Ijigban is lit

All roads, (as the cliche goes) lead to Ijigban, Ado Local Government Area of Benue State on Saturday, 16th and Sunday 17th January, 2021, as men and women from all walks of life grace the Special Thanksgiving Service by the AI-Inawo family for Patrick Onumah Agbo, PhD, who had a close shave with death on January 11, 2020!

The celebrant is a great philanthropist and successful business man who has been touching the lives of people across board. He is the eldest brother of the House of Representatives Member representing Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency, Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo!

The event itself is compelling given the testimony behind it, but the positive trajectory it evinces makes it even more so.

Ijigban belongs to the part Benue regards as the most backward due to poverty and lack of infrastructural development.

As recent as 2019, people avoid going to the area due to the stress of doing so owing to the lack of basic amenities like electricity!

Ijigban, unlike its brother communities of Agila, Utonkon and Igumale not only lacked infrastructure, it had for many years, lacked a strong voice that could draw the attention of the goverment to the plight of its people.

Consequently, the people for many years, suffered in silence.

Things however began to change when in 2019, Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo, a proud son of Ijigban, a grand son of the famous King Onumah Agbo, was elected to represent Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency.

As one who shared in the suffering of his people, Dr. Ottah Agbo made no pretence about what was going on in the part of the world he comes from and wasted no time in drawing the attention of the authorities to the excruciating pains of his people when he had the opportunity.

On his first day at the House of Representatives, while his colleagues introduced themselves in varied terms, the then newly-elected Lawmaker drew the attention of the world to the plight of his people when he chose to introduce himself differently:

“I represent the long suffering people of Ado/Ogbadigbo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency” he said to the consternation of his colleagues who were hearing of such a phrase for the first time!

But the uniqueness of that line in the introduction stuck for its ‘brutal frankness.’

For it is no exaggeration, that the Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency has suffered neglect in the past with the Ari Zone comprising Ijigban, Ulayi and Ekile wards as the biggest in backwaters of the constituency!

The Constituency has some of the worst roads in Benue, as its communities have no pipe-borne water, no hospital, no electricity and the people languished in abject poverty.

It is only with the coming of Dr. Ottah Agbo who has since being nicknamed , the Ozigizaga, the Feed Back Lawmaker, the Cicero of Enone for his powerful representation, that things began to change.

The first major commitment Dr. Ottah Agbo made in that regard was to the widows in his constituency, who he pledged his earnings from the National Assembly. And actually front-loaded his salary and dolled out N10m to the widows and vulnerable constituents in a well attended event in Okpoga on December 30th, 2019.

He has also boosted agriculture by introducing hi-breed stems of cassava, different from the ones known to the people and distributed same to farmers thereby boosting yields. Today, that Cassava yield has been christened ORIA OTTAH, meaning Ottah’s Cassava!

Last year, over a thousand people benefitted from his empowerment programmes through various training and skill acquisition programmes and payment of start-up stipends.

By December Dr. Ottah Agbo, also known as the Ozigizaga added to the success story: he brought electricity to his people.

For the first time, many communities in Ijigban and Ulayi also known as Ari Zone saw electricity.

It was the first time the people could relate with the biblical command of ‘Let there be light and there was light.’

The icing on the cake will be by December this year when Ekile Ward, Izzi, Ezza and Effium settlements in the Ari zone will enjoy electricity. Already these areas have been in the 2021 budget signed by President Muhammadu Buhari and the TalkNaDo Parliamentarian cannot wait to commission the projects!

For me, one of the most exciting developments in Ari is not just the ongoing of Primary Health Care Centre in Ijigban to serve the entire Enone but the ongoing road construction and bridge across River Okpokwu initiated by the Ozigizaga and conceived to link Ulayi to Ekile by motorable road through Ijigban.

These, in addition to the Electrification of Ichama District, Solar Street Light mounted across the nooks and crannies of the Federal Constituency encapsulate his action plan of Operation Light Up Enone!

Ichama is at the verge of having electricity for the first time, courtesy of Hon. Ottah Agbo.

Even before the Electrification of Ekile, the community is already celebrating the Ozigizaga for grading their road from Utonkon to Ekile, as well, as constructing a legacy bridge that would make the Ekile people and the Ezza people on that axis access the popular Idokpo Market in Rijo.

Every District in Enone must get at least a dose of the Caring Heart of Dr. Ottah Agbo. The Orokam people are happy that they now have water to drink as the Lawmaker recently revamped the water works in Oko, Orokam constructed by the World Bank.

In Edumoga, there is an ongoing borehole project in Opialu, a modern market situated between Amejo and Okonobo completed!

Royongo Ward, one of the largest Wards in Ado LGA is being connected to rural Electrification by the Reps Member.

Ijigban is indeed still backward, but there is no doubt that the community now has a strong voice and it is picking up.

The Saturday and Sunday Special Thanksgiving Sevice for Dr. Agbo Onumah, elder brother to Dr. Ottah Agbo, therefore, not only promises to be lit in terms of a big event but it is also significant in other ways.

One, it is a special way of thanking God for sparing the life of Patrick Onumah Agbo who survived an assassination attempt and two, it is an opportunity to showcase the Ari Zone and by extension, the entire Enone Constituency to the world.

It is a statement in celebration of the contrasts between the ugly past and the beautiful present.

It is a celebration of resilience and determination to succeed.

It is a celebration of what the future holds for the entire Enone with the good and quality representation by Dr. Ottah Agbo.

Welcome to Ijigban.