Town Union Governments' are Fillip to national development, the Obosi example

The Supreme Court’s ruling, which gave financial autonomy to the local government areas, will, no doubt, free local government chairmen from the dictatorships of state governors. It cannot be controverted that the state governors’ imposition of councillors and local government chairmen on the people, which is an anti-democratic act, hinders the development of our rural towns. The imposed leaders at the grassroots level are at the beck and call of the governors.

But the financial autonomy granted to the third tier of government will encourage people to participate in politics at the grassroots level, which will aid the development of Nigeria. For example, elected councillors and local government chairmen will perform the functions and duties that devolve to their offices without trying to please overbearing and corrupt governors. And the people will hold them accountable if the council areas are neglected and bereft of modern social amenities.

And in Anambra State, the town union governments, which constitute the political arms of the leaderships in Anambra State’s towns, are offering leadership to the people at the grassroots level in consonance with the constitution of Nigeria and in the spirit of Igbo republicanism. The Obosi town, which is in Idemili North LGA of Anambra State, offers evidential proof that a town union government can be a fillip to national development.

Nobody can gainsay the stark fact that the new Obosi Development Union (ODU) executive, which came into being on August 19, 2023, has recorded giant strides in diverse areas so far.

After the divisive ODU General Election, which polarised the people of Obosi along diverse primordial lines, the Barr. Chimezie Obi-led ODU hit the ground running and carried out measures to restore peace and unity among the Obosi people. And he executed measures that set Obosi on the trajectory of development.

First, he reconciled with his political opponents and included them in the various committees he constituted to oversee the affairs of Obosi. Little wonder, the new ODU Executive has garnered tremendous goodwill and support.

Among the ODU committees he set up is the security committee. The ODU Security Committee led by Sir Dan Igbokwubili has run armed robbers, kidnappers, and fraudsters out of Obosi. No sooner did he assume duties as the head of the ODU Security Outfit than he led security operatives to the hideouts of armed robbers, kidnappers, and fraudsters, which led to their apprehension and prosecution by the police.

And the Obosi Security Team’s continuous patrolling of the Obosi areas has restored order in Obosi and created the atmosphere of tranquilly and peace in Obosi.

Again, the ODU Media and Reorientation Committee, headed by the overseas-based duo of Obi Umegbolu and Obi Egbuonye, has used the instrumentality of the social media platforms to change the people’s negative perceptions about Obosi people.

And more importantly, the Media and Reorientation Committee has created the Obosi.ng, which is the database of Obosi people. It gives information about historical sites and monumental edifices, which are in Obosi.

Another thing we should note about the Obosi.ng website is that it has pieces of information about Obosi cultural festivals and the historical origin of Obosi. The brief biographies of Obosi town’s illustrious sons and daughters can be found on the website, too.

More so, the ODU Skills Acquisition, Empowerment, and Palliatives Committee, under the leadership of Nze Chisom Onugha, has performed creditably so far. Under the Obosi 1 Household, 2 Skills Initiative (OBISEP), trainees for different trades and vocations are being trained by hired trainers who are specialists in their areas of specialisation. The aim of the committee is to reduce the high rate of youth unemployment in Obosi. And a great number of Obosi people have enrolled in the programme.

And we have the ODU Education Committee. The affairs of this committee are directed by Engr. Solormy Ochokwu and Dr. Kene Igboebisi. This committee has been organising educational programmes and competitions in Obosi to revive our youths’ waning interest in education. In addition to offering scholarships to students from poor homes, the committee has been giving school bags, exercise books, and text books to schoolchildren who are in primary and post-primary schools.

Another committee whose existence in Obosi should not be glossed over is the ODU Sports and Fitness Committee. Its chairman is Mr. Chinwendu Okoye. With the financial support of the Obosi Forum UK and Ireland, it revived the abandoned Obosi inter-village football competition. After many years of lull regarding the hosting of the competition, the 2023 Obosi inter-village football competition took place, with Ire village winning the competition. More so, the Sports and Fitness Committee played no small role in Obosi town’s participation in the Anambra State Community Shield Football Competition.

While the ODU Sports and Fitness Committee has registered its presence in Obosi with its organisation of sports competitions, the Environmental, Sanitation, and Green City Committee has been living up to our expectations. The committee, whose chairman is Nze Chijioke Ejindu, has been decluttering our drainage systems and gutters, which are always clogged with debris and refuse. And it has been supervising the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in Obosi town to ensure that the residents of Obosi participate in it.

And the ODU Health and Longevity Committee is not left out in our collective efforts to remake Obosi and make it great again. It has been conducting healthcare outreach programmes to help people find cures for their ailments and diseases. Its dissemination of information about the outbreak of diseases and how to avoid contracting those diseases is beneficial to us.

More so, in response to the Obosi people’s agitation for a steady supply of electricity, the Barr. Chimezie Obi-led ODU Executive inaugurated the Obosi Electricity and Restoration Committee. Members of the committee have been spreading the message about the benefits derivable from our regular payment of our monthly electricity bills instead of offering a bribe to EEDC workers.

And they are working with assiduity to ensure that the people of Obosi will continue to enjoy uninterrupted supply of electricity. Thankfully, now Obosi has witnessed improved electricity supply.

As the Obosi people were basking in the euphoria of the gains of the birth of the Electricity and Restoration Committee, Barr. Chimezie Obi created the Google Map Committee. The committee is charged with the onerous task of ensuring that all Obosi areas are accurately captured online by Google Maps. Seeing Obosi provinces properly designated as areas that belong to Obosi infuses pride in Obosi people. But paucity of money has been hampering the work of this committee, of which the highly venerable Sam Chidoka is a member.

Knowing that the use of a flawed constitution in administering a town cannot yield dividends to that town, the ODU Executive is working relentlessly to set up a constitution review committee. The review of the ODU Constitution, which is long overdue, is aimed at making Obosi people’s cultural, social, and political life be in sync and harmonious with modern realities. It will address the Obosi questions, which have cropped up.

The ODU President General is a democrat who believes that the ODU leadership will function effectively if the principle of inclusivity is used in the ODU administration of Obosi. His adoption of that principle informed his creation of the various ODU Committees, which are performing functions that are pivotal to the development of Obosi and maintenance of law and order in it.

And as the head of the political arm of the Obosi leadership, Barr. Chimezie Obi has been rising up to challenges and/or problems that do crop up in Obosi. For example, when some hoodlums caused a lorry tanker laden with fuel to fall on its side, bursting into flame and obstructing the flow of traffic on the Obosi road, Barr. Obi responded to the distress call put to him.

He has continued to work for the sustenance of peace and unity in Obosi, as exemplified by his call on aspirants for councillors and local government chairmanship posts to eschew bitterness, use of abusive rhetoric, and mudslinging in their politics and electioneering.

And he has continued to consult the stakeholders in the Obosi affairs/projects and eminent Obosi indigenes for guidance regarding matters that are pivotal to the development of Obosi.

The Obosi Development Union (ODU) leadership praxis in diverse areas is proof that Nigeria will achieve rapid national development if it starts practising true federalism.

Chiedu Uche Okoye; Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State: 08062220654. Okoye is a poet.