Peter Obi: ‘Okwute’ Ndigbo!

In several ways, Mr. Peter Obi (Anambra state governor) is a wonderful political name in Nigeria. In his first political outing as the governorship candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for Anambra state in 2003, over 80 percent of Anambra electorate elected him in a most transparent fashion, but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stole the mandate. It took Governor Obi and APGA three years to recover the mandate from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Chris Ngige. (Pictures left and right show Governor Obi and some of his legacies; Down right is the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, assuring Obi of maximum security to protect his good works in the state)

Barely six months into the recovered mandate, Obi was impeached by a PDP- dominated Anambra House of Assembly that was engaged in a voyage of errors; but Peter defeated that illegality and returned into office. Before he could govern for one year after the impeachment failure, his tenure was cut short by the PDP that foisted Andy Uba on the Anambra people through avoidable governorship election in 2007.

Of course, Obi won the historic landmark tenure interpretation Saga, constitutionally, at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and returned yet again to Government House, Awka. His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, the insuppressible Governor of Anambra state, is a human political frigate who swims boldly over encumbrances and detractions in the governance of Anambra state, so as to maintain a veritable course of developments and focus in his state's affairs.

For his tenacity of purpose, Mr. Peter Obi is today regarded in the national and international political circles as the political Columbus of Nigeria and the developing nations of the world, for discovering the political route to ‘respect for the rule of law’ in the third world. So in 2008, Mr. Peter Obi won that year's Sun Award for ‘contributions to the rule of law and the development of Anambra State’.

Peter Obi is another name for simplicity but there is no weakness attached to his brand. Rather, the trust values of his personality are mirrored in his achievements in three years of turbulent governance of Anambra state. This has engraved him with the real image of what a typical servants' servant is in the minds of the urban and grassroots dwellers in all the nooks and corners of that state. In real practical terms, Peter Obi does not suffer from any clash between his self interest and his willingness to serve his people, diligently.

For instance, like Julius Nyerere of Tanzania (Mwalimal), His Excellency, Peter Obi, has no house of his own in all Anambra, except his own father's country home at Agulu, his home town. He does not posses any piece of land attached to his name, anywhere, throughout Anambra state. He delivers democracy dividends to the citizens of and sojourners in Anambra without an eye on any other form of reward other than peace for Anambra and loyal support for the developmental programs of the Anambra state government, all for the well being of its people. That is another wonder in Nigeria.

As at the year Peter Obi struck three years in office, Anambra state, ‘The light of the Nation’ could boast of about 120 projects meant to give generations of Anambra children ‘the brighter future that they deserve’ in His Excellency's view.

Every project located in each of the twenty-one Local Government Areas of the state could be adjudged to be a billion naira endeavor or more. The specified advantages of each project to the people of Anambra state demonstrated that politics, to His Excellency Mr. Peter Obi means the greatest well being of all peoples, found in his home state in particular, where he is destined to practicalize the manifestoes of our great party, APGA; the party that gives meaning to Nigeria's efforts at democracy since 2003, through the several wonders of Peter Obi. The said projects spanned the areas of information technology and management; education, environment, road construction, transportation, health, commerce, agriculture, security of lives and property, wealth creation, administration, women development, and social welfare among other things. Their sheer quantity and quality are highly inspirational. Both at the accomplished stages of some and the ongoing status of others, these developments obviously overwhelmed anybody who saw them.

Therefore, the expectations were high on the 20th and 21st days of March 2009, when members of the National Working Committee (NWC) of His Excellency, Obi's party, APGA, came to Anambra state on projects inspection, to prove the veracity of what the apex committee had been told.

All through the two days inspection tour, what greeted our sights was outright fascination. We started the tour with the inspection, of the new ultra modern governor’s lodge at Amawbia; then moved on to the new dualised Zik Avenue in Awka town that we found to be very durable and fantastic.

Other landmark achievements in this area of road construction that we inspected included; the 39kms Anaku to Ifite Ogwari-Omasi road, the Nibo to Oko (24kms) road; the 18kms Agulu to Ajali road, the 32kms Amansea to Awba Ofemili road and many more that were among 250kms' of roads asphalted. In the other on-going road construction sites visited, work was seen to be in active progress.

Governor Obi is currently working on over 400kilometres of roads throughout Anambra, simultaneously. In the health sector, projects inspected and found satisfactory included: the modernization of the Amaku General Hospital that Peter Obi has earmarked to become the first Teaching hospital built by any state government in Nigeria, others were the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Nkpor with classroom blocks, administrative block, demonstration block and hostel blocks. All these structures were newly completed. The Umueri General Hospital that was burnt and lost to communal disturbances in 1995 was completely rebuilt to the satisfaction of the Umueri Community by Obi, as pressed by its president General who received us.

Also inspected in this sector were the General Hospital, Onitsha where his Excellency provides a modern heart centre, a new X-ray laboratory, a state-of-the-art maternity complex, a cardiac/Kidney Dialysis centre, resident doctors' quarters. Also provided at the college, of Health Technology, Obosi were blocks for classroom, chemistry laboratory and clinic services. In addition, Obi has provided modern ambulances for use in the Rapid Response unit attached to every hospital in Anambra state.

In the area of education in Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi's projects affirmed his desire for quality. He built a modern public library complex with a Microsoft centre in Onitsha; and is building the professor Kenneth Dike Library at Awka for all reading people. He therefore, renovated most of the primary schools in the state through the agency called Anambra State Basic Education Board (ASUBEB) to promote basic literacy capacity building. He modernized over eighty secondary schools with brand new science equipments, built laboratories for their proper application, and introduced information technology (IT) revolution by supplying computers and generators to all these schools.

For the development of tertiary education, Obi expanded the two campuses of the Anambra State University at Uli and Igbariam. At Uli, His Excellency built a modern Faculty of Engineering, a new administrative high rise building and a fully equipped engineering workshop.

In Igbariam, the story of Obi's wonder repeated itself; He built expansive Faculty of Law containing administrative units, classrooms, a moot court complex as well as the biggest and most modernly equipped law library ever found in any Nigerian university. In addition, he built a new Mass Communication departmental block with modern information system and a modern library properly equipped to meet academic needs.

In information management, Obi re-equipped Anambra Newspapers and Printing Corporation (ANPC) to improve its capacity. He got a new radio transmitter for Anambra State Broadcasting Service (ABS) Awka, and also built a press centre complex to complement it.

A new Anambra State Broadcasting complex with a new mast installed was also built among others. In lands and housing, Obi built the imposing Anambra State Housing Corporation in Awka, the Nkwelle Ezunaka Housing Estate and the new Ngozika Housing Estate at Awka. He built a new Governor's lodge at Onitsha and rebuilt the Government House, Awka after it was burnt down by reactionary forces. He built the lands office at Onitsha, and launched the Anambra Lands Information Management System (ALIMS) to completely computerize information management about lands transactions in Anambra state.

Governor Obi did not leave out environmental and emergency control. For example, he acquired pay loaders for refuse evacuation in the state, procured numerous refuse disposal vehicles for the first time since the creation of Anambra state to complete the refuse evacuation processes. He is working on many erosion sites in the state to control any damage. Most interestingly, he is dredging the Nwangene River for the very first time since 1960.

Peter Obi also improved transport situation throughout Anambra state by procuring 40 vehicles for the use of the Transport Corporation of Anambra State (TRACAS), as well as introduced painted taxi scheme already in operation in Awka and its surrounding towns.

To serve all nooks and riverine areas of the state, Obi introduced water bus system. As a necessity for accurate vehicle control in the state, Obi introduced ‘Auto Registration System’. Finally in this sector, in two years, he provided official service cars for top civil servants in the state and for the first time, too.

To promote wealth creation through commerce and other businesses for which Anambra is well known, Governor Obi built Onitsha Business park, a modern concept in business concentration; the Nigerian Stock Exchange building, Onitsha, the ICT building at Onitsha, the Internally generated revenue office, Onitsha and the Brown Sugar Factory at Omor among others.

Mechanized agriculture is another area dear to Obi's heart. Consequently, he has procured several tractors for modern farming, various farm implements for distribution to farmers, palm seedlings for distribution to farmers at subsidized rates and he had even distributed motorcycles to farmers in the state during the 2007 farmers’ day in Anambra.

The successful endeavor in agriculture cannot continue without the remarkable expansion of the state's school of Agriculture. These developments are complemented with the provision of a good water supply system in the state, through projects like the Enugu-Agidi water scheme, Amawbia water scheme and hundreds of boreholes spread across the state.

Since no development will take place in the absence of peace and security, Peter Obi has donated 30 patrol vans to the Nigeria Police Command in Anambra state, a gesture he routinely extended to the Army and the Civil Defense Corps. He has also donated new generators to various police formations in the state, and added communications equipment to them, to promote security of lives and property. The Ministry of Justice building at Onitsha, the chief Judge's House at Awka, as well as the new Judge's six duplex quarters at Onitsha were all built and put to use to enhance security that leans heavily on the capable functions of the Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary.

In women development, we inspected the Guest House at the Women Development Centre, Awka and the on-going work on the Amphitheatre of the Women Development Centre, Awka. When we visited the first completed phase of the magnificent Anambra state secretariat complex in Awka and noticed that work was in progress at the site of its second phase, the APGA NWC members poured encomiums on His Excellency, Obi without ceasing.

Then we came upon the new Onitsha North Local Government Area headquarters buildings constructed by Obi and adjudged it to be superlative. Of course, other Local Government Areas had their show pieces too, also built for them by the Peter Obi administration, including the headquarter buildings of the following: Dunukofia, Ekwusigo to mention a few.

Peter Similarly paid good attention to emergency management by building the State Emergency Management Agency building and fire office, all of which a management store and fire trucks fit for quick intervention and fire control.

Finally, we saw two wonderful mini stadia Obi built in both Onitsha North and South Local Government Areas to rekindle the spirit of sportsmanship in Anambra state which had been home to so many sporting legends in Nigeria. Our inspection tour terminated at the longest bridge in the South East, nearing completion on the Nibo to Oko road that Peter Obi is constructing.

All this wonderful accomplishments sprang up from the magical performances of ANIDS - Anambra Integrated Development Strategy. This is Peter Obi's institutional vehicle for doing everything within his power, as the Governor to address Anambra's problems in a comprehensive and holistic manner, in accordance with his election campaign promise to his people.

The responsibility of ANIDS is to ensure that all sectors of Anambra state's development are addressed at the very same time, so that no problem in this state can assume an insoluble status.

From what we (NWC) saw, wherever developmental projects in Anambra state are ready for commissioning or are commissioned, they have been satisfactorily completed to the last block. For others, that are yet to be completed, very serious work is on-going at different phases.

Under Peter Obi's tenure there is no dull moment at all. The man is focused like Christopher Columbus, legitimate like Nelson Mandela, triumphant like Haile Sellasie; yet as simple as the great Mathama Ghandi.

There is no wonder in our minds, therefore, and in the minds of all others who have gone to Anambra to see for themselves that, practically speaking, a deliverer has come to the governance of that state who the people of Anambra need to be around much longer for their own welfare.

For Obi's Party, APGA, the projects inspection program is another one of its Pacesetting strategies needed to keep track of the performances of their state executives that the Party entrusted with the power of the people.

It espouses APGA's capacity for and devotion to accountability under the national chairmanship of Chief (Sir) Victor Umeh and the national leadership of Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

There is no gainsaying the fact that political representation will wear a brighter face in Nigeria and for Nigeria's image if other political parties can devise their own strategies for supervising their office holders, who can then live in sharp focus of their responsibilities to improve the lives of their peoples, like Obi is willing to continue doing in Anambra state should he be given a second term of office.

Here is a welfare activist with good heart. Need we look for another?


Scripted by: Ogometu Ukpenetus (Esq)
National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)