Copyright tribuneonlineng
Gratitude or thanksgiving is one value that is in eternal renewal. To use a more modern term, it is on auto repeat. Being grateful and giving thanks rejuvenate, and together they remain perpetually relevant to the giver and the receiver. They neither grow old, go out of fashion nor wither. If anything, gratitude melts the hard heart and attracts even more charity. To express thanks is one motivation that impacts both ways and its effects are, sometimes, boundless. The ripples never really stop, and that is why people remember how their beneficiaries receive their gestures and vice versa. Good deeds are permanently etched in memory and their results are among the reasons the world is seen as a beautiful place. In the Gospel of St. Luke, the act of gratitude caught the attention of no less a man like Jesus Christ himself. Luke in chapter 17:11-19 recorded that simple but profound act of gratitude displayed by the Samaritan leper, which still serves as an example till tomorrow. Christ cured ten lepers who had met him on the way and had sought his intervention in their cases. He listened to their request and only asked them to go and show themselves to the priest. On their way to the priest, one of them noticed that a miracle had happened. He had been healed! Of course, everyone had departed from the scene, all of them including the beneficiaries. Christ the healer and the ten men who had been made whole had all gone their various ways. However, one of the ten lepers felt that something was still left undone. The supposition is that that leper reasoned that “Eni tí a bá se l’oore ti kò bá dupe, bi olósa kò ni l’eru lo ni.” When good deeds do not receive the deserved or requisite gratitude, it would seem like one had been robbed. That grateful Samaritan must have thought in like manner just like the Yoruba of Nigeria situate it. The Yoruba see ingratitude as an action equivalent to robbery. So, the grateful leper made a quick U-turn and ran back to Jesus to say, “Thank you Lord for what you have done for me.” The Bible says, “He threw himself at the feet of Jesus…” Perhaps, it might not have been just that; he might have also put in a word of gratitude for his colleagues who had obviously forgotten to look back or had chosen not to. He did not think he shouldn’t go to thank God because he would go with nothing. So, he went to Jesus with nothing and with no one. He went with only his grateful heart and his speaking mouth. From what ostracizing leprosy had taken him through, the grateful leper knew he didn’t merit the tremendous gift he and the nine others had received from Christ. He realised that he was one of the privileged people. To underscore the universality of gratitude and show that it transcends the earth to even the divine, Jesus asked about the other nine. He asked, “Were not all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to praise God except this foreigner?” Even our Lord Jesus Christ appreciated the leper’s attitude of gratitude. He acknowledged it and, in addition to his being healed of his leprosy, he told the Samaritan that his faith had made him whole. Every day at Mass, among many other prayers, Catholics also pray that God should “help us to live what he has commanded us so that we may merit what he has promised.” It therefore presupposes that not everyone might receive in the same measure, and it is not given to everyone to respond to deeds with the same disposition. Gratitude is, therefore, not automatic. That is why there are numerous ways through which gratitude can be expressed by individuals or a people. As you are reading this, the people of Ikwuano in Abia State are still in the mood of gratitude, thanksgiving and hope for a greater tomorrow for the towns and villages in the local government area. They are grateful to God for answering one of their most fervent prayers through the instrumentality of their governor, Mr. Alex Chioma Otti. Governor Otti, on Friday, October 24, 2025, flagged off the reconstruction of the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road. This is a road which has remained a pain in the neck of the people in that part of the state for decades. In addition to the Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road, Governor Otti also flagged off the construction of the 13.5-kilometre Ariam Usaka Ring Road also in Ikwuano Local Government Area. Otti said: “This road is a strategic connector, linking agricultural zones and catalysing local enterprise,” and that “it forms part of our broader infrastructure expansion plan, which includes future developments across Oboro, Ibere, Oloko, Ariam, and surrounding communities.” Those familiar with Ikot Ekpene Road in Umuahia know that, metres after Ibeku High School at Ohokobe Ndume, the Umuahia township roads built by the government of Chief Sam Onunaka Mbakwe terminated. There was a home at that place whose owner referred to as “Cozy Igloo.” It bore a sign that told us that name. That popular junction was also later known as “Orpet.” Once at that place, depending on where you are coming from, you will see a world of difference in road quality. From that point, it is suffering galore for man and machine as one travels to the hinterland to Umudike and on to Ikot Ekpene in Akwa Ibom State. At the height of the agitation of the Ikwuano people for the repair of the road, the Federal Government awarded a contract for its repair in 2019. Nerves were calmed as the contractor moved in, but the chaotic work Hartland did there caused the people more pain than it brought relief. So, Ikwuano people should be allowed their excitement created by Governor Otti’s decisive action on the road, while they also hope that this time round, it would be done properly. Another reason for their joy and optimism is the difference in purpose which they see when they weigh the words of Governor Otti against those of the previous administrations in the state. Otti said: “The Ariam Usaka project is particularly close to my heart due to its potential to unlock prosperity for our people, and we are committed to completing it within 12 months.” What can the Ikwuano people attribute to previous governors of the state about roads and overall development in Ikwuano? Well, checks didn’t reveal anything as serious as what Otti told the people. The previous governments played more politics with the people and the road than show any serious commitment. Perhaps, the nearest the people got to succour with regard to the road was when Chief Sam Onuigbo represented the people in the House of Representatives. Governor Otti hinted on the need for vigilance and urged the people to refuse “to be misled by a few political actors from the state who tried to hinder the initiative.” People like Monday Onyekachi Ubani (SAN) and others who have openly expressed joy at the development being witnessed in Ikwuano under the Otti administration must encourage the people to be vigilant. They must highlight the fact that “eternal vigilance is the price for freedom” from political oppressors and brigands who might be plotting to return Ikwuano, nay Abia, to the Egypt of political wilderness. Tufiakwa! Ikwuano people know that “E kelee onye akidi, ya agwo ta ndwo.” Governor Alex Otti, this is to thank you for that historic feat on Umuahia–Ikot Ekpene Road and the Ariam Usaka project. We also thank the Federal Government for approving that the project can be undertaken by the Abia State government. Perhaps, this approval should rekindle the discussion on devolution of power, as well as that restructuring which has become kind of anathema in our political conversations. If restructuring means the rededication of roads from federal to states so that they’d receive attention, that would be better than leaving the people to suffer for well over forty years before they get attention on a road project. Restructuring also means the distance between Ekpiri Obeama and Umuahia is not anything compared to the distance between the same Ekpiri and Abuja. Let government be closer to the people.
