By Okpara Gift Chilwulogwo
Former Rivers State governor and now Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi does not need an introduction. For some, Amaechi has become a recurrent decimal in their daily discussions in the political arena.
The reasons may not be unconnected to the fact that Amaechi delivered the dividends of democracy when he held sway as the executive governor of Rivers State between 2007 to 2015. This feat was not successful without stepping on some toes, particularly the political class.
As governor, Amaechi recognized that his primary function as stipulated in the nation’s statute book was to provide adequate security for the people and to maintain law and order. In addition to that was the massive provision of the basic necessities of life such as water, health care, welfare and so on.
Amaechi promptly and aggressively confronts a task as if he is fighting with his last blood, especially when it has to do with the issue of insecurity. He waged war against criminality and violence which could affect the revenue base of the state. Then, security was well funded. As such, kidnapping and terrorism in the state had no hiding place. Youths were meaningfully engaged. Some in crafts, others in sports and some in agriculture as the case may be.
Young school leavers were hopeful of being incorporated into the system due to the prevailing job opportunities. Corps members posted to the state saw no need returning to their home state as a result of chances of securing a job in Rivers State.
Importantly, Amaechi had a shift from sharing public funds to massive infrastructure building especially bridges and roads including a world class stadium which had the capacity to create wealth, jobs etc.
Amaechi also systematically tackled social and physical security through promotion of subsistence farming to venture agriculture just to mention a few.
Amaechi, no doubt, revitalized the entire state from the decay it was kept by the previous government. Then, anyone who lived in the garden city before October 2007 will concur with my view. During his first year in office, Amaechi literally turned the state into a busy construction site due to the volume of construction work ongoing. Some of the roads that gained facelift due to Amaechi’s intervention are, Elekahia road, dualisation of G.U Ake road, construction and dualisation of the Trans Amadi road, dualisation and expansion of Ikwerre road,construction of Obiri Ikweree inter-change, construction and dualisation of the Owerri/Airport road which is a federal road among others.
Amaechi was passionate in diversifying the state economy through his passion for investing in agriculture. Here, fish farms were built in some local government areas of the state including the Buguma fish farms. The Ogoni banana farm and the gigantic Songhai farm in Ebubu Eleme are standing legacies of his administration.
When Amaechi held sway, Port Harcourt, the garden city, was a place to dwell in. It was a place to behold, a safe haven for investors and investors alike, including the multinationals and indigenous companies.
CRA, as fondly called by his supporters was always on his toes to deliver good governance to his people. He was moving round the communities in the state to inspect ongoing projects to make the contractors deliver in order to improve on performance and governance.
For Amaechi, governance was a call to duty, nothing more. His sense of openness knows no bounds, For him, his entire years of stewardship for public resources entrusted to him were hinged on the openness, truth and transparency with which the process and operations of government businesses were performed.
Amaechi focused on building a new economy that called for massive infrastructural turnaround, building of a mega city he called the Greater Port Harcourt City.
The establishment of a world class education system that ignited human capital development through overseas scholarships will not be forgotten in a hurry. Non-indigenes resident in the state had no cause to worry as they fully benefited from Amaechi’s benevolence. For Amaechi, there was nothing like a non-indigenous status in Rivers, there was no segregation at all. This principle of oneness saw Amaechi recruiting over 3000 non indigenes into the state workforce. Amaechi consequently reversed the payment of school fees by non-indigenes which was formerly far higher than that of the state indigenes. The fees were pegged at flat rate for all and sundry.
Amaechi’s model primary schools are spotted all over the state, including the remote communities. The purpose was to bring education closer to the people. The era when children had to travel a far distance to neighboring communities to acquire knowledge became history. Amaechi’s model primary and secondary schools were akin to standard universities in some African countries. Amaechi received widespread commendation from both local and international bodies for building schools which are likened to higher institutions of learning. The schools were fully equipped with modern facilities to aid learning, especially for science students.
Amaechi’s education commissioner, Dame Alice Nemi, bagged an education ambassador award. Amaechi’s education policy “education for all is the responsibility of all” was key to his administration’s mission statement.
* Chikwulogwo writes from Abuja