The camp of John Chuma Nwosu, governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), is currently in an upbeat mode with the journey into the government house, Awka, becoming brighter given the huge boost the campaign for the November 8 governorship election is already garnering.

Nwosu who has intensified his engagements with stakeholders since flagging off his campaigns for the number one job at the All Saints ground in Onitsha on August 8, took his efforts to Lagos where he met with prominent indigenes of the state on Sunday, securing, in the major move,  a palpable groundswell of support.

A strictly private event, devoid of media involvement, the parley presented an opportunity for the stakeholders to pour out their resentment and fraustration about the current situation in the state particularly the parlous security crisis that has seen Anambra seized by rampaging hoodlums who have not only grounded activities, but made life unbearable for the people.

Uzoma Ndukwe, Chairman of the parley, had opened the floodgate, when he blamed the government of Charles Chukwuma Soludo for failing on the job he was hired for more than three years ago, saying he not only failed to pursue the right policies that could have enhanced the economic development of the state, but appeared to have become helpless over the security situation.

Advertisement

Hear him: “Anambra State has the highest concentration of billionaires per square metre than any other place in the world. It is on record. Therefore, you must have to make this change happen. One person cannot do it. Our friend and brother has volunteered to do it. This is not a joke. This is fight to finish. We must expect that they will come out in full force. We must also follow them every step of the way.

“In this project, we must expect to see everything. There is nothing they will not come with and we, on our side must be prepared to go the extra miles and do all that is necessary. Every hand must therefore be on deck to actualise this project and achieve this goal. What we have at the moment is akin to tossing-game. The main game will start soon. It’s going to be a tough job and a tough game. If you love Anambra, gird your loins and let’s move.”

Chike Adinu, former Vice President of League of Anambra Professionals (LAP), was no less enthusiastic. Seizing the momentum, he told the gathering in a moving speech that with Nwosu, Another Peter Obi was already in the making for Anambra and the nation at large and therefore everything must be done to ensure he took over to clean the mess the present occupants have made of the state.

His words: “I don’t want to say too much, but all I want to say is that we must support this young man, who has said that I want to take you to that place where you want to be. We believe that Anambra State would have gotten to a stage where everywhere in Africa people will be talking about us. But we’re not there yet and we’re not seeing signs that we’re getting there.

“We can’t have this concentration of the high-level of global icons – entrepreneurs, business moguls, economists and Anambra State is still grappling with the basics. I believe John will be able to give us what we need. What we have to do is to support this man. It’s not easy to challenge a seating governor. What is required is great. But this man has said he is going to do it. He wouldn’t have come out if he is not convinced that he can do it.

Advertisement

“Peter Obi did it, when we never ever thought it was possible. Many people had called Peter Obi a trader and he still calls himself a trader. But when Peter Obi got there, everything changed. I’m seeing a better thing in John. Therefore, we all have to ask ourselves, what is it that is in governance. It’s all about trust, honesty, carrying the people along, knowing that this man knows more than me, let us bring him in and with that you build a team that can deliver.

“I don’t see John as a man who will be so proud of himself, just like what we’re seeing in Anambra today where someone is saying ‘I’m the most read. I own more tha 1,000 degrees. To be a good politician is not the number of certificates you flaunt. There are people who know more than those with large certificates. Therefore, we’re getting another Peter Obi in John.

“Looking at the people here today, these are the people who make Anambra State what it is. Those who did not say we’re going, possibly because we don’t want the man at the helm of affairs to see our face, we must do something to change our state as a duty. Just as most Nigerians believe that Peter Obi is the answer to Nigeria’s proble, John is the answer Anambra needs now. Let us give him the support he needs.”

Nwosu, who earlier briefed the gathering on his mission, had vowed for instance to put paid to the issue of insecurity by using hi-tech scientific methods, in line with the best practices across the world, illustrating in practical terms what he would do to change the narrative.

Bemoaning the ugly situation in the state, he particularly regretted the method employed by the government as its solution to the crisis, stating that instead of adopting modern means, the people were being subjected to torture in the hands of Soludo’s henchmen, who adopt the crudest to achieve their sinister objectives.

Advertisement

He also lamented the opequeness, absence of transparency and accountability that have characterised the running of the government of the state, stating that the government had developed the penchant of not accounting to anybody, which he said would never happen under his nose.
“As at June this year, Anambra State received N26.5billion from the Federation Account – N15billion accruing to the state and N10billion to the local governments. So, ask yourself whether the huge receipts reflect in what you’re seeing on ground in the state. Security is our key problem.

“In January this year, he went and brought people who cover their faces that nobody could identify or know where they came from. They cover their faces because they’re not from here. Igwe, I know you’re widely-travelled. I know there’s nowhere else in Nigeria that you see men carrying gun and covering their faces in the name of security.

“A visiting white man that sees that will be traumatised and will never come back. Even in Enugu State, you don’t have such a thing. But our strategy will be different. we’re going to use the conventional security, that is the police. We’re going to provide them with further enhanced training, particularly on how to engage with civilian community. we’re going to upgrade their salaries and allowances, pay them well in addition from what they get from the Federal Government.

“We’ll provide them with life-insurance benefits, so that they will throw everything in the job, knowing that if anything happens to them, their families would be provided for. These are the incentives they will need to work optimally. We will equip them with optimally also and provide them with functional equipment including brand new vehicles as opposed to the Tokumbo, which those the state government is providing now.

“Where in this world does a government buy used vehicles. How do you determine the cost of such vehicles. Government buys new vehicles not only for optimal functionality, but also accountability. You have to evaluate the value of those vehicles. When Peter Obi was in office, he was the one that gave Innocent Chukwuma, our son and brother the money to expand the INNOSON Motors factory by giving him one single order of N3billion and asking him to supply to security operatives, hospitals.

Advertisement

“That’s how the companies you hear their names in Asia and other parts of the world took off. An individual doesn’t have the money to invest in such large capital-intensive concerns. You must be supported by your government. Ogun State has today opened an international cargo airport. Our brothers in Lagos and other parts of Nigeria and the world must be supported with incentives. They must be supported with such government interventions as tax incentives – five or 10 years tax-free incentives for their businesses.

“Today, since our governor came in, our people have virtually left the state – scattered all over the country. Many of those who used to do business in Onitsha have all relocated to Asaba. All these could be traced to poor or absence of insecurity that has ravaged the state. But we’re going to do things differently when we come in.”

With Soludo practically shooting himself in the leg with one political faux pas one day and another hara-kiri the next, such as the current altercation between his family and the All Progressives Congress (APC), the momentum being built around Nwosu, seems not surprising. In fact, the new mantra now is that the November 8 poll is for the ADC to lose.

Advertisement