Odogwuemekaodogwu.com
reports that Governor Willie Obiano was in Lagos today speaking to Ndi Anambra
on why they should support his government fight insecurity as well as showcased
his achievements in the last six months. Enjoy what he told them at the fund
raising for security trust fund
Protocols
Ndi Anambra, friends and
well-wishers of Anambra State, I welcome you to this occasion. This event means
so much to the life of my administration and our overall effort to build a new
Anambra State.
The importance of this
event can be seen from the fact that humanity is threatened by insecurity all
across the world. There is the ISIS challenge in the Middle East and the threat
of Boko Haram in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries. In cities,
towns and communities across Nigeria, the threat of violent crimes and
kidnapping has caused a lot of sleepless nights among our people. Happily, in
the last six months of my administration in Anambra State, Ndi Anambra have
slept with their two eyes closed.
Ladies and gentlemen, we
are gathered here tonight to secure the new atmosphere of freedom in Anambra
State and to ensure that our people sleep even better at night. We are gathered
here to secure the Dream of a New Anambra State.
Ndi Anambra, another
reason why this event is also important is that it is the first time that
Anambra State is holding a ceremony in Lagos under my watch. So, this is an
opportunity to say “thank you” to Anambra Communities in Lagos for your support
and prayers during the elections that brought me to office. Some of you people
in this audience left your businesses to come back home to vote for me. I am
very grateful for your efforts then and the support you have given my
administration since we assumed office on March 17 this year. Ndi Anambra, oga
adili unu mma. Dalunu! Dejenu!
Ladies and gentlemen,
this event also gives me the opportunity to give you an account of my
stewardship and what we are doing in the area of security. As the governor of
Anambra State, I see myself as the Chief Security Officer of the state. My
first priority as the chief-security officer is to secure the lives and
property of Ndi Anambra. In full awareness of this responsibility, I set up Operation
Kpochapu - a Joint Task Force on Security, made up of the police, the army, the
Navy, the SSS and the NDLEA on Tuesday March 25, 2014 - exactly one week after
I assumed office.
To further underscore
the importance of security to my administration, I quickly convened a Security
Summit in Awka on the 10th of April and invited a world famous Israeli security
expert, Moshe Keinan to lead discussions at the summit. The fruits of that Summit
and the discussions it provoked are what we celebrate here tonight.
Ndi Anambra, our people
have suffered from general insecurity and criminals for a long time. Long
before kidnapping became a big business in Anambra State, we have had lived in
an endless period of fear of armed robbers and brigands of all kinds.
The situation was so bad
that at a time, our people adopted some unusual methods to combat the scourge.
We all remember the monster called the Bakassi Boys and the extra-judicial
killings of that they unleashed on Anambra State. We all remember the
lawlessness of that period.
Ladies and gentlemen, it
is gratifying to see that our story is different today. We have effectively
retrieved Anambra State from the gangsters that once drove our great sons and
daughters away from home and made it impossible for investors to remember
Anambra in their investment plans. We have chased away the enemies who forced
our people to do Igba nkwu nwanyi (traditional marriage) in Lagos.
We have arrested their
leading suppliers of illicit firearms and cut off their supply routes. At the
moment, over 200 suspected kidnappers and armed robbers have been arrested. We
have pulled down their command and control centers and deployed hi-tech gadgets
to track criminals to their dens. Not long ago, we rescued the brother of
famous entrepreneur, Chief Cosmas Maduka of the Coscharis Group from a gang of
kidnappers. We tracked the kidnappers all the way to their hideout in Orlu, Imo
State and arrested all the suspects and brought home our brother who had been
in their captivity. Before the Orlu kidnap incident, we had tracked Okechukwu
Nnaegbo, a kidnap kingpin from Agukwu-Nri, all the way to Muritala Mohammed
International Airport, Lagos and arrested him inside a South African-bound
aircraft. Police records in Anambra State show that there was not a single
violent crime in Anambra last Easter. Over a month ago, our CCTV at the Onitsha
Main-market was used to track some missing children and re-unite them with
their families. Today in Onitsha Main Market, pickpockets can no longer ply
their trade because they afraid that Obiano’s security cameras would pick them
out. All these make up the narrative of the new Anambra!
Ndi Anambra, we have
regained our freedom from the enemies of liberty and once again, Anambra State
is ready to lead the charge for the return of Ndigbo as an economic power-block
in Nigeria since the Civil War. We are fully aware that the journey ahead may
be difficult and slow but we are not looking for a quick fix. We shall be
relentless in our push to expand the frontiers of excellence in Anambra State
and beyond.
In fact, anyone who
wishes to see the result of our push-back against criminals should visit Awka
on a Friday night. I am proud to announce that Awka has finally started to show
the signs of an emerging city with the return of a vibrant night life. I have
been reliably informed that Ndi Anambra now feel safe enough to come out at
night to test their new freedom and share the joys of the new Anambra. There is
a new sense of hope, a new self-belief, a new beginning that has enveloped our
daily lives in Anambra State and I invite you all to come home and experience
it first-hand.
Ladies and gentlemen, it
might interest you to know that some of our brothers have already heeded our
call and returned home to invest in the effort to build a new Anambra. On May
7, this year, I commissioned the Coched Farms Project at Anaku in Ayamelum
Local Government Area which has the capacity to produce 120,000 metric tons of
rice and create over one thousand jobs. On Tuesday last week, my administration
attracted over $220m dollar investments. These include investments from Joseph
Agro Limited that is investing $150m in Agriculture and Cardinal Developers
& Trust Ltd that is investing $70m in the area of hospitality and tourism.
Joseph Agro Ltd has a capacity to produce 120,000mt of rice. The company will
in addition to Coched Farms Ltd will almost completely erase Anambra’s rice
supply deficit by 99%. It will also create of 10,000 direct jobs and about
25,000 indirect jobs for our people.
Similarly, Cardinal will
create 400 direct jobs and 2000 indirect jobs. Ndi b’anyi, this is a great time
to come from Anambra State.
Big businesses in
Anambra State are doing incredibly well. SABMiller is currently expanding its
production capacity in Onitsha while in Nnewi, Innoson has just rolled out some
easily affordable made-in-Nigerian cars from his auto-manufacturing plant. Once
again, we are the first to give Nigeria an indigenous car as one of our great
ancestors, Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu did when he loaned his Rolls Royce and
driver to pre-independent Nigeria for the comfort of the visiting Queen of
England.
Ladies and gentlemen,
where else are such things happening in Nigeria at this moment in time? The
Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) has received
about 120 inquiries from investors from across the world and there is a growing
feeling that Anambra’s finest hour is finally here with us.
My team and I have
commenced a new wave of efforts to lend wings to our vision. We have flagged
off construction work on 17 new roads and four new bridges across the state. We
have started constructing 3 flyovers in Awka that will change the landscape of
our capital city. Work has reached an advanced stage at the new 3-Arms Zone
that will host the three arms of government and give Anambra a befitting seat
of power. We have launched an agricultural revolution in the state. In fact, I
personally handed new high-yielding seeds to farmers in Awka. We have launched
a campaign to reclaim our cities and neighbourhoods from filth and dirt.
Onitsha has since shed its old ragged outlook as we tighten the screws on waste
management and decongest our roads of all abandoned vehicles.
Similarly, we are
opening access to the food-belt of the state and building roads to connect
highbrow neighbourhoods and estates. Work is in progress at the three shopping
malls in Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka and we are building new and modern markets in
Ogbunike, Oba, Umunze and Awka. Very soon, we shall introduce our people to a
new experience in shopping. I urge you to come home and buy a piece
of real estate at the Millennium Estate which used to be known as the Greenwood
Estate and build your palatial homes there.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the sun has finally risen on Anambra State!
It is in acknowledgement
of this resurgence of hope in our people that my team and I also decided that
the time has come to awaken the consciousness of our people to the soft issues
of governance. We realize that it is not just enough for government to build
roads and bridges but imperative for political leaders to plant the right
values in the people they lead. That is why we have evolved a new
cultural-identity for Ndi Anambra State and a new anthem and flag to remind us
of whom we are. Shortly, we shall show you the cultural symbols of the new
Anambra and what they represent.
Ladies and gentlemen,
while we bask in the glow of our changing narrative, we must all remember that
all over the world, freedom and progress are usually earned and not bestowed.
Ndi Anambra, we must earn our freedom from fear and insecurity!
As we launch a new phase
of strategies that will free Anambra State from the clutches of criminals, we
need your moral and financial support. My administration has demonstrated the
resolve and the capacity to win this war and banish kidnappers and violent
criminals from our midst.
However, the Anambra
State government cannot do it alone. That is why we have called you out this
evening to tell you our story and ask for your support. I urge you to lend a
hand and donate freely and generously to this worthy cause.
As you think things over
before your bring out your cheque book, I would like to leave you with the
words of Africa’s greatest icon of our time, Nelson Mandela, who once observed
that, “sometimes, it falls on a generation to be great.”
Ladies and gentlemen,
what makes a great generation depends on how well it reacts to the challenges
of its time. Insecurity is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Let us
react to it as a great generation should.
Dalunu!
Thank you
Chief Willie Obiano
Executive Governor
www…willie is working!
How Governor Willie Obiano Raised Security Fund In Lagos : His Speech And Pictures
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, September 27, 2014
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Reviewed by Unknown
on
Saturday, September 27, 2014
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