By James Eze

When the story is finally told, the most surprising thing that many people will remember about the first three years of the Willie Obiano administration in Anambra State might not even be the glittering flyovers in Awka; although they are landmarks that will continue to announce his name through the ages. No. Nor will it be the fact that he set up a security architecture that turned Anambra into Nigeria’s most secure state in less than one year of his regime; up from a near-hopeless situation in which kidnappers and fiendish armed robbers made life miserable for the people. Mbanu! A few discerning people would most likely point at AGRICULTURE and insist that it should come first in our collective memory.
And it is not so much a question of produce volume as it is the audacity to take a path less trodden and turn it into a superhighway. Indeed, history beckons on Governor Obiano’s audacious belief that the single story that portrays Anambra as a land of commerce and nothing more can and should change…That Anambra can actually be rebranded with; of all things, Agriculture. It beckons in his single-minded pursuit of this conviction and the startling results that have followed it since. And finally, it also beckons in the symbolism of an effective leader inducing a profound change in the society by giving his people some new lenses with which to see themselves differently. Indeed, the fact that many people may not be eager to dispute is that until Willie Obiano took over the reins of leadership, Anambra never made it into Nigeria’s agricultural narratives. Never! That was totally inconceivable!
So, it was something of a surprise when Governor Obiano declared agriculture as the number one pillar of his economic blueprint. You could say it was against the run of play and you wouldn’t be wrong. But Obiano wanted to develop new competencies among Ndi Anambra; something like a break from the comfort zone. He probably was indirectly answering the question; “what can we do differently?” A management mantra he borrowed from his time as the number two man at Fidelity Bank.
Obiano’s determined response to his own question saw him approach agriculture with a strategic vision. He declared that his vision was to make Anambra a Top-3 state in agricultural production in Nigeria. He pursued this vision with determination and vigour; inviting a team of agronomists led by Prof Chukwuemeka Omaliko to conduct a comprehensive study of the Anambra soil and determine which crops would grow better in which zone of the state. He also set up a team of land experts under the leadership of the former Minister of Health, Dr. Tim Menekaya, to negotiate with agrarian communities and carve out swathes of land that would be reserved for big time investors, who might want to go into large scale farming in the state. With these two strategic efforts in place, Obiano had concluded the basic foundation for engaging the agricultural world.
As things stand today, agricultural investments in Anambra State hovers at about $1.2bn. Anambra has probably the largest haul of investors in the sector. As would be expected, the result has been enormous – growing disposable income among the populace and of course, jobs and more jobs for Ndi Anambra.
There is also the headline making Anambra Rice, which popularity spread like wildfire last Christmas. The demand for this rice brand that rolls out of the combined farms in the state practically outstripped supply last Christmas as so many Nigerians wanted a taste of something different from the Malaysian long grains that had become the regular staple on the dining table in many homes. It is indeed clear that Obiano did not waste time before making impact in rice production in the state. Total annual output stood at 80,000 metric tonnes of rice per annum when he took over. However, as at today, Anambra produces 240,000 metric tonnes of rice per annum while the state consumes 320,000 metric tonnes of rice per annum. With the commissioning of JOSAN Integrated Rice Farms and Mills in Ufuma two months ago, Anambra may have surpassed the volume of rice consumed in the state per annum. A fascinating feature of JOSAN Integrated Farms is that all the machines and other facilities installed for the milling segment were constructed in Ufuma, Orumba North Local Government Area of the state. So, there is this pride in the local content of the entire project which signposts the rise of independent mindedness among the people; the belief that a people’s destiny is often in their own hands.
A most remarkable feature of the Anambra Agricultural Model is the decision to establish an Electronic Control-room from where the commissioner for Agriculture could monitor all the 97,487 farmers in the state, spread across 21 local council areas. It is a strategic vision that does not reflect on the menu of most agricultural commissioners across Nigeria. But the Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo,  enjoys the ease of sitting back in his office to broadcast special messages to famers in their various locations at once or put a robo-call through to any farmer if he wishes to pass a specific instruction. He has also organised the famers into about 2000 cooperatives for easier distribution of seedlings and farm inputs and repeatedly organised a special training for vegetable farmers.
Anambra’s first vegetable export into the United Kingdom is another watershed in Obiano’s rising profile in agriculture which continues to elicit reactions across Nigeria. But Governor Obiano is not resting on his oars, as he has since moved on to open a new export window for five million yams into the US.
It is obviously for these exploits that the Central Committee of the Nigeria Agricultural Awards decided last Tuesday, to honour Governor Obiano and his Commissioner for Agriculture, Afam Mbanefo, with the awards of distinction in agriculture.
Indeed, for Governor Willie Obiano, the lines are falling in pleasant places!
• Eze wrote in from Awka, Anambra State capital.