By Ebuka Onyekwelu, Ph.D
There is little doubt that the Anambra State Ministry of Land is at the forefront of the governance reforms championed by Soludo’s administration. The Anambra State Commissioner of Lands, Professor Offornze Amucheazi, SAN, is leading these reforms from the front since resuming as the Commissioner in the Ministry about four years ago. A distinguished Professor of Law, teacher, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and an expert in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Professor Offornze’s appointment into the Ministry of Lands came as a surprise to many who had assumed that his strong legal background predisposed him to be better fitted as Anambra’s Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General. Years down the line, perhaps, it can be said that the Governor’s decision to post him to the Ministry of Lands is a great choice that is in Anambra’s best interest, and he has not disappointed.
Before, the Ministry of Lands was notorious for all manner of racketeering, and given the cardinal importance of land to Ndi Anambra, coupled with its limited availability, land disputes are easily a leading cause of communal crisis in the state. It is also a major cause of clashes between individuals, leading to multiple police cases and court proceedings. Given this background, the Ministry of Lands commands enormous attention from interested persons and competing interest groups, making staff of the Ministry a target of wild inducements that sometimes further deepened the already bad situation. In the past, former administrations had intended to decisively address this challenge but ultimately could not. So, what did Governor Soludo do differently? He brought in a man of immense pedigree and good standing as the Commissioner of Lands. In turn, what did Professor Offornze Amaucheazi do to transform the Ministry? He went to work. As it stands today, no fewer than 76 outstanding land disputes have been resolved by the Commissioner, with his expertise in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Anyone who visited the Ministry of Land years ago would be so surprised at the level of change the Ministry has undergone. The offices are clean and conducive. The environment is sparkling clean with a stable power supply, alternating between solar and public power supply. No section of the Ministry is left to public power supply alone. Offices are almost without exception air-conditioned, with chairs, desks, and overhead shelves for files, well-fitted, creating a new work environment for staff members of the Ministry.
Reacting to why such a near dramatic positive change has enveloped the Ministry, Professor Offornze said he was reforming the old order. “I am trying to engineer a change of culture,” Offornze explained, pointing out that for a people to move from a familiar point to a more desirable place, the conditions that would enable them to aspire to the new order must be different. He also pointed out that training, including international training, is now part of what staff of the Ministry enjoy based on their performance. In addition, there is also an Excellence Award every year for the best staff members of the Ministry. According to Professor Offornze, he has equally worked hard to ensure that staff members of the Ministry are supported in other ways necessary to be able to focus on their work. Those, in addition, to an open door policy where staff walk into his office without any protocol, creating a new sense of ownership. “You know, you have to find a way to motivate people who work with you. There is a way you handle people, and they would not want to let you down,” he said.
What has happened at the Ministry is perhaps a little short of magical. Revealing how the Ministry was able to undertake such giant, cost-intensive reforms, the Commissioner said he relied mostly on the Public-Private Community Partnership (PPCP) model, which is a key development partnership model of Soludo’s administration. “I leveraged the PPCP to fix the Ministry and make it fully functional,” Professor Offornze affirmed. Yet, one question he asks is this: “How do I sustain what we have built?” To answer the same question, Professor Offornze is confident that the staff of the Ministry will sustain the changes because it is institutionalized. “This is why it is not about me. It is about the Ministry and the legacy we are going to leave behind using the Governor’s template on governance reforms, and for me, there is a joy it gives me.”
Today, the Ministry of Lands is digitized, standing tall with an experience centre, a one-stop shop, and a viable support staff that speaks boldly to Soludo’s vision of a livable homeland driven by citizens who have embraced reforms.
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