By Michael Chibuzo
It has become the popular refrain in the camp of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Anambra State to remind everyone who cares to listen anytime issues of poor governance are raised that Anambra is APGA land or mildly put, that Anambra State is APGA’s inheritance!
Ndi Anambra are groaning under an APGA regime that seems to lack direction or coordination and who appears unprepared to navigate Anambra through this 21st century. However, instead of paying attention to the cries of the people and carrying out a root cause analysis to understand why the people are crying out with a view to putting together clear workable solutions, the APGA-led administration of Prof. Charles Soludo is busy dragging which party Anambra State belongs to!
I think it is necessary for sake of emphasis to remind APGA that our dear Anambra State was created on August 27, 1991 from the old Anambra State. APGA on the other hand was formed in 2002. This clearly shows that Anambra was existing before the formation of APGA. Therefore, APGA and Anambra State do not share any umbilical cord or any inseparable bond whatsoever. Ndi Anambra therefore, do not owe APGA any eternal allegiance nor do they hold any eternal hatred for any party, especially one that has never held power in the state.
When Anambra was created, our people dreamt of a glorious state that would be the pride of Igbo land and a model of excellence for the African continent of what a subnational government can achieve. Even though the serene coal city of Enugu was not to be part of the new Anambra, there was expectation that we will build a new capital better than Enugu.
The people cared less about the political party that would govern, they simply wanted development! And we have the ingredients for development – a sprawling commercial megacity, an emerging industrial city, a most fertile agricultural belt, a highly enterprising and talented populace and a strategic geographical location. What we needed was a leadership ready to harness these ingredients and incrementally turn Anambra into the pre-eminent commercial, industrial and logistics hub in sub-saharan Africa.
It is therefore heartbreaking that in 2023, when ndi Anambra complain that its elected government are derailing from the expectations of our founding fathers and lacking transparency, accountability and workable vision that will move the state forward, the officials of this government would rather be interested in projecting political party supremacy. That is how low we have fallen!
Today in Anambra State, the people are barely getting by and enduring state-sponsored impunity across markets, residential/business places and even on the road with grumbles. Government officials are lording themselves over the people they are meant to serve with some officials who are meant to plan cities instead choosing to embark on car chase on federal highways. It is now becoming difficult to differentiate between propaganda and governance in Anambra State because official information from our government are now mostly propaganda.
Notwithstanding the pushback by the Soludo administration against demands for transparency and accountability, it needs to be said that ndi Anambra are wiser now. Gone are the days when Nkea bu nke anyi was the magic slogan APGA applies to quench the burning desire of ndi Anambra for a transformational leadership that is accountable, transparent and innovative.
Also, I must point out to all the ‘Nke a bu nke anyi’ psalmists that during the monthly FAAC meetings in Abuja, revenues from the federation account are not allocated to APGA, APC, LP, PDP etc but to the States and local governments, which are led respectively by governors and local government chairpersons (in the case of Anambra, illegal Caretaker Committees). It is therefore paramount that citizens are allowed to demand accountability from their governor whenever they feel the governor has activated ‘the more you look, the less you see’ method of governance.
Ndi Anambra are not unreasonable in their expectations. They simply want a modern capital city where government leads the orderly expansion and renewal of our capital territory and other major cities. They want a business environment devoid of unnecessary harassment by revenue thugs. They want secure towns and villages, modern schools and learning environment for their children, affordable housing to live in, portable water supply, an efficient waste management system, a serene environment and a well-equipped and accessible healthcare system. They do not really care about which political party Anambra belongs to!
It is time to rewrite our script as Anambrarians. Ndi Anambra it is time we began to prioritise what really matters to us in this 21st century. Is it governance or political party inheritance?
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