By Cajetan Mmuta, Awka
For the executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo, history and records of time, season and events have shown that he is not a product of accident of birth, time, event, and leadership.
Right from his days as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and heading other sensitive positions till now, Soludo, who is the 18th governor of Anambra State, has proved his mettle, courage, sincerity, and industry in governance as encapsulated in his vision, mission and focus as well as his policies and agenda of his government to put the state on the sand of history for a liveable and prosperous place.
Soludo, no doubt, is not unaware of what awaits him while in the driver’s seat as the chief servant of the state, and more importantly the global expectations of him not to fall, considering his wealth of experience and exposure.
On July 20th, 2024, residents, stakeholders, and stalwarts of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the state witnessed what could best be described as a history-making event that heralded the laying of the foundation for a new order, and by extension a total departure from the usual political gathering or grandstanding as Soludo flagged off the distribution of 10, 400, 000 million economic trees and seedlings expected to get to over 200, 000 households across the 21 Local Government Areas, 376 communities and three senatorial districts for planting within the year.
It was a bold statement of giving hope and faith in a journey towards the fatty path, earlier laid by Nigeria’s forefathers for the rich history of wealth and prosperity which then was the attraction of most African and global community.
It should wake the consciousness of great thinkers, investors, tourists, industrialists farmers, etc, particularly those who could conscientiously peep or see through the thin lines about the future or uncertainties of what is to come in the polity.
It, therefore, requires every household to key into the initiative for future economic prosperity, the emancipation of the poor, and a new hope for the hopeless. Thus begins the revolution for Greener Anambra, a new Economic and Industrial ecosystem to further launch the state into an investment destination, attraction for leisure, and bolstered commercial activities.
The exercise hopes to lift millions of Ndi Anambra out of poverty and it provides an opportunity for the people to mainstream tree planting as a new culture for a real green economy where every household will take ownership.
Like the governor reminded the enthusiastic crowd of farmers, party faithful, supporters, and fans alike, who converged at the Achebe Stadium in Fegge, Onitsha South LGA of the state, such historic exercise, and feat were the footprints and preaching of the nation’s founding fathers and leaders during the first republic.
According to the governor, we must exploit and learn from our past to build the sustainable prosperity we want, and to empower our people sustainably.
“Today, we celebrate our founding fathers who helped to create the first prosperity in the first republic, the late Dr Michael Okpara with the Oil Palm revolution in the Eastern region; we celebrate Chief Obafemi Awolowo with the Cocoa revolution in the Western region, and yet Ahmadu Bello with the ground nut pyramid in the Northern region,” he said
Soludo recalled, “Malaysia was built on the back of the palm plantation revolution, China reduced poverty significantly on the back of agro-allied industrialisation. South Eastern Nigeria was the fastest growing sub-region of the world in the late 50s and early 60s based on the palm revolution.”
Interestingly, trees are an essential part of our planet’s ecosystem, providing us with oxygen, and clean air, helping to regulate the climate, and with economic value, play a pivotal role in sustainable development and environmental conservation as well as a veritable source of food, timber and other products.
Among the economic trees and seedlings that featured for distribution to Ndi Anambra at the ceremony tagged: “Good Olden Days Are Back,” include, oil palm and cocoa nut seedlings, breadfruit (Ukwa), paw-paw, soursop, bitter kola, peas, and others.
Soludo pledged his administration’s commitment towards the construction of 500 kilometres of roads across the state before the end of his first four-year term in office, disclosing that his government had already completed 300km within its first two years which implies that the roads were executed at an average of 10 Km per month.
He added that in line with the administration’s urban regeneration policy, he would soon commission the Okpoko General Hospital in addition to several networks of roads already completed to lift the area initially considered as a major slum but now renamed as New Heaven in the state
The governor assured that the people of Anambra would soon heave a sigh of relief with the delivery of a new Government House, Governors’ lodge, event Hall, and other key facilities, a feat he has achieved to break the over 33-year-old jinx in Awka.
He pointed out that the state at present has the lowest in out of school children in the country and by that, the state’s investment in education would have led to about an 18.7 per cent increase in enrolment in public schools.
On governance and the rule of law, the administration is digitalizing all the processes that now stand the state out as number one in fiscal transparency and sustainability and at the same time reviving water schemes across the length and breadth of the state to make water available to the citizens.
However, he lamented the menace of gully erosion ravaging the state’s land mass, declaring Anambra as the erosion capital of the world, and therefore urged the people to maximise the available land space by cultivating palm, coconut, and other economic trees to enrich themselves, bolster the ecosystem and guarantee friendly environment.
“We will exploit every inch to earn a living, build infrastructure. Our environment faces an existential erosion threat, but we will do everything to recover land. We will make Anambra State the greenest state in the country,” he said.
He said the initiative signifies history-making, acceleration of revolution, and signposting of one of the silver bullets, earlier used to drive the society to almost zero poverty, drive sustainable empowerment, new industrial ecosystem, wealth creation, and sustainable environment, without leaving anyone behind.
According to the governor, After Lagos, Anambra is the next state with a small landmass in Nigeria; while Lagos State is expanding its landmass into the ocean, the land of Anambra State is shrinking due to gully erosion.
Anambra state is the erosion capital of the world, with over one thousand erosion sites in different parts of the State, emphasised that gully erosion is the key existential threat to the state.
Soludo harped on the need for massive planting of trees to help reclaim the lands being taken over by gully erosion menace and make Anambra the green capital of the world, with natural vegetation, among other numerous environmental, health, and economic gains to be reaped from it.
He said palm, coconut, and other economic trees would constitute “Anambra’s new oil wealth” in addition to human capital, pointing out that over one million households would be empowered by planting about 10 million seedlings of oil palm, coconut, and other economic trees through the 326 electoral wards in the state.
The governor expressed optimism that in the next three years, the households of the state would have started harvesting these economic trees to become the state’s new industrial ecosystem, a new centre for oil palm, coconut, paw paw, bitter cola, soursop, Ukwa, and economic trees and seedlings.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said that Anambra State has been witnessing massive agricultural development since Governor Soludo assumed office as governor.
Represented by the state Director in the ministry, Arthur Mbuba, he commended Soludo for his giant strides towards restoring and resuscitating the good olden days structure of the agric-based economy in the state and urged other states to queue behind the state.
The Minister said about 2,580 farmers in Anambra State have been selected to benefit from the ongoing fertilizer distribution by the National Agricultural Growth Scheme and Agro-pocket (NAGs-AP).
