What first struck me two years ago

First, let me state my credentials upfront, just so no one reads other motives into my intentions here. I am an indigene of Rivers state who had lived and worked abroad for some twenty-eight years, until I decided to return home two years ago, urged on by what I saw and believed to be an impressive attempt to transform my state. And although I am an Ikwerre indigene like Governor Rotimi Amaechi, I have never met the man and therefore have no reason to hold brief for him. I should also add that this diary was compiled over a three-month period, well before the recently reported face-off between the Governor and the Niger Delta Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe. But naturally, in the face of that unfortunate exchange, the piece, originally written as part of a larger management report and a forthcoming book on governance in Nigeria, has had to be reviewed, somewhat.

It is also proper to state early that as an interested member of that broad family generally referred to as the Niger Delta, I believe that the exchange between the Governor and the Minister was most unnecessary. This is made even more so by the different nature of their jobs and the different mandates that they enjoy, as clearly defined in a federal structure. For, whereas the Governor enjoys the direct mandate of the people, the Minister serves at the pleasure of the President. In a proper federal structure, there is, and should not be a conflict. And I am also not aware that there is, or should be a competition between an elected state governor and an appointed Minister. Perhaps, as some politicians have argued, these are the early skirmishes of the battle for 2015! But, either way, the exchange was unnecessary.

That said, let me return to my set piece, which, as I earlier said, was originally inspired by my desire to attempt a review of Amaechi’s tenure, vis-a-vis my own desire to return home to Nigeria when I did, two years ago. Has it been worth it for me? Are there any regrets that I left a seemingly lucrative job in Manchester, in the United Kingdom to return to my state and to be a part of what appears an honest effort to transform our state?

Without question, based on the performance of Amaechi’s government, I believe it has been worth my while. What first struck me two years ago when I got back was the improved level of security in the state. Unlike an earlier experience, when I visited some six years ago, when the entire city of Port Harcourt was enveloped in a blanket of gun-trotting armed military men. It was most reassuring to find out that those days were gone and that the city was now a more stable and calmer environment that brought back memories of what it was like for me as a child.

But anyone who knows the city as well as I do, cannot fail to acknowledge that the sheer volume of development taking place, especially in the area of roads construction and urban renewal, is staggering. Knowing how Port Harcourt had ‘misdeveloped’ over the years, I would never have thought that it would be possible to dualise some of the key artery of roads within the city, as has been done. Who would have thought that the old Aba road, the famous Ikwerre road, the Oginigba-Rumumasi road and even the old Olu Obasanjo road could all be so beautifully dualised into six-lane roads.

It was also gratifying for me to discover that a 41-kilometre Unity Road complex from the Ogoni axis of the state to Andoni local government, connecting some 30 reverine communities to the rest of the state by road, was nearing completion. Apparently, the road had been started by the former Odili administration, but evidently expanded upon by the Amaechi administration. Even the famous Ada George road, which seemed ‘imcompleteable’, was virtually completed. I was also amazed to see that my old abode on Akwaka road, which used to be impassable and heavily flooded had also been rebuilt and upgraded.

This monumental feat has been extended to secondary schools, where the standards are also of international nature, complete with imposing auditoriums, university-type living quarters and state-of-the-art teaching facilities. And to imagine that although education is entirely free at the primary and secondary school levels, complete with the supply of free books, shoes, bags and other items, quality of education is not in anyway compromised. These are rare feats indeed. And while all of this is going on, work has commenced on the relocation, and upgrading of the once prestigious, pioneer University of Science and Technology in the country, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. The new site will now be within the Greater Port Harcourt City development scheme.