Ten Policies of Ex-Gov. Obiano That Never Received Full Implementation Till He Exited Office

By Izunna Okafor, Awka

It was William Ury who said “When you say that you have a policy, you are signaling that your No is not a one-time message but an ongoing practice to which you have given a lot of thought. It is a signal of resolve, a sign that you will not budge.”

In the light of the above, here highlighted are some of the policies or pronouncements made by the immediate-past government of Anambra State under Chief Willie Obiano, but which were not fully implemented till the expiration of the administration.

Although, critical analysis shows that some of the blames for the unsuccessful implementation of some of these policies are attributable to the citizens, whom, on the other hand, also suffer the negative consequences of the situation those policies had come to solve. 

However, equally-huge chunk of the blames is attributable to the government itself and her implementation strategy, the institution involved, or the law enforcement agencies saddled with the responsibility of implementing those policies; hence the necessity of this piece.

Some of these unsuccessfully implemented policies and pronouncements include, but may not be limited to:

1. Ban on tricycles from plying some major highways in the state:

This ban was repeatedly pronounced due to recurrent road traffic crashes happening on the highways involving tricycles.

However, from the day one of this policy till date, defiant tricyclists still ply the major highways. Some of them even ply one way now, to the extent that one of them brushed down a pedestrian in Awka last week when he (the pedestrian) was trying to run-cross to the other side of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, watching out only for vehicles coming from his left side, while the tricyclist who was speeding to Regina Junction brushed him from the right side, opposite Mobil Filing Station, UNIZIK Junction, in Awka.

Till date, no single security agency is on the road to implement this ban or sanction the offenders.

2. Ban on the use of vehicles with tinted glasses:

This has been a recurrent ban in Anambra State, pronounced almost every year or even more than twice a year (sometimes either by the state government or the Police, or both), but was never fully implemented till date.

The reason could be what George Orwell says in the ‘Animal Farm’ where all animals are equal but some are more equal than others.

3. Ban on vehicles with covered plate numbers:

Almost same as the number 2 above.

4. Ban on touting and illegal revenue collection:

This ban was also recurrent during Governor Obiano's era, but the situation even usually got worse each time the bsn was pronounced.

No confirmed formidable mechanism was put in place to consummately weed out the touts. Hence, they repeatedly operated and made their money till now that the system has changed.

5. Ban on street trading:

Till today, markets in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and other cities in the state present apparent evidences of the failed implementation of this ban, which was also pronounced countless times, especially whenever tragedy occurred.

The reason could be that these hundreds of these petty traders do not have alternative places to do their businesses.

6. Ban on hawking in all streets, major roads and highways in the state:

Same as number 5 above.

7. Policy of restriction of movements till 10.am on the day of monthly environmental sanitation (every last Saturday of the month):

Both those in the urban and rural areas are defaulters of this.

Law enforcement agencies are not regularly seen on the roads enforcing this restriction.

8. Order of closure of fuel stations that have cooking gas plant.

The ex-governor gave this order sometime in December last year when he visited the Tee and Silver Fuel Stations at Boromeo Roundabout, Onitsha, gutted by fire when cooking gas was being discharged at cooking gas plant within the premises of the fuel station. However, it is yet to be fully implemented, as many of those filling stations that have the two still sell gas and fuel till date.

The reason could be that some concerned petroleum dealers are recalcitrant, or probably find it destabilizing to shut down their cooking gas skits. It could also be that no law enforcement agency has gone to question them on why they still since then, in line with the Igbo adage that says “A gbara aka na-azọ ala, onye ji ji ana-akọ̀nyé.”

9. Making Igbo language the official language for communication on Wednesdays, and native wears/cultural attire the official attire for Wednesdays (both among the civil and pubic servants, teachers and school children, and others). Without mincing words, these did not see the light of the day, especially among the civil and public servants. Only school children tried and still try in the aspect of native attire.

10. Ban on construction of five storey building in the state:

Despite this ban, buildings of that length still sprout at different places in the state till date. One is still being constructed right in front of Udoka Housing Estate, Awka. Even the one that collapsed two Thursdays ago at Oba was also a five-storey building.

The reason for unsuccessful implementation of this order could be that the defaulters/developers are simply defiant, or are unjustifiably stingy with land and money, and need only but coercive measures to elicit compliance from them. Cohesion sometimes commands obedience than persuasion. And government needs to understand which of the two will more more efficacious in a particular situation, and which will not.

Having highlighted these, the new Government of Anambra State headed by Prof. Chukwuma Soludo should borrow leaf from these, to know how best to get all or some these policies working and fully implemented. This will also help the government review and understand what hindered the implementation of the above policies and avoid or put adequate mechanisms in place to avert such impediments when rolling out its own policies, in order to record outright success in their implementation.

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Izunna Okafor is an Anambra-based journalist, author and public affairs analyst.