The Story of Three Bricklayers – A Parable about the Power of Purpose…Orashi dredging for real? Onitsha Port may be the “surugede”...plus South East Digest…

 

The Story of Three Bricklayers – A Parable about the Power of Purpose

Anambra East Local Government Area administration reminded me of this parable last week.  “The story of three bricklayers is a multi-faceted parable with many different variations, but is rooted in an authentic story. After the great fire of 1666 that leveled London, the world’s most famous architect, Christopher Wren, was commissioned to rebuild St Paul’s Cathedral.

“One day in 1671, Christopher Wren observed three bricklayers on a scaffold, one crouched, one half-standing and one standing tall, working very hard and fast. To the first bricklayer, Christopher Wren asked the question, “What are you doing?” to which the bricklayer replied, “I’m a bricklayer. I’m working hard laying bricks to feed my family.” The second bricklayer, responded, “I’m a builder. I’m building a wall.” But the third brick layer, the most productive of the three and the future leader of the group, when asked the question, “What are you doing?” replied with a gleam in his eye, “I’m a cathedral builder. I’m building a great cathedral to The Almighty.’”

The local government’s flyer caught my eye last Thursday afternoon – they were holding a three-day retreat to dissect and understand the strategic focus of Anambra State, the Soludo administration, as well as that of the local government.  As a student of Management, that could not have escaped me in any way as most of what we have going on are what some of us may call “feferity” promotions.  I sent a text to the Transition Committee Chairman commending him, and he reverts with an invitation for me to look in the next day.

Come the next day, Friday, I looked in.  And was I impressed?  I was more than impressed.  I also learnt a couple of lessons.  The first speaker for that day happened to be Barrister Stan Nwatta, the Secretary of Anambra State Local Government System.  He confirmed my earlier thought that that Anambra East initiative was the first such initiative in the system.  One of the lessons not to be forgotten from him is that we may be running out of local government personnel soon as recruitments have not been going for some time now, particularly, in the grade level 01 to 07 categories.

I was told that all the invited speakers attended and that retreat objectives were achieved in full.  Just like the three bricklayers in the above parable, Anambra East Local Government personnel have through participation in the retreat imbibed the three great lessons of that parable:

“Big Picture Thinking – Being able to see the end result and how your work contributes to that end.

“Attitude – A positive attitude and pride in what you are doing will show up in your work and your motivation.

“Connection to the Organization’s Mission – Employees who are rightly connected to the organization’s mission, vision, values, and goals are happier, more engaged, and more productive employees."

Kudos to the Transition Committee Chairman, Dr Anselm Onuora, he is most certainly developing a formidable team, which will before long begin to be cited as one of the best run local governments in Nigeria.  And before I forget, although their shoe-string budget was discernible, it did not in any way impact the deliverable!

Oguta/Orashi:  Osinbajo Flags off River Dredging   

The controversy of whether or not the Oguta/Orashi River would be dredged as announced last year by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, was Thursday rested as the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo flagged off the hydrographic survey and dredging in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State.  The dredging of the river will link Imo to Degema in Rivers and thereafter, to the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking at the ceremony on the bank of the Oguta/Orashi River, Osinbajo said the project would connect waterways to hinterlands and expand Nigeria’s shipping and agricultural sectors. 

He added that it would also expand Nigeria‘s free trade zone and facilitate her contribution to trade in Africa and the world. 

He enjoined Nigerians to cooperate with the Imo government and with the Nigerian Navy to ensure that the project came to fruition.

The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, had emphatically stressed last year  that he was personally not in the know of or, the authenticity of Uzodimma’s dredging announcement, thereby creating fear in the minds of newsmen, on any possibility of such activities in the immediate future.

Socio-economic experts are also still not in the clear as to the timetable for the conclusion of the project as no timeline has been given.

ANSIPPA visits Onitsha River Port

The Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) last Thursday paid a site visit to the Onitsha River Port. 

During the tour of the site, the Port Manager, Wannes De Wit explained the urgent need for the dredging of the river to allow for larger vessels and barges to berth at the Onitsha Port. He also talked about the opportunities the Port presents especially in moving consignment from Lagos and Onne Ports to the South East region and other parts of Nigeria. It is estimated that annually, over 1,000,000 40ft containers come in via Lagos and over 60% utilize the Niger bridge in Onitsha. The project is estimated to bring in over 400,000 containers annually at full capacity.

Speaking, the Managing Director, ANSIPPA, Mark Okoye explained that the State, through the Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, will ensure they provide all the necessary support to ensure the Federal Government and Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority prioritizes the dredging of the river. He also promised to brief the Governor and the Ministries concerned about the current developments.

The Onitsha River Port will open up the State, lay the groundwork for the fourth industrial revolution in Anambra, and significantly boost economic activities across the State and the wider region.

It should be recalled that after 5 years of engagement with the Federal Government, a concession agreement was recently entered with the Universal Elysium Consortium.

The Universal Elysium Consortium led by MD/CEO Dr. George Nwangwu comprises Universal Elysium Limited (Lead Investor), China National Electrical Engineering Limited (EPC Contractor), Port of ANTWERP (Technical Partner), and China Harbor Engineering Company (Nig.) Ltd (Technical Partner). (Source: Anambra Insights published by ANSIPPA)

 

(A digest of latest reports on the Economy, Industry, Politics, Sports, and developments around the South East of Nigeria)

ABIA STATE

Aba Power Launches Own Mass Metering Programme without Prepayment

Less than five months after Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th and newest electricity distribution company, keyed into the Federal Government-led Meter Asset Programme (MAP) to provide prepaid meters to its customers, the firm has launched its own metering campaign to accelerate the process of making prepaid meters available to all electricity users in the Aba Ringfence which comprises nine out of the 17 local government areas in Abia State.

Known as the Aba Power Mass Meter Programme (APMMP),  the campaign will provide meters to electricity users without prepayment. 

“We have decided on this revolutionary step because meter penetration in the nine LGAs which we service is very poor”, explained Patrick Umeh, the Aba Power managing director who used to be a commissioner with the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Industry players believe that greater meter penetration will gender customer confidence which will, in turn, make electricity users pay monthly bills promptly, as the estimated billing system widely used in the country is considered opaque and even frequently fraudulent.

ANAMBRA STATE

Masterplan for Industrial city on the way 

Anambra State through the Ministries of Industry, Works, and ANSIPPA is in the process of engaging Mahindra to develop a masterplan for the State’s flagship 5,000-hectare mixed-use industrial city project. The document will suggest and justify locations to site industrial parks and clusters, special economic zones, and other infrastructures that will drive industrialization. 

Representatives of the State met with Mahindra penultimate week.   Mahindra, once engaged, is expected to complete the development of this master plan before the end of 2023, and offer advisory services on the marketing plan for the industrial park projects. 

Mahindra Consulting is a top global consulting firm that specializes in advising Governments, Development Agencies, and Private Sector on projects that can catalyze industrialization.  (Source: Anambra Insights published by ANSIPPA)

ANSIPPA opens relationship with Stears   

To improve access to accurate information across Nigeria’s economy, ANSIPPA recently subscribed to the data intelligence platform: Stears Insights to gain access to data about Nigeria’s socio-economic indicators that influence investment decisions and capital allocation.

Following that engagement, ANSIPPA received a State of the Nation report from the intelligence platform that highlighted issues affecting Anambra State’s socio-economic development and proffered innovative solutions to boost investment promotion and FDIs into Nigeria.

The report touched on the current strengths of Anambra State, explained the perceived weaknesses, and suggested opportunities for the administration to explore that will drive economic development for ndi Anambra. (Source: Anambra Insights published by ANSIPPA)

 

ENUGU STATE

UNICEF Reveals Readiness To Partner with Mbah’s Administration on Water, Health, Education, Sanitation

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has expressed its preparedness to partner with the administration of Dr. Peter Mbah as soon as he takes over office as the governor of Enugu State on May 29 on the areas of provision of safe and clean water, access to healthcare for women and children, primary education, and sanitation in the state.

This was disclosed during last week in Enugu when the UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Ms Christian Munduate, led a delegation of top officials of the multilateral agency to the governor-elect at the Old Government Lodge, Enugu..

This was even as the incoming administration warned that it would no longer tolerate unprofessional conduct, unauthorized absence from duties and other forms of misconducts from health workers including other public servants who are on the payroll of the government especially in rural communities.

The soon-to-be inaugurated administration expressed disappointment in the attitude of some workers on government pay, stressing that their unscheduled visits to some of the healthcare facilities in rural areas revealed that staff were frequently absconding from their duty posts for as long as they wish and promised that the new government would bring such attitude to an end with reward and sanction mechanisms.

While conveying Dr. Mbah’s goodwill message to Ms. Munduate and her team, the Deputy Governor-elect, Barr. Ifeanyi Ossai, who represented him (Mbah), appreciated the world body for its years of dedicated selfless service in the state, Nigeria and Africa at large, saying the uncommon gesture, which has been transforming the continent, would never be taken for granted. 

He said Mbah’s administration would focus its priority on the empowerment of women and children in order to have a stable and responsible society. 

According to him, Mbah has strong and robust programmes for children and adolescents whose welfare and training are fundamental to nation-building through the inculcation of the right values, skills and education.

Ossai pointed at the well-spelt out policies and programmes contained in their manifesto deliberately committed to children and young ones to deal with the disturbing issues of maternal and infant mortalities, school dropouts, corruption in the system and skills impartation.