By Gordons Ejikeme
It could be said that Dr. Tony Nwoye is destined to dance on the stage of history. He is a man among men. Even at a young age, the ocean of time would not easily wipe away his indelible footprints. Take this: the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra State is his to lose. Or rather, he is the man to beat.
During the APC primaries on August 27, Nwoye trounced his opponents, including such heavyweights as Senator Andy Uba and the National Auditor of the APC, Chief George Moghalu. Nwoye, who was the PDP candidate, came second during the 2013 governorship election in Anambra State. In fact, he would have won the election but for the betrayal of the leaders of the party who had probably reached some form of understanding with the then incumbent Governor Peter Obi, whom they were in romance with.
Now, the coast is clear and he is ready to assume the mandate the enemies of progress denied him the other time. To be sure, he enjoys the support of the party leadership at all levels and the goodwill of distinguished sons and daughters of Anambra State. Nwoye’s emergence will bring the people of Anambra access to the centre. The state, under his watch, will play mainstream politics instead of the politics of the orphan being witnessed now. Presently, Ndi Anambra are crying about marginalisation because the ruling party in the state is like a tree without branches; it is like an orphan without relatives. It is standing alone, hence it cannot actualise the gargantuan aspiration of the people.
Truth be told, Anambra State will remain shortchanged if the present arrangement subsists. Under the present arrangement, Anambra is in the lurch, wobbling and rudderless. The political imperative makes Anambra look like an old widow, abandoned in the sun. How many Anambra indigenes head federal government parastatals? How many of them are board members? And even those presently representing the state are not playing in the league in terms of portfolios assigned to them.
These are as a result of the kind of politics Anambra has played in the past years. But, if Nwoye becomes governor of the state, the era of marginalisation of the state will die naturally. The state will begin to rub shoulders with those in the mainstream to the overall benefit of the state. As it is said, if you don’t say here I am, nobody will say: there you are. Nwoye is ready to take Anambra to the centre.
For those who do not know, Nwoye is presently representing Anambra State at the House of Representatives and he has acquitted himself creditably. Unlike the deadwoods, he has been a vibrant representative of the people. He has sponsored so many bills notably, the Bill to convert College of Education, Nsugbe to a University of Education.
Like every great man, some false accusations have been made against Nwoye but the people cannot be deceived. To be sure, they are all lies from the pit of hell. It is a campaign of calumny aimed at attacking the towering image of the man in whom Anambra people are well pleased. He was accused of spearheading the destruction of the property of Anambra. Those who are peddling this false rumour are those who do not know his antecedents. Here is a man who, as a student union leader, has fought for the preservation of the property of his alma mater. Furthermore, he quelled the activities of cultists in the school who, in their quest to control power among the cult groups, destroyed school property. As a young man in his 20s, he was dinning with the high and mighty because of his outstanding disposition.
Nwoye has designed a road map for youth employment and empowerment in Anambra State. He has planned, as a governor, to give out loans to the youth to help them commence small-scale industries across the state. From his pocket, he sent some of them abroad for skill acquisition and formal education.
He plans to embark on the establishment of interlocking blocks making factories in all the zones of Anambra State where interlocking blocks will be moulded by the youths and used for road construction within the villages and linking the towns in the state. Indeed, he intends to open up Anambra State and link the communities.
The present governor has claimed that he pays civil servants salaries as and when due. Nwoye will not stop at regular payment of salaries but will, within his first year in office, increase salaries of all civil servants in the state. He also plans to engage experts who will come to teach one skill or the other to retiring civil servants free of charge to enable them prepare adequately for retirement.
He plans to encourage our local industries by making sure that his government will patronise them and create an environment for foreign investment. In fact, the other day in Awka, some Chinese investors he invited to the state in preparation for his ascension to power, promised to invest in the state, by building housing estates and industries, which will invariably provide employment for the teeming youths.
He recognised the efforts of Ngige and Obi during their tenures as governors in providing infrastructure, like roads. He also plans to surpass that, being a youth who is more mobile and active.
Ejikeme, a lawyer and APC chieftain, writes from Oba, Anambra State .