By Joe Anatune

SO far, the report that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world –a rating by Brookings Institute in the United States, has not received adequate attention from politicians and policy-makers. The little we have noticed is complete aloofness and wave of the hand that the report is the machination of the ‘wailers’ and therefore, does not deserve attention and solutions. Our stand as we approach the 2019 general elections is that reducing the alarming and unacceptable poverty in the land should define the tone and direction of the campaigns for politicians  who are seeking public offices, especially the executive arm. Our postulation, going forward, is that this election should witness a paradigm shift by being a contest of ideas. The voters should demand this as matter of right, otherwise we shall remain with the status quo as nobody will give what he or she does not have. So when shall the debate begin?

Nick Opara-Ndudu, former top banker and  commissioner in Imo State wants to be governor of the state. He is aspiring under the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.  Opara-Ndudu is not your regular kind of politician who will be quick to claim that his people are urging him to run. Hear him in a letter of declaration of intent he sent to friends and associates: ‘’At a time like this, I have made the painstaking careful decision to offer myself for consideration by All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, as its standard bearer in the 2019 Imo State governorship election.’’And what is motivating him? Let us again hear from him: “With poverty ravaging our land and the Imo State Government destroying markets and other traditional sources of productive engagements for our people, we must begin the process of addressing the damages done to evolving a poverty alleviation programme that would bring succour to our people and opportunities for them to earn a decent living.’’

So, Opara-Ndudu is ready and willing to face the challenges of governance and pulling his people out of the vicious circle of poverty. He believes that ‘’our country suffers today not because of the sins of the evil or wicked people but the silence of the people that claim to be just or righteous. ’And not surprising, when the news of the Brookings Institute was made public, Opara-Ndudu was one of the few who had ready answers of what he will do to reverse the worrying trend in Imo State if elected governor. True, he has had his job well thought out and cut out and will hit the ground running from day one.

When he met with a team of business journalists and his solutions were sought, he had these to say and I prefer to quote him: “Certainly, one is not surprised at the designation of Nigeria as the poverty capital of the world by the Brookings Institute in the USA. This sorry state is the culmination of years of bad governance and lost opportunities. In Imo State, we intend to address the situation through the creation of opportunities for productive engagement for our citizens across all demographic strata. Some of the initiatives contained in my blueprint are summarised below:

* Massive investment  in education to improve quality and access to learning opportunities. As we all know, education provides the foundation for access to opportunities and migration away from poverty across all demographic strata. In this regard, we shall collaborate with the church and missionary organisations in implementing our education agenda and ensuring that we support the funding of their activities under a framework to be worked out;

*We plan to create at least 200,000 jobs in three years in the Agriculture sector. To this end, we have identified 10 agro-commodity lines/value chains through which we intend to create at least 20,000 jobs each and this would offer massive opportunities for productive engagements to our citizens. We intend to drive this initiative through a PPP programme to establish processing facilities for these agro-commodities within Imo State.

* A key part of my agenda is to establish three industrial cities/parks in Owerri(Ngor Okpalla), Orlu (Ohaji/Egbema and Oguta) and Okigwe (Mbano/Okigwe axis).  As part of this agenda, we shall establish, using a PPP, a power company to generate at least 100 MW of power to serve these clusters. Our industrialisation agenda seeks to make Imo State home to at least 1,000 industrial concerns within seven years, turning Imo into the industrial hub of the nation and creating at least 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in the process;

* We intend to transform Owerri into the entertainment capital of the South East. With the exception of Lagos and Abuja, Owerri has more hotels than any other town in Nigeria. We intend to build on this support infrastructure in making Owerri a preferred tourism destination;

* We shall create an SME fund of at least N2 billion to support small businesses within Imo State and fund a revolving loan scheme for traders in our rural areas with emphasis on women;

* Finally, we shall implement a strategic initiative of land reform and physical planning of our environment to ensure that proper legal titles are given to land owners across the state. This initiative seeks to empower land owners, a majority of which are the poorest of the poor, to find veritable use of their land assets as they raise resources for themselves and their families/businesses.

Opara-Ndudu believes that the need for the economic integration of the South East states is imperative now more than ever before. In this regard, he is of the opinion that a Marshall-Type plan template for mass industrialisation with clear cut strategy for dealing with associated energy sufficiency challenge is key to enhancing inclusive growth and the creation of pathways to individual and collective prosperity just like Dr M. I Okpara did in the defunct Eastern Region. But does he have what it takes to work these plans?

For over two decades, Opara-Ndudu had a meritorious career in the banking sector where he reached the peak through hard work. He remains a mentor to many top bankers today who cut their teeth under his tutelage. He thinks that governance is too serious a business to be left in the hands of politicians alone. So he maintained very close links with APGA right from its formative stage in the state by assisting in fundraising for its candidates while still in the banking sector. And in his three years stint in public sector as commissioner, senior adviser in four capacities, he left remarkable achievements. While the internally-generated revenue was under his watch, Imo State attained the highest height ever.

Nick Opara-Ndudu understands how to take people out of the vicious circle of poverty by investing in education, industrialisation, agriculture and its associated linkages. These will manifest in massive job creation and supported with improvement in social welfare.

•Mr. Anatune, a journalist, wrote from Owerri, Imo State.