By Cajetan Mmuta
The newly sworn-in Governor of Anambra state, Professor Charles Soludo has urged people and residents of the state to join hands with his government in the task of repositioning and lifting the state to an enviable height, saying that “everybody is important in this journey and I need your help to succeed.”
He assured the people that he and his Deputy, Dr. Onyekachukwu Ibezim would work to make them proud.
Speaking before eminent personalities including his predecessor, Governor Willie Obiano, National leadership of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), former Governor Peter Obi, captains of industry, party chieftains and supporters as well as market women and traders, shortly after his inauguration by the Chief Hedge of the State, Hon. Justice Onochie Anyachebelu, the governor said work has started in earnest and there is no time or Kobo to waste in fanfare.
He said in a few minutes, the positions of key principal officers would be made public while a meeting of the State, as well as that on Okpoko, Security Council; meeting of the Strategic, Execution, a and Evaluation (SEE) team and that of permanent secretaries as well as that on Okpoko would take shape.
He added that “Within the next one week, the list of commissioners will be laid before the House of Assembly. Tomorrow, we will head to Okpoko in Ogbaru Local Government Area and parts of Onitsha and Idemili as we signpost our commitment to fundamental urban regeneration, beginning with the greater Onitsha metropolis.”
‘Charly Nwamgbafor’ expresses gratitude to the federal institutions—the judiciary, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and security agencies for insisting on a transparent and credible electoral system.
He particularly thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and the Presidency for remaining democrats.
He pledged the commitment of his administration to conduct local government elections as the uniform local government system as the third federating unit is one of the contested features of our federalism.
He said, “Now is the time to work, and there is no minute or kobo to waste in fanfare. In a few minutes, I will announce some of the principal officers of the administration, and commence with serious meetings of the Anambra State Security Council, followed by a meeting with the permanent secretaries, a meeting on Okpoko, and with my Strategy, Execution, and, Evaluation (SEE) team”.
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Soludo noted that a humongous awaits the new government and its people even in the face of the lean financial base imposed on the state by the peculiar structure of the federal government, assuring however that he would work hard to make Anambra proud and that every Kobo of tax paid would attach maximum value to the people.
“I see and feel all the humungous challenges. I know the lean financial base of the state. I know the limitations imposed upon a subnational state such as Anambra by the peculiar structure of our federation. But here’s my promise: I will give it my all. I will work very hard every day, with you, to make Anambra proud. Every kobo of your tax money will be deployed to provide you maximum value,” he stated.
“Anambra under our watch will mirror this ideology, and we believe that this should be Nigeria’s compass to the future. We will seek active collaboration and cooperation with the Federal Government, our neighboring and other states as well as the international community to provide our state with truly people-centered governance. We will consolidate the progress made under our predecessors to continue Anambra’s upward trajectory,” the governor said.
“Today, I stand up for the millions of Ndi Anambra for whom this mandate means everything. The hopes and expectations rise to the heavens. Understandably, all of us wish that I could perform miracles – by waving my hands and all our problems will be solved. I hear you. I feel your pulse. For your sake I keep awake at night, sometimes having palpitations about not letting you down. Well, since God is the Miracle Worker, I will look up to Him in prayer and faith as we all start the work ahead of us. I see and feel all the humungous challenges.”
“I know the lean financial base of the state. I know the limitations imposed upon a subnational state such as Anambra by the peculiar structure of our federation. But here’s my promise: I will give it my all. I will work very hard every day, with you, to make Anambra proud. Every kobo of your tax money will be deployed to provide you maximum value.”
“Today, I come with a sober heart, conscious of the enormity of responsibilities on our shoulders and the challenges ahead,” he stated.
The governor said,” Our detailed plan rests on five key pillars: law and order (homeland peace and security); economic transformation as Nigeria’s next axis of industrial-tech and leisure; competitive and progressive social agenda (education, health, youth, women and vulnerable groups); Governance, rule of law and a rebirth of our value system; and aggressively tackling our existential threat posed by the environment—towards a clean, green, planned and sustainable cities, communities, and markets.
“For me, this agenda is also personal: I am here to build a society where I would be proud to live after leaving office.*
He said his government would work on collectively building building on a new social and economic order that guarantees and defends economic freedom and reward of private enterprise to secure our future such that any child born in Anambra will have little incentive to rush elsewhere in search of opportunities and anyone persecuted anywhere in the world can return to a happy and prosperous homeland.
“Such a new order will, of necessity, entail a massive disruptive change and creative destruction, with short-term pains but guaranteed long-term benefits. As a humane and progressive government, we shall strive to deliver the difficult change with a human face.”
“As we transit into a non-oil economy, our strategy is a small open economy framework embedded in 21st Century imperative of Everything Technology: we seek to bring the world to Anambra and take Anambra to the world, especially in the context of the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA).”
“Our “Made in Anambra’” and “Anambra Standards” agenda underpinunderpins this strategy. If you can produce it in Anambra, I will be your chief marketing officer, provided that your standard meets the “Anambra standard”—which is excellence.”
“The Anambra State Government will only patronize Made in Anambra products and services unless such goods or services are not currently made in Anambra, then made in Nigeria, Africa, etc, in that sequence. When you see me in Innoson vehicles or my Akwete dress with a pair of shoes made in Ogbunike/Nkwelle Ezunaka and Onitsha, we are making a statement.”
While appreciating the 150 star-studded Transition Committee chaired by our own Dr (Mrs) Oby Ezekwesili, the governor said the ceremony called for sober reflection due to the enormity of challenges on the ground.
“We will celebrate when: security of life and property is guaranteed and law and order restored; every child of schooling age is in school; every schoolchild is receiving the 21st-century education for the digital age; everyone, especially children and women can access quality healthcare; the cost of doing business is down to near zero; our roads are tarred and we have an efficient transportation system with no one having to wait in traffic for more than a few minutes; we have access to 24-hour electricity; our streets are clean and green; our cities, communities, and markets are planned and cleaned; the many millions of Charlie Nwamgbafors and the vulnerable persons are lifted to realize their God-given potential”.
He also harped on the imperative of ensuring that all our pensioners receive their gratuities; workers are paid their leave allowances and contractors are paid; our youth can get jobs and business opportunities; the youth in Okpoko ‘Zone 9’ become global serial entrepreneurs; poverty is near zero and income levels rising…etc. Yes, I will not celebrate, and certainly not with the taxpayers’ money.”
He thanked all the stakeholders including the national leadership of APGA, traditional rulers, the clergies, labor, market women, and traders as well as youth and support groups for their efforts which led to the emergence of the new government in the state.
“Our contract with Anambra people derives from three seminal documents: (a) “Anambra Vision 2070—a 50-Year Development Plan” which I chaired the drafting; (b) “The Soludo Solution: A People’s Manifesto for a Greater Anambra”; and (c) “The Transition Committee (Combined) Report”—which built upon the first two.*
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“In sum, this is an agenda for an itinerant tribe in search of a livable and prosperous homeland. Driven by the philosophy of One Anambra, One People, One agenda, our goal is to build Anambra into a livable and prosperous smart megacity. We aim to transit beyond petroleum into the digital world of the 4th Industrial Revolution, and envision Anambra as an industrial, technology, and leisure/entertainment hub of West Africa.”
“We will seek active collaboration with the federal government not only to export manufactured and agricultural products, but also services (especially tech, leisure/entertainment, and skills/talents as we seek an educational system whose products are productive at home and exportable).”
“We must make the best of a bad system, by unleashing the potential of governance at the lower levels. Over the next two years, we shall review/amend the relevant legislation, reform and strengthen the system for efficiency, restructure/strengthen the Anambra’s Independent Electoral Commission, and conduct local government elections. We will collaborate and coordinate activities with LGAs to ensure synergy and complementarities. Let the revolution get to the grassroots.”
“We shall reinvigorate and mainstream the public-community-private partnership (PCPP) – is a veritable framework for service delivery and development. We will develop pragmatic frameworks for the private sector and communities to: adopt schools, build roads/infrastructure, manage government assets, receive and manage development matching grants; participate in sanitation and securing law and order, etc. There is a subtle but powerful revolution underway, raising the bar on our age-old community development model.”
“Our government is committed to promoting the expeditious dispensation of justice, especially the prompt resolution of commercial disputes. We shall collaborate with the Chief Judge and his colleagues to significantly improve the physical and technological infrastructure of the courts, and hopefully, also implement some structural reforms to fast-track the path to justice and make Anambra the number one in the speedy dispensation of justice and ease of doing business.”
“We will mainstream our values of hard work, integrity, compassion, and sanctity of life. The fringe but destructive minority which embodies the “get rich quick by all means” philosophy, cultism, drug addiction, blood-letting criminality, kidnapping, etc do not represent us, and cannot define us. As a new social order and “everything technology” philosophy takes life, many unproductive systems will give way.”
“The land registry will be digitized; we shall leverage technology to ensure a responsive and accountable public service together with our initiative for an ID Card for every Anambra person wherever he/she may be, and a code of conduct for political appointees to mainstream servant leadership by example.”
“We must rid Onitsha and all our roads and markets of revenue touts and make shopping in Anambra a pleasurable experience. Today, I will sign an executive order to suspend all revenue contracts operating in the parks, markets, and roads until we put in place a new system within the next four weeks.”
He declared that from tomorrow, 18th March 2022, if anyone asks you to pay cash to him as revenue to the government in the parks, markets, and roads, such a person must be a thief. Market unions must also stop harassing customers.”
“We shall embark upon massive training and social re-engineering to wean people off the old unproductive ways. As a humane government, we shall endeavor to offer alternative opportunities to the revenue touts. Over the next two years, many will complain that “it is not the way we do it”, but we can’t repeat the same thing and expect a different result.”
*During the coming months, we shall embark upon bold but difficult reforms and these reforms may be unpopular, especially among those benefitting from the existing order. For sure, the revenue and park mafia that rake in billions of government revenue into their private pockets won’t be happy.”
“But we commit to doing the right things. And we plead for your understanding, patience, and cooperation. By His grace, Anambra will win!
*But Anambra State is a subnational entity, within the context of Nigeria’s unitary-federalism. The speed of its progress is in part dependent upon both the threats and opportunities inherent in such a system.”
“The ongoing Constitutional amendment at the National Assembly is welcome, albeit that some of the proposals merely tinker at the margins and attempting attempt to do more of the same. The subnational states need to be unleashed. For too long, Nigeria has tried a top-down strategy; now is the time to try the bottom-up approach, and that’s part of my motivation.”
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“While we debate how far and how fast the devolution and reconfigurations will go, the world is not waiting. As the world transits away from oil into cleaner energy sources and a world of the 4th Industrial Revolution, Nigeria needs a fundamentally different rule-book to survive and compete. We will seek to optimize the limited headroom allowed by the current peculiar structure to give our people a new life.”
“Besides the environment, a fundamental existential threat to our state and indeed Igboland is that of peacebuilding and law and order. We can’t build this homeland by turning the sword against each other. Ndi Anambra loves their homeland but the recent upsurge in criminality poses a great threat. My heart bleeds to see and hear about our youth dying in senseless circumstances.”
“Every criminal gang—kidnappers, wicked murderers, arsonists, rapists, thieves— all now claim to be freedom fighters. Criminality cannot be sugarcoated. This must stop.”
“I endorse the recent statement (March 7, 2022) by the Joint Body of South East Council of Traditional Rulers and Bishops/Archbishops on Peace and Conflict Resolution, requesting for a tripartite discussion between them, The Presidency, and southeast governors to deal with the conflicts in the South East, especially about Nnamdi Kanu and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and the Eastern Security Network (ESN).”
“There is no conflict that dialogue, in good faith, cannot resolve. Our government is determined to urgently restore peace and security in Anambra, and we will seek the active cooperation and collaboration of all stakeholders.”
“To IPOB/ESN, the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), as well as the disparate armed groups in the forests, it is time to interrogate both the purpose and means of your campaign. To the politicians playing politics with the insecurity, you are riding a tiger. The current trajectory is a desolation road.”
“Let us get around the table and talk. Let the elite in the closet come out, and let’s debate our future and forge a consensus. The conspiracy of silence by the elite and some community leaders must end. If you see something, say or do something! Securing Igboland and Nigeria must be our collective responsibility. Let those in the forests come out, surrender their guns and let’s work together to rehabilitate and empower you to contribute positively to the peace and prosperity of our homeland.”
A significant part of our state economy is powered by artisans, Keke drivers, vulcanizers, hairdressers, cart pushers, petty traders, bricklayers, women frying Akara, and all those who depend upon daily toil and sweat to feed their families.”
“Every day, there is a “sit at home”, these poor masses lose an estimated N19.6 billion in Anambra alone. Due to the protracted breakdown of law and order, businesses are relocating outside Igboland, with growing unemployment, and traders who used to come to shop in Onitsha, Aba, etc are going elsewhere. Who is losing? By forcing our children—the future of Igboland—to stay at home instead of being in school, while even the critically sick people (including pregnant women) cannot go to the hospital, we harm our future.”
“I hereby challenge any of the disparate groups that claim that it is not part of the senseless killings and kidnappings to step out and show leadership by joining hands with us to DO something about it. If you love our homeland, there is no place for bloodshed. Our Lord Jesus Christ admonished in Matthew 26: 52: “Put your sword back in its sheath, for all who live by the sword will die by the sword”. In the traditional religion, the land places a curse upon those who spill the blood of the innocent.”
