Also,we must build more market plazas and move all these street traders into the market and take our streets back from filth and dis-orderliness.

Nice roads, weldone guys..

Schematics:
Photos from the Traditional Marriage Ceremony of the President's Daughter in Otueke.

The Crème de la crème of Nigerian leadership including the wife of the governor of Anambra State, Chief (Mrs.) Ebelechukwu Obiano were in Otueke, Bayelsa State on January 3, 2015 to witness the Traditional Marriage Ceremony of Inebharapu Paul, daughter of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and the First Lady, Dr. Dame Patience Jonathan, and Dr. Simeon Onyemechi of Umudioka, Awka, Anambra State.

Here are the highlights of the event in pictures

GEJ till 2019

ijaw ceremonial attires na die.

BuddahMonk:
Infact what Obi did in Anambra public schools is beyond what the eyes can see, these schools used to be dens and hideouts for criminals, sometimes you will go inside the broken hole blocks and see gun catridges and other dangerous objects, there is nothing you cant find inside this school.
equipments, comdoms are common things you must find inside the classrooms.

Infact anybody that have not lived in Anambra State and is criticizing Obi based on sentiments thunder will fire that person.

Nwannaa ekwekwana ka freeglobe fu ife a idelu ebe a.

Akwa Ibom got good and wonderfuul roads but most of their roads are empty with less vehicular activity unlike that of Anambra that see vehicle from morning till night from Okada to Keke to private to commercial from buses to molue and trailers and luxurious buses...Anambra roads are very busy

emmysoftyou:
i must confess,anambra road network will overshadow akwa ibom very soon,
and very sure the drastic or rapid development is really making wave off the sky as a limit.
anambra is the home of all,no doubt,and that s why we need to extend our lands and borders to a virgin lands in anambra state,e.g obosi..

chai i love what i am seeing in this lovely page..
buddamonk keep the picture rolling,driving and running.
the sky is our limit in the east...
God bless obiano.
God bless ndi anambrarian..
Oga di mma.

Yeske2:
I beg to disagree, the problem was Peter Obi who funded Catholic schools like CKC, QRC etc unlike Anglican schools like DMGS he underfunded

You got it wrong bro.
The was and still is NO disparity in the funding per school. However, the missions were funded based on how many schools they have. The Catholic Church owned more than 400 schools, the Anglican more than 300, and the government about 250. So, a sharing formula was devised based on that distribution. Therefore, direct your blames towards the mission for any 'misfunding' among individual schools.

BuddahMonk:
Akwa Ibom got good and wonderfuul roads but most of their roads are empty with less vehicular activity unlike that of Anambra that see vehicle from morning till night from Okada to Keke to private to commercial from buses to molue and trailers and luxurious buses...Anambra roads are very busy

yu re right bro,i cannot denied that akwa ibom's road is not a wonderful road after my stays in akwa ibom state,
But do yu know that apart from uyo,eket,abak and ikot ekpene,no other place in akwa ibom have a good road network except ibeno
wich is trying to have a good road network...

But anambra does not received the kind of allocation the akwa ibom re recieving yet we re coming up to surpass them soon...

anambra state is always busy with business activity and commercial engagement,
the roads re always ever busy more than akwa ibom state,
however,am not here to compare and contrast,but anambra drastic development on road network is overwhelming...
Cant yu see it,cant yu feel it,it shows that in few years to come,there is going to be a greater development than what yu re seeing now...

God in his infinite mercy always push us forward to compete with those who said nothing good can come from the east and one day the rapid development in anambra,imo and abia will shame them all...

God bless obiano
God bless anambrarians....

Myluv1:

You got it wrong bro.
The was and still is NO disparity in the funding per school. However, the missions were funded based on how many schools they have. The Catholic Church owned more than 400 schools, the Anglican more than 300, and the government about 250. So, a sharing formula was devised based on that distribution. Therefore, direct your blames towards the mission for any 'misfunding' among individual schools.

Wouldn't want to argue on this, let's enjoy the thread.

Yeske2:
Wouldn't want to argue on this, let's enjoy the thread.

Udo

Obiano with his traditional attire receiving salute from security forces his title hat and shoes to match

Those rural roads look good!

Wherever they have zebra-crossings an attempt should be made to erect some kind of sign or reflective/flashing lights to warn on-coming drivers to slow their speed and be cautious! Also, they should have road signs at all school areas to warn drivers that school kids could be crossing the road ahead!

ASWAMA AND ANAMBRA GARBAGE

Mazi ODERA
We are working hard to clear all refuse generated over the festive period. Amawbia garage is just an example of what a day refuse can look like in Anambra State. We are also working with the market leaders that have refused Aswama putting more receptacles inside the market b/c they have sold lots of spaces for selfish ends. It is a battle to calculate cleanliness on our people. Refuse generation is a daily occurrence and we clean up every day including Sundays. Aswama work 365 days including Xmas day and New Year day. WE do not have holidays like others.
There are measures coming in this year to help keep the state clean including waste to energy projects and acquiring more equipment including but not limited to compactor trucks which the Governor has approved. Without sounding political, Anambra is cleaner now than before and we shall keep working hard and improving.
Thanks Mazi Odera, I think your approach this time is better than personal character attacks on the Governor and his wife. Kindly use your position to start appealing to our people not to use the drains as refuse dumps and tie their refuse for disposal. It is easy to take photos and post on the net and write stories and innuendoes but the real advocacy is on our people to change their attitudes.
Phil Chinwuba
----

Let Us Stop The Politics Of Insult On His Excellency , The Governor Of Anambra State and join Hand To Build The State (Anambra Adigo Mma )

This is a New Year and a year for change and tolerance should be the hallmark of each and every one of us .
We should learn to tolerate each other and talk to the issues other than insults. Even if you disagree with an opposing view do not just relegate the view but ponder over it and take the best out of it.
Attacking the personality of HE Governor Obiano because you don't agree with the method of governance or the progress achieved , died with 2014.
We should respect Our amiable Governor of Anambra State by being decorous in our submission because the use of abusive and foul language shows disrespect not only to the No 1 citizen of the state BUT to the people of Ndi Anambra who have elected His Excellency Governor Obiano to serve them for 4 years .
I call on all to come on board this year to help build Anambra State rather than politicizing issues since that will not add value to the development of the State , The Light Of The Nation .
Deje Ni ,
Ikolo Anambra
http://eagle-square..co.uk/

Awka

Old road

Enugwu ukwu

Kwata junction flyover under construction

Smooth

Ufuma, orumba north. Smoothness reach everywhere

Notice vigilante guy at d median of d road. Security in top notch at even the most rural part of Anambra

Oye agu market, onitsha Awka old road.

funkiebully:
Ufuma, orumba north. Smoothness reach everywhere
Notice vigilante guy at d median of d road. Security in top notch at even the most rural part of Anambra

this road is still under construction if I am not mistaken

Firstbank in rural Anambra, hmmm money for newyear flexing the cause of d queue at d ATM.

asha80:
this road is still under construction if I am not mistaken

Yea, But ufuma ajalli axis is completed. There is a new link to agulu there, I passed d road for d first time, u need to see d link bridge.

It shortened d ddistance from orumba to Awka, no more going tru ekwulobia.

If u follow the smoothness and navigate this bend at 120km/hr u go meet ur ancestors.

Nkpor via old road.

Approaching nkpor tru old road.

@funkiebully

Great job! The pictures further reinforce the popular mantra that "Anambra has the best road network". The quality of these roads; urban and rural, the precision of the road markings and stretch of these roads into remote towns are all evident of this great feat!

There is a quiet revolution going on in Anambra in infrastructure, culture and human development.

Innovator90:
@funkiebully

Great job! The pictures further reinforce the popular mantra that "Anambra has the best road network". The quality of these roads; urban and rural, the precision of the road markings and stretch of these roads into remote towns are all evident of this great feat!

There is a quiet revolution going on in Anambra in infrastructure, culture and human development.

Brother,

When chino was saying it, I Thought it was one of d propaganda by politicians, till I traveled last Christmas.

Anambra roads are as smooth as vaselined tiles.

God bless our hard working governor. All round development. U can now live at umunze and be coming to work at Awka.

DIKE! I just love this picture!

Gov. Obiano Proudly promoting Igbo culture and fashion!

Revealing the ‘Anambra Equation’
There is a quiet revolution in Anambra State. Nigeria would know of it soon. It is an open secret among “Ndi Anambra”, as indigenes of Anambra State and residents of the state are called.
This is against the typology of “Anambrarians” as indigenes of the state were previously described before the advent of the Willie Obiano government. The new nomenclature came about in the wake of the Obiano administration which is barely nine months old. The Governor is known to have consistently said that the old typology sounded more like “Barbarians”.
The new focus is on the ‘Anambra Equation’ and what they call the “Enablers”. This equation centres on agriculture, industrialisation, trade and commerce (of course, the world knows that the people have always excelled in these areas), and Oil and Gas. A critical part of the equation is security, security of movement, security of lives and property, security of economic investment, and security of development.
Their major case history is the Niger Bridge and the main entrance into Anambra State, the Upper Iweka Road, Onitsha, through Asaba in Delta State. Before now, the situation on Upper Iweka Road could best be described in one word “bedlam”. Not so any more.
Upper Iweka Road can now be compared with some of the best boulevards around the world. It is not only speck clean, there is ease and freedom of movement. There is also a great sense of safety around that environment, just like there is across the state.
To underscore the new sense of security pervading the State, the Willie Obiano Government has in the last one week been holding a series of activities at venues and times which would have been unthinkable before now. There is the “Obiano Soccer Fiesta” which commenced on December 22 at strategic venues across the state. The final held at Rojenny Stadium, Oba, near Onitsha.
A cultural festival involving all the local governments took place at Ekwueme Square, Awka. Onitsha North local government claimed the ultimate prize at that event. The first ever “Christmas Carols of Nine Lessons” was held at the Women Development Centre, Awka. That Christmas carol ended with pyrotechnics. Onitsha stood still as residents witnessed unprecedented fireworks display.
Anambra State boasts of a very high number of entertainment professionals, some of whom are among the top 10 in their various segments of the arts. They also took their turn to showcase their talents at Ekwueme Square.

^^^Chino is that you?

e you been to Onitsha lately, especially around the once dreaded Upper Iweka area? Have you noticed that Zik Roundabout, the meeting point of the Old Enugu-Onitsha Road and the Enugu Onitsha Expressway, is taking on a new shape with massive beautification? Also, drive on Awka Road, Onitsha, up to DMGS Roundabout and you would see a whole lot of changes. Not just that the roads are properly constructed with drainage systems and streetlights, they are also clearly marked, with road signs.

People who traveled home for the Xmas holiday would be surprised to see what Upper Iweka has become. The motor parks have been pushed out of the expressway. The days are gone when touts held sway at Lagos Park. Today, no one ‘threatens’ your luggage, and your mobile phones are relatively safe, provided you don’t drop them. When you are there, watch out for fierce looking military men. You’ll find them on the alert, fishing miscreants off the park. You might also find them disguised in mufti, making it even easier to pick out their preys. Now, one can actually take a walk under the beautifully adorned Onitsha Head Bridge. In the past, no one dared move close to the area, as it was a notorious den of robbers. But with mobile policemen now on guard, pedestrians may walk freely up to the riverbank.

The Upper Iweka and Onitsha Head Bridge area have witnessed massive turnaround with streetlights and landscaping befitting of a gateway town. The statue of late Biafran hero, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, signals arrival to the land of the Rising Sun. With standard toilet facilities in place along the stretch, the drainages are now free from faeces. New pedestrian bridges are also springing up.



“Crime came into Onitsha through Upper Iweka. So, if the government could turn this place around, then I can say it is all over for criminals in this state. It’s better experienced than what I’m trying to explain to you; it’s like magic. What this tells me is that government can do a lot, if it is committed,” said Ifeanyi Okafor, a passenger at the Lagos Park.

Who would have imagined a Christmas decoration in Onitsha, talk little Upper Iweka? It happened, however, in 2014! The governor and his team were there to light the trees. And social media networks were agog with glittering pictures of Upper Iweka at night.

“My brother, we still don’t understand what is happening. Personally, I can’t believe this is Onitsha. In the evening, you will see people watching football on that big screen over there. That’s how safe this place has become. At the rate they are going, I’m afraid... Time could come when people, like us, would be asked to take our old cabs off the road,” said Tony, a taxi operator at ABC Motor Pack in Onitsha.

It used to be that driving to Onitsha Main Market (the largest in West Africa) was an arduous task, with market men and women displaying their wares indiscriminately. In those days, once you move past the Central Post Office Onitsha, driving becomes hellish. Both the New Market and Old Market roads used to be lawless zones, with touts and unruly bus drivers, who feel that offering N20 to a police officer is a ticket to perpetrate impunity. The government, however, appears to have summoned courage to bring the situation under control.

A visit to the popular Iweka Road, the home of electronics in the South East, shows that normalcy has returned. Unlike in the past when the road was usually awash with street traders, the place is now regularly policed, leaving no room for lawlessness. Even the Ochanja Market axis is feeling the heat. From Odoapku to Fegge, Bida Road and environs, there are noticeable changes; the streets look cleaner. Some inner roads on this axis, however, need to be reconstructed to allow free flow of traffic.

GOOD old Onitsha used to be a lovely town; it was like what Lagos is to the South West. Apart from its commercial viability, the town is also an educational and religious hub, blessed with a river port. In the early 1960s, before the Civil War, the population was officially recorded as 76,000. Though it experienced great distress during and after the war, by virtue of its still-strategic geographic position, Onitsha has continued to develop. By 2001 it had an estimated population of 511,000 with a metropolitan figure of 1,003,000.

Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger Company in the mid-1850s, following the abolition of slavery. And with the development of the steam engine, Europeans were able to move into the hinterland. Trade in palm kernel and palm oil flourished, as well as other cash crops. Immigrants from the Igbo hinterland were drawn to the emerging town, as were the British traders who settled in Onitsha and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade. In 1965, the Niger River Bridge was built to replace the ferry crossing.

Onitsha played a vital role in institutionalising Christianity in Nigeria. The town is home to the Holy Trinity Basilica (Catholic) and the All Saints Cathedral (Anglican Cathedral). Both are headquarters to satellite churches in and outside Onitsha. Other churches such as the Grace of God Mission International, and Christ Holy Church, also have their headquarters in the town. Onitsha is also host to many church organisations and socio-cultural groups.

Recall the days of Onitsha Market Literature – a term for a number of pamphlets, books and other publications sold at Onitsha Market in the 1950s and 1960s. Much of it was written in pidgin and Creole varieties of English. This form of literature has become of interest to researchers seeking information about social conditions at the time. With notable secondary schools such as Christ the King College (CKC), Dennis Memorial Grammar School (DMGS), St Charles College, Queen of the Rosary College (QRC), Washington Memorial Grammar School, New Era Secondary School, Modebe Memorial Grammar School and others, Onitsha was key to the education of the Igbo in the past.

But the Civil War brought widespread devastation. At its end, came the oil boom years, bringing in huge influx of immigrants. The war-damaged facilities, still under repair, could not cope with the pace of rural-urban exodus into the city. Slums consequently began to emerge.

“Compared to other cities and other centres of population, Onitsha has had its glorious time. Prior to the war, we had the market, which was a big market; New Market Road in those days was full of bookshops that sold scholarly materials - law books, medical books, educational books, because Onitsha was a big centre for what we now call private education. At a stage, six years ago, I could count six governors who went to school in Onitsha,” said the Obi of Onitsha, HRM Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, in a recent chat with The Guardian.

According to the Royal Father, Onitsha has had its glorious periods: “People came from the Cameroons to trade in Onitsha. Culturally also, things were great. The war, probably, was a major factor in the neglect and apparent decline. Onitsha was heavily fought for and a lot of damage was caused. In the revival, after the war, was an opportunity to begin to give attention to other centers. For instance, Awka became the state capital. Naturally, it had to get government’s attention. Nnewi grew in its economy. The Onitsha market was brought back. But it was not what it used to be. So, there has been a decline. Agreed. But it’s on the upswing again.”

In the last eight years under Governor Peter Obi, Onitsha started to witness some turnaround. But the current administration, led by Willie Obiano, might have found a winning formula on how to reclaim the once ‘lost’ territory.

For instance, in terms of physical development, the Onitsha General Hospital has been improved upon, with a dialysis centre in operation. There are two business parks in Onitsha with various offices, making it possible for people to go to the stock exchange there and trade online.

In terms of factories, there’s a new brewery in Onitsha, reportedly owned by a former governor. Life Breweries has also been revived. The industrial park is back again. There’s also a five-star hotel under construction. The Protea Group initially started it. The Mariot Group, however, bought over Protea. Protea had been constructing a 90-room hotel, which Marriot plans to double in capacity. There’s a modern shopping mall under development in GRA. The stadium is back, with school children now using facilities there for daily exercise.

But one area where very high points have been scored is security. “If you want to sleep at Upper Iweka now, you can do so without any hassles. It’s been cleared and cleaned up and it happened just like that. It takes the will, but you have to sustain the tempo. If you clear away all those vehicles that pick passengers by the roadside, you must provide motor packs. If you clear the roadside traders away, you must provide markets for them and that’s what the governor is doing,” Igwe Achebe said.

Information has it that the Onitsha seaport, which was conceived as an inland port, is ready for use. Though the challenge of concessioning by the government is still there, once in full operation, Onitsha can serve as an inland port, much as it did in the olden days. In this case, goods that arrive at Warri or Port Harcourt are put in barges and moved down to Onitsha. And with the long-awaited second Niger Bridge coming up, another commercial boom could be around the corner.

‘How The Transformation Happened’

ACCORDING to the Special Assistant to the Anambra State governor on Environment, Toochi Obi, when the new administration came in, Onitsha was a dirty zone. Governor Obiano, however, declared his intention to clean up the commercial town.

“Before now, it was just one firm handling waste management in Onitsha. And this was not enough. Again, when you talk about Onitsha, people think it’s about Onitsha North and South LGAs. Nkpor, Obosi, Oba and other neighbouring towns have also become part of the big Onitsha. So, at first, we didn’t even know where to start,” she said.

The first move was to get the existing waste management company to sit up on streets cleaning. “We asked them what their problems were and also helped them to solve those challenges. Particularly, the governor gave them a mandatory order that he wanted the place cleaned up. Of course, they knew that now someone was watching them. Before, nobody monitored them. So, most times, things were not done. But we had to sit on them to do their job better,” she said.

“Then, there was an idea to increase the number of waste management companies in the town and its environs. With major markets in Onitsha such as Main Market, Ose Market, Ochanja Market, Relief Market, Iweka Road Market and others, you can imagine the level of waste generated daily.

“We discovered that we needed more than just one company to handle waste. We got different contractors to take charge of Idemmili LGA and Ogbaru LGA. In Onitsha alone, we have up to five contractors managing waste. Idemmili LGA was zoned into three. Ogbaru LGA was divided into two because of the massive waste generated there. Then we started with constant monitoring in Nnewi and Awka, but in Onitsha, we are always monitoring.”

Having put the contractors on the job with regular monitoring, there was need to de-silt the town and open up the drainages.

“Anambra state has never been de-silted; it was a lot of money doing that. When you are passing the roads, you don’t even know where the drainages are anymore. We had to de-silt twice. I can tell you that the residents are happy now; it has reduced flooding in Onitsha. The drainages are free now. In some cases, you discover that the slabs covering the drainages had been removed, thereby exposing pedestrians and motorists to danger when rain falls. We had to cover them back.
“That notwithstanding, we’ve started putting plans in place on how to keep Onitsha clean. Sometime ago, we advertised publicly that we wanted to have a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement with contractors, so that we could have a steady way of keeping Anambra state clean,” she said.

On beautification, Miss Obi informed that a plan has been put in place on how to enhance the town.

“When we started, we discovered that Onitsha was so clustered; it was not well planned. What we are trying to do now is to build permanent structures that would give room for beautification. If you go to Upper Iweka area, you will discover that a lot of work is going on there, in terms of beautification. A lot of transport companies were pulled off from Upper Iweka to achieve the beautification project.”

As for the abandoned cars that dotted the streets of Onitsha, “we did a lot of road decongestion. A lot of cars were abandoned on the roads. The governor insisted he wanted all the cars off the road. So, the Ministry of Environment and Transport had to come together. We had to get lands in Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi, where we dumped those cars. There was an announcement on radio for people to take their cars off the road, after which we cleared the streets,” she said.

On the new look of Upper Iweka, the Special Assistant noted: “The place used to be a mad area. But right now, there’s sanity. The government, however, is not stopping at that; more is coming. Very soon, the permanent structure for environmental cleaning in Anambra will be in place. While ASWAMA (Anambra State Waste Management Authority) handles Awka, we intend to give out Nnewi, Onitsha and environs to contractors.”

Getting the streetlights to function in Onitsha was another huge challenge. “Before we came in, some areas had streetlights, but we learnt that from the day they were commissioned, they had never worked. We moved in and discovered that a lot of the streetlights are damaged. We started by fixing those ones. With the little resources we had, we started mapping out streets where the lights are needed the most. If you go to Awka, you would see that streetlights are springing up. You would see poles going up everyday,” she said.

There is also the introduction of road markings and signage on Onitsha roads. “If you know Anambra very well, you will know that the roads never had markings, even the new ones. These markings you are seeing now were done few weeks ago. All the roads that are awarded by this government come with signage, curves and markings. As for the old roads, we are trying to improve them,” she said.

Anambra Adigo Nmma