Johnbosco Onunkwo
Last week, Nigeria celebrated 21 years of uninterrupted democracy, having returned to democracy’s shores in 1999 with the election of former president Olusegun Obasanjo and 36 state governors together with representatives in both chambers of the National Assembly and at the state houses of Assembly.
Even though we have grafted our Democracy Day celebrations to June 12 instead of May 29, the essentials still remain as they were in May the 29th or perhaps have become more symbolic since it is a truism that without June the 12, 1993 there obviously would not have been a May 29th 1999.
Thus our democracy, whether it is May or June dated or any other date, will always be about “One man and one vote”, “Equality before the Law”, “Supremacy of the Constitution”, “Effective representation”, “ Majority rule but then guaranteeing the rights of the minority” and lastly the ensuring that on no basis are “ Individual freedoms” compromised.
In Anambra State, it cannot be argued that the state has not benefitted immensely from the nation’s return to democracy. A cursory look at the state gives vent to such an audacious assertion: in terms of infrastructure, quality of state institutions as well as the relationship between those who govern and the governed, these things were not possible in the hey days of the military, but then are we really satisfied with the state of our affairs or can we do better?
Let me pay tribute to every person who in their various capacities and whatever positions or assignments they held did contribute to the success stories that we have indeed witnessed since May 1999, for sake of time, I will single out for praise the likes of Chinwoke Mbadinuju, Chris Ngige, Peter Obi and the incumbent governor, Willie Obiano, who in their various years of stewardship touched the lives of the people as well as did lay the blocks for successive administrations to implement life changing policies.
But then I as well as any right thinking citizen of or resident within Anambra cannot continue to rejoice or be content with a number of facts that continue to stare this generation of Ndi Anambra and future generations unborn. No! Not with the fact that Anambra State despite the human capital and wealth we tend to generate at home and outside is ranking as the 13th largest economy out of the 36 states in the federation. What happened to the third and fourth positions, why can’t we bid for second and even give Lagos State the undisputed leader for now some form of headache?
Even though there are claims that we have the lowest poverty rate, a claim not yet validated by any meaningful statistical instrument employing empirical evidence, Ndi Anambra still ought to be bothered by the fact that we were a few years ago stuck with the relative poverty rate of 68.0 below states like Ekiti, Niger and Bauchi?
Why is our ‘out of school children’ is rated the highest in the South-East? Why should a state like Anambra, renowned for its coterie of intellectuals, boasting of household names like Festus Nwakor, Achebe, Njoku, Dike, Orajiaka, Stella Okunna and a number of names be comfortable about leaving a number of children behind in an age where learning, science and technology are sort of handy requirements for growth and development? Besides these, it is not just enough to perhaps railroad children to school, in what state are these schools? How well are the teachers who we entrust our children to remunerated, how proficient are these teachers too?
In terms of infrastructure, indeed Anambra may have made headway, but then that is still not enough as the state with its booming population will require much more infrastructure if we are to be the nation’s commercial hub. We need to build more roads and bridges but then we also need to look at the state of housing, the provision of pipe borne water to the urban as well as rural areas. We need to start thinking out of the box, for example why should a journey from Lilu in Ihiala to say Uga and then Onitsha be by motorable roads alone?
Who says Anambra cannot have its own healthcare scheme, one in which the citizenry can access affordable and quality healthcare at little or no cost? Why are we not experimenting with the American versions of Medicare and Medicaid? Why aren’t we providing the children, mothers and the aged free healthcare? What also is the state of our hospitals, how effective are our PHC’s and general hospitals in meeting the challenges of providing affordable healthcare to the general populace in the state? Lastly in terms of healthcare, how well are our doctors, nurses and other frontline healthcare workers motivated?
Other areas, which include our civil service, commercial activities and the MSME’s and SME’s will also require critical thinking, the state of our institutions likewise culture and tourism opportunities boast of far better attractions than the Eyo Festival, why should Imoka Awka or Ede Aro Abagana not receive global mention? Who says that Nnewi cannot become the software capital of Africa?
In the light of all these, it is enough to say that though we have had some levels of improvement in the state, we have not much lived to the billing of what our potentials offers unto us. Like the days of M.I Okpara when the Eastern Region became the fourth fastest growing economy all over the world, Anambra must reclaim those glory days, utilizing our people and resources maximally, this is a call to reawaken that drive, it is time to ForwardLeap
- Engineer Johnbosco Onunkwo is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Anambra State.
Leave a Reply