Good Governance

WHEN MEN CHOOSE BLINDNESS: A SHORT HISTORY OF DEVELOPMENT DENIAL From Ancient States to Osisioma NgwaHistory records a strange but recurring political disease: the refusal to see. Not because nothing exists, but because seeing would destroy a carefully built narrative. Across centuries and continents, political actors have chosen blindness to developmental efforts—sometimes out of rivalry, sometimes out of wounded pride, sometimes out of the simple fear that acknowledgment would elevate a rival.Abia State, today, is not exempt from this ancient habit. THE OLD STORY, RETOLDFrom Athens to Washington, from Singapore to Johannesburg, history shows that reform periods attract a peculiar…

IS ABIA BEING GOVERNED? YES — AND HERE IS THE EVIDENCE Why the narrative of “loot” collapses under facts, fiscal rules, and visible reformsBy any serious standard of public finance, governance is not measured by noise but by systems, rules, and outcomes. In Abia State under Governor Alex C. Otti, the evidence points in one direction: a government restoring order to public finance, not looting it.The controversy around virement and supplementary appropriations has been loudly framed as scandal. Yet, when examined with sobriety and knowledge of budget law, the claim collapses.Virement is not theft. It is a legal fiscal instrument.Across…

Output Is Not the Same as Reform: Why Alex Otti’s Abia Is Taking the Harder, Lasting Path It is fair to acknowledge that Peter Ndubuisi Mbah has pursued a visibly aggressive, project-forward agenda in Enugu. Within two years, his administration commissioned urban roads, announced the New Enugu City vision, rolled out farm estates, revived water schemes, passed a state electricity law, and invested in transport hubs—an approach reviewed by BusinessDay in its assessment of Enugu’s infrastructure drive and smart-city ambition (https://businessday.ng/life/article/two-years-of-evidence-in-enugu-state-celebrating-governor-peter-mbahs-two-years-in-office/). Output is undeniable. But governance is not only about how many projects move at once; it is about the…