and add value to the society. Hence, Abia citizens are earnestly asking for an astute consultant and a renowned philanthropist, Prof.Greg Ibe,the 2023 APGA candidate to come and deliver Abians from the hands of those who have enthroned mediocrity in governance of Abia State.

Abians have observed three broad sets of qualities that citizens expect politicians to display: which are competence, integrity and authenticity. To be authentic, a politician must be judged to be in touch with the lives and outlooks of ordinary people. Little wonder then why the administrative Collosus embarked on the provision of palliatives and healthcare to Abians during the peak of COVID-19 ravage. These qualities have been lacking in Abia state since the inception of democracy in 1999. May be, those who have held power in Abia state for 23 years have not seen the absolute importance of integrity traits which the citizens are significantly more likely to prioritize.

The personality and qualities of Prof. Ibe have long been acknowledged as important elements of politics and influence on political attitudes and behaviour This increasing attention has been accompanied by the earnest demand for Prof. Ibe to get prepared to govern Abia come 2023. These expectations and evaluations have become even more important over time, as his care for the downtrodden and the elderly in Abia state have increased dramatically.

Prof. Ibe has done in Abia State what the government failed to do, Abians are therefore more tied by loyalty to him as a person and are not contemplating about whom to lend their support to at 2023 governorship election. Therefore, the dynamics of interaction between Prof. Ibe and Abians have also changed narrative of Abia State rapidly, shift fundamentally and reshaping our political landscapes. He has fulfilled most of the citizens’ expectations towards politicians’ personality traits and the relationship between these expectations and political trust. He has therefore focused on three traits: competence, integrity and authenticity

Another quality of Prof. Ibe is ‘charisma’, described as the ability of leaders to touch the lives of citizens, providing them with warmth and humility. Relatedly, there is emerging evidence that it has become more important to Abians that the next governor must be free from string, to avoid being controlled as currently observed. Charisma is therefore a term better reserved for when exceptional qualities of vision, veracity and trustworthiness are perceived in a leader like Prof. Ibe by followers.

Despite repeated unfulfilled promises made by the government in power in Abia State,closure of veritable institutions,like Abia Polytechnics,Aba,which Prof Ibe has voluntarily offered sucor to the students and an over-arching trend of decline in levels of trust since 1999, Abians are itching for a change of government in Abia State which Prof. Ibe will head. Integrity which hinges on Ibe’s ability to fulfill all promises made is a plus to him. It is pertinent to state here that this quality places Prof.Ibe’s personality features more open to new challenges and more contented with agreeable and doable promises. These personality features might comfortably go along with the performance of competence and even integrity. Abians have therefore passed trust judgments on Prof Ibe and do not require any other information or even a great deal of information as his actions have spoken more than words. He has done it before, is the testimonial he needs.

Evaluations of Prof. Ibe are likely to provide a powerful and easy heuristic for determining whether his government can be trusted or not. Hundreds of students,who are enjoying full scholarship at Gregory University,Uturu, the Elderly and the downtrodden are comfortable about judging an individual politician rather than a government, since those are the criteria that they tend to use in much of their everyday lives. Abians are comfortable with his competency, integrity and his benevolence: the extent to which citizens perceive him to care about their welfare and motivated to act in the public interest.

Another factor making Abians have seen in Prof.Ibe is his historical persistence, which has given rise to dynastic political competition, and weakens mechanisms of electoral manipulation which is inherent in a particular local government area in Abia State With him on the driver’s seat; and the mobilization of electorate to get their PVC ,it is bye bye to electoral fraud.

Abians are therefore, earnestly asking for all to support Prof. Greg Ibe to become the next governor of Abia State: the HOPE of Abians.