VOTE FOR APGA,VOTE FOR CHIEF WILLIE OBIANO. Anambra state has - TopicsExpress

VOTE FOR APGA,VOTE FOR CHIEF WILLIE OBIANO. Anambra state has once again found herself in the familiar strait where democratic culture demands that contestants to elective offices must necessarily and vociferously tell the people they wish to lead, what they will do for them; why they should be voted into office. It is a period of carrot dangling – when the various contenders let the electorates have a foretaste of the main dish; when every candidate is compelled to display the unique selling proposition that separates him or her from the pack. It is a time when politicians step out to physically shake hands and hug bodies, and generally interact with their electoral benefactors whose votes could make or mar their quests for political office. Election campaigns are entertaining and educating. Decades past, it used to be an opportunity, nay, call it a privilege to go and listen to erudite politicians espouse ideological substances and dazzle their audience with polemical creativity. People felt compelled in those good old days to just go and enjoy the profound oratory of the legendary Zik of Africa who would most certainly leave them with a few new vocabularies from the lexicon. Same goes for the great Awo with his passionately intense logic that earned him so much respect even from his political adversaries; or is it the flamboyant KO whose bombastic missiles would keep his excited audience roaring for more. The list of these interesting politicians could go on, including the not so literate ones whose ludicrous antics (such as referring to Fanta, Coke and 7Up as mineral resources) make our present stand-up comedians look like apprentices. Essentially, election campaigns tend to hype up the space, giving it an extraordinary fiesta atmosphere with party enthusiasts and supporters trying to outdo their opponents in the game of persuasion albeit with facts and falsehoods, logical and illogical arguments, as well as all kinds of rhetorical doctrinaire in a bid to sell their preferred candidates to their audience. But beyond all that; even though most politicians have earned for themselves the unsavory reputation of having lied repeatedly to their people in the past, political campaigns allow discerning minds to separate the chaff from substance and boys from men. Traditionally, one of the major political campaign tools is the candidate’s or party’s manifesto, a written declaration of principles, policies and programs which the candidate and the party intend to implement when voted into office. We have seen politicians abuse this medium (manifesto) with their wild fantasies and oftentimes, deliberate lies to deceive the public. Since it’s basically about promises, they go out to promise the public an Eldorado and go on to load their manifestos with phantom and impracticable programs. That’s when we begin to hear of Free this! Free that! And some of them would even pledge to transfer Taiwan and Dubai to Nnewi and Onitsha. They make outlandish promises without taking the pain, like some politicians of old did, to articulate how these fantastic programs could be realized. They simply take advantage of some our people’s gullibility to tender proposals that are conspicuously untenable. This is why I think that INEC should intervene to save unsuspecting Nigerians from these desperados. The Electoral Commission should include among its responsibilities, the vetting of politicians’ manifestos in order to check the dissemination of some of these voodoo documents and their promises. Willie Obiano’s manifesto pragmatica or the pragmatic manifesto is a radical departure from these honey coated baits that our politicians use to ensnare our people. Willie’s manifesto is succinct and practicable because it is a product of intense brainstorming sessions and painstaking cross pollination of ideas by trained and experienced minds. Humbly describing it as his ‘Article of Faith’ with the Anambra people, his manifesto is anchored on the theme, ‘Continuity and Forward ever…” The import of this theme is that he will continue, complete and commission Governor Peter Obi’s projects as well as move forward with his own program. In line with corporate behavior, Willie took time to first of all script his vision and mission statements for Anambra State. He states his vision thus: “Anambra to be the first choice investment destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities.” While his mission is, “To create a socially stable and business friendly environment that will attract indigenes of Anambra, Nigerians and foreigners to seek wealth creating opportunities in Anambra.” Having stated his long term goal for Anambra State and how he intends to realize them in this very terse and pointed statements, the manifesto went on to introduce the man, Willie – his sterling academic background; his impeccable work career that saw him retire peacefully when some of his professional peers were guests of EFCC; his involvements in community activities and chains of awards, honours and commendation too many to be listed here. Willie’s manifesto emphasizes “continuity” because lack of it has always been responsible for the truncation of governance, with abandoned projects littering the landscape causing consequent waste of resources. Lack of continuity has the obvious tendency of stunting physical development thereby denying the people a seamless growth they would have experienced if there was continuity. But more importantly, “continuity” is indicative of transparency. It shows a regime that purely wants to come and carry on with the work of the outgoing government. No dubious agenda. Each time politicians discontinue their predecessors work to start their own, we all know the outcome. So, in addition to pursuing the Anambra Development Integrated Strategy (ANIDS) which has catalyzed the rapid development taking place across all sectors in Anambra State, Willie’s manifesto identifies seven areas where he will continue from where Governor Obi stopped. These include, in the education sector: the completion of phase 2 of over 1,500 classroom blocks for primary schools; completion of the numerous faculty and administrative blocks at Anambra State University campuses and classrooms at Nwafor Orizu Collage of Education. He will continue the deployment of more Microsoft Academies; continue the ongoing rehabilitation of secondary schools and sustain the existing strong working relationship with the church in transforming the education sector. Just as he intends to complete Obi’s projects on education, so he will do in the areas of works and infrastructure where he will complete the ongoing construction of over 300 kilometers of roads and bridges, as well as complete the rehabilitation and lighting of Ojukwu expressway, Onitsha to mention just a few here. Willie is equally committed to completing Governor Obi’s tall list of other programs under health; public utilities; environment; lands, planning and housing; investment and job creation where the government is presently involved in Public Private Partnership (PPP) negotiations with renowned international investors and global corporations to set up industries in Anambra State and construct N50billion 260MW independent power plant in Onitsha. I have heard cynics query rather derisively if Willie does he not have his own program. If he does, when will he execute them? But by the time they were confronted with his manifesto, they marveled at the depth of thought and managerial flair that went into creating the document. It instantly dawned on them that if manifestos are anything to go by, then Willie is the man to beat in this race. The fact that Willie is committed to completing Obi’s projects does not imply that he has no political agenda of his own. Before stating what he will do in Anambra State, he articulated what he calls the “Key Drivers for My Envisioned Economic Reform.” First, he will leverage on the proximity of the state to River Niger and its boundaries with five other states. Second is to develop all the natural resources of the state such as crude oil, natural gas and fertile soil. Third is to maximize the state’s existing strong relationship with foreign development finance institutions to raise more counter-part funding for social development projects. Other key drivers include the use of Private Public Partnership (PPP) to Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) models to drive development across all the sectors in the state. To lobby Federal Government to commence full operation of the Onitsha inland port as well as secure adequate funding from the infrastructure-focused financial institutions for the large scale infrastructure needs of the state. Finally, Willie for very obvious reasons intends to maintain a cordial relationship with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Then to his main program which has essentially been inspired by his academic and career background and international exposure. Willie Obiano is a beneficiary of good education having attended primary school at Holy Trinity, Onitsha and secondary school at Christ the Kings College (CKC), Onitsha where he made grade one in WASC. He then proceeded to bag a second class upper degree in Accounting from the University of Lagos and an MBA Marketing from the same institution. In the course of his work career he attended many high profile management courses all over the world including Harvard University and Stanford Graduate School, both in USA, and Pan African University, Lagos. No wonder therefore education ranked top on Obiano’s agenda. He is committed to designing an all inclusive education master plan to drive further development within the education sector. Being the first son of a former headmaster of many years, Willie appreciates the plight of teachers and is committed to revising their remuneration in the state. Bearing in mind that we live in a digital age, he has pledged to introduce ICT into all programs at all levels and curricula. Willie has also outlined an array of programs designed to avail Anambra people an affordable health care delivery. To this end, he has in conjunction with a team of medical experts, come up with a healthcare master plan that would collaborate with UNICEF and WHO. Beyond this, he will partner with other large healthcare organizations and donors such as GE Health, Bill and Melinda Gate, etc, to construct three new General Hospitals and two specialist hospitals in the state. The good news is that Willie is intent on addressing the issue of security frontally. He will introduce electronic eyes and other surveillance devices at every entry and exit routes of the state to track criminal elements and support existing security agencies with more patrol vehicles and communication equipments. In addition to this, he will equally introduce capacity building programs for existing community vigilante groups. Willie has laid out a plethora of other programs that I can not discuss here for obvious security reasons. I can only ask you to get a copy of the document from APGA secretariat. In addition to every other program that has been stated here, Willie’s manifesto addresses in surgical precision, other issues that have to deal with infrastructure development; environment; housing and urban development; tourism, sports and youth development; judiciary and new legislations. I can only advise that you get a copy of Willie’s manifesto from any APGA office and compare it with other candidates that are jostling to govern the state; that is if they have any. “The difference is clear”, according to 7Up advert of those days.