March 17th

Let us shoot straight from the hip. On March 17, 2022, Ndi Anambra will embark on a tough but hugely fascinating and rewarding journey to a Liveable and Prosperous Smart Megacity as envisioned by Cee Cee Soludo who the people overwhelmingly elected as Governor on November 6, 2021. We alluringly christened the process of attaining this as The Great Transformation. The final outcome is that, firstly, Anambra will become attractive or appealing to the world as the place to live, do business and relax. Furthemore, the 179 or so communities that make up Anambra State will be digitally connected to the sustainable ambitious development agenda of the incoming Government.

Okpoko, a sprawling slum near Onitsha in Ogbaru Local Government Area will be the starting touch point of The Great Transformation, with the planned facility visit of Soludo to the slum to launch its upgrading programme. Onitsha which sadly wears the toga of the headquarters of air pollution in the world will in quick succession receive the attention of the incoming Governor. This will go on and on as premised on the mantra of One Anambra, One people and One Agenda that will be developed holistically.

Fact is that the incoming government like any other governments will face the challenges of ensuring that the people are safe, healthy, gainfully employed, have access to clean water, breathe clean air, access to functional and quality education and more. Taking into account the local context and global trends, Soludo figures that the use of data and technology will be a more efficient and effective means of addressing the development imperatives of the state and improving the quality of life of the citizens. This model offers better use of space, less traffic, cleaner air, and more efficient civic services, all which increase the quality of life. Furthermore, using smart solutions, more career and economic opportunities as well as stronger links with community are enhanced. So when next you hear Soludo say that in the fully transformed Anambra, children born in the state may not have need to seek greener pastures elsewhere while those outsider will have all the incentives to return home, you would do well to take that assurance to the bank.

The good news is that the incoming Soludo government will harness 4th industrial revolution technologies to improve the services it offers to the citizens and businesses. That is how he intends to take Anambra higher and higher from where his predecessors stopped. You can .now grasp that the smart city idea is all be the use of data and technologies to create more efficacies in delivering the dividends of democracy and because Anambra will soon reach a population of 10million, it will qualify as a smart Megacity.