The well-modulated voice of the pilot roused one from sleep, informing in a soothing manner that the plane was about to land at the ultra-modern Chinua Achebe International Airport, Umueri, Anambra State. I looked out of the window of the airplane to a vast sweep of paradise-like greenery. The plane made a smooth landing, and I joined the melee of passengers to wonder at the first-class facilities at the airport. And if I pride myself as someone given to frequent travelling, the Chinua Achebe Cargo and International Airport should unquestionably rank amongst the best airports in Nigeria. The South-East can also count on revamped Akanu Ibiam International Airport in Enugu, the brand new Chuba Okadigbo Airport in Ebonyi and the inimitable Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri, Imo State. Now this: Abia State is constructing the road and port that will give the South-East the needed access to the sea.
The developments enunciated above, without doubt, bear eloquent testament to the necessity of the bonding together of the South-East geo-political zone.
With the construction and reconstruction of the highways and roads across the South-East, the arteries of commerce can bring together the economic development of the zone as a throwback to the magic worked by Dr Michael Iheonukara Okpara in the Eastern Region of yore.
Getting all the Governors of the South-East States to put the reintegration dream on the front-burner is the vision and mission of the ever resourceful Director-General of the South-East Governors Forum, Senator Uche Ekwunife. She is completely devoted to the cause.
It is indeed remarkable that the responsibility of this epochal development drive is on the able shoulders of dogged administrators who believe in the revivival of the South-East spirit of enterprise. Enugu is bearing witness to the running of potable water in homes. Anambra State has been turned into a sprawling construction site with lush solar lights shining on the roads. Ebonyi State has upped the ante as the food basket of the nation. Abia State has given manufacturing and industry a new lease of life. Imo State is the epicentre of human capital resource. In all, the South-East when put together can drive the core of development in Nigeria.
The kicking-off of the reintegration drive will move the pace of development in the South-East to munificent dimensions. The formative dream of using togetherness to fast-track development is being more than realised to the satisfaction of the vast populace of the South-East. The time is past when people of the South-East took it upon themselves to develop other parts of the country without bothering about their own zone.
Tourism
Tourism can be a launching-pad from Imo State where the Oguta Lake remains a major wonder and the Arondizuogu Ikeji Fiesta is a landmark cultural fest. The shoe and garment industries out of Aba can rival the best in the whole wide world. The rice mills of Ebonyi State can supply Nigeria and the world at large. Enugu State has a ready recall to its reputation as the coal city. Anambra State is constructing Africa’s biggest open drug market at the Oba Open Drug Market and the Pharmaceutical Industrial Park at Ogboji. As Chinua Achebe titled his first collection of essays, it is morning yet on creation day.
The South-East reintegration can be driven via the acronym SMART, to wit, Specific-Measurable-Achievable-Realistic-and-Time-bound. The SMART projects will span the entire infrastructure spectrum, including health, education, roads and bridges, housing and related infrastructure.
It will be incumbent on all people of the South-East to safeguard the projects, particularly those in their communities to ensure that they serve the public for a very long time. Once the people are made to be part of the projects they will protect them with their very lives and willpower.
The South-East has come a long way since the end of the Nigeria-Biafra war in 1970 when the zone was in abject devastation. Nigeria’s then Head of State did make the promise of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction but it was largely through Self-Help that the region eventually stood up to be counted. The spirit of self-help can never die amongst our people, whence the need for the South-Eat reintegration agenda.
The South-East is in fine fettle to gain a comparative edge over other zones of the country now that restructuring is the way to go for most developing nations of the world. The formidable Director-General of the South-East Governors Forum, Senator Uche Ekwunife deserves plaudits for being a bulwark for South-East reintegration, an idea whose time has come
