It is a thing of joy that last week, the in-coming governor of Anambra state, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, inaugurated the Anambra 2022 Governorship Transition Committee. The inauguration is conventional. In a democratic government all over the world, presidents-elect and governors-elect, expectedly, constitute transition committees to work in tandem with government of the day to ensure seamless take-over and smooth take-off of the new administration.

President Joe Biden constituted a transition committee before he was sworn-in as American President, same with President Mohammadu Buhari of Nigeria and all the 36 governors and their predecessors. Therefore, the inauguration by Professor Soludo was not an aberration.

However, the noble aspect of the in-coming governor’s action is that this committee comprises some of Nigeria’s best, headed by an amazon, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili. Another commendable deed is that members of the committee are sacrificing their time and talent pro bono, to help the journey to a liveable and prosperous smart city.

Furthermore, it is a friendly transition; it is an APGA government to APGA government, and nothing short of high level cooperation is expected among members of the family. Also, that the transition committee was jointly inaugurated, speaks eloquently of Professor Soludo’s intentions. It is almost like a combined transition committee and it is a testimony that this is a family affair.

Again, there are several members of the committee who the governor-elect had never met, but their work and reputation found them. Some are even in opposition parties, indicating that APGA is magnanimous in victory. The party believes that sound ideas and implementation have no political party badge or state of origin. Hence, Ndi Anambra are grateful to all who have accepted to serve, even at no cost to government.

Some commentators have observed that the number of the transition committee is large in their estimation, even without seeing the terms of reference, or the task, or that the members are offering their time and talent without remuneration as it were. Some were already computing the amount of money that each of the committee members would be paid.

It must be stated that if Anambra accepts to pay or remunerate the calibre of people in the committee, then, as Professor Soludo put it, even a World Bank facility would not be enough to pay them.

The global objective of the transition committee is to help the government and the governor-elect to achieve a seamless transition and to make his administration ready to hit the ground running from day one. According to the governor-elect, the task of the transition committee is elaborate, but three stand out.

First is to ascertain, certify the state of affairs, the short to medium term deliverables of the vision 2070. Second is to propose actionable agenda for the next administration, and third is to assist with a talent hunt to populate the Anambra change data bank. This is an indication that the in-coming APGA administration is open to seeking help and will deeply appreciate advice and assistance of everybody to enable it deliver efficient and effective services to millions of the people.

While the administration will continue to be sensitive to politics, which is expected in a democracy, it is equally aware that the teeming millions earnestly want public service to work. No doubt, the in-coming administration envisions an Anambra that will be the preferred destination in West Africa to live, learn, work, invest and relax.

Suffice it to say that the administration will welcome contributions to make this work. Of course, Anambra is a state in the South East and is not an island unto itself, thus, the administration will seek the cooperation and collaboration of other states, especially South-East and South-South states. This will be critical for creating the prosperous homeland.

The times are hard and the immediate future will be challenging. Despite this, Ndi Anambra expect extraordinary outcomes, and literarily expect miracles, and APGA cannot let them down as no excuses will do. Professor Soludo is, no doubt, determined to give it his all, mobilizing the creative resources of our people all over the world to create a befitting homeland.

It is a collective dream and assignment. Given the pool of human resources in the transition committee, Anambra people will expect an exemplary report, a very illuminating one, which the in-coming administration is looking forward to use as a template to operate from day one. May God help them.

WRITTEN BY SIR NOBERT OBI

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