"AMA Greenfield is a watershed, vote of confidence", Governor Nnamani
Governor Chimaroke Nnamani spoke to a Champion newspaper team on his administration's appreciation of the Ama project and contributions to it. He spoke also about the government's industrial package and the security situation in the state. His views are revealing. Excerpts:

How do you feel about the establishment of the Ama plant of Nigerian Breweries Plc?

I feel good. I feel great. I feel very satisfied. It is a watershed investment. Nigeria has never witnessed such a monumental project by a single investor. It is the realization of a dream. You can say it is a dream come true.

For a long time, the Southeast zone has suffered a setback due to the absence of industries of this magnitude. Now, there is something our people can look at and feel belonging to a nation they have given so much to, but which is yet to give back to them in commensurate measure.

What does the plant mean to you personally, and to the state?

The Ama project means confidence in our system. It means reassurance that all is well in Enugu State. It means that Enugu is secure. It means that Enugu can provide the enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

The Ama project is an example to many other multinationals, that bringing their business to Enugu State will be rewarding. The Ama project is a trail-blazing project. It is a project that will serve as a model to many others.

Is it true that some other "big" companies are planning to establish branches of their plants in the state also? If so, what is the possible explanation for the sudden invasion (if you permit that expression) of the state?
It is not entirely correct that the coming of other companies is "sudden" as you described it. No; it is not.

You know, planning takes quite some time. The companies you referred to have been planning. It is only now that the projects are about to be realized that people are talking about them. In any event, some of them have been here; they are only talking about expansion.

Yes, I can confirm to you that many more of such projects are coming. They may not be as gigantic, but we are happy about the development. They mean a lot to the economic wellbeing of the state and to our people.

What has the government done in the area of provision of infrastructural facilities to support the industries?

First of all, the government makes sure that there is little or no community restiveness. There is a road network; there is electricity with transformers, and so on.

As a matter of fact, we are still building new roads in parts of the state in spite of our lean resources, because we have remained focused on what we want to achieve.

We are also doing what we call Ebe-Ano 9th Mile By-Pass road project which is a road connecting the brewery area directly to the Enugu-Onitsha Road coming out at the toll gate. That will help a lot in the movement of traffic in that area.

In terms of support facilities, with respect to industries that will benefit from the Ama plant or from which the plant will benefit, what are you doing to revive or resuscitate abandoned or ailing government-owned industries, and to build new ones? Do you plant to privatize them?

A lot of our industries, at the time of the military hand-over, were entangled in all sorts of agreements. It is taking us some time to disentangle those companies.

But still, we have revitalized some of them: The Nike Lake Hotel is doing well, now under the management of Protea - a South-African based company. The Presidential Hotel is doing well also. So is
Sunrise Four doing well too.

But there are still areas we need to look at, like Niger Gas, Niger Steel, and a few others. When we came on board we planned to put all the ailing industries on their feet again. But this has not completely worked out, primarily because of funds.

Actually, what we met on the ground was quite different from what we had imagined the situation to be. We have since realized that it is one thing to dream dreams or see visions, but another thing to implement them.

I believe that with time we will get all the entangled companies working again, either through privatization or through management leases.

What I have just said is what has affected our plans for new industries. For instance, the planned cement industry in the state is one such dreams which have been stalled by lack of funds. In fact, we did send a business delegation to China for that purpose, and they also came here and did some surveys. But we have not progressed beyond that point.

The picture being painted about the security situation in the state is frightening. Will this not discourage investors from coming into the state?

I think the question has even been answered. There is no way Heineken will invest N40 billion in a state that is not secure. No other state has attracted more single investment to this country. So, I believe this is a vote of confidence, that all is well in Enugu State.

What I am saying is that Enugu State is secure and calm. That is why people are coming to invest in it. It will be unwise to invest in a place that is insecure.

I admit that security is not 100 percent, but it is not what detractors would want people to believe. The influx of people into Enugu, especially at weekends is a clear evidence that Enugu is peaceful and secure. That makes it the place to be - Ebe-ano. On Thursdays and Fridays, for instance, the aircraft coming into Enugu are fully booked. You can hardly find empty seats in them. And the same happens on Mondays as the people leave Enugu back to their destinations.

I can assure you that Enugu is quiet. Whatever happens here in terms of insecurity is not isolated. It is part of what is happening throughout the country. We are doing our best to improve on what we already have. We can do better than what is in place now.

There is a lot of unemployed people, and a lot of cultists too. That is why there is crime in all parts of the country. But we are assisting the police with logistics to contain the situation. The police need vehicles, communications equipments and gadgets. They need more men also. Apart from assisting the police, we advise our people to, as much as possible, keep off the roads at late hours; especially those with flashy and sophisticated cars.

You have just mentioned unemployment as a cause of crime. While it is given that the Ama plant will generate employment, but apart from that plant, how are you tackling the problem of unemployment and poverty?

Enugu State is a leader in the area of poverty reduction, recognized internationally by organizations such as DFID, UNICEF. We are one of the few organizations in the Third World, in fact in the emerging democracies that has completed its poverty reduction strategy.

We have already started our work on poverty reduction, through our neighborhood associations, schools meals programme, through the community development co-ordinating council, through health and human services, which is a relationship between health and education.

Part of our poverty reduction strategy includes wealth creation, micro-credits, access to justice, aggressive infrastructural development in the rural areas. We are a leader in that area. We feel fulfilled here in Enugu State. We have been able to put our ideas together to tackle the major problem facing us, which is poverty.

It took us four years to realize that poverty was the issue; be it mercantilism, be it fraudulent activities, or any other vice, they are all centered on poverty. Indeed, the palaver in Nigeria is poverty.

In our effort to tackle poverty we built about 500 kilometers of asphalt roads, established 24 cottage hospitals and built boreholes to supply water to rural communities and spread them across the state.

Also, in Enugu State education is free up to JSS 3. we have been able to do these things through the N500 million we receive monthly from the Federation Account. We built a Law School single-handedly and handed it over to the Federal Government. We also reconstructed federal roads in Enugu because they affect us more; and passed on the bill to the Federal Government for refunds.

We have also infused into Enugu about N200 billion in the past few years. We hired 2,000 teachers, and we have been paying our workers almost promptly. We have paid them to August this year. So the only outstanding salary arrear is that of September.

We have articulated a Poverty Reduction and Human Development Programme for the state, through a separate ministry - the Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction.

Why this sudden realization and interest in poverty?

It is not sudden. We have been on it for a long time. Remember I told you it has taken us four years. It is not sudden.
Our Community Development Councils (CDC) are the ones being used by DFID. Enugu State will be about the only state (in Nigeria) that would benefit from DFID development programme and funds.

There are many roads that are crying for attention in Enugu (city). When will the cries stop, to give the city deserved face lift, befitting its status as the (political) capital of the East?

That is not unusual. When you go round other cities in Nigeria, you still have roads crying for attention. We are just coming out of the rainy season. We have had problems with drainage. Once the rains abate, we are going to pay more attention to our roads.

But you will also notice that we have had road repairs in the Independence Avenue with drainages. We have work on-going on Presidential Road. We have done roads around Okpara Square.

Enugu is much better now than other cities in that regard. In fact, no government in the country has done more asphalt roads than we have. The data are there for verification.

Let us return to the Nigerian Breweries Ama Plant. How did you realize the importance of the project to embrace it, when it was mooted?

It did not take me a second to realize the importance of the investment in Enugu. The interest of the investors in Enugu is a result of democracy in the country. There is also trust in the leadership of the state.

For one thing, Enugu State is also well positioned for the project. We are only trying to keep the flag flying. When you remember the antecedents of Enugu as the capital of Eastern Nigeria, the fastest growing economy in those days, and the industries sited around it, then you will understand why Enugu is well positioned.

To demonstrate the importance we attach to the project, the Enugu State government is building a N300 million By-pass through the Enugu-Onitsha Road to the Ama Greenfield, to decongest the 9th Mile Corner (that's the Ebe-Ano By-Pass I spoke about earlier). We are also providing security to the area. We are doing quite a lot.

Enugu has a heritage left by past leaders, like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Dr. M. I. Okpara, among others. It will sound pretentious if I say that I was inspired by these leaders to go into governance. But if you consider that I sleep in the same room that Okpara slept in, and see on daily basis the portraits of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Akanu Ibiam, Chief Eyo Ita, etc, then you will understand the inspiration and challenges that I get every day.

Apart from building roads to open up the hinterlands, we have established Community Business Organisations (CBOs) and formalized neighbourhood associations. We will use these associations to open up economic activities and for micro-financing. These are innovations we have introduced to stimulate small-scale industries and development at the grassroots.

There is regional re-awakening going on, and Enugu is feeling the impact as more people now want to reside and do business in Enugu. Economic activities are increasing daily, and you can notice it with the small attachments erected in existing structures.

We may not like them (attachments) because they deface the city, but we have to allow them to survive, while we embark on providing alternative areas for them. There is pressure on Enugu metropolis, and that is why we are opening up layouts in areas that are about five minutes away from the city.

There is one planned for Ituku to provide for workers of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, and others that would reside there. There is another one close to the 9th Mile Corner, to carter for the area including the Nigerian Breweries and other ancillary industries that would spring forth as a result of the presence of the big industry.

Is there anything about personal relationship that made the Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Festus Odimegwu to bring the plant to Enugu State?

We can relate to Mr. Odimegwu. As you may well know, Mr. Odimegwu is in pursuit of excellence. We in Enugu State are also in pursuit of excellence. Mr. Odimegwu is a symbol of the totality of man's desire to achieve optimal excellence, and we share that vision. So, in that way, we do have a personal story to tell.

END.

The Champion, Wednesday, October 22, 2003