By Rev Fr Gerald Nwafor
The East Central states were divided into five states but looking at them today I do not see any flourishing. I have lived in all of them, none is better than the other.
We complained earlier that the reason why we were not flourishing was that the military administrators were non-indigenes of the states (Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo). Each of the states has their own blood on the pilot seat in the last 25 years and what is the result?
I do not have a measure for success in those states but a litany of failures and woes. I do not want to engage the federal government which is very far from reality but according to our governors, there are huge amounts of money given to them monthly.
I want to see one landmark project that each of the states would point at and say that here is your money from the federal government. Every day, it is about insecurity, a bad road network, and a lack of primary care.
There were two governors that people would not forget easily. Rochas Okorocha and Okezie Ikpeazu were governors of Abia State and Imo State. It is a record to be a governor for 8 years and yet nothing significant comes out of the 8 years. Mr. Peter Obi was a governor for 8 years also; I am not here to sing anyone’s praise but if from 1999 to 2024 all the governors we had in the old East Central state were like Peter Obi, the story could have been much different.
Government is a continuum, and our governors should be humble enough to know that fact. Some governors went even as far as knocking down structures built by their predecessors. Tell me how that state would develop.
We were told a long time ago that Rome was not built in a day. Success in Igbo land is bunu bunu ooo ibu anyi danda (the soja-ant gets work done by community effort). No one person can do it all because our time on the job is short but our time on earth is shortest. I should have my name written as one of the people who contributed to building the bridge rather than be remembered as the man who knocked down the foundations laid by my political opponent.
One governor in Imo state knocked down all the sculptural work done by his predecessor. Although I did not support some of the artwork, there was no way all the artworks would be condemned. He did the demolition within the first 30 days in the office, and you surely ask the question when he have time to study all the artworks to give the fiat for demolition?
The song we sang as kids many years ago reminds me how naïve the kings of the world think of themselves. The song goes thus: Anyone who dares to stand should be knocked down silly because only me the king would stand up forever (Onye kwulu oto ebutu ya soo mu bu eze ga akwu oto na uwaa). My take is that some of the governors do not even leave a legacy for the successor to continue.
Most of them left humongous debt behind that the new governor would start the work without any money in the coffers of the state. I wonder if the five state governors could come together and create a train system that would connect the five states for easy movement.
They would not do that because none of them have the interest of people at heart. Sometimes they would go into unhealthy competition. I have been looking for an air ticket to land at Buhari Airport in Abakiliki since its inauguration in 2023:
I could not find any. Abakiliki is 20 minutes away from Enugu. Why should the governor spend state resources building an airport that he knew would not be used? Why that project when half of the money can be used to revitalize the Nigercem (Nigeria Cement Company) Nkalagu one of the prides of eastern states in the 70s.
It was the first cement plant built in Nigeria in 1957 by the government of the Eastern region. The cement produced at Nigercem was used in Ghana, Cameroon, and the Benin Republic. After the Civil War, it was immediately revitalized and put into use because the people of the East-Central state would need cement to reconstruct their houses destroyed during the Civil War.
The revenue from the cement plant could have helped the people from Ebonyi state and surrounding. The Buhari International Airport to say the least is a liability to the young state. I have witnessed the tremendous development going on in Anambra State, especially in the Okpoko area. I love the one going on around Ekwuluobia and Awka respectively. I doff my cap to the governor. But a little work on the airport and airport road would not be out of place. Government is a continuum and as Anambra Airport is growing in traffic, the government should show interest in that airport.
The tradition of the students calling the governor to complain about the lackadaisical attitudes of teachers should be encouraged. I thank the governor for restoring free primary and secondary education in the state of Anambra, but the minimum wage of 70,000 Naira should be sincerely examined and religiously paid.
I love good structures; I appreciate good roads; but I dread empty stomachs. Our civil servants should be well taken care of to avoid stealing from the general pot. I went to Abia state to see for myself the good work of Mr. Otti the working Governor of Abia State, but the citizens given certificate of Occupancy (C of O) by the previous administrations should not be crucified because the government of Mr. Ikpeazu was not very effective. Mr. Otii, thanks for your good work but government is a continuum, and you cannot be the governor forever. Do not blow your nose with all your strength because the eyeballs may fall off too.
You can set up a committee to look into the land issues and be wise in dealing with them. I want to see the development of the five states that made up the old East-Central states of Nigeria. I want to see healthy competition among the states. There should be signage between the governors and the people of that area since they speak the same language, have the same culture, and have one ancestral descendant.
They have all the elements of success embedded in them. Together they can achieve more, and the king must stand up; likewise the citizens should be allowed a place to stand too, so that they can help the king effectively.
