The changing face of Anambra

The end may have come for the dismal
look of Awka and Onitsha. Both cities
suffered near total neglect in the past,
and were almost given up or abandoned.
Neither the administrative status of Awka
nor the commercial strength of Onitsha
could earn them gubernatorial attention.
Past governments seemed obsessed with
other aspects of governance to bother
with their rustic state. An out of humour
critic of those administrations once called
Awka a bucolic town, mismanaged by a
line of do-nothing governors who wished
to change its looks by standing still.
The failure to transform both cities,
though inexcusable, might be as a result
of either of two things. One is the lack of
political will to embark on a capital
intensive venture such as building a new
capital city. Two is that past governments
were too conservative and blind to notice
the unbefitting status of Awka as a state
capital, and might have cared less about
the sprawling condition in which Onitsha
has lapsed. Accordingly, the long neglect
blotted the otherwise beautiful landscape,
and rendered incomplete whatever
achievements those governments posted.
Awka contrasts brutally to the least devel­
oped state capital in Nigeria. Its rustic
state very easily magnifies in
juxtaposition to the beautifully laid out
streets of Enugu while Onitsha is greatly
diminished by the emerging attraction
which Asaba has become in recent time.
A visitor to Awka or Onitsha from either of
the two adjoining state capitals would feel
a whiffling air of rustic neglect on arrival.
A certain columnist once described his
journey from Enugu to Awka as a descent
from light to darkness. All too often, the
neglect questioned the Anambra spirit of
enterprise, and pioneering streak, which
has seen to her people being in the
vanguard of developing cities outside of
the state.
The decrepit infrastructure was not helped
by the fractious nature of her politics.
Needless to retell the dreary story here,
but suffice it to say that it conspired with
the failed infrastructure to rob the state a
measure of respect in the comity of other
states. It is important to mention that the
lacuna in infrastructural development was
not because the state could not stump up
bills in transforming itself, but more for
the lack of vision and political will by past
governments to do so. The poor state of
infrastructure inevitably encumbered
development in other areas. In time, the
condition conduced to criminal activities.
The burgeoning commercial activities of
Onitsha very easily exposed it to tidal
surges in criminality. Awka, on its part,
held no better promise as it lacked the
enablers for transformation and stifled
growth in social interaction. Both repelled
rather than attracted visitors. Investors
whose activities should have driven
development, nibbled at the thought of
coming to the state. Those who did
refused to take up residence in it. Perhaps
only fly-by-night contractors and
wheeler-dealer business men could brave
the odds. A section of her citizens was no
less enamoured by the desolate
infrastructure and prefers to work from
the comfort of either Enugu or Asaba.
However, since no condition abides
forever something fortunate has come
swift upon the state. The Obiano
government has, since coming on the po­
litical stage, kept its nose to the
grindstone to change the old order. Today
Awka, the state capital, billows in dust of
reconstruction. The decrepit infrastructure
is now caving in to the menacing strides
of the contractor’s bulldozers. By the time
the dust settles, three flyovers at Arroma,
Kwatta, and Amawbia bypass would
stand firm to mark Awka distinctly out.
This is a precursor to building an entirely
new capital city in the ancient town. The
huge constructions (the flyovers), though
a prerogative of the federal government,
when completed, will achieve two things.
First, it will decongest the town and allow
for free flow of traffic that is fast forming
a tailback in the town. Secondly, it will
enliven Awka and make it attractive for
residents. No longer will the state capital
be passed unnoticed as was earlier the
case. Already a body (Awka Capital
Development Authority) has been
constituted and charged with drawing up
a befitting capital for the state. It was
also instructed to be as eclectic as pos­
sible in harnessing ideas in order to give
the state one of the best. Nothing could be
more compensatory, given the wasted
years.
In line with the transformation, an estate
developer, Rockland Builders, has been
commissioned to build over a thousand
housing units for the state civil servants.
This will help reduce exposure to risk by
some of the civil servants who shuttle
from Enugu and Asaba to work. A lot of
renovation work is also going on at the
State House in much the same way as
Onitsha is being renovated and lit up. The
Upper Iweka/ Bridgehead area has since
exploded in resplendent colours. What
makes the Onitsha case most gratifying is
that the transformation was not shabbily
wrought. It first dealt with the foundation
by routing criminals in the town. This has
not only allowed for luxury of
transformation, but also sane commercial
activities and a good repose. No longer
are people in breathless haste to escape
the menace of muggers who skulked in
shacks that abutted the expressway. Night
life is gradually returning to the town just
as parks, hitherto dens of robbers and
alcoholics are being renovated and new
ones built. All these are adorned with
flowers and lit up for aesthetic effect. One
good thing about the effort of the
government in the whole transformation
is that work is going on speedily at all the
sites. At the Zik roundabout, for example,
the park is nearing completion. Ditto for
all the others where the governor either in­
herited projects or is doing new ones.
It may not be presumptuous to say that
before four years of this administration
Awka, and indeed the state, will be greatly
transformed.
.Anyaduba writes from Abatete, Anambra.