Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has said that upon the massive developments that are going on in Anambra State in the last three years, he has not borrowed a kobo from any financial institution.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Lagos, where he presented his score card in the last three years, he said that though Anambra is among the least with regards to the allocations coming from the Federal Government, he has been very frugal in the management of resources.
According to him, his vision was to make Anambra a destination centre instead of a departure lounge.
He said that a lot of wealthy Anambra indigenes now use the state as a place where they return for burial rather than a place to live.
Speaking further, he said what he is doing is to turn the state into a mega city that would be attractive to people in the diaspora to live and work.
“The vision of my administration is to make Anambra State a destination centre instead of a departure lounge. We are like the Jews. Before the holocaust, the Jews were prosperous and scattered everywhere but without a homeland. But after the holocaust, they decided to have a homeland, a place that they could call their own and that led to the present State of Israel. Anambra people in the same vein are prosperous and scattered all over the world. They use their home state only as where they return to at death, a burial place. But, I want to change that narrative. I want to build a liveable place for the people of Anambra State. It is also a personal vision for me because at the end of the day, I want to retire to Anambra State.”
On the incessant misunderstanding between Igbo and their host communities in diaspora, the governor said that as itinerant people, there would always be clashes between settlers and the owners of the land, adding that this is not particular to the Igbo.
He said that what is important is that settlers should be thinking home and working towards having a place they would proudly call their own just as the Jews have done.