BY JIMITOTA ONOYUME

NIGERIA is working in Rivers State,” Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State said in admiration at one of the project sites during the recent facility tour undertaken by members of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA to some projects in Rivers State. A former president of the NBA Lanke Odogyon, SAN who led the NBA team on the inspection team was, however, to pray for sustenance saying “our prayer is that a Pharaoh that does not know Joseph should not come one day to ruin the legacy projects of this administration”.

The facility tour was on the sidelines of the recent annual conference of the NBA that took place in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. Governor Chibuke Amechi, himself a lawyer used the opportunity of the gathering to showcase his achievements to his professional colleagues.

At the Model primary school and Health Centre in Elekahia, the first project visited, most of them could not hold back their admiration as they were conducted round facilities in the school. To many the physical layout was like that of a university and some did not have any scruples taking pictures to take home to their states.

Governor Amaechi while conducting his “learned colleagues” round the projects first gave credit to his Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence Nimi for conceiving the projects of the model schools.

According to him 750 model primary schools were presently being built by his administration noting that he was moved to commence the projects following the rot he saw in the schools when he was inaugurated four years ago.

As the encomiums poured in and comparisons were inevitably made by the lawyers of their own Governors , Amechi, however, stepped in with a word of caution that many of his own colleagues were not as endowed as him in terms of revenue.

He said it would be unfair to want to match development programmes in any of the states with what obtain in other states.

Each model school has a sick bay, staff quarters, an e-library and a normal book library, auditorium for about five hundred students and a play field. From there the Governor also took the visiting lawyers to the Model Secondary School at Ebubu Eleme. He said it was one of the twenty four new model secondary schools being constructed by his administration.

Moved by what he saw the leader of the delegation and former President of the NBA, Odogyon urged other Governors in the country to emulate the Rivers State Governor in their development projects.

“We should commend the governor and the government. It is not just resources that determine what we are seeing but the will to perform is part of it. We want to recommend this for our leaders in all stage. Even if you don’t have the money Amaechi has you should do things in a small scale. Our prayer is that a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph will not come tomorrow and these things been built will be ruined. It is quiet commendation. “

While noting the need for more resources to be channeled to the states, he said:

“I think more resources should be shared to the states. But I don’t think we can import wholesale America’s federalism because of our peculiarity. Not all the governors are like that of Rivers state, some are drunk by 10am in the morning, “he quipped.

Frontline rights activist Mike Ozekhome (SAN) who was part of the visiting lawyers in his comment put other governors in the country to task. “Any governor from Nigeria should borrow a leaf from governor Amaechi. Some governors are criminals; they are not performing at all. It boils down to competence in terms of governance. Amaechi has shown that you can have good allocation and use it generously for the people “.

A former member of the House of Representative and former Commissioner in Delta state, Barrister Olivia Agbajoh in her own comment urged governors to sometimes tour projects in other states so that they can compare notes.

Popular Nollywood actor and lawyer, Kenneth Okonkwo was equally won over. “I am surprised, amazed. I had not seen it until now. What other empowerment can a child dream of than to be well educated”, he asked.

The lawyers were taken to the new Gas Turbine at Afam built by the administration. It has capacity to generate about five hundred mega watts of electricity for the state which needs about four hundred megawatts. The governor said his administration was targeting seven hundred megawatts to accommodation growth in the state.

Amaechi said the challenge before his administration was how to evacuate power from the generating station to homes as he said the state was constrained by the law which allows only the federal government to distribute power. The governor said it was disturbing that with all he had invested in the power sector he would not be allowed to distribute it to homes because of the present law.

He thus appealed for support from the lawyers to push through a constitution amendment that would enable states to distribute power.

The facility tour was anchored at the Rivers Songhai Farm in Tai Local Government Area, an agriculture project of the administration. Amaechi explained that the project was part of effort by his administration to productively engage citizens of the state in productive ventures. He said the centre gives out training in various aspect of farming such fishery, aquaculture etc.

Before heading back to Government House, Port Harcourt the convoy made a stopover at another model secondary school under construction at Saakpenwa.

Most of the lawyers who spoke to the Vanguard at the end of the whole exercise said it was clear that Governor Amaechi had written his name in the annals of the positive history of the state. Just like Odogyon said earlier, the prayer and wish of all is that a Pharaoh who does not know Joseph should not emerge in the state to ruin the substantial gains of this administration.