Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji of Abia State has fought many political battles since he assumed office in 2007. Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, in this report, wonders if he is a vision less governor, as some of his bitterest critics would say, or a misunderstood innovator, grappling with the task of leaving an enduring legacy. Until May 29, 2011, when Governor Theodore Orji-led Abia State government organized a grand 20 years anniversary of God’s own State and used the opportunity to showcase some of its achievements in the state, reports of kidnappings and general insecurity had led many observers to overlook the governor’s vision and leadership capabilities.Though he rose up to the occasion and, with the aid of the Joint Military Task Force, tackled the ugly problem effectively, it seems his critics have either resolved not to allow him any credit or are deliberately painting his administration’s activities in black for some political reasons. As a result, the governor has continued to be associated with one controversy after the other, the latest being the report that angry youths actually pelted him with pure water in Aba Township Stadium during the lying in state of the late Igbo leader, Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. A source close to Umuahia Government House alleged that the state government has embarked on many life changing projects but has been painted black always by a powerful political clique in the state which has sworn that the governor would never succeed. The source, a top civil servant, who pleaded not to be named, said the problem was that the governor do not ordinarily like to blow his trumpet. “It is for this reason that his political rivals have consistently tried to discredit him, in-spite of his contributions,” he said. He also confided that it was for that reason that some top government officials and politicians advised the governor to organize the 20th anniversary of the state the way it was organised. “We felt he needed to show the world what he had done,”he said. It would be recalled that some of the major projects that the government celebrated during the anniversary included housing estates in Umuahia, like that of Iseke, Amauba phase one and Amaokwe. Many of such housing estates have also been constructed in Aba, the commercial nerve center of the east.Our investigation confirms that after tackling the kidnapping menace, which gave the state its worst media image, Orji has paid more attention to construction of roads, especially in Aba. Recently, he reportedly released N2.5 Billion to road contractors.He also undertook to construct some of the federal roads leading to Aba, like the ABA-Owerri road, whose cost was put at over N5 billion.Another important thing Orji has done in the commercial city of Aba is in the area of environmental control. Few years ago, Aba was considered the dirtiest city in the country. Residents, who spoke to us, said it is no longer so. “The Refuge Disposal Unit is doing very well in Aba and Umuahia. Today, if you go to Umuahia, the streets are swept. There are people, cleaners who are there on daily basis. Bins are provided for people to drop their wastes. And the same is happening here in Aba,” Udeagha Ubagha, a business executive told The Nation, adding that this was a sign of great things to come. “I think the governor has long term initiative. So, I suspect most of his critics are looking at short term developments,” he said.Ubagha said other areas that Orji has made impact include education, medicare, transportation, and agriculture. According to him, “under the governor subventions were increased for tertiary institutions in the state.On the area of medicare, he said, “free medical scheme that was introduced by former governor Kalu is still very much on course.However, Dr. Kingsley Ihioma, a medical practitioner in Aba insists that most of the projects being celebrated today by the government are still on paper. “If you are living in Abia, you would understand the type of politics we play here. 70 percent of these projects you are referring to are still on paper and in the minds of government officials. We are yet to see them,”he said.But according to Chief Onyekwere Uko, a lawyer in Umuahia, “Orji may have done better in the political revolutions he has brought about in Abia State. “Beyond physical development, Orji has tried to renew the social and political reality of Abia State. I can tell you that the claim of political liberation is true,” he said. It would be recalled that as part of her campaign for last April’s general election, the governor’s wife, Mrs. Mercy Odochi Orji, campaigned that the governor’s decision to join PDP was in the interest of Abia State. “Abians should not allow themselves to be deceived because they have seen what happened before when the state was in the opposition, and what has happened since the state joined the Federal Government. All those things that we have been missing have started coming back,” she said.However, because some of the referred benefits are yet to manifest physically, neutral observers to the politics of Abia State are today wondering if Orji is the state’s real albatross or a misunderstood silent reformer. Time will tell.