SINCE THE CREATION OF
ANAMBRA STATE IN 1991,
AWKA HAS REMAINED A
GLORIFIED STATE CAPITAL
It was a welcome development when Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State recently unveiled a new master plan for the infrastructural development of Awka, the state capital.
The governor, in his characteristic people-oriented policy, has already embarked on the immediate improvement of Awka by the massive construction of some flyovers at strategic sections along the Enugu-Onitsha express highway within the Awka Capital Territory. It is expected, therefore, that the modern flyovers at Arroma Junction, Akwatta Junction and Amawbia Bye-pass, after the completion, will definitely give the state capital a modern and aesthetic value.
It is no gainsaying the fact that since the creation of Anambra State in 1991, Awka has remained a glorified state capital since no conscious efforts were made by successive administrations to really build a modern capital city worthy of its name as was the case in other states created along with Anambra State.
Nevertheless, in the execution of the new master plan for the capital city, it is of utmost importance that certain measures must be taken to actualize the noble objective.
The authorities charged with the onerous responsibility for the execution of the master plan should, however, consider the immediate relocation of certain public institutions originally cited in the heart of the Capital Territory to more conducive locations. Two federal institutions readily come to mind in the above proposition, namely, the State Police Command headquarters and the State Prison Command headquarters, both presently located at Amawbia within the Awka Capital Territory.
They were originally sited at their present locations by the erstwhile British colonial administration simply for administrative convenience hence they were deliberately located on the outskirts of the surrounding communities considered as a conducive environment for the colonial administrators, who also located their official residences within the same environment commonly known and called “government station”.
The land area was acquired by the then British colonial government as the seat of the former District Administration which also included the colonial native or Customary Court house, where cases were adjudicated by the erstwhile District Officer or “Nwa DC”, as he was nick-named by the local inhabitants during that historic era.
After independence in 1960, however, the country has witnessed tremendous infrastructural development resulting in the rapid urbanization of many communities hitherto regarded as rural settlements.
The present Awka Capital Territory has, therefore, been caught up with this developmental phenomenon, hence it has now become imperative to urgently relocate certain public institutions, some of which I mentioned above, to more conducive locations as their present locations have unfortunately constituted a great nuisance of some sort to the general public.
The State Police Command headquarters as well as the State Prisons Command headquarters are currently located along the very busy Nnamdi Azikiwe Avenue dual carriage way within the state capital; and more often than not the police authorities would arbitrarily close one section of the dual carriageway to the detriment of commuters thereby forcing the diversion of heavy traffic from the Amawbia end towards Awka through the Nibo/Governor’s Lodge busy road.
Regular commuters on the ever busy route equally experience terrible hardship and frustration in making the short journey from the Amawbia end to Awka as a result of the seeming insensitivity on the part of the police authorities.
It is instructive to mention that Akwa Ibom State, which was created along with Anambra State, had a similar experience in transforming Uyo, the state capital from its former status as a provincial headquarters to a modern state capital during former Governor Godswill Akpabio administration.
In the execution of the master plan for Uyo, the governor embarked on what could be called a revolutionary action by his immediate relocation of certain public institutions such as the Prison Headquarters and other important government offices formerly located in the heart of the state capital.
Akpabio had placed Akwa-Ibom on the map as one of the leading states, not only in Nigeria but within the African continent, in terms of monumental infrastructural developments. Today, the Prisons headquarters among other public institutions in Uyo has been moved to a more serene environment within the state capital thereby making way for other modern structures already sited in their places.
The Prison Service Command Headquarters in particular was relocated on the outskirts of Uyo and occupies a massive land area with modern facilities such as court yards, recreational and sporting facilities, as well as handicrafts and places of worship meant for the comfort of the inmates to enable them become responsible citizens after their discharge from prison confinement.
The Akwa Ibom experience could easily be replicated in Anambra State during the execution of the new master plan for Awka Capital Territory. To be provided are which public squares and parks for people’s relaxation in line with the vision and noble objective of the action and pragmatic Governor Obiano administration in the state.
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