Onyebuschi Ezigbo
26 August 2009
analysis
Lagos — Anambra is a state always in the front-burner of public discusses when it comes to issues of politics and struggle for power. However, there has been little focus on the state of infrastructural development in the South-East state.
Anambra State no doubt has had its fair share of controversies and bad news reportage which most often had bordered more on political tussles and bickering than on matters relating to the socio-economic development of the state. However, all these front-page running stories appear not to have brought out the fact that the state has suffered a serious setback in the area of infrastructural development over the years through the combined forces of neglect and bad governance.
The people of the state are noted for their tradition of self-help and 'do it yourself mentality', a situation that gave officials of government an avenue to abandon their responsibilities to the people in pursuit of selfish goals. It was based on this state of affairs that many Anambrarians have come to hold every administration in the state in contempt and have found it difficult to believe what say they would do or are indeed doing.
The visit by a group of journalists of Anambra State origin under the auspices of the Anambra Journalist Forum (AJF) was meant to unravel the myth as it were of the subsisting cloud of doubt over the claim of progress made in infrastructural development by the Peter Obi administration in the state in the last three years. After the ouster of the erstwhile governor, Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, the Obi Administration has been at great pain trying to get the people to appreciate the government's efforts to improve the road network and provide other needed infrastructure base for the state.
As the inspection team was about to take-off for the assignment that Thursday morning, one thing was on the minds of almost everyone and that was to go and see things for themselves. The tour took the team to various projects including completed, on-going and the ones still being considered for implementation. It began with a visit to the Government House, the seat of government itself, which was totally burnt and vandalised to its foundation during an attack by political opponents under the Chris Ngige administration in 2005.
The place is now wearing a new look, having been rehabilitated and furnished by the government. There was also the case of imposing new structures being developed at the state secretariat, a short distance from the State House of Assembly Complex, which the governor said is intended to bring all ministries under one premises for easier collaboration and synergy.
Then, the team was taken to the General Hospital Ama-Awka whose premises have been over-taken by weeds. The sight of some newly completed buildings and a few vehicles parked within it was not enough to alter the strong perception that the place has been abandoned and neglected for a long time. Same could be said of the State Women Development Centre which is fast being out-grown by grasses even with the intervention work being carried out by the contractors handling the rehabilitation.
To be candid, the state government has made significant progress in the area of road construction and rehabilitation and this achievement was clearly evident as the inspection team journeyed through the hinterland on smooth asphalted network of roads. Road projects include, Zik Avenue dual carriage way, Amansi-Ebenebe road under-going construction, GRA road Awka, Ogbunike-Nkwelle Ezunaka road, Amansea-Ebenebe-Ugbene-Awba-Ofemili road, Umu-eze Anam -Mmiata road under construction and the 165 metre Odor bridge over Odor River connecting Awgbu and Amaokpala communities.
The education sector which is regarded as the bed-rock of the people's economic aspiration has not faired better. Obi was quite succinct in describing the state of infrastructure of the educational institutions, when he told a story of how his entourage ran into a school with classroom blocks without a roof and over-crowded rooms with students sitting on dilapidated furniture while lessons were going on. The post-primary schools appeared worst-hit, with most of them in terrible state of decay without basic learning materials.
New structures are being erected to serve as faculties of the Anambra State University, Uli as well as the ones that would serve as the Teaching Hospital at Awka in fulfilment of the requirements for the accreditation of the institution. Obi said students were hitherto admitted into the university's medical college without provision for teaching hospital facilities that will aid their training. The team visited the State Emergency Management Agency started by the previous administration, but is now being completed by Obi. The centre is aimed at enabling the state to respond quickly to emergencies and disaster occurrence.
Some of the on-going projects being executed by the state government include, the construction of Women Development Centre, Anambra State Secretariat, the Ekwueme Park, N300m Kenneth Library Complex being executed through a public-private-partnership (PPP) with Bank PHB. The bank is contributing N200m, while the state government is bearing the remaining N100m.
There were also several other building projects meant to serve the numerous needs of the state in various sectors of the economy. The state is also implementing a mass housing scheme with the aim of making houses available for the people at affordable prices. The State Housing Authority is introducing the Hydraform Inter-Locking Block technology adapted from South Africa to make brick blocks with reduced consumption of cement. It has been able to acquire three Hydraform block-making machines to implement its affordable housing scheme.
Probably due to enormous development challenges facing the giant strides taken by the Obi Administration appeared swallowed up un-noticed by less discerning minds. From all indications, the government has laid a solid foundation for sustainable infrastructural development in the state. As the governor often said "The length of road constructed by the present government in the last three years far out-number those done since the existence of the state. He told bewildered newsmen that up till the time of his assumption of office as governor, the state could not boost of a standard hospital, equipped with modern facilities that can be used to treat patients afflicted with heart disease, liver or cancer problems.
Most of the health institutions have a deluge of problems afflicting them, ranging from lack of office space, inadequate drug supply to absence of up-to-date facilities to tackle the health needs of the people. The situation is however not hopeless, as the governor explained that a number of intervention measures are being embarked upon to address the problem. Concerning the image of insecurity hanging over the state, Obi said all the hues and cries about insecurity in Anambra is nothing but deliberate plot by some elements to blackmail the state.
"The state has been a victim of blackmail and all manner of antagonistic reports on the issue of insecurity. There is no place that you do not witness crime, in some states violent crimes are taking place every day, but that of Anambra State is always blown out of proportion by the media simply because some people want to make political capital of it," Obi said.
While decrying the lack of trust and unity of purpose which tended to retard progress in the state, the embattled governor said the state government has decided to run an open-door administration, allowing all shades of opinion to thrive and giving a listening ear to constructive criticisms. To him, Anambra State can pride itself as having made history in being the only state that did not borrow money last year, but instead posted a credit balance of N10.2bn. This is a mark of fiscal responsibility.
"We have so far recovered for the state over N10bn naira as monies that were over-deducted from the state coffers, including debts supposedly owed for contracts as well as charges affecting various sectors," he said. According to Obi, the state has managed within its limited available resources to prudently attend to most critical needs of the people, which included construction of a vast network of rural roads, rehabilitation of hospital facilities, providing educational institutions with learning facilities and creating enabling environment for trading and business operations.
"One of the major challenges that the state faced was that the previous governments started implementing projects without a master-plan and that instead of putting in place a plan for the systematic development of the state capital, engaged in uncoordinated erection of buildings and citing of facilities," the governor said. In pursuance of its urban development plan, he said the state government in partnership with the United Nations Habitat Group has drawn-up a comprehensive master-plan for infrastructural development of the three major cities of Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi at a highly subsidised cost of $300,000.
"All that is required is for the government to provide about 10 per cent of the first year money and to show evidence that it has N10bn", he said. Concerning the building of an Airport in the state, the governor said a study is to be carried out on the pattern of wind movement within site area as part of the safety conditions to be met.
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