What Palm And 20 Pounds Can Do, Our Billions Can Do Better

MAZI EJIMOFOR OPARA 

What Gov. Soludo is doing is renaissant and speaks to the core of the implementation model for southeast development. A people who grew from the ashes of a three year civil war hanging on to a paltry 20 pounds (this is arguable, though rife in literature) as seed capital for all the prosperity that greeted the region post-1970, today’s reality is a far-cry and puzzling to all watchers of trend.

Before the civil war was the Zik and Michael Okpara days where the cities of Enugu, Owerri and Onitsha were built from revenues accruing from Agriculture. This two epochs of prosperity validate Soludo’s thesis that a possible reenactment would bring about greater prosperity and liveability through a consciousness that will guarantee a highly itinerant people a befitting homeland.

This charge is onerous, but Soludo appears undaunted and his resilience is providing results through widespread acceptance by Ndi Anambra and beyond. If we all will continue asking ourselves that one efficacious question, “what have I done today to make the homeland better”, we then shall be guaranteed of a third phase of widespread prosperity in this generation and our children unborn.

If we could do it with palms fruits, and much more with 20 pounds, Soludo believes we can do even greater with the billions of private funds constituting over 90% of the State’s and region’s GDP.