Oduah declares operation light up Anambra North By Anthony Emeka

In the thick of the campaigns for the governorship election in Anambra State in 2010,

Mr. Peter Obi, who was seeking re-election made a remarkable statement conscious observers have not forgotten. Appalled by various unrealistic promises made by some of the contestants, who vowed to make Anambra the African-Dubai-Taiwan in six months and build two power plants in the state within one year, Obi said during a public debate: “These people keep saying we will do, we will do, but for us, we have already done more than what we promised. How do we hold them responsible if they eventually get into office and fail to do all they have promised?”

Obi’s statement stares us realistically in the face today, because unfulfilled promises by politicians and those at the helm of affairs remain one of the major challenges of our development in the country.

In Anambra North, the senator-elect for the zone, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, is walking the talk, blazing the trail in effective representation and being a promise keeper even when she is yet to be sworn in as senator. Last week, Princess Oduah started the distribution of transformers and solar lighting facilities in communities in Anambra North.

Worried by the erratic power supply and low voltage often experienced by residents of the zone, she declared, ‘Operation Light up Anambra North’, a project aimed at ending darkness in the area.

Under the project, about 100 transformers will be distributed to several communities, while engineers and the accompanying facilities for installation are being taken care of at her expense. Already, 30 transformers in the first batch are being installed, while solar lights are also being distributed.

To Oduah, it is regrettable that there are still communities in Anambra North that are inaccessible because of the terrain and bad roads.

She has initiated stopgap measures to remedy the situation before the execution of the lasting solutions to the problems of the area in her priority list.

She has since pledged that Anambra North would not remain the same again in the next 24 months.

Considering the importance of information dissemination to the people, Oduah is also set for the launch of a community radio programme in Anambra North. Already, the equipment for the pilot scheme have arrived. “People need to know, to be aware of their environment. It is in so doing that they can know what is going on, whether good or bad.  We are getting to an age where with the phone; people no longer talk to themselves but with the entire community. You see things in the right perspective,” she said.

In all this, the state benefits and the people are the winners. By voting for Princess Oduah the people of Anambra North have affirmed that what is important is the pedigree of those who are going to serve at the federal level. To them, if the interest is the people, the person, who will best serve the people, should be the key issue and not the platform.

If the ultimate aim is to serve the people, it will no longer be “my party must win at all cost.”

Meanwhile, Princess Oduah has taken over the payment of electricity bills of her people in Akili Ozizor. This, according to her, is a demonstration of the popular maxim: “Charity begins at home.”

A resident, who spoke in an opinion poll recently, said the time has come for the much-talked about renaissance in Anambra North, which should be a model for the entire Anambra State.