Don’t Move or I shoot you, says Obiano

 Don’t mind the headline but you need to see the content as Governor Obinao points this gun or dictator depending o how you see it to you………………..

Photos of Obiano and his team during visit of IGP Arase


Security: Anambra shows the light By Chinedu Maduekwe


One thing which has come out crystal clear in the unfolding drama about the expenditure of $2.1billiion and N640bn by the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in the Goodluck Jonathan administration is that a substantial part of the security vote has over the decades been used for purposes other than that for which the vote was approved.

This is probably because Nigerians have all along been under the illusion that security vote is to be used for all kinds of things like funding of political parties, financing of electoral campaigns of the incumbent candidate, maintenance of girlfriends and mistresses.

The result is that security has been deteriorating all over Nigeria. We have been told that the former governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, collected a whopping N4.6bn from Jonathan’s NSA to organize imams to pray for Jonathan’s reelection.

　

The truth is that the squandering of riches under the guise of national security expenditure during Jonathan’s presidency is not an isolated incident. Many states are guilty of the same offence. There may not be more than four states in the whole country where security budgets have been spent for the purposes for which money was allocated. It is self evident that ex Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State, now the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, did spend his security budget wisely. For the eight years he was governor of Nigeria’s most populous state which is also the nation’s economic heartbeat, violent crime reduced to almost an all-time low. But the moment he left office, armed robbers and their ilk took over Lagos.

　

Another remarkable example is Anambra State. Just two years ago, the state was practically held hostage by kidnappers and armed robbers, forcing residents and indigenes to scamper for safety in Lagos, Abuja and elsewhere. My schoolmate at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, Sir Elvis Eze Emecheta, for instance, was compelled to relocate his manufacturing firm from his hometown of Abatete in Idemmili North Local Government Area to Abuja. The immediate past president of the Association of Town Unions of Anambra State, Ichie Charles Ifeanyi who is a high chief in Ihiala Town, was forced to conduct the traditional marriage of his daughter in Lagos during the Christmas season about four years ago.

　

The good news is that Anambra State has in less than two years become Nigeria’s safest state. Kidnapping and armed banditry have receded from the minds of the people so fast. Our people are back to their boisterous life. Christmas celebrations have started in earnest, with Christmas trees and lights now decorating every major town. All this shows the difference one person can make in leadership.

　

On Friday, December 11, 2015, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State took his security campaign to an unprecedented　height in Nigeria’s history. The governor not just donated 25 purpose-built cars and speed　　guns to the Nigeria Police Force at a ceremony in the state capital which Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase attended in person, he equipped them with state of the art facilities that make them look like vehicles used by American police. In addition, they have alcohol detectors. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time any security agency in Nigeria has been provided with either speed guns or alcohol detectors.

　

Two of the major causes of road accidents around the world are over speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol. These two factors are more pronounced in undeveloped countries like Nigeria where the facilities to check them are rarely available. Yet, each of us lives with the terrible consequences. As President Muhammadu Buhari was assuming office last May 29, a tanker laden with petrol fell in Upper Iweka, Onitsha, roasting over 40 people alive, including my own cousin. President Buhari despatched Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on June 3 to Anambra State to visit the injured at Toronto Hospital in Onitsha, and to commiserate with families of the dead as well as the people and government of the State. It is believed that the accident was caused by over speeding and perhaps drunken driving.

　

And two months ago, a multiple accident was reported in Umuchu, Aguata Local Government Area of the state, involving an 18-seater passenger bus, two sedan cars and a haulage truck. Eleven persons died on the spot and 21 others were in critical condition. The governor promptly visited the victims and undertook to write off the medical bills. To worsen matters, a car accident on November 27, 2015, led to the death of nine members of the Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) who were returning from the burial of their member at Nawfija in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state. The governor’s wife quickly led a large delegation of sympathizers to the place. Earlier in July, a whole family from Enugwu-Ukwu in Njikoka Local Government Area of the state was wiped out when a trailer and their Toyota Camry were involved in an accident in Awka.

　

The major auto crashes in Anambra State cited above only represent what happens regularly on our roads almost daily all over Nigeria. What may be unusual in the Anambra case is the governor’s decision to address the tragic phenomenon from the roots, namely, over speeding and driving under the influence of Bacchus, the Greek god of alcohol. And the governor has employed technology to tackle the problem. Technology is the way to go in the modern world. We cannot continue to seek solutions to serious problems by continuing with the traditional ways which are highly limited. Our leadership must learn to think out of the box.

　

There is a profound point Gov Obiano has made eloquently by providing purpose-built vehicles with state of the art facilities which are like what we find in American cities. Many of our government officers travel abroad frequently and experience how things work efficiently and effectively. But rather than try to replicate a similar system here, they take money from our country and send abroad so that only they and their families will continue to enjoy the best things in life. By showing that some facilities in Anambra State can be raised to international standards, Gov Obiano has inadvertently thrown a huge challenge to other governments in Nigeria, including the Federal Government.　　As the Great Zik of Africa has wisely told us, when leaders show the light, the people will find the way.

　

Anambra State may well have begun to live up to its reputation as the light of the Nigerian nation.

　

Maduekwe is a lawyer and security consultant in Abuja.