Anambra Is On Course; Do Not Distract The Process 

Someone envisioned the Lagos of today over 20years ago, stayed put and worked it out. Sadly, Anambra just got a development plan less than 3years ago.

Soludo is the first Governor to set-off with such a detailed and perspective plan for the State. The man who envisioned the Lagos you now celebrate met its IGR at 600 million naira and jacked it up to 5 billion before he left. He didn’t just save the money, he invested it in developing enduring infrastructural projects. That man was in a once obscure and regional party. He built the party and he is today in Aso rock after a ground breaking coalition in 2014.

Like those unthinking bunch who mocked Noah, people who cheered a planless leadership dipped in callous tokenism are suddenly in a hurry to join the Ark of development painstakingly built by those who had long ago gone through the Agony of “Noah’s process”.

Governor Soludo has clear cut plans with strategic implementation process. His administration is guided by three major documents that you must read and internalize to understand where Anambra, under him and beyond, is headed. These documents are commonly referred to as “Anambra’s Bible of Development”. They are;

1. The Anambra Vision 2070 Document: A 50year perspective development plan for the State

2. The People’s Manifesto: Soludo’s pact with ndi Anambra

3. The Transition Committee Document: A guide to actualizing a Liveable and Prosperous Homeland.

It is very difficult to get a people who have over the years been led by mere impulsive leadership to really stay the course and appreciate strategic planning. Thank God for Governor Obiano who broke the jinx and thought it wise to draw up a development plan for the State. Something States like Lagos and Akwa Ibom had done more than two decades ago.

Currently in Anambra, the State has witnessed lots of firsts in less than 17 months of Soludo’s leadership. First, is the flagoff of over 350km of road infrastructure across the State that are at various levels of completion; the recruitment of 5000 teachers under 9 months of assuming office, this has never been done in the State before now; the State’s IGR has jerked up to about 2.8billion in July 2023 from 1.2billion as at March 17, 2022 and still growing; Drastic and practical reduction in cost of governance; zero borrowing as at today in spite of a clear approval from the State’s Legislature to borrow 100 billion Naira; construction of a befitting Government House and Governor’s lodge after 32 years of the State’s creation; Digitization of the State’s civil service and retraining of civil servants on various digital skills; Creation of the Anambra Digital Tribe through the Solution Innovation District, a prelude to consciously making Anambra the sillicon valley of Africa; Number 1 amongst 17 southern States on the ease of doing business – this means Anambra is the most viable axis of prosperity in the South of Nigeria etc.

I hope we find time to study what drives Soludo, benchmarking against where we were as a State at a time when all economic indices were favorable, and now that the bite on State resources is deeper and harder under unpleasant economic and social realities.

In all, we must appreciate APGA and its consistent political benevolence to keep the ship of Anambra’s progress on course. This is in spite of pirate attacks from those who once sailed to Harbour on this ship. Anambra is on course, it is not perfect yet. However, we must learn the act of not distracting our Leaders!

— Mazi Ejimofor Opara writes from Awka, Anambra State.