How Anambra became Nigeria’s 4th largest economy
Gov
ObianoANAMBRA State governor, Chief Willie Obiano has said that without the
determination of his team, the state would not have become Nigeria’s fourth
largest economy, noting that he inherited a state with an average ambition.
He
also stated that through strategic refocusing, the state had been positioned as
one with the greatest chances of producing the most surprising development
results in the next five years. Obiano, who said this in Lagos at a breakfast
meeting entitled: Investment Promotion and Protection:
The Anambra State
Experience, Challenges, and Opportunities, said that coming up with an antidote
to crime ensured that he achieved results in Anambra. The forum was an
opportunity for the governor, who was represented by his deputy, Dr. Nkem
Okonkwo to present his score card in key areas of governance.
His words: “In
the past three years and four months that I have served my people as governor,
nothing has given as much joy as talking about Anambra. My fascination with
Anambra does not come from the fact that I am the governor of that great state.
Chief Willie Obiano No! My interest in Anambra comes from my belief that
Anambra represents Nigeria’s biggest hope at the moment.
Indeed, I have absolutely
no doubt that any objective assessment of all the 36 states of the federation
would put Anambra as the state that has the greatest chances of producing the
most surprising development results in the next five years. This is not a
rhetorical statement.
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Our fundamentals point in that direction. “When I assumed
office with my Team on March 17, 2014, we inherited a relatively stable state.
We took over a state with an impressive network of roads and good fundamentals
in education and health care but we also inherited a state that had no landmark
infrastructure and no clear-cut strategic vision for the future.
And perhaps
more importantly, we met a state that was heavily traumatized by violent armed
robbery, kidnapping, child-trafficking and growing cases of drug-related
crimes. I came prepared ‘’This crime-ridden scenario discouraged investments
and successfully cut off the state from the grid of modern development.
Ladies
and gentlemen, my Team and I inherited a state with an average ambition but
through a strategic re-focusing and a commitment to excellence, we have
repositioned Anambra among Nigeria’s leading states today! “I came prepared. I
assumed office with clearly defined vision and mission.
I said that my vision
is to make Anambra State the first choice investment destination and a hub for
industrialization and commercial activities. Similarly, I also declared that my
mission is to make Anambra State a socially stable, business friendly
environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek
wealth-creating opportunities.
“We also came with an economic blueprint known
as the four pillars of development which seek to accelerate Anambra’s economic
advancement through Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil
and Gas. Armed with a clear vision and mission and a realistic economic
blueprint we had our job cut out for us. Immediate antidote to crime “While we
worked on our vision and mission and fine-tuned our Economic Blueprint, we knew
that our strategy would be dead on arrival if we didn’t have an immediate
antidote to crime and criminality in Anambra State.
We had closely studied the
stimulus and response patterns of the investment community and discovered that
investors are discouraged to invest in places where there is no guarantee of
safety for life and property.
We knew that our goal to make Anambra State the
first choice investment destination by building a socially stable and business
friendly environment that would attract investors from across the world would
remain a pipe-dream if we failed to lay a solid foundation in security. So, we
hosted a landmark Security Summit which was facilitated by Moshe Keinen, a
renowned Israeli security expert.
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This summit gave us a clear blueprint on
security. We started implementing it immediately; setting up Operation
Kpochapu, a Joint Task Force that is made up of the Police, the Army, the Navy
and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
We also erected security
tents on locations that used to be flashpoints for violent crimes, donated a
gunboat to the Navy to protect our waterways and launch occasional surveillance
helicopter patrols into our skies. With this arrangement, we succeeded in
erecting a clockwork 360 degrees security architecture that ensures the safety
our beloved state in the skies, in the waters, and on the land.
With that
arrangement too, Anambra became Nigeria’s safest state. Leading destination for
investments “The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency
(ANSIPPA) is the institutional catalyst of Anambra’s growing reputation as the
leading destination for investments in Nigeria. ANSIPPA is an agency that is
fully staffed with thorough and vastly experienced professionals with a
collective wealth of experience that any visionary manager would envy. On the
Board of ANSIPPA are first class bankers, investment analysts, lawyers and
thoroughbred professionals who find immense pleasure in nursing investment
dreams to reality.
This agency is charged with the mandate of attracting
investments and fast-tracking the process of investing in Anambra State. I am
delighted to state here that ANSIPPA has fulfilled the basic ideology that gave
birth to it. In essence, if ANSIPPA had failed in its mandate and betrayed its
promise, I would not be standing here today to address this great gathering.”
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