By Toby Chuks
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oga Ndi Oga Foundation, High Chief Godwin Agbasimelo has expressed worry that Anambra State lives below expectations as light of the nation despite array of billionaires and millionaires added to well educated people and technocrats in it.
Speaking to journalists on his vision for the State, Chief Agbasimelo, a foremost philanthropist said he is worried as there is popular impression that Anambra people are far ahead of others in South East zone in terms of education and acquisition of riches but has continued to face security and other challenges in recent years.
He named kidnapping, assassination, lack of infrastructure and unsteady power supply as among the major challenges facing the State. He noted that this should not be so at this 21st century while the State has an array of great men and women at its disposal.
“Rich men in the State no longer visit home with their vehicles and some end up lodging in hotels at Asaba because of fear of kidnappers. Anambra people now hold traditional marriages in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The other time Anambra boy, a popular musician, Flavor buried his father in Enugu because of bad security situation in his home town, so what is government and the people doing about this?
“Again it baffles me so badly that we don’t have good roads and steady power supply in Anambra State. Why can’t government and the people fix our roads and apply solar energy to give Ndi Anambra steady power supply. Go to Delta State there is solar energy everywhere that provides power supply 24 hours of the day but in Anambra there is darkness everywhere.
“I constructed seven and half kilometers of road and installed solar energy to provide 24 hours street light in my home town of Ezinifite. Go to Nnewi all the roads are bad and nothing is being done about it, “he noted.
He blamed the ugly situation on failure of leadership, noting with nostalgia that good leadership seemed to have ceased in Anambra with the expiration of the tenure of Governor Peter Obi.
He advised the incumbent Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo to consult and seek advice from relevant stakeholders on how to deal with teething challenges of insecurity and lack of adequate power supply to ensure that he used the remaining time in office to do what would make Ndi Anambra to always remember him as a good Governor.
He reminded Governor Soludo of his promise to meet and consult with other governorship candidates in 2021 election with a view to allowing all the candidates to bring their own ideas and vision into his administration.
“When Soludo was declared the winner of 2021 governorship election he made a promise to meet with the candidates of other political parties with a view to borrowing some of our ideas and vision into his own manifesto but up till now he has not invited us for the meeting, “he said.
The renowned businessman also advised the Churches in Anambra State to henceforth look beyond political parties in choosing the next Governor of Anambra State, noting that good candidate that could transform Anambra might emerge from any political party. He also urged Churches to speak out when things are not going well.
He added: “We don’t have adequate security and the Churches are not speaking out to condemn the situation. Church members are sometimes victims of the ugly situation. Some members of the Churches don’t have jobs, they don’t have good roads leading to their homes and their respective Church parishes and they don’t have power supply.
“This is not the kind of Anambra we envisaged from the outset. If Obiora Agbasimelo had won the 2021 election and became Governor, Anambra State would have been transformed. What does it take to fix security apparatus to effectiveness? What does it take to fix roads and what does it take to electrify Anambra with solar energy. You go to China and tell them the quality and quantities of solar energy you want, they just make them available to you. I think it is time for Ndi Anambra to wake up to their feet and take Anambra to the high pedestal where we belong.”
