‘APGAland’

Anambra State is located in the South Eastern region of Nigeria. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra, which derived its name from the Omambala River, is bounded by Delta State to the West, Imo and Rivers states to the South, Enugu State to the East and Kogi State to the north.

The state capital is Awka while the largest city is Onitsha followed by Nnewi. Onitsha is ranked as one of the largest metropolises in Africa. Nnewi the second largest commercial city is also known as the automobile hub within Nigeria and Africa. In real life there are many things that are fun or tasty or stimulating that are not very good for you.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the period it governed Anambra was certainly one of them. All the party chieftains wanted is to attain power and not do what is right. It ran the state into crisis but thank God for the birthing of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the vision of the founding fathers and tenacity of the successive leadership of the party.

Today, APGA is Anambra and Anambra is APGA, hence it’s safe to refer to the state as ‘APGA Land’. Before APGA came to the rescue, Anambra seemed a hopeless and unlikely choice of destination or place to find peace and security.

Despite being the home of business titans and highly talented individuals, the state was generally a place in despair; criminal gangs engage in brutal warfare while security forces look the other way.

The best description of the state was a jungle where there was no respect for rules or laws. Then, the state was ‘Home for All’ , which is bad and ugly. The politics was dictated by political merchants whose primary interest was to grab power for the purpose of looting the treasury.

In 2003, a half- educated but controversial self-acclaimed godfather with the backing of a corrupt and compromised electoral umpire foisted his proxy as the governor of the state. The godfather appointed all principal officers but for the governor’s media aides and principal secretary.

Every day, after the close of work, the subservient governor would dutifully report his daily activities to the godfather. Against all protocols, the governor arrived at events before the godfather and spoke before the godfather and left an event only after the godfather had left. The governor allegedly swore to a powerful deity pledging absolute allegiance to the godfather.

However, the cracks in the relationship between the godfather and godson were visible early in the administration, but became more pronounced, when two principal officers on the behest of the godfather wrote a memo requesting to obtain a loan from a commercial bank purportedly to run the affairs of the state.

The governor who was in the dark was required to sign off, but he declined inking the application. When informed that the governor declined approving the loan, the godfather became furious and livid with anger.

Banking on his Abuja connection, he mobilised busloads of armed thugs, fed them with illicit drugs and alcohol, and ordered them to invade the government house where the governor was thoroughly harassed before being detained inside a toilet in his office. It was under detention and at gun point that the diminutive governor signed a purported letter of his resignation as governor.

The letter was rushed to the State House of Assembly whose members were also handpicked by the godfather. The House hurriedly endorsed the resignation making way for the swearing-in of the Deputy Governor, Dr Okey Udeh as a replacement.

A high-ranking police DIG, late Mr Raphael Ige was on hand with a battalion of police men to enforce the abduction and eviction of the sitting governor by non-state actors. In the ensuing milieu, the government house and other state-owned facilities were torched by the rampaging thugs.

As disconcerted as this brazen assault on constitutional order was, the ugly event sign posted the liberation of Anambra State and also the rise of the once upon a time minion to an urban legend. Dr Ngige lasted 33 months in office working for the happiness of the people while fending off a legal battle against Mr Peter Obi of APGA.

Young people are being prepared for the future economy and ready to export their expertise

Mr Obi eventually won the high-stakes legal battle, and thus began a new era of looking forward to the state. It was Obi who changed the appellation of Anambra as ‘Home for All’ to ‘Light of the Nation’- a more befitting appellation.

Till date, no one was prosecuted or convicted for the treasonable kidnap and abduction of a sitting governor – instead it was the governor that lost his position, and thanks to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, (now president) who helped to smuggle Dr Ngige out of Nigeria to a francophone country for safety.

This background story need to be told lest we forget how Anambra transited from the ‘Land of the Locust’ to APGA Land, and how the state commenced her progressive journey as a beacon of hope for the Igbo nation. This story has to be told because people with short memories abound who can easily vote for slavery only to suffer buyer’s remorse after the deed is done.

Eternal vigilance therefore remains our major safeguard as Anambra must never return to Egypt. Anambra has witnessed incremental progress in development under successive APGA led administrations beginning from Mr Peter Obi who governed the state between 2004 and 2013.

According to verifiable records obtained from reputable organisations like the UN, the UNDP and NAPEP, Anambra under Obi was declared Number One in MDGs implementation, it boasted of the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria, lowest unemployment rate in Nigeria, lowest debt profile and among the very best in education. The state arguably boasted the best rural road networks in Nigeria and rated the safest state in Nigeria for five years beginning from 2007 to 2013.

The succeeding Willy Obiano administration scored high in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture, trade and investment. It is easy to identify the signature flyovers, the Anambra International and Cargo Airport and the International Convention Centre.

The administration also enhanced the Anambra rice brand as the administration introduced the first digital data bank for Anambra farmers and active situation room for progressive monitoring and evaluation. Professor Charles Soludo currently serves as the fifth governor of Anambra State succeeding Chief Obiano. In barely two years and half, he has done remarkably well making people wonder how he is doing so much with less in this economic crunch.

The secret is his prudent management of resources and plugging leakages. Unlike most politicians that think of the next election, Soludo set the stage for a future characterised by progress, sustainability and enduring prosperity by taking tough decisions early in his administration in the interest of the future generations.

No local government is left behind in his radical change of the landscape. Over 400 kilometres of newly minted roads are being constructed and completed within record time in areas which hitherto never had asphalted roads, such as the 26-kilometre Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbenu-Oba Ofemili road.

The administration’s investment in education through remodelling of classrooms and recruitment of over 8000 teachers ended the era of pupils without teachers. Determined to build a liveable and prosperous homeland, the governor has provided 20,000 youths with life changing skills under the One Youth Two Skills programme.

Young people are being prepared for the future economy and ready to export their expertise. Prior to now, Onitsha and Awka were rated among the dirtiest cities in Nigeria. Through his massive urban regeneration and aggressive waste management model, wastes are no longer a common sight.

Both cities are wearing new looks and breathing fresh air. Also coming up rapidly is the Ekwulobia Inter Change, Solution Fun City, the new Government House and a Five Star hotel that can host presidents, top tier business moguls, investors and other important personalities.

To address the energy problem, the administration signed an MOU with EEDC to guarantee regular power supply to major cities in the state. The constraints of space will not allow me to state all Prof Soludo has accomplished in two years suffice to restate that Anambra is APGA Land.