In his inaugural address on the 17th of March, 2022, the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo said that he would implement his contract with Ndi Anambra, subject to resource availability since the goal was to build a liveable and prosperous smart megacity. He conceptualized and envisioned a new Anambra State as an industrial, technological, leisure and entertainment hub of West Africa.

 

The governor’s speech reflected deep passion from a man determined to change the lowly developmental paradigms that had lived with the state. He was resolute in his resolve and made a solemn pledge to get to work immediately giving the onerous task before him. Professor Soludo also revealed his plans to change the face of the state, and build a system that would be an envy of all. But strategic planning is cardinal.

 

In advanced societies, planning is given a pride of place preceded with diligent collection of data by the accredited and well-resourced government agencies. In other words, paucity of data has been observed as a bane of socio-economic growth and development trajectory that is all encompassing to tackle accusations of alienation and marginalization. When appropriate data is at the beck and call of the chief executive, he would set the necessary steps in motion for methodical execution of policies that cater for parallel development without bitter complaints from any segment of the society.

 

It is therefore expedient that Professor Soludo, going by his exceptional pedigree and antecedents as an accomplished economist and development planner, consider factoring what could be described as a “parallel development trajectory” which would stop the age-long complaints of marginalization by some sections of the state.

 

Given the fact that in economics, resources are scarce relative to demands, such a creative approach to development could make all the communities to be captured in the yearly budgets no matter the quantity of capital projects in each community or local government, collectively to assuage the deep yearnings for socio-economic growth and development of the entire landscape of the state.

 

Given this novel approach to development, the governor could consider advising the traditional rulers and presidents general of all the communities to hold meetings in their respective local government headquarters periodically to articulate the developmental needs of their people for onward transmission to the government.

 

The advantage of this parallel development paradigm is to ear-mark socio-economic growth and development in all the communities simultaneously no matter the percentage of basic developmental projects needed within the availability of resources in each fiscal year. Naturally, every community in Anambra State expects at least one development project from the government to have a sense belonging in governance. The move can a go long way to changing the development history of the state.

 

In the light of these salient observations, the Soludo administration should take a passionate look at its development projections with a view to capturing the completion of intra and inter community roads that are very essential to socio-economic activities that impact tremendously on the people. Anambra State is poised to be a model in good governance. Professor Soludo will succeed.

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