The old Anambra was created in 1976 by General Mutala Muhammed and the current Anambra state was created in Audust 27 1991. The state is 25 years since creation and other states that is of peer with are Abia, Adamawa, Delta, Jigawa, Kebbi, Osun, Taraba and Yobe States created August 27th 1991.
You cannot write the history of Anambra State without mentioning the efforts of Christ Ngige. Ngige opened up anambra state by building vast networks of roads, bridges and now, the present governor Obiano is the saddle and he has the opportunity to write its name in gold.
Anambra state took a new dimension from 2003 onward. From 1993 to 2003 was a terrible setback and if it has continued in that trajectory, the state will not have been where it is today. The state is not been grade by the abundance of mineral resources (and soon will be producing oil) but by its people resources.
God-fatherism was dominant in the state between 1999 to 2003, especially during the tenure of former governor Odera Mbadinuju, but Dr. Christ Ngige decided to take the bull by the horn by ensuring that godfathers was eliminated in Anambra by opening the people’s eyes to the vast adverse resources that is available in the state.
From the Ngege era till now, it has been an upward movement that is from him to Peter Obi and the present Governor, Willy Obiano. The comparism that distinguishes Anambra state from its peers that is, states created 25 years ago, in terms of infrastructure, Anambra has better network of roads,It is the first state in Nigeria to record millions($5million) of dollars in vegetable export. In education, they stand higher when compared to others.
Anambra made headlines when it became the first state in Nigeria to export vegetables (Ugu and Onugbu) valued at $5million to Europe. At the same time, it’s produced brand of rice known as Anambra Rice recently emerged the Best Rice in Africa at an African Products Forum in Lagos. Anambra Rice was adjudged better and more wholesome than other competing brands from South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Namibia and Cameroon. Vanguard reports.
The global multidimensional poverty index data-bank released by Oxford University, Anambra state is ranked the third richest in Nigeria after Lagos and Osun States, and they are indications that it will soon overtake Osun state. Even several states including the south sates that have oil money are still living below the poverty belt as rated by Oxford University.
Anambra state do not have much of mineral resources but are living above the poverty belt, this shows that the level of private enterprise in the state has put the it on the global map. So, Anambra have done very well in the 25 years of its creation.
In the Internal Generated Revenue IGR index; Anambra is one of the best performing state within the last one year. Five states look good to be on top of the current economic challenges. They are Enugu, Oyo, Anambra, Akwa Ibom and Kano with N18.08bn, N15.66bn, N14.793bn, N14.791bn, and N13.611 bn respectively.
The state has been able to produce some of the great men and women that have and are still contributing to the development of Nigeria. Personalities like Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alex Ekweme, Dora Akunyili, Osita Osadebe, Ekwensi Cyprian, Pius Okigbo, Chimamanda Adichie to mention but a few.
On March 17th, 2014, when Obiano mounted the saddle of leadership in Anambra State, there were so many uncertainties, but two years into the Obiano administration, the people of Anambra would no doubt be nodding their heads in pleasant satisfaction.
For more than four decades, Onitsha, the economic engine-room of the South East witnessed some violent crimes and unimaginable absurdities. These periods in history gave Onitsha a wrong image, depriving it of the promise it once held as the capital of literary publishing in West Africa, which it firmly established with the era of the famous Onitsha market literature. For close to four decades, Onitsha was given the wrong posture.
But Obiano’s security initiatives today have changed that narrative in just few months. This is perhaps one of the most glaring achievements that one observes in the state today. For the first time in living memory, the state has attained a near crime-free status.
He has since cleared the N1.9bn arrears of salaries owed the state water corporation staff as well as the approximately N1bn pension owed local government retirees inherited by the administration.
More so, in order to open up Anambra State for rapid industrialisation, he has been rehabilitating bad roads and constructing new ones. By his interventions, he has opened up Anambra to the world and made the state attractive to investors. To date, ANSIPPA has attracted investments valued at $3.2billion to the state.
These investments cut across agriculture, trade and commerce, manufacturing, hospitality, housing, electricity generation, waste management, health and oil and gas. With the quality of investments the government has attracted so far, the unemployment problem in the state has been drastically reduced and more jobs are expected to be created.
In agriculture, 27,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs are expected; in industry, trade & commerce 12,000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect jobs are coming up; 11,000 direct jobs and 39,500 indirect jobs are being worked on in real estate & hospitality; 2,000 direct jobs and 8,200 indirect jobs for power & transportation and 500 direct jobs and 1,900 indirect jobs in the health sector.
In all, a total number of 52,500 direct jobs and 200,000 indirect jobs are expected. The administration has trained 500 youths in diverse skills and crafts at the technology incubation centre in Nnewi while 500 other youths have been trained at the agricultural training institute in Mgbakwu.
The state have shown that given time and resources, it can turn into Nigeria’s new postcard for excellence; one can only pray that the good people of the state continue to support the governor’s efforts to build a strong, dynamic, industrialized, economically viable and prosperous Anambra State.
Source: Ezekiel Enejeta -FinancialwatchNG
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