Anambra International Airport Is On Course

 

By C. Don Adinuba

1. As the first commercial plane is scheduled to land at Anambra International Cargo/Passenger Airport on April 30, 2021, to test-run the facilities at the airport, a faceless group of hired propaganda guns has crafted and posted on the Internet a so-called news report alleging that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Ministry of Aviation, has refused to give the Anambra State Government a licence to operate an international airport but has rather offered the State Government a licence to run a domestic airport. The scammers attributed the purported decision to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Sirika Hadi, a well-respected captain and administrator.  

Toward A New Direction For The National Carrier

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

The recent suspension of the proposed national carrier, Nigeria Air, has elicited mixed feelings across the nation. The name and logo of the flag carrier had been unveiled with so much promise at the Farnborough Air Show in Britain in July. Operations were due to begin this December. The pivotal point was that the airline would be private sector-driven.

Gov Obiano and President Buhari 

The Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika, stated: “It is a business, not a social service. The government will not be involved in running it or deciding who runs it. The investors will have full responsibility for this.” Unfortunately, the drive was suddenly suspended on September 19.

When Leadership Calls For The Best And Brightest

By Chiedu Uche Okoye

Thankfully, Anambra State is on the march to greatness, again, after being held down in the past by unscrupulous political elements in the state. Then, they placed their selfish and parochial interests above the collective good. When the fourth republic dawned here, the generality of Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief and expected that things would change for the better. It did not change for the better, immediately, however. 

*Peter Obi 

In Anambra State, instead of enjoying the fruits and gains of representative government, the people suffered under suffocating and ineffective political leadership occasioned, partly, by the political godfatherism that characterised the politics of the state, then. Is Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju and Sir Emeka Offor’s fight for the financial purse and soul of the state not fresh in our memories? And Dr. Chris Ngige took on his political benefactor, Chris Uba, over the control of the state. Those needless political fights hobbled the state and stalled its development.

After Victor Umeh’s Senatorial Triumph

By Chuks Iloegbunam

The argument wasn’t on whether or not Victor Umeh would emerge victorious in the January 13, 2018 Anambra Central Senatorial rerun election. It had to do with the range of victory he would post. In the November 18, 2017 Anambra gubernatorial election, Governor Obiano had won in all 21 local government areas in the state. The 100 percent result had led to Obiano acquiring the new sobriquet of '21 over 21'. Was Chief Umeh also going to post a 100 percent result by winning in all the seven local government areas of Anambra Central? He did win all over, earning himself the nickname of Seven Over Seven!

*Gov Obiano and Umeh

Not surprisingly, there have been two antipodal reactions to Chief Umeh’s emphatic triumph. APGA chieftains and foot soldiers are in uproarious celebrations; the losers have been whimpering. The celebrations are not about to end. The licking of wounds will linger for a while more. Both of them are transient, ultimately. They will cease. After they have passed, the pertinent and enduring question of what next will surface and entrench itself. That is the central concern of this piece.

Anambra: Why Gov Obiano Was Re-elected

By Ray Ekpu

In any election incumbency packs a punch. The incumbent always has something to show, completed projects to flaunt, ongoing projects that are nearing completion or even ones that are on the drawing board. He has the paraphernalia of the civil service, the MDAs, the contractors, women and youth groups hired and unhired, all of them are often in the corner of the incumbent. The incumbent is also seen as a bird in hand, the reality not the dream, the person on the job not the one who wants to be on the job. In most elections, all of these factors often work in favour of the incumbent.

*Gov Obiano

It worked for Chief Willie Obiano, the newly re-elected Governor of Anambra State. As all incumbents normally do, Obiano published a long list of his completed projects and asked that the public should crosscheck and establish for themselves the veracity of his claims.

Anambra, Gov Obiano And The APGA Revolution

By Ifeanyi Afuba

A new Anambra State is in the making. It is an evolving society in which the government-citizen pact is growing roots. The cultivation of this social progressive force reached a new height with the resolution of the November 18, 2017 governorship poll. Some say the journey started with the revolt of the Chris Ngige regime shortly after it came to office in 2003. I disagree.

*Gov Willie Obiano

Yes, there was an attempt at a new consciousness but it was circumstantial, narrow in objective and largely driven by sentiment. The radical shift came with the reclamation of Peter Obi’s stolen 2003 governorship mandate. That democratic empowerment ushered in the season of citizen-centred governance. But, after eight years of this wind of change, the road of renewal ran into fresh challenges from both predictable and unexpected quarters. Governor Willie Obiano’s programme of consolidation and expansion soon met with opposition from not just the old order, but foundation members of the movement. Consequently, the November 18, 2017 poll effectively became the plebiscite on which road to travel. 

The Meaning Of Governor Obiano’s Reelection

By Chuks Iloegbunam

Anyone asked the impact of Governor Willie Obiano’s victory in the November 18 gubernatorial ballot in Anambra State could answer with a single word: Crushing. He won in all of the 21 local government areas of the state. His closest rivals came up in dismal second, third and fourth places. The combined total of the votes garnered by the rest of the 33 candidates managed to hit the hundreds. 

*Gov Willie Obiano

Significantly, ex-Governor Peter Obi, the godfather of PDP candidate Oseloka Obaze lost in his Anaocha local government area. Mr. Obaze himself lost in his Ogbaru local government area. His running mate, Mrs. Alexandria Chidi Onyemelukwe, famed daughter of Dr. Alex Ekwueme, lost in her Nnewi North local government area. The string of tragic losses is bewildering. APC candidate Tony Nwoye lost in his Anambra East local government area. His bankroller, the tycoon Arthur Eze, lost in his Dunukofia local government area. The loquacious PDP campaign director-general Joe-Martins Uzodike lost in the polling booth in front of his Awka-Etiti house. Indeed, APGA is a party of giant killers. All their opponents were buried in a landslide!

The People’s Will Must Prevail In Anambra On November 18

By Ikechukwu Amaechi

On Saturday, November 18, 2017, the good people of Anambra will elect the person who will govern the state for the next four years.

All eyes will be on the state not only because this is a standalone election but also because of the antecedents of the political gladiators. General elections are more than a year away from now. The reason why this governorship election is holding on Saturday rather than the first quarter of 2019 is ensconced in the womb of Anambra politics.

*Peter Obi and Willie Obiano

For those who may have forgotten, in 2003, the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and political godfathers with former President Olusegun Obasanjo as their patron saint orchestrated an unprecedented electoral heist that denied Peter Obi, who ran on the platform of the Chekwas Okorie-led All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), victory. Dr. Chris Ngige, the PDP candidate, was handed the political diadem.

It was a brazen affront on the inalienable right of the people to elect their leaders.

Willie Obiano Shines In Governorship Debate

 By Chuks Iloegbunam

 Governor Willie Obiano displayed a sense of purpose all through the debate. He was first asked the nature of the quarrel between him and ex-Governor Peter Obi. He brushed it aside, saying that Mr. Obi was not a candidate in the governorship ballot. His preference was to state his work and his plans for Ndi Anambra. In the course of the debate, the Governor was asked if he could authenticate the story that Mr. Obi had demanded a refund of the N7.5 billion he claimed to have invested in his election. Yes, indeed, the demand had been made but Obiano declined to pay any such money because Anambra was not indebted to anybody on campaign funding. These underscore his clarity of thought on the night.

*Gov Willie Obiano 

The issue of probity was raised. Mr. Oseloka Obaze accused Governor Obiano of selling off dollars “they” had saved for “future generations.” This was the Governor’s masterful response: “First, that’s Anambra’s money. In banking, we call it ‘liquidity management’. You don’t leave an idle fund when you desire to put funds into activities. This guy (Peter Obi) left a debt of N127 billion. Contractors have to be paid. While you are balancing your act, you won’t have money sitting in the bank and you are looking for money to pay contractors. That’s a legitimate transaction. It is not a personal fund. So, in liquidating only $10 million (out of over $100 million) in four years to be able to pay contractors in a recession is good. That’s money management.”

Governor Willie Obiano’s Staying Power

 By Chuks Iloegbunam

 The electioneering campaigns in Anambra State are grounding to a halt, making way for the governorship ballot of November 18, 2017. It is necessary to review the road since travelled, and project on expected outcomes. For those with an ear to the ground, the campaigns unofficially started when, a year after he got into office, Governor Obiano made it clear that he was not interested in being anyone’s stooge.

*Gov Obiano

Now everything is coming to a dazzling conclusion. The campaign convoys are backing out of streets and squares and veering into parking lots. Loudhailers are coming unstuck from sundry lips, stopping the torrents of flowery promises. Those that have screamed their vocal cords sore can now race to “chemist” shops for lozenges. Branded T-shirts and ankara wrappers will thenceforth constitute little other than fashion statements and bed sheets.

Anambra: APC’s Farcical Campaign Flag-Off!

By Chuks Iloegbunam

 Salvation was to befall Ndigbo! So went the media hype. Salvation’s landfall was slated for Onitsha. And once it set down, every Anambra indigene would be happy ever after. It was the APC campaign flag off for the November 18 gubernatorial ballot. Appropriately, the conveyor of the balm to turn Anambra from ill to glory was the Gombe-born Ibrahim Jalo-Waziri, APC’s Youth Leader. Given his eminence, therefore, it was with a swagger that Alhaji Jalo-Waziri found his way to the podium.

*Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano

 Given again that most of those in attendance were in their teens and twenties – as if they had been corralled from secondary and tertiary institutions – there was rapt attention and immense anticipation. The Youth Leader had hope to deliver. Most of those drowned in mire or shot dead for carrying Biafran flags and seeking self-determination were in the same age bracket as those Jalo-Waziri would address. Perhaps he would explain to them the rationale behind the heavy-handedness. The man cleared his throat. “Vote for APC,” he intoned. “Our victory will connect you to the big contracts of Abuja”!

Anambra Governorship Election: I Will Vote Willie Obiano

By Chuks Iloegbunam

Someone brought to the office a video clip of Tony Nwoye “campaigning”. Since the man is the APC candidate in the November 18 Anambra governorship election, the urge to view his message was overpowering, especially as he had been rather taciturn since the contentious primary election that threw him up as his party’s candidate.

*Gov Willie Obiano

What was his governorship ambition all about? Decked out in a dark suit, a cordless microphone appeared glued to his lips. “Willie Obiano is a thief,” shouted Tony Nwoye. “His wife also is a thief.” He mouthed this abuse for the second and third times. Like a repeater station, the voice of an unseen fellow echoed his foul words. A few of his listeners clapped. In a minute the clip ended. What an anticlimax, I thought.

Tony Nwoye’s sacrilegious tongue apart, there was the more serious tenor of malicious prejudice in this unsubstantiated accusation. Was his fulmination the sum total of the APC’s manifesto? One assumed that, in soliciting for political endorsement, effort must be made to portray the candidate as deserving of support. Did the outpouring of invectives ever solve any society’s problems?

Gov Obiano Asks Army To Halt Vaccination Of Pupils In Anambra

Press Release 

*Gov Obiano

Army Medical Outreach 

The attention of the State Government has been drawn to an on going medical outreach being undertaken by the Army in Ozubulu, Ekwusigo Local Government Area.

The State has been made to understand that the exercise is part of Army social responsibility to members of the public.

However, strong apprehension among the populace has followed the exercise leading to withdrawal of students from schools by parents, misconception of the actual motive behind the exercise by stakeholders, community leaders and a general reservation by the public for whom the outreach is intended.

The Ozubulu Catastrophe And Governor Obiano’s Deft Hand

By Chuks Iloegbunam 

When news of the terrible development hit the Awka seat of power early that morning, many scenarios taxed the imagination. Nothing of the sort had previously happened in Igbo history. There was a bizarre angle to it, of course, that was of tremendous import: Anambra State, reputed to be an oasis of safety and security, peace and placidity in tumultuous Nigeria had taken a vicious bang on the jugular. 

*Gov Willie Obiano

Who had done the violent action? To what end? Since it is often the case that “when it hits, it reverberates,” was the impunity set to spread? These were some of the questions Governor Willie Obiano tried to think through while, at the same time, receiving Security and Intelligence debriefing. Taking little time, the Governor’s convoy negotiated the 48 kilometres from Awka to Ozubulu, and hit the scene of the bloodbath. 

Armed with both the truth of what had happened and the spins sprouting in the social media, Governor Obiano inspected the carnage inside the St. Philips Catholic Church, Amakwa, Ozubulu. Twelve congregants whose only “offence” was attending the 6am mass to worship their God had been brutally massacred in an orgy of gunfire. Eighteen others sustained gunshot wounds, some of them life threatening. 

Obiano, Soludo And Anambra State

By Chuks Iloegbunam

Chukwuma Charles Soludo was the guest lecturer in Awka during the 3rd Anniversary of the inception of the Willie Obiano Administration. The renowned economist’s magisterial presentation was laced with numerous economic, political and social nuggets, all of which boiled down to his unequivocal endorsement of Governor Willie Obiano for a second term of office. His views make sustained interrogation imperative. But, some background information is apposite.

*Soludo and Gov Obiano

Professor Soludo is far from the first Anambra personage to endorse Governor Obiano’s bid for a second tenure as Governor of Anambra State. The impressive list contains such names as Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, the first civilian governor of the new Anambra State; Dame Virgy Etiaba, a former Governor of Anambra State, and Chief Emeka Sibeudu, who was Deputy Governor to Mr. Peter Obi. Others include Senators Ben Ndi Obi, Annie Okonkwo and Emma Anosike, none of whom is of Governor Obiano’s ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), as well as Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, the former Nigerian Education Minister. Elder statesmen like Chief Alex Ekwueme, a former Vice-President of Nigeria, and Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Commonwealth Secretary-General, have equally thrown their lot with Governor Obiano. Non-politicians like Dr. Cosmas Maduka, the versatile industrialist, and Chief Innocent Chukwuma of Innoson Car manufacturers have equally given Governor Obiano the thumbs up.

Indeed, the support for an Obiano second term is gradually becoming a movement. It has gone beyond personalities and attracted the remarkable attention of groups that cut across socio-political, religious, and professional divides. In this category are to be found the Anambra North Peoples Assembly (ANPA); the Old Aguata Union (OAU); the Federation of Old Nnewi Division (FOND); the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) and the Anambra State Markets Amalgamated Traders Association, (ASMATA.) Yet, that is not all because the Anambra state branches of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC); the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council; the Traditional Prime Ministers Council, the Anambra state branch of Southeast Women of Substance and the United Anambra Youths Assembly have equally endorsed Governor Obiano to continue with his exemplary leadership.

All the endorsements are held by one powerful bond – the fact that Governor Willie Obiano has acquitted himself creditably in the onerous responsibility of directing the affairs of Anambra State. In unison they sing the joyous song of his achievements: Obiano has made Anambra the safest state in the country. He has transformed the Awka capital territory from a provincial enclave to a worthy state capital. He has revolutionized agriculture, making Anambra a rice-producing state of note and a leader in dairy farming. He has sustained the prompt and regular payment of salaries, gratuities and pensions. He has displayed an uncommon sense of empathy for the sensibilities and sensitivities of Ndi Anambra. For these and many other reasons, they have taken the attitude that a second term is the appropriate reward for Obiano’s services to his people.

Gov Okorocha’s Christmas Tree And Other Tales Of Political Vanity

By Moses Ochonu

Political vanity is a particularly Nigerian affliction and has been an ancillary scholarly interest of mine. I published an academic article in 2004 on the subject, citing several examples from Nigeria’s then fledgling experiment with civilian rule. The article dwelled extensively but not exclusively on the cases of late former governors Abubakar Audu of Kogi State and Mohammed Lawal of Kwara State.

*Okorocha

The former had an obnoxious penchant for naming every government project after himself and his family members. The latter was so consumed by a need to personalize his power that all mass transit buses belonging to the Kwara State government during his tenure were boldly marked with the moniker “UP LAWAL.”

Since the publication of that article, similar examples of personalized power and political vanities in high places have proliferated. I am reliably informed that in Kayode Fayemi’s Ekiti State, a remarkable record of infrastructural investments was marred by an inexplicable insistence on naming all projects after the former governor and his wife.

Public office holders in Nigeria adorn their offices with all manner of silly award plaques. One former minister, God rest her soul, had an entire wall of her office covered in awards from all manner of organizations — some of them concrete, others clearly made up by sycophants to curry her favor. She liked to take pictures against the background of this wall of vanity. The pictures made it to newspapers and then to the Internet, where they live to date. It was a vulgar form of political narcissism, a kind of self-deification.

The said former minister was so in love with her own image that she invested energy, time, and resources feting and garnishing herself in awards and other accouterments of self-validation. She built a shrine to herself, reveling in her own proclaimed greatness. Fortunately, she was a largely effective, achieving public servant, so her political vanities didn't matter that much. She could be forgiven for her vain indulgences.

Onitsha Massacre: The Dangerous Silence Of Gov Obiano

By Osondu Nwike

Governance in a democratic dispensation is primarily meant to protect the governed among other responsibilities. The relationship between the leader and the led does not start and end with canvassing for votes at which time the leader dines and dances with the common man.

Governor Willy Obiano's silence and inactivity on now two pronounced massacres in Onitsha is dangerous not only on his insensitivity on the lives of Igbo people but on the troubling suspicion on who the real enemies of the Igbo people are. It is Biblical, dating to the days of Esau and Jacob that for a porridge, one can mortgage his rights. Has Obiano played along for his porridge at Abuja?. It is a known fact that after the 1st Onitsha massacre, the governor of the city where the dastardly act took place did not visit any of the wounded neither did he make out time to show concern to the families of the victims nor condemned the act in strong terms.

Yesterday, 17th of December, 2015, about 8 unarmed Igbos marching towards the Niger Bridge head were killed by the soldiers while over 13 were wounded. The most disturbing part of this second massacre is the allegation that same soldiers abducted the bodies of the killed and made away with them.

Gov. Obiano must set politics aside and act as the protector of his people. Anambra people and the rest of Nigerians resident in Onitsha must be seen by the governor as part of his responsibility to protect and care no matter the association, religion and status they represent.

It is on record that the governor of Kaduna State, in company of the IGP and the Minister of Interior visited the Shiite leader, expressing concern and love for the people no matter what may have transpired and that is the expectation of Anambra people, that is the expectation of the Igbos, that is the expectation of IPOB, that is the expectation of MOSSOB and that is the expectation of Nigerians.

In the Zaria incident, the Amnesty International, British High Commissioner and many others issued statements condemning the massacre but in Onitsha massacres, non even acknowledged such occurrences. The reason being that the leadership of the State did not even acknowledge it in the first instance. Collaborators, silent conspirators and other elements of that nature are always identifiable in societies but when it involves lives, it becomes dangerous for leaders to be silent.

- The Nigerian Voice 

IPOB Protests: We Will Not Tolerate Any Breach Of Peace Under Any Guise – Gov Obiano Warns

Text Of Broadcast By Gov Willie Obiano Of Anambra On The Evening Of Wednesday, December 2, 2015 

“My beloved people of Anambra State, I wish to address you on the on-going protest staged in Onitsha by the members of the Indigenous People of Biafra and MASSOB.

“The government of Anambra State has been monitoring developments and is greatly concerned about the security of lives and property of residents and visitors to the state. As your Governor and Chief Security Officer of the state, I am compelled to act to avert any likely breakdown of law and order. In all situations, the preservation of human life comes first and I am determined to enforce that.

“Since the inception of my administration, we have made the security of lives and property our priority and we are not going to compromise on that. I, therefore, sincerely appeal to members of the IPOB, MASSOB and other aggrieved groups and individuals to maintain the peace and resist any attempt by hoodlums to take advantage of the situation and destabilize any part of Anambra State.

“I am in constant touch with all the security agencies in the state to ensure that what has otherwise been a peaceful protest is not hijacked by trouble makers. All mischief makers are hereby warned to keep off as we will not tolerate any breach of peace under any guise or pretext. You are seriously warned! I therefore wish to assure Ndi Anambra and all visitors to the state to go about their normal businesses peacefully as the security agencies are on top of the situation to preserve law and order.”

Remove Those Terrorist From Anambra!

(Pix: nigerianwatch)

By Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye

No matter how it is looked at, the decision to transfer the nearly 50 Boko Haram convicts and/or detainees from the North East to a small, poorly secured prison in Ekwulobia community in Anambra State is one excellent example of how a very bad policy can be so badly executed. Although the Federal prison authorities reserve the right to send prisoners to any of their jail houses across the country, it would appear that in this particular case, they chose to egregiously abuse that right. And by so doing, they created a very grievous image problem for the Muhammadu Buhari regime and injected avoidable fear and panic in a community where people had lived their lives in relative peace.

Those behind this clearly obnoxious decision to relocate those terrorists to Anambra were quick to betray their confusion, and, perhaps, unwholesome intentions when it was reported that businessmen and women in Anambra State had closed their shops and offices and poured into the streets to protest the planned move. An official of the Nigerian Prison Service (NPS) promptly dismissed the story as untrue. Even a spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, immediately released a statement urging Nigerians to consider the story as unfounded. If it was such a well-meaning policy, why were these fellows and the organizations they represent eager to confuse Nigerians and shield them from the truth?

Well, the truth as we know it today is that the “rumour” has turned out to be true and as you read this now, the terrorists have been effectively planted in Ekwulobia prisons.  Now, the standard practice globally is to keep in Maximum Security Prisons such unrepentant, dare-devil terrorists who derive undue animation from taking their own lives in suicide missions in order to eliminate hapless “infidels.” And the prison in Ekwulobia is not a Maximum Security Prison. So, what exactly informed and justified the choice of Ekwulobia prison, an already unduly over-stretched facility meant for 85 inmates but which at present is housing 185 inmates – more than double of its capacity – as the best place to keep those terrorists? When one also imagines the distance covered to bring these terrorists to Anambra State, one is tempted to give second thought to the view already circulating that some sinister motives may have inspired the decision.