By Pat Onukwuli
In a couple of weeks from now, Professor Chukwuma Soludo will be sworn in as the new Governor of Anambra State. On that date, March 17, 2022, to be precise, the fate of millions of ndi Anambra and residents in the state will be entrusted in his care for the first four years.
It is expected that he will lead the state on a path of progress, secure the lives of its people and push the levers of development above the ordinary run of building roads and fixing kerbs. Already he speaks of grand plan on how to transform the state and make it the Dubai of Nigeria.
It is possible that his victory derived partly from the big ideas and partly from the effort of his party – the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). His past record at the Central Bank of Nigeria where he effected the banks consolidation would have influenced the choice the people made and the effort they put up in making good his dream of governing Anambra after severally failed attempts.
But beyond the victory, there is work to be done which demands less of the excessively complex administrative procedure that was the Apex Bank’s. The politics of leading a complex state like Anambra requires some give and take – a trade-off here and a hard ball dealing there – if the Anambra project will succeed.
Though his early gambit – the copious assemblage of eighty fairly tested technocrats as members of his transition committee was received with mixed feelings, but it is his recent pronouncements that got many thinking where government is headed.
His choice of Mr. Governor over and above the highfalutin title of His Excellency, his promise of scaling down on fanfare associated with hand-over, his warning of terminating revenue contracts given to friends of government, his promise of heading straight to Okpoko (one of the biggest slums in the state) after inauguration, his promise of making Innoson Motor brand official fleet of the government, his choice of Akwete fabrics as his official dress and above all the decision to select his would-executive council members through written application/ interview are all good, but may not suffice. Every new government is known to profess populist ideas, different from the one it is succeeding, but often fails to live up to its claim. Soludo’s may not be different even as the people have taken his pronouncements as informal contract and expect him to keep them.
Indeed, the idea to head straight to Okpoko is good, but it will be better if in the end the effort does not go to waste. Okpoko requires conscious renewal if it must stop detracting from the commercial value of Onitsha. It is unfortunate that previous governments in the state did nothing and couldn’t see beyond the rustic and brokenness of Onitsha, Nnewi, Nkpor, Ihiala, Ekwulobia, including Awka, which still looks like a glorified village. It is sad that after thirty one years of assuming the status of the capital of Anambra state, Awka is yet to look like one.
There is nothing bad about thinking of pruning down on the cost of governance and blocking leakages in revenue collection. That is a good way to begin if indeed he has the political will to stay the course and also deal with other fine aspects of governance. No doubt, there will be challenges, especially from the opposite ends of the political spectrum and from his support base. Both expect nothing short of comprehensive performance. He must be aware that he has between the first six months and one year for his performance rating to be placed on a pan of balance with the verdict swaying either in his favour or against it.
His government has little time to prove itself, especially in containing the deteriorating security situation in the state. The poor security situation in the state and the entire southeast zone requires drastic overhaul of the security architecture. It will pay no dividend attempting to reinvent the old security wheel currently on ground in the state which could not lighten the people’s burden. All manner of crime is reported in the state every other day which has no sign of abating, especially with escalation of the intake of methamphetamine (Mkpuru mili) by the youths. Such rise in crime rate requires an out-of-the-way approach. The vigilante should be more involved as well as other neighbourhood watches.
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On the part of food security, his administration should look in the direction of the fertile belt of the Omambala, Ogbaru and Nkwelle Ezunaka areas with the view to harnessing their potentials for improved agriculture. The effort of the outgoing government in the area of mechanized agriculture through private partnership initiative is good, but not enough which can be enhanced through provision of more enabling environment. More businessmen should be encouraged to go into farming as a buffer against food scarcity as well as indemnity against youth restiveness. Channeling creative energies of the youths, idling away in the villages and cities, through useful engagement should concern the incoming government.
Recreating the new Anambra of our dream requires more than mouthing changes in the media. It demands more than a passing interest in the affairs of the people – a conscious effort to confront the multiple challenges facing the state. Effort should be made to deal with the housing challenge currently facing the state. As at today, many civil servants in the state still commute to work from Enugu. It is the same thing for many business men in Onitsha who prefer to reside across the Niger. Apart from shortage of accommodation and insecurity, many of these people would not like to risk traveling the long distance daily. It is all about failure of leadership because it will cost government little or nothing to build low, medium and high cost housing estates where its workforce can live, everyone according to their status. This does not only save man hour, prevent revenue loss, but it helps to ease the business of governance.
Soludo government should consider urban renewal as a very important aspect of development if he has to stem the capital flight from the state. This is because it is the brokenness of Onitsha that pushed many residents into relocating to Asaba. The loss of revenue, the cost of which can be calculated from tenement rate, education tax, and sundry other taxes, affect development in the state the wrong way.
Soludo has a lot in his plate and because he holds in trust the mandate of thousands who preferred him to others on November 6, 2021, means he must work hard to succeed after all to whom much is given, much is expected. He has to be up and running if the Anambra project must succeed.
Dr Pat Onukwuli writes from Bolton, UK, via patonukwuli2003@yahoo.co.uk