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Independence celebration

I wish Nigerians
happy celebrations, and may it awaken in Nigerians the resolve to start
real nation building. Amidst the pomp and ceremony that characterise
this celebration, may we Nigerians understand that we have not done so
well in terms of overall development, bearing in mind the expectations
of our founding fathers, both dead and alive.

Wasted opportunity

I will want us to
tell ourselves the truth. If Nnamdi Azikiwe, or Obafemi Awolowo, or
Ahmadu Bello and our other founding fathers were to come back to life,
how would they feel? Would they say that the country has moved
according to their expectations? Would they pat us on the back and say,
“My children, we are proud of you and your accomplishments?” Would they
feel better under us, or would they feel nostalgic about the time they
were with the colonialists?

Again, what about
the unity of the nation they struggled for? These are necessary
questions that should occupy our minds as we celebrate the independence.

Unhappiness with festivities

Let me tell you the
truth, no patriotic Nigerian should be. In fact, if you ask me, I am of
the opinion that we are devoting too much time to this celebration.
That is one of the unnecessary pastimes we acquired over the years.
People are more concerned with ceremonies, celebration, and parties
than with productivity.

You know the
obsession with sharing of the national cake, rather with the business
of baking it. If anybody that does not know Nigeria were asked to
evaluate the celebration, he would probably conclude that we are
celebrating the eighth wonder of the world, or some other roaring
success.

On the first of
October, 1960, when we gained independence, though some of us are
post-independence children, the people saw it as the birth of political
freedom. They generally believed that with that new birth, the country
was bound to develop. But a few years later, our troubles started and
till today we are still tottering.

You have been to
Anambra State and you know that every year, people celebrate the
creation of the state. Some people always want it to be big occasions,
but my opinion is that one cannot celebrate a failed state. If you
recall, I have consistently used the occasion to call for reflection,
for the people of Anambra State to resolve to start doing it well.

I make the same
call on Nigerians. The mood of the nation does not call for epicurean
indulgence; it rather calls for the strong will to succeed and for us
to tell ourselves the basic truth, one of which is that a lot still
needs to be done.

It will be of no
benefit to us to continue deceiving ourselves. We did so in the past
and many of our contemporary countries overtook us. They had been
quietly working hard. We cannot afford to remain the Shakespearean
giant walking with the limb of a mosquito.

Problems with the country

There are a number
of them. We have the teething problems of power, employment, lack of
good roads, and general infrastructure. The greatest employer of labour
are the small and medium enterprises, which are dead in Nigeria because
of the precarious state of power supply. While we generate about 4000
megawatts of power, South Africa generates over 40, 000 megawatts.

While our Asian
counterparts spent their 70s and 80s educating themselves, we spent
ours in celebration, in ‘owambeying’. The consequence is that today,
their industries are far ahead of ours. Our education is not getting
better. In the past, primary and secondary school students wrote good
letters. Not anymore! It is not getting better, as buttressed by the
just released NECO results.

Support for Jonathan

Well, even before
the present fever of declaration, we the governors of the South East
made it clear that we were going to support an aspirant with the best
programme for the South East. We have weighed all options. Remember
that recently, the former vice president, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, led an Igbo
delegation, among whom were myself and my brother governors of the
South East to meet with Mr. President.

At that meeting, we
made appeal on issues affecting the South East. Among the issues raised
are the creation of an additional state for the South East, the
construction of the second Niger bridge, the upgrade of Enugu Airport
to international standard, the tackling of erosion problems, the issue
of water supply, and reconstruction of the South East roads. He told us
he would support the creation of another state for the region, which he
noted was primarily a National Assembly matter.

The major issues we
raised with him are being addressed as we speak. Enugu has been
upgraded to an international status, some of the roads are awarded,
erosion is receiving attention, and many more.

Position of his APGA party

Governors are close
to their presidents in all the climes. Chief executives are close to
their directors, otherwise there will be a disconnect and the company
will crumble.

If you know the
history of Anambra State very well, you will know that we had governors
of the state that fought the central government unnecessarily, causing
so much pain to the state to the point of all the patrimony of the
state being burnt down. I do not wish that for any state in the country.

Challenges in office

There are many
challenges, ranging from infrastructure to lack of basic foundation in
all sectors, to the challenge of values. By far, the most critical is
the challenge of values. I often tell people that in as much as we are
obliged as a government to provide needed infrastructure and to develop
all sectors, what we need most is to change the psyche of our people.
In all honesty, some of us do not think as they should.

We should be more
committed to the state. A state that will allow its property to be
razed down, all in the name of politics is hurting herself. A state
that will cook up impeachment or brazenly steal people’s mandate
without qualms cannot be trusted to save itself. A place where people
habitually engage in all sorts of crimes that defy reason is in grave
trouble.

His priority as governor

My priority is to
bring sanity and value change to governance. Once this is achieved, it
will bring political stability, which will in turn help to guarantee
safety of life and property, reduce crime, and other vices. Though we
cannot guarantee 100% success, but we must continue to put in 100
percent effort.

Nigerians must reflect on our lives and concentrate on the progress
of our country. Let us resolve to make Nigeria great and realise that
we have no other country. Let us stop the abuse of Nigeria because the
Nigeria we abuse today will take her revenge on our children tomorrow.