₦airaland Forum

cooltone: Awka is still a rural settlement. Onitsha and even Nnewi are cities when compared to Awka. But hopefully in the next five to ten years Awka may become a city with good governance. But for now its still far from an urban dwelling.

Its not true, I was in Awka early Jan for a wedding. The city has really changed with beautiful and fascinating edifices springing. I love the city, its good for relaxation because of its cool nature and serenity.

I have one sentence for you; go back to school to learn how to read, write and spell correctly. kolofo.

Average Yoruba power monger. You will be disappointed

Awka is a quiet serene good place to raise family.

Am not surprise. Yorubas are synonymous with their hausa almajiri brothers.

Yorubas are more terrorists that even the hausas.

ZUBY77: Shoprite came to Enugu through Sulliva. Shoprite created over 3000 jobs... Now tell me what it is. What has peter done, even his grand beer factory is located in PH

I hope you don't want this piece of a thread derailed into a war zone?

Do you know shoprite you are talking about has sent more Enugu state people into the roads of poverty? SA company has taken over and broke entrepreneurial chain in the state that empowers the common man. Ask an economist he will enlighten you better.

As for Peter Obi, he has brought FDI worth 15B, am talking of the greenfield Sabmiller brewery plant that will be commissioned soon in Onitsha. He has also brought the Koreans LG company that are building a world class electronic plant in Awka worth over 10B. He has invested billions for the future of Anambra in Orient Petroleum, the company that is developing refinery facility that will also be commissioned soon in Otucha- Anambra. This is what is called real investment and not just SA run supermarket. So don't just go there bro

Bunkum, we should be talking about economic cities. Economic cities is what rules the world today. From Lagos to PH to Onitsha to Kano to Ogun. Cities that will not depend on government handouts, cities that will be self sustaining, cities that can uphold the economic status of Nigeria to be able the join the most developed countries by the year 20-20-20.

Orji has consistently taken the crown for the last 5 year. He just won the 2012 award of the most backward state in the east.

Callimo: t

You are a bg fool. in fact, u are a pig. Bagger

B.a.s.t.a.r.d common get out of my way, human-beings are talking nama has come to join his own. You think I have time for your gibberish. A freaking backward non entity. Persona non grata.

onye_ngbu/Al haram:

Who is Elrufai? The boko haram leader?

Biko, I want you to dispute what I posted on the link above. Ewu Gambia.

@john4pius

You must be day dreaming with your masturbation.

Yes, all the northern states put together cannot equal one Anambra. Economically, educationally, socially and even infrastructurally, Go figure.

The only undoing of Anambra state is the Onitsha-Awka federal expressway, which presently under construction. Besides that Anambra has some of the best road network connecting all the communities in the state. It is this roads that made it possible for some rural towns of Ekwulobia, Ihialla, Umunze, Oba, Obosi and even Anam are speedily turning into urban centers where people now live and work/trade.

RoadStar: My point is that the attitude of igbos in the face of criticisms is as a result of a peculiar and seemingly organised culture of misguided prejudices when it comes to igbos which might have led to a sense of siege like mentality amongst igbos.
We see this attitude in the African American community in the US.

Even though I dont support Obis response to the issue,
1. How can El-rufais say that a state with 3 urban centers is rural.
2. A state which has been in the news for opening factories such as SabMiller, Innosson, Emzor Pharm and Orient Refineries be the least friendly state to attract investment.
3. A state which consistently come 3rd in Jamb Application and admissions be educationally backward.
4. A state with the 4th concentration of banks in Nigeria be lacking in economic activity.
5. A state which has accomplshed arguably the longest stretch of road construction than any state in Nigeria.

El-rufai is right though as the above have got nothing to do with Peter Obi, and Obi has been guilty of misplaced priorities and laughable projects but the points he highlighted are grossly inaccurate and in most cases in stark contrast to reality.

You have said it all. I think with these postulations the message has been delivered to Elrufai and his likes.

Anambra Versus The North: How Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai & Other Northern Elites Underdeveloped & Impoverished Majority Northern Populations


Public Statement By Intersociety Nigeria -In the Social Bond or Control Theory of Travis Hirschi, social deviance including criminal offending becomes uncontrollable the moment people are made to disconnect from the core agents of socialization,

especially the four areas that bind them with the core agents of socialization, that is to say: involvement, belief, attachment and engagement. The absence of the foregoing, criminologically speaking, leads to social disorganization as we see it today in the North.

Similarly, in the Strain/Anomie Theory of Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton, when there is disconnect between cultural goals and legitimate or socially approved means (when the two conflicts), a state of “anomie”(alienation of self from society due to conflicting norms and interests) sets in. When this state occurs, it results into five categories of social conditions of: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Those in the class of conformity accept the cultural goals and legitimate means; those in the innovation accept the cultural goals but use illegitimate means to achieve them; those in the ritualism lose faith in cultural goals but feel obligated to work under routines for legitimate daily life; those in the retreatism, such as drug addicts, reject both cultural goals and legitimate means and transform themselves into the dregs of the society; and those in the rebellion not only reject both cultural goals and institutionalized means, but also seek to redefine new values for the society through uprising and violence, i.e. Boko-Haram uprising in the Northern Nigeria.

It is on the premise of the foregoing that we at the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), decide to critically evaluate the Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai’s assessment of the public governance in Anambra State of Nigeria, titled: Anambra’s Budgets of “Mispriorities”, which was widely published on 8th day of June 2012.

This evaluation of ours, therefore, is in the context of Anambra versus the North in terms of soio-economic comparison. While it is a widely held view that Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, like other Nigerians, is entitled to his opinion, but his opinion should not be expressed at the gross expense of Anambra State and its People, especially in the context of returning the State to its former pariah status, as a pariah member of the States of the Nigerian Federation, which his piece tried in vain to do.

As noted by many respected writers including Barrister Daniel Elomba, the Ahmad El-Rufai’s piece is fraught with utterly discredited facts and stranger’s information. It is purely an assessment from outside observation, fed by laptop statistics.

For instance, contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s position in his piece, Anambra State has minimum rural-urban drift. Non- Anambra State citizens of Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia States, etc vastly populate the State’s old urban areas of Onitsha and Nnewi as well as some of the new urban areas in the State. These brother and sister-citizens have also made an inroad into Asaba, Delta State, where they built many residential houses and business facilities. Also, contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s submission, Anambra now has over ten urban areas of Onitsha, Ogbaru, Idemmili(Awada, Ugwuagba, Obosi, Nkpor & Omagba), Nkwere-Ezunaka/Nsugbe, Ekwulobia, Oko/Umunze, Ihiala, Awka, Igbariam/Umuleri/Aguleri, Ogidi/Abagana and Oba. Anambra population is over 5million and not “4,2million” as he erroneously stated. The State is highly urbanized and densely populated with commerce as its major economic base, engaged in by over 70% of its adult residents. Anambra State is also second to none in self-help development index with evenly spread incomes per head. In old Onitsha and Nnewi urban areas, for instance, three out of every five commercial multi-storey buildings, have their own sunk bore holes. Also, sophisticated private hospitals adorn many of these old and new urban centers. In terms of primary and secondary schools, the number of government-approved private schools surpasses those of government and missionary schools and they are evenly distributed among the old and new urban centers and semi urban areas in the State.

The number of high and low rising commercial and private buildings in Anambra State surpasses the total number of same, if any, in the seven States of the Northwest geopolitical zone put together, from where Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai comes from. As at 1997, there were over 200 private large-scale industries in Nnewi alone. Presently, the major problem hindering the industrial growth in the State is the power epilepsy, caused not by the government and people of Anambra State, but by the Federal Government (power is in the exclusive legislative list). Presently, there are over 200 markets in the State alone and more are springing up. There is no major industry in Nigeria that does not have a link to Anambra State. Any item of legitimate human use is not in short supply in the State. Forty-percent of the Internally Generated Revenues of Delta State comes from Anambra State. Therefore, the State is typically a blue-collar society and one of the juiciest sources of the police illicit enrichment due to high carriage of cash or hand-to-hand cash transactions.

In terms of public governance, Ahmad El-Rufai ought to know that another name for high self-help development index is “government made easy”, in that a society with high self-help development records reduces the burden of government in the provision of social services to its people. Anambra, like other Southeast States, to a large extent, had two major set backs before now; its post civil war challenges, which deprived its post-civil war generations and their parents of conventional education, resulting in its present adult population’s limited education especially among the male adult traders, as well as the tragedies of the early 2000s when criminal gangs took over the management of the affairs of its men and women. Perhaps, the likes of Mallam Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai are still dwelling in this past ugly history of the State per his recent lopsided assessment of the State and its public governance, by utterly ignoring the great wind of change in the State epitomized by the present popularly instituted governance, which originated in March 2006.

To govern well in Nigeria’s context and under a democratic setting, a governor must not have identity or personality and moral bankruptcy. Very importantly, he or she must not be an electoral robber and he or she must have the hallowed electoral mandate of his or her people. There are four conventional ways of sourcing funds for public governance in Nigeria, that is to say: federation accounts receipts, internally generated revenues, borrowings and local/ international grants or development funds. Among these four core areas, borrowings are not socio-economically helpful because of their devastating effects on immediate and future well being of the affected State or locality. To this effect, we give it to the present government of Anambra State, which has successfully resisted the borrowing temptations in the past six years, unlike Imo State, for instance, that has over N100Billion internal debts to its deficit. In the inglorious epoch of Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, a $10Million loan was secured from an Egyptian bank, for the “building of an international market”, which was never built. Another N650Million loan was secured from a Nigerian bank for “the building of a stadium complex” in Awka, the State capital, which was also never built, to mention but a few. The debt regime under the illegitimate and unlawful regime of Dr. Chris Ngige remains utterly sketchy. Today, these loans with hash conditions are part of the $24.4Million still owed international lending institutions by the government of Anambra State. In the four core areas of fund sourcing, the government of Anambra State, under Mr. Peter Obi, has done well in the international fund sourcing or development partnerships as well as in the area of maintaining almost zero-borrowing culture both internally and externally.

However, true to Ahmad El-Rufai’s observation, the government of Mr. Peter Obi has failed woefully in the area of improving the IGR fortunes of the State, considering its vast revenue potentials. This is due to weak revenue generation mechanisms, which tend to favour illicit revenue agents, sometimes backed by some corrupt officials of the government both at State and local levels. This failure appears to have been necessitated by bountiful international patronage enjoyed by the government as well as the availability of the Local Government funds, used, under special conditions, for the development of selected infrastructures in the affected LGAs. Again, some of the deficiencies of Mr. Peter Obi’s administration are poor maintenance culture, snail-speed response to matters of urgent public importance, non-conduct of the local council polls, armchair syndrome of some, if not many of his bookish top aides and weak/ timely enforcement of law and other conventional social controls.

As for Ahmad El-Rufai’s criticism of the Anambra’s budgets and their sectoral allocations, he missed the point frontally and logically. This is because there exists legitimate and illegitimate budgeting. Budget is legitimate when it is realistic and executable, not fat and theoretical allocation with little or zero execution capacity. It is illegitimate when it is bloated, loan and white elephant driven. It is better to have a small and realistic budget than to have lofty, loan driven and white-elephant budget. Apart from attention being given to over 20 active gully sites in the State, our field team has also found that there exists a rapid response team that timely checks the newly developed gullies in parts of the State. On-going works on two of such young gullies at Uke Community in the State is a case in point.

Still on Anambra Budgets, the present government enjoys two “government-made easy” packages, one from the high self-help development index and the other from international funding and development institutions like UNICEF, EU, World Bank, UNDP, DFID, etc. For instance, we have found that many of the 177 communities, over 1000 public/mission primary schools and 258 public/mission secondary schools in the State now have bore holes courtesy of European Union, UNICEF, etc. In Ogbaru LGA, 30 boreholes are being sunk in thirty strategic places. In all, there are 434 water projects done in the State, excluding those done by the State Ministry of Local Government & Chieftaincy Matters. Bore holes under MDGs(millennium development goals) are 186, UNICEF through RUWASSA are 154, 17 EU Water schemes, 71 bore holes from MPUWRCD, to mention but few. This is in addition to high private borehole ratio per residence in the State and attention being given to the State’s major water schemes in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Obizi-Uga, etc. State’s community/general hospitals and health centers are not in short supply in the State. Most, if not all of them are provided with boreholes. Conversely, it is very important to point out that there are some boreholes, especially those sunk in hilly and dry areas that are not functioning, either due to shady jobs by contractors or difficult terrains. In the area of education, about 800 mission primary schools and about 42 mission secondary schools were returned to their missionary owners (Catholic church-over 400, Anglican church-over 300, etc), excluding the payment of their teachers’ salaries and other welfare, which is still borne by the State Government, thereby living the State with 261 public primary and 216 secondary schools. The intent for returning the schools is for moral rejuvenation.

In the areas of roads, crime rates and other social services, Ahmad El-Rufai also goofed. While many States still find it difficult connecting one LGA to another, road-wise, Anambra has gone far beyond that. The 177 communities in the State are now divided into first class, second class and third class communities in terms of link roads. All the 21 LGAs, first class and second-class communities are easily accessible road-wise. The third class communities and some important street roads in old Onitsha urban like Iyiowa Odekpe/Odo-Rubber, Okpoko/Nkutaku, Awada, Ugwuagba, Nkpor, Ogidi and Woliwo Layout/ Omagba Phase 11, are still begging for government attention. Some of these areas are new layouts. Also, major parts of the Onitsha-Enugu Federal Road, which is at the heart of the State, are still an eyesore, except few parts that have been rehabilitated. On the other hand, urban areas like Fegge, Inland Town, GRA, Nsugbe 33 and Odo-akpu all in old Onitsha urban and major parts of Nnewi have very good road network. Also, the Omambala area of the State, which used to be utterly neglected, is being transformed. Igbariam/ Umuleri and Nsugbe/Nkwere-Ezunaka are the newest urban areas in the State, which are part of the hitherto neglected areas of the State. Over 15 medium and large-scale bridges and their connecting roads have been constructed across the State’s difficult terrains. Conversely, Awka is yet to wear the deserved look of a modern State capital city, though many of its old-fashioned roads are tarred as well as Attention of some key public infrastructures like State Secretariat, CBN, etc

In terms of access to justice, there are court of superior records (high courts) in Onitsha (many sub divisions), Otuocha(serving the river-line areas of Anambra East/West, Oyi and Ayamelum LGAs), Awka (many sub divisions), Aguata, Nnewi, Ogidi and Ihiala. In the area of “ high crime rates”, Ahmad El-Rufai lacks professional know-how in criminology and security studies or related fields to understand what “crime rates” are all about. Though street crimes including property crimes are normal in blue-collar society such as Anambra State, which also provides job for social control agencies, other than Northeast zone which is the most crime-prone in Nigeria presently, it is difficult to pin point any State as “being among those with highest crime rates”. Since Ahmad El-Rufai is not a crime statistician, we wonder how he arrived at the lopsided submission that Anambra has one of the highest crime rates in Nigeria, especially taking into account “dark” and “gray” figures of crime statistics as well as prevalence of white-collar crimes and crimes against persons (prevalent in the North). To credibly assess crime rates, crime must be evaluated holistically. What two white-collar criminals steal in Katsina State in a month, for instance, may most likely outweigh the total proceeds of property crimes generated in one year in the entire Southeast zone by property criminals. Contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s submission, crime is not restricted to “property crime” of armed robbery and hostage for ransom.

From the foregoing, therefore, it is clear that Ahmad El-Rufai’s piece is ill conceived and utterly political. It may have derived its motives from the forthcoming 2015 political power games. The piece utterly portrayed Anambra State and its People as backward, manifestly poor, under-developed, crisis and crime-prone, and above all, a pariah partner in the Nigerian Federation Project. By canonizing an electoral usurper and thief, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai is encouraging electoral roguery and telling the Anambra electorates to always allow their hallowed electoral mandate to be stolen by an electoral criminal gang. His piece ought to be titled:” How Ahmad El-Rufai & Other Northern Elites Underdeveloped & Impoverished the Majority Northern Populations” and not, “Anambra Budgets of Mispriorities”.

The truth is that Anambra surpasses the entire North West zone by any standards of social measurement. Therefore, it is “Anambra versus the North”. While Anambra is highly urbanized, the North West and the entire North excluding the FCT are bedeviled by higher rural-urban drift because of the primitive concentration of the business of governance in the capital cities of the North. While educational opportunities in the North are reserved for Northern elites like Ahmad El-Rufai, alms and religious radicalism are reserved for the vast majority of their populations. When the Northern elites want political power, they recruit this impoverished majority into misconceived religious zealotry and after ascending to power; they reward them with weekly feeding and chaplet incantations at their palatial homes. While the real political slogan of these inhumane elites is “take money or material things and give me power, but when I get power, I will use my power to take my money back from you”, they indoctrinate this majority with “God giveth and taketh power”.

Therefore, in the North, the two theories aforementioned are utterly suitable. The Boko-Haram uprising in the North is not only an “intifada” against the Federal Government, but importantly, it is also an uprising against the Northern elites, who mindlessly blocked social opportunities for the vast majority of their people for more than 25 years they held sway at the presidency. Today, the uprising is against the Federal Government and its security establishments as well as Igbo-Christians and non-Igbo Christians as well, but tomorrow, Northern elites may most likely be joined. Ahmad El-Rufai’ s handling of the landed properties of the Southeast people during his days as the FCT Minister, which made him to reveal that”75% of the properties in the FCT are owned by the Igbo people”, as well as the fate of the displaced local indigenes (Gbagi-Gwari) may be a topic for another day. The foregoing, therefore, is part of how the Northern elites including Ahmad El-Rufai under-developed and impoverished the vast Northern majority. We wish to submit that Anambra State is not poor, backward or socially disorganized, and if the North is Mogadishu, then Anambra is Tokyo.

Even in the area of external borrowings and debts, Anambra State is among the five least indebted States, whereas the North including the Ahmad El-Rufai’s North West, is heavily indebted. Some insiders have also revealed that the heaven will let loose if the internal debts profiles of many States of the Federation including States of the North are made open. The Nigeria’s Debt Management Office’s recent report of March 2012 has it that the Southwest zone is the most indebted in terms of foreign debts, with $810Million or N122Billion, followed by North West zone $458Million or N67.9Billion, with Ahmad El-Rufai’s Katsina State owing $74.13Million or N11Billion (Kaduna State owes $182.2Million or N27.3Million); followed by South-south with $289.2Million or N43.6Billion; followed by Southeast with $193.7 or N29.1Billion; followed by North-central with $190.2Million or N28.7Billon; and followed by Northeast zone with $185.1Million or N27.7Billion. The Federal Capital Territory-Abuja owes $36.84Million or N5.5Billion. Anambra is in the fifth position among the five least indebted States of Borno-$12.9Million or N1.9Billion, Delta-$15.4Million or N2.03Billion, Taraba-$20.4Million or N3.06Billion, Plateau-$20.43Million or N3.07Billion and Anambra-$24.4Million or N3.66Billion, using the exchange rate of N150.00 per USD. The present government of Anambra State is also reputed to have borrowed nothing internally since 2006 except statutory controversial service pay arrears owed the workers of State parastatals like State water corporation, State printing company and the State-broadcasting outfit as well as the Federal Government bonded zero-interest World Bank facilities for health-care delivery in selected States repayable under soft conditions.

Finally, we must avoid the grave mistakes of running down our few comrade-governors, who have come to serve their people, simply because of certain primitive political interests. We have always maintained that Lagos people are lucky to have Tinubu/Fashola as their governors, even though they ran and still run government of budget deficits with staggering foreign debts of $491Million or over N73Billion and undisclosed tens of billions of naira of internal debts. Also, Edo people are lucky to have Comrade Adams Oshomoile as their governor and Anambra people are very lucky to have Mr. Peter Obi as their governor. Ekiti and Osun people may be lucky too to have their governors. Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has the mandate of his people, but he must refrain from further mortgaging the future of the State by reportedly being a loan seeking and borrowing governor. Public governance requires towering personality profiles, creativity and frontal initiatives. Therefore, all the 36 States governors are not the same, comparatively speaking. Some are charlatans with mechanical legitimacy. Others are hedonistic compradors, while the remainders are creative and innovative governors with hallowed mandates of their people.

http://elombah.com/index.php/special-reports/11434-anambra-versus-the-north-how-nasir-ahmad-el-rufai-other-northern-elites-underdeveloped-impoverished-majority-northern-populations

Anambra Versus The North: How Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai & Other Northern Elites Underdeveloped & Impoverished Majority Northern Populations


Public Statement By Intersociety Nigeria -In the Social Bond or Control Theory of Travis Hirschi, social deviance including criminal offending becomes uncontrollable the moment people are made to disconnect from the core agents of socialization,

especially the four areas that bind them with the core agents of socialization, that is to say: involvement, belief, attachment and engagement. The absence of the foregoing, criminologically speaking, leads to social disorganization as we see it today in the North.

Similarly, in the Strain/Anomie Theory of Emile Durkheim and Robert K. Merton, when there is disconnect between cultural goals and legitimate or socially approved means (when the two conflicts), a state of “anomie”(alienation of self from society due to conflicting norms and interests) sets in. When this state occurs, it results into five categories of social conditions of: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Those in the class of conformity accept the cultural goals and legitimate means; those in the innovation accept the cultural goals but use illegitimate means to achieve them; those in the ritualism lose faith in cultural goals but feel obligated to work under routines for legitimate daily life; those in the retreatism, such as drug addicts, reject both cultural goals and legitimate means and transform themselves into the dregs of the society; and those in the rebellion not only reject both cultural goals and institutionalized means, but also seek to redefine new values for the society through uprising and violence, i.e. Boko-Haram uprising in the Northern Nigeria.

It is on the premise of the foregoing that we at the International Society for Civil Liberties & the Rule of Law (Intersociety), decide to critically evaluate the Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai’s assessment of the public governance in Anambra State of Nigeria, titled: Anambra’s Budgets of “Mispriorities”, which was widely published on 8th day of June 2012.

This evaluation of ours, therefore, is in the context of Anambra versus the North in terms of soio-economic comparison. While it is a widely held view that Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, like other Nigerians, is entitled to his opinion, but his opinion should not be expressed at the gross expense of Anambra State and its People, especially in the context of returning the State to its former pariah status, as a pariah member of the States of the Nigerian Federation, which his piece tried in vain to do.

As noted by many respected writers including Barrister Daniel Elomba, the Ahmad El-Rufai’s piece is fraught with utterly discredited facts and stranger’s information. It is purely an assessment from outside observation, fed by laptop statistics.

For instance, contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s position in his piece, Anambra State has minimum rural-urban drift. Non- Anambra State citizens of Enugu, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia States, etc vastly populate the State’s old urban areas of Onitsha and Nnewi as well as some of the new urban areas in the State. These brother and sister-citizens have also made an inroad into Asaba, Delta State, where they built many residential houses and business facilities. Also, contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s submission, Anambra now has over ten urban areas of Onitsha, Ogbaru, Idemmili(Awada, Ugwuagba, Obosi, Nkpor & Omagba), Nkwere-Ezunaka/Nsugbe, Ekwulobia, Oko/Umunze, Ihiala, Awka, Igbariam/Umuleri/Aguleri, Ogidi/Abagana and Oba. Anambra population is over 5million and not “4,2million” as he erroneously stated. The State is highly urbanized and densely populated with commerce as its major economic base, engaged in by over 70% of its adult residents. Anambra State is also second to none in self-help development index with evenly spread incomes per head. In old Onitsha and Nnewi urban areas, for instance, three out of every five commercial multi-storey buildings, have their own sunk bore holes. Also, sophisticated private hospitals adorn many of these old and new urban centers. In terms of primary and secondary schools, the number of government-approved private schools surpasses those of government and missionary schools and they are evenly distributed among the old and new urban centers and semi urban areas in the State.

The number of high and low rising commercial and private buildings in Anambra State surpasses the total number of same, if any, in the seven States of the Northwest geopolitical zone put together, from where Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai comes from. As at 1997, there were over 200 private large-scale industries in Nnewi alone. Presently, the major problem hindering the industrial growth in the State is the power epilepsy, caused not by the government and people of Anambra State, but by the Federal Government (power is in the exclusive legislative list). Presently, there are over 200 markets in the State alone and more are springing up. There is no major industry in Nigeria that does not have a link to Anambra State. Any item of legitimate human use is not in short supply in the State. Forty-percent of the Internally Generated Revenues of Delta State comes from Anambra State. Therefore, the State is typically a blue-collar society and one of the juiciest sources of the police illicit enrichment due to high carriage of cash or hand-to-hand cash transactions.

In terms of public governance, Ahmad El-Rufai ought to know that another name for high self-help development index is “government made easy”, in that a society with high self-help development records reduces the burden of government in the provision of social services to its people. Anambra, like other Southeast States, to a large extent, had two major set backs before now; its post civil war challenges, which deprived its post-civil war generations and their parents of conventional education, resulting in its present adult population’s limited education especially among the male adult traders, as well as the tragedies of the early 2000s when criminal gangs took over the management of the affairs of its men and women. Perhaps, the likes of Mallam Ahmad Nasir El-Rufai are still dwelling in this past ugly history of the State per his recent lopsided assessment of the State and its public governance, by utterly ignoring the great wind of change in the State epitomized by the present popularly instituted governance, which originated in March 2006.

To govern well in Nigeria’s context and under a democratic setting, a governor must not have identity or personality and moral bankruptcy. Very importantly, he or she must not be an electoral robber and he or she must have the hallowed electoral mandate of his or her people. There are four conventional ways of sourcing funds for public governance in Nigeria, that is to say: federation accounts receipts, internally generated revenues, borrowings and local/ international grants or development funds. Among these four core areas, borrowings are not socio-economically helpful because of their devastating effects on immediate and future well being of the affected State or locality. To this effect, we give it to the present government of Anambra State, which has successfully resisted the borrowing temptations in the past six years, unlike Imo State, for instance, that has over N100Billion internal debts to its deficit. In the inglorious epoch of Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, a $10Million loan was secured from an Egyptian bank, for the “building of an international market”, which was never built. Another N650Million loan was secured from a Nigerian bank for “the building of a stadium complex” in Awka, the State capital, which was also never built, to mention but a few. The debt regime under the illegitimate and unlawful regime of Dr. Chris Ngige remains utterly sketchy. Today, these loans with hash conditions are part of the $24.4Million still owed international lending institutions by the government of Anambra State. In the four core areas of fund sourcing, the government of Anambra State, under Mr. Peter Obi, has done well in the international fund sourcing or development partnerships as well as in the area of maintaining almost zero-borrowing culture both internally and externally.

However, true to Ahmad El-Rufai’s observation, the government of Mr. Peter Obi has failed woefully in the area of improving the IGR fortunes of the State, considering its vast revenue potentials. This is due to weak revenue generation mechanisms, which tend to favour illicit revenue agents, sometimes backed by some corrupt officials of the government both at State and local levels. This failure appears to have been necessitated by bountiful international patronage enjoyed by the government as well as the availability of the Local Government funds, used, under special conditions, for the development of selected infrastructures in the affected LGAs. Again, some of the deficiencies of Mr. Peter Obi’s administration are poor maintenance culture, snail-speed response to matters of urgent public importance, non-conduct of the local council polls, armchair syndrome of some, if not many of his bookish top aides and weak/ timely enforcement of law and other conventional social controls.

As for Ahmad El-Rufai’s criticism of the Anambra’s budgets and their sectoral allocations, he missed the point frontally and logically. This is because there exists legitimate and illegitimate budgeting. Budget is legitimate when it is realistic and executable, not fat and theoretical allocation with little or zero execution capacity. It is illegitimate when it is bloated, loan and white elephant driven. It is better to have a small and realistic budget than to have lofty, loan driven and white-elephant budget. Apart from attention being given to over 20 active gully sites in the State, our field team has also found that there exists a rapid response team that timely checks the newly developed gullies in parts of the State. On-going works on two of such young gullies at Uke Community in the State is a case in point.

Still on Anambra Budgets, the present government enjoys two “government-made easy” packages, one from the high self-help development index and the other from international funding and development institutions like UNICEF, EU, World Bank, UNDP, DFID, etc. For instance, we have found that many of the 177 communities, over 1000 public/mission primary schools and 258 public/mission secondary schools in the State now have bore holes courtesy of European Union, UNICEF, etc. In Ogbaru LGA, 30 boreholes are being sunk in thirty strategic places. In all, there are 434 water projects done in the State, excluding those done by the State Ministry of Local Government & Chieftaincy Matters. Bore holes under MDGs(millennium development goals) are 186, UNICEF through RUWASSA are 154, 17 EU Water schemes, 71 bore holes from MPUWRCD, to mention but few. This is in addition to high private borehole ratio per residence in the State and attention being given to the State’s major water schemes in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi, Obizi-Uga, etc. State’s community/general hospitals and health centers are not in short supply in the State. Most, if not all of them are provided with boreholes. Conversely, it is very important to point out that there are some boreholes, especially those sunk in hilly and dry areas that are not functioning, either due to shady jobs by contractors or difficult terrains. In the area of education, about 800 mission primary schools and about 42 mission secondary schools were returned to their missionary owners (Catholic church-over 400, Anglican church-over 300, etc), excluding the payment of their teachers’ salaries and other welfare, which is still borne by the State Government, thereby living the State with 261 public primary and 216 secondary schools. The intent for returning the schools is for moral rejuvenation.

In the areas of roads, crime rates and other social services, Ahmad El-Rufai also goofed. While many States still find it difficult connecting one LGA to another, road-wise, Anambra has gone far beyond that. The 177 communities in the State are now divided into first class, second class and third class communities in terms of link roads. All the 21 LGAs, first class and second-class communities are easily accessible road-wise. The third class communities and some important street roads in old Onitsha urban like Iyiowa Odekpe/Odo-Rubber, Okpoko/Nkutaku, Awada, Ugwuagba, Nkpor, Ogidi and Woliwo Layout/ Omagba Phase 11, are still begging for government attention. Some of these areas are new layouts. Also, major parts of the Onitsha-Enugu Federal Road, which is at the heart of the State, are still an eyesore, except few parts that have been rehabilitated. On the other hand, urban areas like Fegge, Inland Town, GRA, Nsugbe 33 and Odo-akpu all in old Onitsha urban and major parts of Nnewi have very good road network. Also, the Omambala area of the State, which used to be utterly neglected, is being transformed. Igbariam/ Umuleri and Nsugbe/Nkwere-Ezunaka are the newest urban areas in the State, which are part of the hitherto neglected areas of the State. Over 15 medium and large-scale bridges and their connecting roads have been constructed across the State’s difficult terrains. Conversely, Awka is yet to wear the deserved look of a modern State capital city, though many of its old-fashioned roads are tarred as well as erection of some key public infrastructures like State Secretariat, CBN, etc

In terms of access to justice, there are court of superior records (high courts) in Onitsha (many sub divisions), Otuocha(serving the river-line areas of Anambra East/West, Oyi and Ayamelum LGAs), Awka (many sub divisions), Aguata, Nnewi, Ogidi and Ihiala. In the area of “ high crime rates”, Ahmad El-Rufai lacks professional know-how in criminology and security studies or related fields to understand what “crime rates” are all about. Though street crimes including property crimes are normal in blue-collar society such as Anambra State, which also provides job for social control agencies, other than Northeast zone which is the most crime-prone in Nigeria presently, it is difficult to pin point any State as “being among those with highest crime rates”. Since Ahmad El-Rufai is not a crime statistician, we wonder how he arrived at the lopsided submission that Anambra has one of the highest crime rates in Nigeria, especially taking into account “dark” and “gray” figures of crime statistics as well as prevalence of white-collar crimes and crimes against persons (prevalent in the North). To credibly assess crime rates, crime must be evaluated holistically. What two white-collar criminals steal in Katsina State in a month, for instance, may most likely outweigh the total proceeds of property crimes generated in one year in the entire Southeast zone by property criminals. Contrary to Ahmad El-Rufai’s submission, crime is not restricted to “property crime” of armed robbery and hostage for ransom.

From the foregoing, therefore, it is clear that Ahmad El-Rufai’s piece is ill conceived and utterly political. It may have derived its motives from the forthcoming 2015 political power games. The piece utterly portrayed Anambra State and its People as backward, manifestly poor, under-developed, crisis and crime-prone, and above all, a pariah partner in the Nigerian Federation Project. By canonizing an electoral usurper and thief, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai is encouraging electoral roguery and telling the Anambra electorates to always allow their hallowed electoral mandate to be stolen by an electoral criminal gang. His piece ought to be titled:” How Ahmad El-Rufai & Other Northern Elites Underdeveloped & Impoverished the Majority Northern Populations” and not, “Anambra Budgets of Mispriorities”.

The truth is that Anambra surpasses the entire North West zone by any standards of social measurement. Therefore, it is “Anambra versus the North”. While Anambra is highly urbanized, the North West and the entire North excluding the FCT are bedeviled by higher rural-urban drift because of the primitive concentration of the business of governance in the capital cities of the North. While educational opportunities in the North are reserved for Northern elites like Ahmad El-Rufai, alms and religious radicalism are reserved for the vast majority of their populations. When the Northern elites want political power, they recruit this impoverished majority into misconceived religious zealotry and after ascending to power; they reward them with weekly feeding and chaplet incantations at their palatial homes. While the real political slogan of these inhumane elites is “take money or material things and give me power, but when I get power, I will use my power to take my money back from you”, they indoctrinate this majority with “God giveth and taketh power”.

Therefore, in the North, the two theories aforementioned are utterly suitable. The Boko-Haram uprising in the North is not only an “intifada” against the Federal Government, but importantly, it is also an uprising against the Northern elites, who mindlessly blocked social opportunities for the vast majority of their people for more than 25 years they held sway at the presidency. Today, the uprising is against the Federal Government and its security establishments as well as Igbo-Christians and non-Igbo Christians as well, but tomorrow, Northern elites may most likely be joined. Ahmad El-Rufai’ s handling of the landed properties of the Southeast people during his days as the FCT Minister, which made him to reveal that”75% of the properties in the FCT are owned by the Igbo people”, as well as the fate of the displaced local indigenes (Gbagi-Gwari) may be a topic for another day. The foregoing, therefore, is part of how the Northern elites including Ahmad El-Rufai under-developed and impoverished the vast Northern majority. We wish to submit that Anambra State is not poor, backward or socially disorganized, and if the North is Mogadishu, then Anambra is Tokyo.

Even in the area of external borrowings and debts, Anambra State is among the five least indebted States, whereas the North including the Ahmad El-Rufai’s North West, is heavily indebted. Some insiders have also revealed that the heaven will let loose if the internal debts profiles of many States of the Federation including States of the North are made open. The Nigeria’s Debt Management Office’s recent report of March 2012 has it that the Southwest zone is the most indebted in terms of foreign debts, with $810Million or N122Billion, followed by North West zone $458Million or N67.9Billion, with Ahmad El-Rufai’s Katsina State owing $74.13Million or N11Billion (Kaduna State owes $182.2Million or N27.3Million); followed by South-south with $289.2Million or N43.6Billion; followed by Southeast with $193.7 or N29.1Billion; followed by North-central with $190.2Million or N28.7Billon; and followed by Northeast zone with $185.1Million or N27.7Billion. The Federal Capital Territory-Abuja owes $36.84Million or N5.5Billion. Anambra is in the fifth position among the five least indebted States of Borno-$12.9Million or N1.9Billion, Delta-$15.4Million or N2.03Billion, Taraba-$20.4Million or N3.06Billion, Plateau-$20.43Million or N3.07Billion and Anambra-$24.4Million or N3.66Billion, using the exchange rate of N150.00 per USD. The present government of Anambra State is also reputed to have borrowed nothing internally since 2006 except statutory controversial service pay arrears owed the workers of State parastatals like State water corporation, State printing company and the State-broadcasting outfit as well as the Federal Government bonded zero-interest World Bank facilities for health-care delivery in selected States repayable under soft conditions.

Finally, we must avoid the grave mistakes of running down our few comrade-governors, who have come to serve their people, simply because of certain primitive political interests. We have always maintained that Lagos people are lucky to have Tinubu/Fashola as their governors, even though they ran and still run government of budget deficits with staggering foreign debts of $491Million or over N73Billion and undisclosed tens of billions of naira of internal debts. Also, Edo people are lucky to have Comrade Adams Oshomoile as their governor and Anambra people are very lucky to have Mr. Peter Obi as their governor. Ekiti and Osun people may be lucky too to have their governors. Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has the mandate of his people, but he must refrain from further mortgaging the future of the State by reportedly being a loan seeking and borrowing governor. Public governance requires towering personality profiles, creativity and frontal initiatives. Therefore, all the 36 States governors are not the same, comparatively speaking. Some are charlatans with mechanical legitimacy. Others are hedonistic compradors, while the remainders are creative and innovative governors with hallowed mandates of their people.

http://elombah.com/index.php/special-reports/11434-anambra-versus-the-north-how-nasir-ahmad-el-rufai-other-northern-elites-underdeveloped-impoverished-majority-northern-populations

Bunkum. The only Nigerian state that can be compared to Anambra is Lagos and Rivers state. Go figure. Elrufai should be more bothered with the army of almajiris, lepers, beggars parading the caves and stone age northern Nigeria. There is no single northern state that is worthy to be compared to Anambra state.

I hear say the guy only come to Oshuun state when its time to collect allocation and immediately returns to his Ikorodu lagos residence to continue the governance of the cave and rural state of shun.

You both are making unnecessary mouth.

Enugu State had all these schools you claim and they still remain at the back waters of education in Nigeria. The fact remains that Anambra has some of the best universities/colleges/schools and produces yearly among the best and brightest Nigeria can offer the world. Like as I said before Enugu state is in the same league with Ebonyi, Gombe, Zamfara, Sokoto and the rest of them when it comes to education and enlightenment. So deal with bro.

ZUBY77: I think you have a comprehension problems. If not, you will know that we are talking about what Peter Obi has done and not how developed Ekwuloia is. What is in your Ekwulobia apart from grocery shops along the road. Tell me one good thing along the Nkpor-Ogidi-Abatete-Umuoji-Down to Agulu axis.. What of Nanka and co? Each time we mention peter obi here, the first thing you dogs shout is that anambra boasts of best road network. hahahaha, who gave you that award? Have you been to lagps at all?
Let me quickly remind you that we are criticizing mr peter obi s achievements and not anambra state. Tell us what he has done

You are not making any point. Enugu state is 95% rural. The only states that can be compare to Anambra is Lagos and Rivers in terms of expansive development that reaches the grass root

ZUBY77: Arent u the same person as chino? Just asking.
The awgu you are talking about has constant electricity, good and new roads, water and above all, councillors and local govt chairmen. The same goes to Nsukka and Nkanu that own Esut, nigerian law school, madonna uni..nigeria airforce school.emene arport, UNTH, etc... Enugu may not be Businesslike as Onitsha or Nnewi but the governor works.
The issue here is about peter obi. Onitsha and nnewi has been there before mr obi. What has he done to improve these places?

Are you scared of chino, don't collapse yet this is no chino? When chino comes am sure he will tear you apart like mad dog

How do you determine that enugu governor works when he only concentrate on urban area only, what about the places I mentioned earlier? here it is again (Awgu, Nkanu, Nsukka, Ukwuaji, Akegbe). Have you ever had cause to travel to such dungeon? If you ever have then you need to whip your governor. Even the governors place Udi is a ghost town and a shadow of itself, no road, no pipe borne water, no infrastructure, no hospital and you claim they have government.

You mentioned Awgu, Nsukka and Nkanu having coucillor and chairmen, but with all that are they as developed as ordinary Ekwuluobia and Ihiaha? Go figure.

FYI: Madonna the first private university in Nigeria is in Anambra state, Ihiala precisely. Anambra has more secondary and higher institution than enugu state. UNIZIK, NAUTH, ANSU, MADONNA UNI, TANSIAN UNI, NWAFOR ORIZU UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, FED POLY, the major unity colleges/schools that are as old as 100yreas in the east are located in Anambra, the likes of CKC, DMGS, QRC etc, they are too many.

The likes of Pat Utomi, Peter Obi, prof Mbanefo etc. passed thru the revered DMGS. So don't go in the area of school cause we have got it all.

Anambra ranks very high over and above Enugu state in education. In the whole of Nigeria its only Imo that ranks above Anambra. educationally Enugu state competes with the likes of Ebonyi, Gombe, Niger, Adamawa and rest of them.

^


My friend shatap there, why do you choose to bring the comparison of states into this thread. Besides are you talking of Enugu urban or entire Enugu state? If you have ever have cause to travel beyond Enugu urban into dungeons which are supposed to be towns by as Awgu, Nkanu, Nsukka, Ukwuaji, Akegbe and many more of such places in Enugu, then you will understand that Anambra has got it right in areas of good road networks in nigeria that traversed all the communities in the state. That Enugu tarred few KM of roads within urban sector does not give them pass mark of development. I can tell you there is no part of Anambra community that is not ashphalted and that is the real development connecting rural areas. Obi has opened up the rural areas making life meaningful for people in those areas. I drive myself from Nnewi to Awka everyday to work, this is because the roads are good. Until I finish my housing project in Awka, I will still be traveling on that road. Again it doesnt matter if you live in Onitsha and travel to Enugu every other weekend, it depends on your personal reasons. I for one spend most of my weekends at Nnewi because that is where my family is, unless I decide to stay back in Awka for the weekend.

Was it not the same Oson governor who is linked to muslim extremists in north Africa? Wonders shall never end. If the likes of Aregbesele is the type of leaders churned out in the SW, then I must confess that SW is under going somalisation. Already the governor has mandated all publc and private schools to wear hijab and not to recite national anthem, training its citizens in cuba and yemen. These are some of the signs that your backward region is degenerating into terrorist den

adultiph: In as much as am not a fan of Peter Obi but i disagree with Boko Rufai.
I am from Imo state and my work cut acros Anambra,Enugu,Delta and Ebonyi state.
Anambra state has the best road network in Nigeria.I can challenge any person to any where on this.I am not saying that Peter Obi is doing well or not but interms of roads,the guy has done well.
I don't see why he should rated low in this area.
Nwoke ike (Ngige) started well on road building and Peter Obi really continued from where he stoped.

On Peter Obi saying that Boko rufai statement is an insult to Igbo nation.I agree with him.How will he rate the south east very low in good environment for business.
Onitsha is one of the biggest market in Africa (if not the biggest in Africa).Aba is also one of the biggest market in Africa.So how did they survive all this while.
Outside Lagos,i don' think there is any state that is more suitable than south eastern states.Is it the nothern states where Boko haram is the other of the day.Is it the western nigeria where arm robbers rules like as if they are the governors.Anambra state is the only state that is not indebted to any body.Their resources has been well manged.Interms of industrialisation the only states that are better than Anambra are Rivers and Lagos.An average person from Anambra is very independent.So how will he say that the state is very poor and not viable. Bleep Boko Rufai statistics and lets face the reality on ground.
My only annoyance with Peter Obi is his refusal to develop Awka.
But to be fare with him.he has done well.

With what I have seen in past few months concerning road construction and reconstruction in Awka, followed by fascinating modern architecture as can be seen at Udoka and Abuja estate and GRA areas. Awka is another hospitality hotspot where modern hotels and relaxation spots are springing up on daily basis. By the time the ongoing Onitsha-Awka expressway is completed the beauty of the city's serenity would be well appreciated.

mbulela: this is the crux of the matter.
Nasir,did not cook up the stats he used. argue with facts against his.not just wiping up sentiments. The size of Onitsha market is not an indication of the success of Obi's govt. Onitsha market is the biggest in Nigeria and also the dirtiest. It is a shame that with all the incentives that Onitsha market provides, Obi has been unable to improve its sanitation. The entire Onitsha city is one pile of dirt.

You saying what you don't know, you may have to visit Aba to know what dirt environment is about. That Onitsha has the biggest commercial center does not mean its the dirtiest. The only portion of Onitsha that made people have that notion is the Upper Iweka area of the express, which is currently under reconstruction and remodeling by FG/State government. You need to visit other parts of the city to conclude on your assumption. Onitsha is in the same class of economic importance to Lagos, PH and they all share almost the same similarities. Onitsha remains the pride of Igbo nation

On universities mostly preferred by candidates, Ojerinde said that 11 institutions stood out with the University of Lagos topping the list 83, 865 candidates followed closely by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka with 82,148 while the University of Benin came third with 80,048 candidates.

The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, he also said was the fourth preferred institution with 79, 398, followed by the University of Ilorin, UNILORIN with 76,276.

The sixth most preferred university was the Obafemi Awolowo University,; OAU, Ile-Ife with 64,702 followed by the Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, with 56,708.

Also the ABU was followed by the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, with 48,439 candidates; University of Uyo, -44,397; Imo state University, -43,353 and University of Ibadan, UI with 40,011.

JAMB chief said, “Our experience this time is consistent with the previous trends- that Nigerians have a higher preference for some universities ahead of other tertiary institutions.
”Unfortunately those universities still have constraints with 83,865 candidates recorded being the highest applications (less than last year’s) 99, 115 (for the best preferred).

’’ However, from the carrying capacity figure, the National Universities Commission, NUC can admit only 9,507. These figure are only for most preferred choice and do not include those who chose UNILAG as their second choice”


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/03/only-3-score-over-300-as-jamb-releases-results/


Nightshift: check the above out, even your much talked about UNN didnt make the 1st three universities. Anambra will continue to be a force to reckon with in Nigeria and Africa when it comes to education and schools. So what does that tell you, it means that UNN is dead and merely living in the past euphoria. Today Obi is building a brand new Anambra University in Igbariam area, it has already overtaken ESUT.

Nightshift: Dude,The Coal City State have better and more schools than Anambra state at the moment.Can you compare schools in Onitsha/Nnewi to the ones at Enugu/Nsukka? The difference is crystal clear. People from Anambra state acquired those academic laurels which they boast of in the 70s and 80s. But since 1990 the dynamic has been changing. I bet you still think that Enugu state is a backward "Wawa State"?They are making incredible progress there.Besides, Enugu is politically more matured than Anambra state. Remember that Mr. Roy Umenyi and Chief Augustine Ezenwa,from areas in the present Anambra state were deputies to Jim and Onoh during the old Anambra state era.You can ask Mr.Ifeanyichukwu Enemchukwu, the then house speaker,what he knows about Enugu peoples political maturity. On the other hand,ofu ka anyi bu,dalu!

Mr man your talking trash. Who made Onoh and Nwobodo? If not the great Zik an Anambran? Enugu state remains backward when it come to education and intellectual. There is only two states in SE that are the epitome of education- Anambra and Imo; go figure. Its the bitter truth. Enugu can compete with the likes of Ebonyi, Taraba, Jigawa and co. when it comes to schools, education and number of graduates churned out.

This is Abeokuta the poorest and most backward cave city in yoroobaland

mimifonwon: see this anu ohia oooh, if you must know am from ogun state, but my mom is from abia state, yes abia needs work also and i will say it, the governor is as horrible as anambra's- they all except imoke and maybe rochas- thieves and are not helping their people advance. Rather they point fingers at outsiders. My dear go do something better, am off to play soccer. ngwa nno nke oma!!!

Fooool so your coming from the most backward state of yoroobaland. You should be more concerned about your dirty and backward infested ogon state than dabbling into issues that is above you- efi hausa

Mr. Globe:
Bashr is putting enugu up against anambra when peter obi a serving governor lives in Enugu and shuttles daily to his looted homes in Abuja! What a fool these people are. Awka is not even liveable, onitsha is pathetic, Nnewi is an eyesore so tell me how El Rufai is wrong if you are not being silly. If anything, peter obi should be impeached!
Update: eVen bashr8 lives in enugu? What an irony

You must be sniffing something dude. I schooled in Unizik Awka, when last year I went to pickup my transcript I was overwhelmed by the level of development both by private and public sectors. Awka has some of the best architecture when it comes to edifices; a sight at Udoka and Abuja estates even Ngozika estate will prove my point. Even GRA Awka is another classy district. Besides that Awka is an emerging hospitality city with beautiful hotels and relaxation spots springing up everywhere even surpassing living houses. The town is serene, quiet and live-able going by the class of its enlightened residents. The only problem problem I identified is the Onitsha/Awka expressway which is being fixed as I write this piece, the reconstruction starts from Onitsha head bridge to Awka end of the road. The same expressway is the problem of Onitsha, which when completed everything will fall in place and beauty of the cities will show itself. Nnewi is the Japan of Africa, with the highest concentration of industries ranging from the world class motor company to Cutix Electric Cable to Motor Battery, etc.

Anambra has more elites than all the states of the federation put together, so all of them may not be living in the state at the same time because of its population which is the highest in the SE. From Imo to Abia to Ogun to Sokoto to Delta, tell me how many of its notable citizens are living in it? So Anambra is not an exception even though Anambra is doing better than all those states in that regard since we have more population of both citizens and outsiders living within its boundaries. Presently I know that the likes of Soludo, Akunyili, Andy Uba, Ekwunife and Emeka Anyaoku has completed their various mansions in Awka GRA and Udoka estate. Anyaoku who is the chairman of Orient Pet. Refinery, I heard is putting finishing touches to his home somewhere in GRA Awka. Many more of their class are still coming.

Mr. Globe:
Bashr is putting enugu up against anambra when peter obi a serving governor lives in Enugu and shuttles daily to his looted homes in Abuja! What a fool these people are. Awka is not even liveable, onitsha is pathetic, Nnewi is an eyesore so tell me how El Rufai is wrong if you are not being silly. If anything, peter obi should be impeached!
Update: eVen bashr8 lives in enugu? What an irony

You are out of the cage

Mr. Globe:
Bashr is putting enugu up against anambra when peter obi a serving governor lives in Enugu and shuttles daily to his looted homes in Abuja! What a fool these people are. Awka is not even liveable, onitsha is pathetic, Nnewi is an eyesore so tell me how El Rufai is wrong if you are not being silly. If anything, peter obi should be impeached!
Update: eVen bashr8 lives in enugu? What an irony

hmmmm

Welcome development. Thump up GEJ

Gbawe: Oh they are "Yoruba Kids" now? If Lagos is "no man's land" and everyone makes wild claims as to their population, how unintelligent and nauseatingly bigoted do you sound suggesting that these girls are Yoruba? Or is it just the case you concede automatically that Lagos is Yoruba when negativity is on the menu yet will be happy, on another thread, to say otherwise when the issue is about property/business ownership?

You folks are always falling over your untied shoelaces of bigotry. "Yoruba Kids" indeed. Don't you see Yoruba written on their forehead. Only a silly bigot, when we all know the melting pot UNILAG really is, would say conclusively that these Ladies are Yoruba even as it does not matters if they are since every honest person will admit writing skill is generally on the wane everywhere in the world. Young Americans, Britons and the worldwide facebook/social networking generation write like this , as a universal problem, yet only your sort would make a problem of humanity an ethnic issue 'afflicting' Yorubas but never your ethnic group.

See mumu, UNILAG students cannot even compete in a mere debate from student from UNIZIK or UNN. No be this same unilag wey parents dey buy admission like macaroni? Unilag is good for garbage. It maybe melting pot in prostitution and show off which is not a hallmark of academic excellence