A Livable Anambra Megacity: Ownership, Duties And Obligations Of Ndi Anambra.*

08/01/22

Joe C Anatune*

*A Livable Anambra Megacity: Ownership, Duties And Obligations Of Ndi Anambra.*

All eyes are in Anambra for some miracle of sorts on the heels of the emergence of Cee Cee Soludo as Governor Elect. Good enough, Soludo takes things in their strides as he often quips that the rather oversized expectations are the reason why the masses of Anambra clamoured for him, kept faith and against all odds overwhelmingly elected him in an election adjudged as the most peaceful, freest and fairest in recent political history of Nigeria.

From March 17, 2022, Anambra will commence the journey to a livable and prosperous homeland which Soludo envisions. And why not? A livable Anambra one-state Megacity will provide access to good sanitation, clean water, clean air, safe affordable housing and heathy foods. Overall, it will translate to heathier and happier Ndi Anambra. Making it happen demands giving our talents, time and treasures.

An important civic duty that needs to be urgently upscaled is the payment of taxes and levies which should be made part of our culture. It is not possible to make an omelette without breaking an egg. We are however optimistic that the same excitement that greeted the clamour for a Soludo governorship shall resonate in making payment of taxes a way of life. It is an important building block for this alluring future we want.

Concomitant to the foregoing is the need for all and sundry to come to terms that development without protecting and preserving our environment is not sustainable. Harmful habits and behaviours that hurt the environment such as bush burning, indiscriminate disposal of waste, felling of trees without planting new ones, flouting approved building plans and other environmentally harmful practices should be avoided. Attaining the status of a livable Megacity demands so much from everyone but the reward is a prosperous home in which children born in Anambra will not have the lure to look for greener pastures elsewhere. Of course, it will be ennobling for Anambra to begin benchmarking with Auckland, Osaka , Adelaide, Wellington, Tokyo, Perth, Zurich and Geneva; ten cities that took the first ten positions in the Economists Intelligence Unit (EIU) global livability ranking, 2021.

We therefore see a livable Anambra in Africa that will be the next travel destination.

Very fascinating. Be of good cheer!!

*Joe C Anatune* anatunejoe1@gmail.com
Writes from Awa