From Aloysius Attah, Onitsha
Awka, the Anambra State capital, is an old city. Prior to becoming the state capital following the state’s creation in 1991, Awka had been a homogenous community whose people lived closely together such that in some cases you had to go through someone’s backyard before you could enter another person’s compound.
The making of Awka as a capital city brought the challenges of urbanisation, rapid development of properties, markets and offices, coupled with the existence of the only federal university, the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in Awka town.
However, 30 years down the line as a capital city, analysts are divided in opinion as to the development pace of the Anambra capital city. While some say Awka has not developed fast enough but has remained a glorified village, others are of the view that, with the daily springing up of beautiful high-rise buildings with different architectural masterpieces, big hotels and the new international conference centre built by Governor Willie Obiano, Awka can compete with any other capital city in the southeast.
Managing director/chief executive officer, Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), Venerable Amaechi Okwuosa, told Daily Sun that ACTDA has been working round the clock in line with its vision of building a cosmopolitan city with excellent infrastructure and a preferred investment destination not only in Africa but the world at large.
Okwuosa, a lawyer, said the Awka Capital Territory Development Authority concentrates its activities not only in Awka as a town but in five local governments of Awka North, Awka South, Aguata, Dunukofia and Orumba North, with accompanying 24 communities that they oversee.
He said ACTDA works in various ways, which include development and building control, beautification and demolition of illegal structures, which is often applied as a last resort.
“We look into the development and building control and, as part of our function, we actually look at the aesthetic value of the capital territory and, in this respect, we have gone a long way so that when you look at the barriers we put in place, especially between Kwata flyover to Arroma, you see a long stretch of wire mesh barricade, which actually tells a good story of how purposeful the establishment is vis-à-vis the social impact on the quality of lives we have and the values we place on people’s lives.”
He said the barricade has gone a long way to minimise, if not completely cutting off fatalities on the road crossing by pedestrians while it also cushions the effects of the impact of accidents on the Awka-Enugu highway.
Okwuosa also said ACTDA has embarked on the beautification of the capital territory so that at Amawbia roundabout the bell tower it built represents a beacon of light.
“That bell tower, when you get close, you see the cowry shells that were used in beautifying the base of the tower and that goes a long way to remind us of what used to take place in Amawbia during the pre-colonial era and even the colonial era.
“Amawbia used to be a beacon of business where cowrie shells were used as means of exchange. Even when we were building that tower, we were able to pick some cowry shells in that environment. Amawbia used to be a commercial hub where they used cowry shells and Anambra State is a beacon of light, that’s the symbol of it; so, when you get there in the night, you can see from the street the light that is shining and it makes the people feel safe.
“When we go down, you see another edifice at the Nibo Ring Road roundabout, where you see the sculpture of a blacksmith. Awka is known for blacksmithing and it used to be the citadel of blacksmithing in Nigeria. We have some other roundabouts in the capital city, like the Amawbia bypass, where we have beautified the place, planting trees and flowers, etc. Whatever we do here, we are mindful of the culture of the people,” he said.
Asked at what point it becomes inevitable for ACTDA to demolish properties and what’s the challenge in that area, Okwuosa said demolition was actually the last resort because they work with rules and regulations.
“For instance, you must observe a certain distance from the motorway before you start erecting your fence. In any contravention, we first of all serve you a notice either seven days or 14 days or even immediate removal, depending on the nature of the contravention. When the contravention subsists, that’s when we remove but we advise you to remove first, in your best interest, because if we remove, we then charge you for the cost.
He regretted that some people not only flout the observation of the setback on roads but also go further to build on water channels.
“We have zero tolerance for this because, when people build on water channels, it actually opens up lots of problems for the communities. Individuals are sacked from their homes because of floods, lives are lost too. We demolish also for flouting approvals, for instance, we approve one-storey building and you start putting up two or three-storey building. That will attract immediate demolition because it is an accident waiting to happen. The foundation for a storey building is not meant for a four-storey building. And there are also cases where people will go on government land to go and build. That one attracts outright removal.”
He talked about the difference between building control and development control and also disclosed that ACTDA even operates beyond the scope of Awka territory, if directed by the governor.
“When we talk of building control, before you start a building here in Awka, you come with your building plan. We have experts that go through the building plan, engineers, town planners, architects and so on, who go through the plan and access it.
“When it comes to development control, we have areas designated for different things. We have the industrial layouts, high-density areas, low-density areas; medium-density areas, etc. In some areas, we only allow certain types of buildings. For instance, in high-density areas, we allow skyscrapers there, or blocks of numerous flats, but in low-density areas, we don’t allow such but permit bungalows, duplex and one-storey buildings. Industrial layouts are mapped out for industries, companies, and that goes a long way to inform the steps we take before we approve any building.
“We’ve actually gone beyond the capital territory to showcase our work, for instance, at the DMGS roundabout in Onitsha, where we remodeled Ziks statue. It was constructed by ACTDA because we do go out of our purview to work, especially when directed by the governor,” he said.
On the complaints that Awka as a state capital has not actually attained the development height befitting a capital, he said the cultural ties of the Awka people were often taken into consideration before taking any drastic action that could put government at loggerheads with the people.
“Awka indigenes live closely together such that some people in Awka have cars but cannot actually drive to their own premises. That’s their culture and it is very difficult to expand roads within the villages without wreaking major havoc. Most of the buildings that could be removed are ancestral homes, as most people there have affiliation and emotional ties with those structures and they would rather tell you to leave them the way they are.
“I’ve had instances when we entered Umuzuocha and Umudioka villages in Awka, there was a waterway that was blocked more than 20 years ago so that, when it rained, water would enter people’s homes with near fatalities. So, we widened a part of the place. But at a point, there was a family house, and some stakeholders there came out and told us, ‘Don’t tamper with the structure.’ We had to look for alternatives and on that premise it’s very difficult to blame government because, when government uses its mandate to go in there, it could draw the ire of the community. The virgin areas that government is developing, government is doing more with the little it has.
“While they want us to be like Dubai, we don’t have the funds but we are making good use of the little we have. That’s why we are telling every developer in Awka territory to come to us before starting development so we put you through, instead of the practice of finishing building and coming to seek approval: it will cost them more to go and do amendment,” he concluded.