For months now, Abia State has watched a familiar script return to life. A life many believed had been buried with the old order. What began as subtle political pressure from Abuja, disguised as “oversight,” has grown into open attempts to intimidate and derail the reforms of Governor Alex Chioma Otti, or at least force him into the APC, a party many see as a virus corroding and destroying everything near good governance since 2015 when they sneaked into power.

And as the dust is now settling, it has become unmistakably clear that the individuals circling around Governor Otti are not new adversaries. They are the same figures whose years in power left Abia wounded, weary, and desperate for light.

To many observers, the coordinated pushback against Abia’s progress is no coincidence. It is a well‑orchestrated plot from afar, echoing the political dark signatures of the APC. The first shot came from Hon. Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, whose final months of 2025 were marked by intense pressure on the governor to bend or defect.

When that effort failed, the shadows behind him stepped forward. The masks slipped. The familiar faces emerged, figures whose years in leadership shaped some of Abia’s most difficult chapters. Those who held Abia captive and destroyed Aba, Ndigbo’s economic power base.

These former leaders now present themselves as defenders of Abia’s interests, yet many residents see them as the architects of Abia’s darkest years. Their sudden activism raises a piercing question: why are the loudest critics of today the same individuals who presided over yesterday’s decline?

H.E. Alex Chioma Otti must not underestimate the power of these past men. They have begun recruiting their henchmen and enforcers. But Abians have not forgotten the long stretch from 1999 to 2023, a period we recall with pain rather than pride. The administrations of Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji, and Okezie Ikpeazu left deep scars, especially on Aba, the commercial heartbeat of the Southeast.

Under their watch, the city endured infrastructural collapse, economic stagnation, and insecurity that pushed families and businesses to the brink. These memories remain vivid for those who lived through them. I remember them vividly as a major investor in Aba.

Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu claims to have performed “magic” during his tenure, but history tells otherwise. The years of insecurity that plagued Abia under his watch, particularly the era dominated by the terror of Osisikankwu, remain etched in public memory. Between 2007 and 2010, Aba became a city under siege. Markets emptied, streets fell silent, families fled, and businesses shut down. These were his immediate legacies as he exited power in 2007. Fear was a daily companion. Abia survived due to its resilience, and for many, those period symbolized profound sense of abandonment. The idea that the same figures now seek to “save” Abia rings hollow to those who remember the darkness they left behind.

This is why the attacks on Governor Otti feel familiar. The hostility is not about governance; it is about resistance to change. It reflects the discomfort of those who once benefited from a system now being dismantled.

It reflects the fear that transparency, accountability, and development will expose what years of misrule concealed. The pattern is unmistakable: discredit the governor, distract him, derail reforms, and reclaim influence. Abians have seen this movie before, and they know how it ends. This was how the APC sneaked in on Nigerians in 2015.

What is unfolding in Abia is a clash between a new vision of governance and the remnants of an old order seeking to reassert itself. It is a confrontation between those who want to rebuild the state and those accused of dragging it into decay.

To many residents, the individuals challenging Alex Otti are not defenders of democracy but reminders of the very darkness Abia is determined to escape. Abia is under nature’s grace because the governor’s greatest strength is the trust and solidarity he shares with the people. That bond is his shield against any political storm. He must continue to govern with focus and resolve and must confront these henchmen with determined seriousness, for they are enemies of development.

For Abians, we remember the years of fear, the kidnappings, the broken roads, the abandoned schools, the suffocating stagnation, and the silence of leaders who should have protected them. Because we remember, we are not easily swayed by sudden bursts of political activism from those who presided over our suffering.

We see these people as greedy bounty hunters who must be reminded that they ought to be in prison for the atrocities they committed against Abians.

Since they’re taking the people’s patience for granted, let us remind Sen. Orji Uzor himself that he was once imprisoned when he stepped out of line in their coven. He once cried in parliament while others made laws, but today he thinks Abians have forgotten.

Whether one agrees with every policy of the current administration or not, many citizens believe Abia is finally moving…slowly, steadily, but unmistakably towards the light. Abians are determined not to allow their state to slip back into the shadows they fought so hard to escape in 2023.

Dr Ezeh Emmanuel Ezeh wrote from Aba, Abia State and is a member of Obidient National Advisory Council. He was the HOR Candidate for Abakaliki/Izzi Federal Constituency, Ebonyi State.