The Nigerian State is largely absent from the lives of Ogbaru people. Official employment, industry and complimentary infrastructure are also lacking. This is reality for Ogbaru people in a democracy.

Ask an Ogbaruan what is the most pressing problem facing the community and you will hear about the bad Ogbaru road. Ask about the most vexatious issue – and you will be told about the non-existent leadership of Mrs. Callista Nwachukwu, Chairman of the Ogbaru Local Government. In a nutshell, hers is a matter of betrayed trust.

On the issue of lack of infrastructure and existing ones becoming decrepit, Hon. Okwwudili Ojiba Uzoka who is the representative of Ogbaru Federal constituency in the National Assembly and Chairman, House Committee on Solid Minerals in the Federal House of Representatives has continue to appeal to the Federal Government to intervene immediately and solve the problems confronting industries in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State to avoid total collapse. According to him, "most of the industries operated at less than 10 per cent of installed capacity due to problems."

The paradox of Ogbaru is that it is not bereft of people and eminent sons and daughters. It has however, through its own faults failed to speak with one voice and Ogbaruans tend to focus more on personal and individual projects and accomplishment than on collective self-help efforts. This is what has led to the present paralysis and the present call to give the Ogbaru people a voice.

A recent letter sent out by the Ogbaru Development Association (ODA) in which it called for an Ogbaru International Convention on 28 December 2002 aptly captured the spirit of what is wrong with Ogbaru. Signed by ODA President and the Secretary-General Chief Obibulu G.N. Esimai, the message read:

The reason for the Convention is to enable us sit together after a very long absence arising from our individual pursuit of political, economic, and academic goals, and to collectively look inwards with a view to identifying cause or causes of our travails. We shall be doing a disservice to ourselves if we are just given to blaming it all on everyone else. We must brainstorm together, and chart courses of action. In other words, the Convention will afford us a unique opportunity to marshal out ways and means of addressing what has turned into a monumental neglect of the Motherland - neglect caused by ourselves, and those caused by the Government-in-power.

It is encouraging that finally Ogbaruans are finding their voice and becoming proactive, both politically and in matters of dealing with the affairs of the motherland. This is the only way to salvage our collective future and stop those who want to divide and rule Ogbaru, as well as external forces committed to splintering the Ogbaru LGA. And there has been several.

Past Attempts to Divide and Weaken Ogbaru

In the fall of 1999, efforts were made in the Anambra State House of Assembly to split the Ogbaru Local Government Area into two. The proposal made by its Committee on Local Government Creation and Boundary Adjustment was for the creation of 41 new council areas in the state, bringing the total to 62. This move was explained as being pursuant to Section 8 (3) of the 1999 Constitution. The end result would have been creation of 12 new councils in Anambra North Zone, with the Ogbaru counties being Ogbaru North (with headquarters in Okpoko) and Ogbaru South (with headquarters in Ogwu Aniocha). On the face of it the plan looked good. One could have argued that two LGAs within Ogbaru would mean more resources and more development. Not so. And really, not true in a state that does not pay its teachers and other civil servants. The reality also was that most of the industries and the finance base of Ogbaru LGA outside its farming resources were in Okpoko –an area within the Ogbaru jurisdiction but controlled and populated by non Ogbaru indigenes.

One issue that has perhaps woken Ogbaru people from their slumber was the derision with which Mrs Nwachukwu treated Ogbaruans and their collective interest. Though a native of Umunkwo town, Isiala Mbano Local Government, Imo State, she was leading Ogbaru. Also, whereas Ogbaruans voted overwhelmingly for the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) they ended up with a Chairman that was from Alliance For Democracy (AD) -- a minority and sectional party.

If there was any doubt that Mrs Nwachukwu was not accounting for funds destined for servicing Ogbaru’s development it became evident in the summer of 1999. It was thereafter that she was suspended from office over allegations of fraud involving about N300 million. The money was said to represent federal allocation to the local government received between May 1999 and July 2001, for which she had not accounted.

On August 14, 2001, by a resolution passed and signed by 11 of the 15 councilors Mrs Nwachukwu was accused of spending the Council´s fund without approval by the legislative council and refusing to submit the monthly statement of income and expenditure to the council. She was further more accused of unilaterally awarding contracts to her friends, family and cronies, as well as inflating contracts already awarded. One thing was clear though, if past Ogbaru LGA Chairmen who were Ogbaru indigenes had done their job well; there would have been no Callista Nwachukwu. Second, in allegedly appropriating of misappropriating funds meant for Ogbaru development, if she did not have some Ogbaru accomplices and cronies such schemes, which amounted to grand larceny, would not have happened.

It is heartening that the insipient complacency in Ogbaru has not blunted the firebrand awareness of some individuals and especially the women folks in the Ogbaru Women Progressive Union. It was this Union under the leadership of Mrs. Janet Egonu that undertook the task of mobilizing women in every community to rehabilitate their segment of the Ogbaru road. They got NTA Television to record their efforts and bring the plight of Ogbaruans to the rest of the world. They too mobilized the forces against Callista Nwachukwu. After all what a woman can do another woman could also do. They were also behind the novel politically correct idea that Ogbaru interest and unity would henceforth require that Ogbaru to present only one consensus candidate for any political office. This is a worthy cause, and a noble one too. But if the truth be told, Ogbaru has become a victim of its own complacency. It has allowed it cultural laid-back way of doing things to become its bane.

Since Ukpabi Asika, the Administrator of East Central State built the Ogbaru road in the late seventies it has never been fully maintained nor rehabilitated. Yet, every succeeding government uses the road as a scheme for making money and lining the pocket of politicians. There is lack of clarity whether it is a Federal or State road. Every politician since the Second Republic has promised to build the road in order to get Ogbaru votes and in the end nothing happens. At last we were told that while the road had "Federal sympathy" it was still a State road. So the road saga continues.

The latest scheme to use the road to hoodwink Ogbaruans came from the incumbent governor, Dr. Mbadinuju, who believing that Ogbaru Associations in America were raising funds for the rehabilitation of the road, ran off to Ogbaru to prematurely announce the imminent rehabilitation of the road in order to get credit for it later. He went as far as promising to call it the "American Road". When the money from one of the Associations eventually came, it went to churches in five Ogbaru communities and the Governor’s dream of an "American Road" became just what it was, a pipe dream. But this is not the only scheme in which Ogbaru and its people have been shortchanged.

A 1999 article by Bukola Ojeme, in the Abuja Mirror titled "Police recover N.3m cash from detained Perm Sec" detailed how several shady deals including inflation of compensation to owners of land acquired by government for military projects were uncovered by the police. In all, some N420.735 million in fraud was alleged to have taken place in the Ministry of Defense. According to the article, compensation due to the Odekpe Community in Ogbaru LGA of Anambra State was siphoned by one Dr. Makanjuola the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, who asked his Deputy Director (Lands) to process the sums on October 5 1999. It was also reported that all the six payments vouchers were not signed by any of the beneficiary communities, although they were all stamped ‘paid.’ The Odekpe community in Ogbaru LGA of Anambra State was allegedly paid the sum of N51.9 million on 11/10/99. The community was also paid an interest of N41.5 million on 3/11/99, making a total of N93.4 million purportedly paid to that community. Surely, had that N93.4 million been invested in any part of Ogbaru it would go a long way to solve some of Ogbaru’s numerous problems. The fact is, that what was statutorily due to an Ogbaru community was unjustly denied Ogbaruans.

A key question to ask is: Is there oil in Ogbaru and why is it not being explored? This recurring question does not overlook the fact that from the Nigerian experience the presence of oil in any region can be a boom or bane. Pollution and environmental degradation often run on the same track with exploration. But to explore oil there has to be roads and other infrastructure and employment for the locals. Also, while the Federal Government might claim the oil beneath the surface of Ogbaru lands, the landowners might get some compensation. So why is Ogbaru being left in the lurch on the oil deposit and exploration question?

For avoidance of doubt, the answer to the earlier question is in the affirmative. There is oil in Ogbaru. Ausbeth Ajagu writing in This Day of May 7 2002, stated in an article titled "Task Before Anambra State" that "Anambrarians should be united in the call to the Federal Government to start the exploitation of the mineral deposits in the state. In a memorandum I sent to the National Assembly in March 2000 titled "NDDC Bill: A case for Anambra State", I stressed the need for the Federal Government to start the exploitation of oil deposits at Aguleri, Ogbaru and Anam. It will be recalled that Shell Petroleum Company in its adventurous activities in Anambra River Basin in 1972 struck oil and natural gas in commercial quantities." Case closed. Ogbaru has oil deposits, some are said to be close to the surface in areas such a Okpolodum (Atani) while the oil aquifers currently being exploited in part of Rivers and Bayelsa States straddle part of Ogwu-Ikpele, Ogwu-Aniocha and other Ogbaru environs. Reasons for not exploiting these resources are three folds: first, Ogbaru complacency, second, a connivance of skewed national public policies aimed at non-emancipation of States in Igboland and third, prebendal Anambra State politics that stresses divisiveness over unity.

While we can blame others for Ogbaru’s plight how do we plan to the redress the anomalous situation? True, our representative Hon. Uzoka has identified some of the problems facing industrialists in the Ogbaru area to include erratic electricity supply which translates to most of the industries being run on generators; bad roads, lack of water supply, lack of telecommunication and excessive and indiscriminate taxes and levies by local and state governments as other problems. As he also correctly pointed out, "most developed and seriously developing economies of the world derived their real growth and well-being from the activities of medium and small scale industries" Ogbaru, indeed cannot be an exception to this rule of the thumb. Equally, he was correct in noting that since the Ogbaru industrial sector is providing employment opportunities for well over 5,000 Ogbaruans, it catered by extension for over 30,000 members of the immediate Ogbaru society.
Finally, one cannot help but concur with Hon. Uzoka’s postulation that "products of Ogbaru industrial axis are at present distributed throughout the nooks and corners of Nigeria and even beyond. This makes it imperative for the system to self-regulate and put its stamp of quality so that pretty soon, our products would be indelibly inscribed with 'Made in Ogbaru’, as a mark of quality".

Ogbaruans need to look inwards. Our aforementioned complacency arising from our cultural inclination is hamstringing our development. Unity of brotherhood or purpose is not the same as docking hardheaded questions. Also, those who aspire to lead Ogbaru must by design be able to face issues squarely, come up with concrete ideas and notions and be ready to fully implement them without being distracted by accusations of undermining Ogbaru unity. What we need therefore is collective responsible leadership in all quarters.

Such responsible leadership can be individual or collectivized leadership, but one that aspires to promote common interest of all concerned through the entrenchment of a purposeful government that lays emphasis on good governance, transparency and accountability. In a democracy – even in a rural and local government setting like Ogbaru -- this entails also the recognition that political power derives from the governed.

The first step we must take is to avoid charlatans and usurpers to the throne. In this context, any Ogbaruan or Ogbaru LGA Chairmanship contenders, must subscribe fully to the respect and resort to the rule of law under any circumstance. In a democratic process, there must be an abiding commitment to respect and promote the separation of powers accorded to the various arms of government. Each must be allowed to fully exercise its functions and mandate. No arm of government can deem itself more important than the other and still claim to be responsible, and alive to its statutory mandate.

In Nigeria the Civil Service has and remains an integral part of any responsible leadership. The sobriquet of AGIP - any government in power – given to civil servants underscore their importance and relevance. Ogbaru must aspire to get more Ogbaruans into the civil service and more so, make them responsible for running Ogbaru institutions, including schools and health centers. Where and when the civil service becomes indolent or is rendered inefficient as is now often the case in Nigeria, Ogbaru LGA included, the corporate body of that entity concerned suffers.

Ogbaruans must eschew the Igbo penchant of kowtowing to moneybags for political offices. This also applies to those with individual agendas of enriching themselves instead of serving Ogbaru. While there is the rule or requirement that public employees such as civil servants, teachers, police, soldiers, and chiefs may not actively engage in elective politics --this restriction removes 75 percent of the politically sophisticated population from practical politics -- Ogbaru has many retired qualified people in these cadres who could be persuaded to serve in the long-term interest of Ogbaru.

Finally, considerable emphasis needs to be placed on community development, public awareness activities directed by and directed at women and children for they are the backbone of any society. Today the local Ogbaru women are more proactive than the male counterparts in matters of community development including the enhancement of the role of churches as a social vehicle for development and progress. The Ogbaru women have already shown their mettle, but they need more support. Their travails is our collective problem.

Copyright © 2002 The Ogbaruan

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