As Chief Willie Obiano marks his 69th birthday today, it is indeed especial to recall how he transformed security as the Governor of Anambra State. Security is the number one necessity of any functional society. Chief Willie Maduburochukwu Obiano gave pride of place to security in the discharge of his duties as the Executive Governor of Anambra State from 2014 to 2022.
Obiano gave Anambra State a comprehensive manifesto that included all facets of governance that were made to become effective through the guaranteeing of state-wide security. In his inaugural speech of March 17, 2014, Governor Obiano said: “To give life to my Vision and Mission Statements, I came up with a concise Economic Blueprint, made up of the Four Pillars of Development, including Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil and Gas. The Four Pillars are supported by Twelve Enablers, made up of Security, Education, Health, Roads and Social Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development, the Environment, Transport, Finance, Electricity, Women’s Welfare, Tourism, and Youth Development and Entrepreneurship. The Vision and Mission Statements coalesced into the Four Pillars of Development and their Twelve Enablers. Ndi Anambra, these two components make up my Social Contract with my good people of Anambra State.”
Governor Obiano did not mince words when he stated: “In the area of security, Anambra will be different under my watch. Not only shall we redraft the operational manual of the entire security apparatchik of Anambra State to ensure a lightning-quick response, we shall also re-orient our people to see that every citizen has a role to play in the security of our communities. The concept of community policing or what is better known as the Vigilante Groups has worked well in Anambra State. The next challenge however is to re-train, re-equip and refocus them to meet the dynamics of our time. Along the same line, we will strengthen the Police and other Law Enforcement Agencies in the state to enhance their efficiency and response rate to distress calls.”
It has to be understood that Anambra State was under siege before the coming of Obiano. With the return of civilian politics in 1999, Anambra State, which was created by former military president General Ibrahim Babangida in 1991, has fought protracted battles in regard to guaranteeing security for the populace.
The first democratic Governor of Anambra State after the return of civil rule in 1999, Dr Chinwoke Mbadinuju, had a running battle with his political godfathers which made the state almost ungovernable. Anambra State was turned into a killing field such that Dr. Mbadinuju had to make use of the crude methods of the Bakassi Boys to fight crime in the state. In the end, Mbadinuju was the only Governor dropped by his party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2003 re-election battle.
In the security troubles of Anambra State, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige who replaced Mbadinuju was on Thursday, July 10, 2003 abducted by a host of forces led by Police AIG Ralph Ige and Chief Chris Uba. It was only Ngige’s miraculous phone call to then Vice-President Atiku Abubakar that spawned a chain reaction that restored him to power.
This treasonable act was dismissed as “a family affair” by the then President Olusegun Obasanjo and the PDP. At about 4am on November 10, 2004, some hoodlums brought into the state in 40-odd buses burnt every building of government business and the broadcasting houses while the police stood idly by, obeying “orders from above”.
The prominent son of Anambra State, the late novelist Chinua Achebe, author of Things Fall Apart, turned down the offer of the national award, Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), and forwarded a stinker to President Obasanjo: “I write this letter with a very heavy heart. For some time now, I have watched events in Nigeria with alarm and dismay. I have watched particularly the chaos in my own state of Anambra where a small clique of renegades, openly boasting its connection in high places, seems determined to turn my homeland into a bankrupt and lawless fiefdom. I am appalled by the brazenness of this clique and the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency.”
Eventually, Peter Obi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) reclaimed his mandate, but he was soon unconstitutionally impeached. The security situation in the state became dire. Peter Obi had to go to court to ensure that his entire tenure was complete. Anambra State became the state that provided the barometer for the staggering of elections after Andy Uba was thrown out as “Governor” by the Supreme Court after only 16 days in office!
Given these upheavals, it is through a proper grounding in the recent history of Anambra State and Nigeria that Governor Willie Obiano’s peaceful administration comes into remarkable depiction. Time was when kidnappers were king. Even traditional marriage ceremonies could not be carried out in the state.
It was as though Governor “Willie is Working” Obiano waved a magic wand, and everything became different. Everything turned good security-wise under his watch in Anambra State.
Night life came back in Anambra State. People could again sleep with their two eyes closed. Arteries of commerce and education opened up all over the place.
Anambra State was primus inter pares in the field of security among all the States of Nigeria when Chief Willie Obiano was the Governor. Anambra State truly shone under “Willie is Working” as the “Light of the Nation”. Happy 69th birthday to Chief Willie Obiano, the man of the people, who gave Anambra State a new lease of life in security during his phenomenal tenure.
Sir Henry Odike from Nimo Anambra State.
