CAN ANAMBRA EVER MEAN BUSINESS LIKE LAGOS?

Written by: Abaelu Ike Anthony Jnr

I was lucky to have tuned in Channels TV yesterday and the programme that was running was a Live Broadcast of "LAGOS MEANS BUSINESS"; a corporate Business Meeting the State Government organized to have one-on-one interaction with the Corporate Organizations who are the drivers of the State economy and believe me when I say this; I saw a different Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode when he was making his presentations and responding to questions based on his performance and polices in the last two and half years in the office.

The State Governor I saw in that event was not a politician but a Group Managing Director of a multi-billion dollar corporation who was making presentation to the board of directors on the success he had achived thus far, his plans and an articulated roadmap on how he could achieve all he had projected to the board. I also saw a man who understood he has a limited time in the seat of power and was ready to make a meaningful impact to improve the lives of his people.

The Ambode I saw was a man who understood that his predecessor left his name on the marble and inorder to replace that with his, he would have to surpass his performance. The Governor I saw yesterday was a man who understood that a strong foundation was laid down for him, so he plugged in the blueprint of manifesto and the result is the heavy infrastructural development going on in the State. However the Governor might have his own short comings as a human being but i will leave that to the masses of the State to decide. But the man I watched speaking to his guests was a passionate Lagosian, well prepared for Governance who was not afraid to step on toes, but afraid to be called a failure. And this actually brings me to the aim of this article; CAN ANAMBRA EVER MEAN BUSINESS LIKE LAGOS?

It saddens me that a state like Anambra with is one of the oldest and biggest commercial cities in Nigeria, a state that has produced renowned world best intellectuals, great men who had broken barriers in all aspects of life, men who was among those that processed and negotiated for Nigeria Independence, a state that has produced the highest number of billionaires not only in Nigeria but in Africa, the home of major drivers of Nigeria economy enriched with Human, Natural and Intellectual Resources could be crawling 30yrs behind Lagos, and maybe perhaps it was because we have been taken two steps forward and four backwards from 1999 till date.

My opinion, I think Nigeria as a Nation and Anambra shares common problem which is; lack of the ability to manage our Natural Resources well and reinvesting its proceeds in our Human Capital Development which would have then generated the Intellectual Resources needed to keep running our economy periodically to meet and key up to the world digitally driven economies. But I’m not saying that the present Governor of Anambra is not performing, but instead he is under performing. For those who would want to argue this; I don’t know what else to call a man who has been overshadowed by the performance of his predecessor.

A standard was set and every sensible Anambrarians would expect that to be maintained and possibly increased and not taken steps backwards to accommodate the pace of the present leadership. In fact let me now say this categorically; this was one of the reasons why I campaigned and supported Osita Chidoka in November 2017 election because he was the only one standing in that election who was well prepared for Governance and would have increased the pace of transformation already set by Peter Obi if he had won. Having said that, the election have come and gone but I have read Chidoka's manifesto more than three times and if you haven’t please visit his website, download it and educate yourself. Remember he was the man who run and managed FRSC as a corporate organization; years after he left Nigerians home and abroad are still enjoying the dividend of that solid foundation he laid in that organization.

In Anambra today there are many people, best equipped and well prepared who would have surpassed Peter Obi’s achievements in four years if they were given the opportunity because the foundation was laid, various investments were made in USD and cash saved; all it would have taken a prepared leader was to collapse the blueprint of his mandate into the existing structure like Ambode did in Lagos and continue from where your predecessor stopped, but we were very unlucky, we brought in an unprepared man who was happily on retirement and today our case is different.

Finally, i have spent my last 11yrs in Lagos, but I have not witnessed this kind of massive infrastructural development going on in this state in the last two years, Fashola may have performed very well in Lagos but Gov. Ambode is gradually wearing Lagos a new look, connecting the missing dots and importantly creating that mega city mindset in the minds of every Lagosian. So Anambra Must Mean Business to stand the test of time, we might not have Lagos population, we might not be open to the ocean like Lagos, but Anambra population can only grow when our people start believing they can get jobs in the State and investors will only invest where are security, market and demand.

We can make it happen if we can get it right, if Anambra can move from "a Politically Reliable State to an Economically Dependable State".

Written by: Abaelu Ike Anthony Jnr
Can be reached on: anthony.abaelu@gmail.com.

FlatNation

The man Ambode deserve my admiration.

That is only if a man like Oseloka Obaze, Chidoka or Peter Obi is governing Anambra. Anambra really missed a big opportunity by allowing election rigger to buy votes and win reelection. Willie Obiano lacks the kind of ideas to make Anambra great. All he does is propaganda performancing. Anambra wasted a big opportunity.

I have nothing to comment.