The Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has explained
the rationale behind making Okpoko his first place of visit following his
inauguration as the state governor on Thursday.
He noted that since the area has been accepted as the
weakest link in the state, he had no option but to begin his administration’s
projects from Okpoko.
Soludo said that the clarification had become imperative
after he received several concerns on why he made the area his administration’s
first priority.
In a post on his Facebook page on Friday, the governor noted
that the people Okpoko needs more attention than any part of the state at the
moment.
He wrote: “Why Okpoko?
“One of the amusing retortions I have received since I
expressed readiness to set off from Okpoko is, “why Okpoko?”. There seems to be
some sense of self-centred prioritisation from a few who believe there are more
pressing issues than heading to Okpoko on a rescue mission. When you probe
further to situate their dissent in context, what you get is that innocent
desire in all of us to always “begin charity from home”. This may not be
totally bad, especially when we all agree where home is or should be.
“For me, it is One Anambra, one People, one Agenda. If this
be the case, it then follows that the often taken for granted but real
assumption that “every system is only as strong as its weakest link” must then
apply. This makes Okpoko a priority for starters and should worry every onye Anambra
how a State that prides itself as the light of the nation would keep a
deafening silence as Okpoko dies, yet spreading infectious social, economic,
and environmental malady that leaves Onitsha as a City in self-destruct.
“Ụmụnnem, ife dị na
Okpoko; the Genius, the unemployed and the criminal. The challenge before us is
to decide whether to continue ruing the ugly situation or turn the flipside
that will provide us enormous opportunities for the development of our
Homeland.
“Okpoko is the largest Urban slum in Anambra State.
Therefore, we have to begin our urban renewal effort from our weakest link.
Like my now 16-year-old daughter once asked me when she was just 14, “it is not
enough to wish change or show the will to cause a change. How are you sure,
Daddy, that the people themselves want to change?”
“Of course, this is not so easy a question to be answered
without far-reaching consultation with the people. So far, the people of Okpoko
and residents, from Ndikpa to East Niger, are more in a hurry for a change than
we can ever be.
“That trip I made in 2009 to Okpoko where I was accosted by
a little boy, who raced towards me and audaciously demanded, “Soludo nyem ego”
still occupies a better part of my memory. That boy, and millions like him need
much more than money. They need a life. May God help us!”
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