WRITTEN BY HON. PASCHAL AGBODIKE

At the church service on Sunday, March 17, to mark the fifth anniversary of the Governor Willie Obiano administration, which is also the first anniversary of its second tenure, Archbishop Valerian Okeke of the Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province in Anambra State, made a point which management researchers would find significant. The Archbishop noted that Chief Obiano is the State governor, but he alone is not responsible for the transformation which the state has witnessed in the last few years.  

Archbishop Okeke was obviously stating a point which the governor has been making. For example, while playing host to the Lagos State branch of Ohaneze Ndigbo recently, Chief Obiano noted that the state had been able to catch both national and international imagination of late because of the knowledge, skills and social values of persons appointed into various key positions, as well as the invaluable roles of the other arms of government, especially the legislature. “I am not running a one-man show”, he declared.

Ex Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State is equally reported to have said that what goes on at council meetings is that council members organize their views to pander to the ‘Big Man’. He said that Sycophancy reigns supreme because it is well rewarded.

Anambra State under Obiano’s leadership is different. The result is the immense progress which the State has recorded in recent years in various sectors, ranging from education, social harmony, agriculture to security and infrastructure, among others. Its economy is now the fourth largest in the country, placing it ahead of some African countries like Ghana, if Anambra had been a country.

On the first anniversary of Obiano’s second term, it is worthwhile to take a look at one of its innovative programmes, as explained by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba: “Anambra State Government is about to launch the third phase of the N20million Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative. Governor Obiano has already set aside N20m for each of the 179 communities, amounting to 3.58 billion naira, for this phase.  However, only 78 communities have completed the 2nd phase and are, therefore, ready to start new development projects in the third phase.

Internal politics and squabbles are slowing down the progress of not only the affected communities but also the entire state. No doubt, the State government is in a hurry to develop all communities in the state. Consequently, it is appealing to all Presidents-General, Ndi Igwe and other stakeholders in the communities to ensure that their communities are not left behind. They should resolve their problems immediately and complete the 2nd phase of the Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative.

The people and government of Anambra State are proud of this initiative which has brought concrete development to every community. It has been copied by some other states though theirs is restricted to N10m per community. The Community-Choose-Your-Project Initiative is an unprecedented development strategy by the Anambra State Government through which each of the communities selects a project it wants the government to execute for it worth N20m. The community chooses the contractor who must come from the area.

The strategy has earned praise from researchers and development experts around the globe as a perfect example of the bottom-up approach to development which is recommended in the democratic setting, as opposed to the traditional top-down style which sees top government officials decide projects for communities without bothering to find out what the communities actually want or need. Anambra State Government thanks all the communities for participating effectively in the first phase of the development initiative and enjoins those still battling with the second phase to finish them immediately, so as to participate in the third phase. The government is grateful to all the Presidents-General, Ndi Igwe and other stakeholders in the communities for their noble roles in the government’s determination to make the state remain exemplary in development. God bless Anambra State, the Light of the Nation.

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