FROM STOMACHS TO SYSTEMS: HOW ALEX OTTI IS REWRITING THE POLITICS OF GOVERNANCE IN ABIA
In Nigerian politics, there are two types of leaders: those who govern to feed the moment, and those who govern to build the future. The difference between both is rarely subtle, but it is often resisted. In Abia State today, Governor Alex C. Otti represents a disruptive shift from the old order—a shift that has unsettled entrenched interests while re-anchoring governance on systems, not sentiments.
At the heart of this disruption lies a phrase that has since become symbolic: the abolition of “stomach infrastructure.”
THE END OF STOMACH INFRASTRUCTURE
For decades, governance in Abia—like much of Nigeria—was reduced to cash handouts, political patronage, and the illusion of empowerment. Governor Otti’s declaration that the era of “stomach infrastructure” is over was not mere rhetoric; it was a policy statement.
Rather than sharing public funds among individuals, the administration has redirected scarce resources toward critical infrastructure—roads, healthcare, sanitation, and institutional reform—assets that outlive political cycles and benefit the collective.
Predictably, this shift has generated discomfort. Those who once thrived on transactional politics now struggle to adapt to a system where public money must show public value.
WASTE AS WEALTH: TURNING A LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET
Perhaps no initiative captures the philosophical difference of this administration more than the Waste-to-Wealth Initiative. In a state long plagued by unmanaged refuse and environmental degradation, waste is no longer treated as a nuisance but as economic potential.
By re-imagining waste management as an enterprise—capable of generating energy, creating jobs, and improving public health—the Otti administration is aligning Abia with global best practices in circular economy governance. This is not cosmetic cleanliness; it is structural environmental reform.
WHY REFORM ATTRACTS RESISTANCE
History is instructive. From Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore to Kagame’s Rwanda, reformist leaders are often accused of doing “too little” by those who benefited from doing nothing well. In Abia, the criticism follows a familiar script: downplay systems, demand spectacles; ignore foundations, ask for fireworks.
But governance is not theatre.
It is accounting, institutions, and long-term planning.
You do not measure reform by how loud it trends, but by how quietly it stabilises society.
THE POLITICS OF SUSTAINABILITY
By prioritising infrastructure over handouts, waste conversion over dumping, and systems over slogans, Governor Otti has made a clear political choice: sustainability over popularity.
This choice explains both the progress recorded and the hostility encountered. Sustainable governance disrupts rent-seeking networks. It replaces entitlement with structure and replaces noise with metrics.
CONCLUSION: A BEE THAT STINGS FOR THE FUTURE
Abia’s current trajectory confirms one truth: real reform always stings before it heals. The resistance facing this administration is not evidence of failure; it is often the price of change.
From abolishing stomach infrastructure to turning waste into wealth, Alex Otti’s governance philosophy signals a deliberate move away from politics of consumption toward politics of construction.
And long after the noise fades, systems will remain.
AProf Chukwuemeka Ifegwu Eke
