BY REV FR GERALD NWAFOR
The main point is not copying what someone is doing to survive, but first understanding what you need to survive yourself. If I am living in a city infested with insecurity, as the case may be, I do not need new cars since it would be a sign for the bad boys to visit me or target my car. The first thing I need is security from the government. If the government cannot provide the needed security, I can start by helping myself with a local machete or gun to protect my family and myself. Therefore, what makes a city what it emanates from the needs of the people living in the said city. This need should be taken care of by the government to make sure that it does not die out of carelessness.
Some cities do not need security since the system has already taken care of it, but they need nightlife, like Las Vegas Nevada. If you remove the casino and nightlife from Las Vegas, the soul of that city would die. Likewise, if you close the main market in Onitsha or the Nkwo market at Nnewi, you have obliterated the soul of those cities, and people will leave the cities in their millions.
I have watched people criticize the fun city built by the governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, in Awka. The question to ask is simple: who made the study to determine what Awka needed to become a city, which has been lacking since 1991, when it was created? I believe that Awka has not reached its potential since it was created thirty-four years ago as the capital of the new Anambra state. I remember that Awka town was known for its blacksmith business and artwork. It is a city that has refused to grow because the governors of the state have not sat down to address the pertinent question of how to change the face of Awka so that it can represent the soul of Anambra State.
I know that security is paramount to every city, but looking at security as the basic challenge ravaging most of the cities in Nigeria today, the government of Anambra can walk and chew gum at the same time. I applaud Fun City for recreation in the city, but I do not see the reason why the expressway along the government house should not be diverted from Amansea to Awkuzu. The activity going on along that expressway is just too much for the road and the city to handle. On the same road, we have the universities and all the sources of business going on.
That space from Amnsea to Awkuzu should be sanitized, and a bypass can help.I was very happy when I saw the flyover go up at Ekwuluobia. I have been around Ekwuluobia for over 30 years, but I still wonder what is holding that city down. Ekwuluobia should be competing with Onitsha and Nnewi. The Igbo people are naturally entrepreneurial. There is no reason why the Ekwuluobia commercial hub should be playing a second fiddle to the Onitsha main market and Nkwo Nnewi. The timber business in Ekwuluobia can feed the rest of Anambra or even the whole southeast. It is for the government to look at the cities we have in Anambra and discover how to help them blossom and flourish.
All the road networks going on may be good, but not always important. No government would like to construct a road that will not be used. I do not know the number of cars in Anambra, but I do not think that we need too many roads. The issue will be to repair the existing ones, put them in good condition, and call a town hall meeting to see what can be done to help our local cities to glow.
The security issue is ravaging the country, but we can also tag it as the soul of our own cities and work out how to tackle it squarely. The security operatives engaged by the government are trying their best to invade the camps of the hoodlums in various hideouts and dens. The government should also look at those security outfits to curtail their mistakes and excesses. If the security operatives continue to misstep, I can assure you that their good work will be overshadowed by their weaknesses.
If the soul is sick, the whole body is sick. What makes a city strong is staying within the city. Most of the towns in Anambra state have something to offer. The government can call the president general and the king and ask the pointed question, “What do you think you can bring to the table with government support?” There is no town in Anambra short of resources. Some towns are just wasting their time in village politics. Some Kings and president-generals are emperors in disguise. They overtax their subjects and threaten anybody who tries to give a different view in the town.
The government should step in and make those towns (cities) productive.
Finally, the soul of Anambra State may not be pinned down to one event. The lifeline in my beloved state may be business, education, or enjoyment. Whatever the government picks as its priority should be known by all the citizens of the state so that people can buy into it. If it is enjoyment, the government should go to the cities of the world known for that art of enjoyment and study the secret and the art. If it is business, we have a lot of successful cities all over the world known for commerce. The people of southeast Nigeria were known for their educational prowess. The government does not need to go anywhere to learn how to boost our educational system. We have the system; we have the quality. We just need a little support so that we can compete on level ground with the rest of Nigeria.
I was there when Anambra State was created by Babangida. My uncle, who was a public servant then, was so happy that he told his friend that in 20 years, people would come down to Anambra to learn how to run a state. It has now been 34 years since the state was created, and the state is still struggling to keep up with many challenges. When will the state find its soul and begin to live a healthy life? What will be the soul of the state? I always ask, “What happened to the Orient Oil. Is Anambra part of the oil-producing states in Nigeria?” Because of the opaqueness in the system, we do not know the plans of the government, and we do not know whether the state has a soul or not. We need a robust open government in Nigeria in general.
