By Clifford Ndujihe

LAST week, a delegation of the Anambra State Government led by the Deputy Governor, Dr Nkem Okeke visited former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, retd, who created the state in 1991, to write the foreward to the Anambra State historic book. In this interview, Chief Emeka Okonkwo, editor-in-chief/project coordinator of the book spoke on why they want IBB to write the foreward among others.

Why did you choose General Babangida to do the foreward to the Anambra State Compendium?

President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida created Anambra State 25 years ago out of the old Anambra state, which had Anambra, Enugu and part of Ebonyi states. So, in doing this compendium, we thought it wise to seek him out to contribute to this historic book by way of writing its forward. We reasoned that it will be interesting to find out the reason his government took the decision to create Anambra state. We thought it would be a perfect opportunity to find out from the elder statesman, if his vision for creating Anambra state has been met.

Nkem Okeke

I think there is no other person more suited to do the foreward than Babangida. And in his words, when we visited him in Minna,”you guys are doing a very historic work, I’m willing to be part of it.” We thank him for graciously accepting to be part of this project. And we are excited about it.

What is the criteria for featuring people in the book?

Nobody can fault the icons or beacons you will find in the book.

Some could come as a big surprise to the generality of the people because some of them, as we found out, were trail blazers that are not necessarily everyday kind of people. Moneybags whose wealth are questionable will not find any space among our icons in this book because our icons are supposed to inspire people; they are supposed to be role models. For the beacons, we set a very high criteria, they are the people who have taken Anambra state to the international map, people who are easily recognizable names in world capitals. The icons are people who have brought Anambra state glory at the national stage. Yes, we have our big industrialists and their brands in the business section of the book.

What informed the book?

As we all know, a people without history lack identity. It is important for us in Anambra to know who we are, where we are coming from and the achievements our people have recorded both at home and in the Diaspora. It is disheartening to observe that we don’t have a detailed information bank of Anambra state and its people. That was what we noticed when we were working on the Anambra @ 25 events and we now made a proposal to the Anambra state government to produce this compendium, in which we will have a comprehensive history of Anambra, its people, culture and rich tourism potentials in pictures, with little prose that will make it reader- friendly. This is not just for today, it is a material for posterity.

 Is it a kind of who-is-who in Anambra?

Not at all. Who-is-who is just a narrow perspective compared to what we are doing. Anambra state will go beyond celebrating our people to document things such as our iconic schools that have produced the cream of our great people; the first hospitals; tourist sites, our art and craft; our festivals; foods; the towns and their uniqueness. In fact, it covers every aspect of our life as a people. The who-is-who is just a minute aspect of it. Yes, it is important to highlight our icons and beacons, who have impacted on Anambra positively and inspired our generation and those to come, but the book is more than just that. This is seeing Anambra from different perspectives.

Is this a project of the ruling APGA government?

This project is for Anambra state people irrespective of political parties. I want to appreciate Governor Willie Obiano, who has not only detached the party from the project but also given the editorial team the needed independence to collate and put together the information in the book. The government is only a catalyst by giving the book an official seal. Government is not paying for the production of this book and doesn’t dictate its content or interfere on the professional work the editorial team is doing. This is nonpartisan. This is a project of Ndi Anambra, be you PDP, APC, APGA or any other political party. We are all Ndi Anambra. This has nothing to do with politics.

You played a key in the Anambra @25 events last year which was designed to showcase the tourism potentials of the state, this Compendium also has a dedicated section on tourism. Of what importance is this to the state?

Before the Anambra state 25 anniversary celebrations, we looked at the state as people who have passion for the development of the state and asked ourselves, what can we do to add value to the economy of our state? And we saw tourism as a hugely untapped potential revenue earner, especially in this era of diversification. As you know, Anambra has rich natural tourism endowments. Look at the Agulu lake with its famed crocodiles. See the beautiful scenery of the waterfalls at Owerri Nzukalla or the Ogbunike Cave and several others. So, we decided to tailor our 25th anniversary programmes to draw attention to these God-given tourism sites in order to draw attention of the people to them so as to possibly kickstart the tourism business in the state as an alternative revenue earner, just like they do in Cross River state with the Calabar carnival,which comes every Christmas.

In Anambra State, we have attained almost a perfect, secured environment. Over time our leaders have tried to address the problem of insecurity in the state. Former Governor Mbadinuju started it, although not perfect. Former Governor Peter Obi took it from there and did some good job and the current Governor, Obiano, has shown unequaled passion and commitment in fighting crime and criminality in the state that today, Anambra is rated as one of the best states, security wise. This in itself, should encourage tourism in the state and also engender development. That was even why we had a four-month anniversary celebration programme without fear. And to the glory of God, we didn’t witness any ugly incident of armed robbery or kidnapping through out the events. That is a testimony to the fact that Anambra is now very safe ripe for tourism.

Who is funding the production of this compendium?

It is being funded through advertorials and sponsorships by Anambra people. Government is not spending one naira on this project. The only thing the government has on it is the official seal knowing that we have passed the integrity test. Ndi Anambra have ownership of the book because it will outlive this government and those to come.