“As one of the leading stakeholders from Nnewi South LGA, I am very knowledgeable about the activities of other stakeholders, especially the antecedents of past commissioners from the LGA.”
Let me reproduce the eloquent response from Greg Obi before concluding my comment. Please, see below.
Lest falsehood becomes the truth and ignorance wisdom
Of late I came across a disparaging write up in this forum by one CHUMA OKAFOR done in March this year regarding what I was able to do for the community. I have never met this fellow and I do not know if writes for himself and others but the insults and innuendos in the write up cannot go unanswered otherwise lies become the truth and ignorance wisdom . For starters I will list the projects I brought to the town as follows :
1. ROADS. A 3.4 kilometer road from Orie Utuh through Akwuata to Court was one of the first roads awarded and completed by OBIANO administration— The governor did this at a time when he had not carried out a single project in Aguleri because I requested him to do so.
2. ELECTRICITY. Based on my influence Utuh town was connected to 33kva industrial electricity line direct from Awada Onitsha and OBOSI with resultant effect that electricity supply is now the same as what Awada and OBOSI enjoy. Not heard of since the days of Jim Nwobodo. But of course you must pay for your consumption or NEPA disconnects you.
3. STREET LIGHTS. From Nwanyiocha road to Orsumenyi and Orie Utuh to court. Many communities do not have this.
4. EROSION CONTROL. I put Utuh/Okpo erosion on the to do list of world bank— it is only a question of time and world bank will step in and save Utuh. However to prevent more houses/ roads from collapsing before the world bank starts in Okpo village, ANAMBRA state carried out intervention last year/early this year that involved drainages on both sides of the road (more than one kilometer ) ;construction of box culverts and filling of erosion gullies to reclaim motor able road. Similar erosion control works and channelization were also carried out in umueze village to bring the people relief.
5. 5 brand new transformers were brought to the town
6. A brand new court building was added to the existing Ugwu Nkenu court. This can be furnished and upgraded to magistrate court
7. Two separate ultra modern shopping plazas were constructed in Orie market
8. Perimeter fencing in Utuh high school was done
9. World class hostel was built in Utuh technical
10. EMPLOYMENT. Over 10 people were hired directly by me or as political appointees either by state government or local government including a lawyer in ministry of justice. Over 12 street sweepers from various villages were put on government payroll to help out their families.
11. Renovation of St Stephens primary school Omaebo etc
12. The records of all the above projects with their costs are in the various state ministries but I can assure you that Utuh as a community benefited more than any other under OBIANO Like my father before me I served Utuh well . The records above speak for themselves.
In the case of my father he was among the first to be educated in Utuh and its environs( it is on record he went from house to house pulling every child of school age to start school after convincing their parents of course). He was a pioneer evangelist for the Catholic Church and succeeded alongside some notable others in routing out paganism from the town with the resultant effect that 99.9% of Utuh people are Roman Catholic Christians . Only about 3 or 4 families go to CMS . It was so in his day and that remains like that to this day.
In politics he was a pioneer councilor that represented Utuh and Mbanese. Leveraging on all these positions and being close to white people that ruled the day ( priests and District officers) he was able to attract following landmark projects to Utuh —-built a church for Utuh when Orsumenyi and Amichi and other surrounding towns were celebrating Sunday masses in classrooms and conducting some church services under mango trees; attracted a maternity home at Omaebo- that is cited for the most part on our family land and most Utuh people 60 years and below were born at this maternity home ; attracted the Ugwu NKENU court and dispensary house and all the road networks that transversed Utuh. It was the Lord Almighty that lifted him up to achieve all these things but what is sad is that in death he was vilified by the same people that benefited from his works. It was only in NNEWI Town that you could see such things as listed above and Utuh was the envy of its neighbors with its health care facilities , schools ; church and judicial system.
By the Grace of God Almighty who lifts people up and lowers them down as He chooses I was made anambra state commissioner ( 50 years after my father’s leadership) first in finance for one year and then commissioner of local govt for 7 years. ANAMBRA state was not my father’s property neither was it my birth right to be there for eight years . If you can’t perform you get thrown out within a year. Politics is that brutal.
Instead of bemoaning Greg Obis’s “inadequacies” CHUKWUMA OKAFOR and his like minded co- travelers that have eyes but cannot see—these deniers of realty should rather bemoan the opportunity for unparalleled greatness which the town lost because of petty jealousy and “fire eye” from high and low in the community. A quote that comes to mind is that a house divided against itself cannot stand — the community could not come together as one to push and wrestle what could have been theirs.
The coast is now clear for CHUKWUMA and his cohorts to put in a Commissioner of their choice and may be even a minister who can tar every road in UTUH including the roads that lead to their fathers compound and employ every Utuh person and in short do all those things that Greg Obi is accused of not doing
Do not just bemoan get up and do it — The road is clear for you.
But in all these things a question that begs an answer is “whose loss was it anyway “
From the narrative of fifty years ago , Orsumenyi and Amichi have long surpassed Utuh by all measures of financial and economic indices. What is holding down Utuh Mba dike the land of the brave ? . I will still say “ envy, petty jealousy and fire eye” and lack of appreciation of things done by public spirited individuals for the community. How much progress can you make as a person or community when you deny the things your eyes can see. ?Previous commissioners from Utuh did their work and went home with little or nothing to show in the town. Compare and contrast with over 10 tangible projects brought to Utuh under my watch .
The town needs to confront it’s past and present in order to shape a better tomorrow for our children.
Our better days are yet to come devoid of envy and jealousy fueled by ancient grudges. We pray that some day that shall come to pass but right now we have a long way to go.
As a second generation scion of Obi family I have done my part so go and do your own. I have shown you what my father did in his days and what I have done myself so show me your own. That way the town will develop like its neighbors where people are competing with one another to build roads etc with their private money or is it that Utuh lacks people with capacity but yet cannot appreciate what has been done for them free of charge.
Long live Utuh Mba Dike the land of the brave!!!
Greg Obi
Hon Egwuoyibo continues below:
How I wish all commissioners from Nnewi South extraction had or would record such achievements within and outside their various communities , Nnewi South would be a better place today.
Please if in doubt of the above records, kindly visit Utuh and see things for yourself, thereafter, disregard any malicious and disparaging statement coming from any indigenous person of Utuh in respect of government patronage during Hon Greg Obi ‘s tenure as commissioner.
Before him were three commissioners of Utuh extraction, compare and contrast their various achievements and come to terms with issues as stated by Greg himself.
I come In Peace ✌?
Egwuoyibo Okoye
Owaza
July 4, 2022 at 4:18 pmGood evening ndi Utuh.
I want to respond to the fwdd post of the former Hon Commissioner by our brother Sir KC Ofoma.
I am writing this response with a sense of purpose which is devoid of rancor bcuz I was mentioned indirectly.
I want you all to read it with an open mind in other to understand it well and you can go for verification to ascertain the factual truth.
However, I will start from where he started.
Road.
The 3.4km road from Orie Utuh through Akwuata to Ugwu Nkenu.
I was also there on the day it was flagged off at Orie Utuh. I remember that the road was said to move from Orie Utuh via Akwuata to Ugwu Nkenu and it was also said to move from Orie Utuh via Igwe’s Palace and Utuh High School to Amichi.
Since you said that the road is completed, is this part of the same road project from Orie Utuh via Igwe’s Palace and Utuh High School to Amichi even graded?
The axis from Ichie R.I.O Ofoma junction to Ugwu Nkenu is of very poor standard.
I know you were neither the client nor the contractor but as onye Utuh, did you for a day inspected that road since you claimed that it was you who attracted that project and no longer our Bishop?
Electricity.
You said you attracted a 33kva industrial power line to Utuh.
Sir, the power line was meant for Nnewi South and not for Utuh in particular bcuz the electricity line is connected to up to 8 or all the 10 communities in Nnewi South.
After the the line was drawn to Utuh, the installers demanded an isolator which you refused procuring and you told Onwughalu to source money elsewhere but it was Chief Amobi Ikeh later procured it for ndi Utuh.
Na kwa echeki.
Streetlight.
The streetlights wasn’t only installed in Utuh but in all the 177 communities in Anambra state.
The generator situated at Utuh center suffered the most because of overload. It served:
A. From center to Orie Utuh.
B. From center to Utuh High School junction Amichi.
C. From center to Eke Osumenyi.
D. From center to Ama Nnaalu Ebenator.
It breaksdown every two weeks till it packed up last year.
Ask the contractors cum operators if in doubt.
Erosion.
I am aware that the world bank has worked on Okpo village erosion site long before you became a commissioner. I also know that the word bank have Okpo village erosion site in their manifest. So I wonder how you included it there as one of your achievements in Utuh.
If you are in doubt juo ndi Okpo village.
5 New Transformers.
Before the arrival of these transformers, Utuh had about 9 transformers already existing.
Anambra state government gave transformers to all the 177 communities in the State. Remember the state gave us 5 and federal government gave us 3 which were facilitated by Hon. C.I.D Mmaduabu who was member Federal House of Representatives Representating Nnewi South, Nnewi North and Ekwusigo federal constituency which made it 8 new transformers in total received.
The chairman tenders board Mr. John Ulasi Umuehim was sent to Awka to collect the 5 transformers allocated to us by the state. I remember he disclosed he saw only 4 transformers and that one grew winds and flew away from Awka of which you were aware of that development. The transformer is still missing till today.
May you remember that you ordered that one 500kva from the 4 transformers, be installed at maternity and the good and serving 300kva that was there be removed. Your order was carried out by the chairman of the tenders board and the contractors. May I remind you that the 300kva that was removed got missing and it is still missing till today.
On the electricity billing you mentioned.
The EEDC proposed transformer prepaid metering as against the usual community billing to UDU which was rejected by Fabian led administration.
This was also tabled to you by the PG Bar. Fabian Onwughalu on our stand but you sided EEDC and ordered for the installation of the meters on the transformer.
Note that it was only 5 transformers out of the rest of the transformers in Utuh that were metered and energized.
The prepaid metering later became a problem to ndi Utuh, the youth asked you about it when you came for your party’s campaign but you quickly and wrongfully blamed it on Onwughalu while it was entirely you fault because you are Eze onye agwanam.
Mr. Emmanuel Okeke who was a court clerk in onitsha was sent to Utuh by the court as a the clerk of Ugwu Nkenu court so he is one of the pioneers of the Ugwu Nkenu court, he was also one of the first Elites Utuh had because he could interpret the spoken English of the nwa DC to Igbo.
During the era of the early missionaries in Utuh, we had the likes of Ezike Ijezie of Umunno and co who were the first people that welcomed the missionaries in Utuh.
Amichi was the first community to have had a structure called church which made it then our district headquarter, Amichi also housed the district priest Rev Fr Kettel. The district was under Umuahia diocese then. For the records Anglican was the first church that came to Utuh.
Ume ATUEYI of UMUEZE, ANYAEGBU of Nkete and co donated their lands on which St Peter Cleaver’s Catholic church stands today and the cemetery inclusive.
Dominic Okonkwo Asom of Nkete, Odikaesieme Okoli of Nkete and co were Carpenters by then. It was these men that cut down Iroko, Ngwu, and other big trees down with their primitive tools, they saw those tree trunks into various sizes which they used in building doors windows and the roof of the demolished old church structure for free.
I think your father was a catechist if I can remember clearly.
From this brief history, I wonder how your father became the pioneer of Ugwu Nkenu court and the Catholic Church in Utuh.
The two plazas at Orie Utuh were not facilitated by you because it was government community name your project which all the 177 communities in Anambra state got theirs.
You were in charge of those projects thus I ask you,
why was it that at the end of your 7yrs appointment in office Utuh had only 2 projects while Amichi, Ukpor and some other towns got like 3, 4 to 5 projects done in their communities?
You were also in charge of our state LGA federal allocation for 7yrs, of which the total you received under Nnewi South LGA may have ran into hundreds of billions if not trillions during your stewardship and Utuh ended up getting only ₦40m worth of project, is that amount rightly due to Utuh in your 7yrs in office?
I want to remind you that the perimeter fencing and the renovation of classroom blocks at Utuh High School were also done with the said ₦40m Utuh got from your office in 7yrs as community name your project.
Do you know that Maja Umeh of Amichi facilitated the appointments of more than 30 Amichi indigenes as SAs, SSAs and co and many others into the state and federal government ministries?
And You bragged that you facilitated the appointments of 10 ndi Utuh as SAs and EAs, oga this is not human capital development but the inclusion of our daughter into the ministry of justice is.
Because you mentioned some past commissioners who from Utuh as in comparison with you.
Nwannaa ñaa nti,
they did much better than you in human capital development, they absorbed many ndi Utuh in their ministries and today those beneficiaries are giving back to Utuh. Jee juo ase.
An illustrious son Chief Joe Atueyi of Umuehim, Joe about some years ago single handedly built a gigantic classroom block at Omaebo primary school opposite your house, and what you did was to removed the roof of the old classroom block about 3yrs ago and refuse to reroof it.
And you said you renovated Omaebo primary school.
Diaris God o!
You said that The birth of Utuh maternity was one of your father’s legacy in Utuh.
Why is it in such a sorry and dilapidated state while it shares same fencing with your mansion in Utuh?
While you were in office, did you attend UDU CRA meeting for once to say the less of you addressing your beloved ndi Utuh?
During the covid 19 lockdown, the federal government ordered all government appointees to go to their communities and meet with their people to sensitize them on covid 19 measures, but you never came to Utuh during that period and you never gave even ndi umunna gi palliative.
But we are proud of the likes of Hon. Chukwdalu Anyaogu bcuz he did what he could for his people as an appointee during the covid 19 lockdown.
The one and only time you came to address ndi Utuh (youth wing) was during electioneering period, you came to solicit their votes for your party candidates and I know the Hiroshima missiles they threw at you will always be evergreen in your memory whenever you see any Utuh youth.
You said “….. I have shown you what my father did in his days and what I have done myself so show me your own”
This Statement is boastful, egotic and childish and shouldn’t have come out from person like you.
But I mustn’t cease to tell you that in summary you and your father did so little or nothing for ndi Utuh in comparison to our heroes past, the likes of Chief E. O Ikeh who single handedly brought Government Technical School Utuh irrespective of his level of education.
Lastly, you said something about Utuh lagging behind her sister towns.
The most likely reason is that long time ago a wise man from Utuh said
“i fu onye Utuh mmiri na eri, were ogugu dumie ime ka…….”
I hope you Gerrit but if you don’t fogerit.
Lest I forget, I saw this said post from commissioner in Nnewi South Square where he posted it himself. And in summary the general response ndi Nnewi South gave to him was that he scored one over twenty {1/20} which means he failed woefully.
All those facts I stated above are true and verifiable and some can be backed up with hard copies.
Daalu nu.
#Agbalusia Ngene
?
Akaeze Linus Emeka
July 5, 2022 at 8:16 amEnough of all these baldadash, how do you come about of all these falsification of facts and figures?? Be grateful for the little things that comes your way so that big things can follow, all the mudslides on the person and personality of the Hon. Greg Obi are absolutely uncalled for, if anybody feels he can do better, the terrains are still there and open, whenever your expectations of anybody is so high you are bound to be disappointed and you will be blinded to see whatever good that comes your way. Please all these rancor, acrimony and antagonisms must stop so that we can together build our town, Utuh, I thank God for our heroes past and present, my humble opinion please. Akaeze Linus Emeka
Gerald
July 6, 2022 at 2:32 pmDOZIE OKONKWO masquerading as “Agbarusia NGENE” and his paymasters have gone overboard with lies and falsification of facts in Utuh.
Simply put, concerned Utuh people are wondering whether he and his paymasters are referring to the same community they are living in or another strange town.
When a man denies the existence of the tarred road he walks on or mistakes electricity for moonlight you know that all is not well. As crazy and removed from reality as DOZIE’s disjointed rantings were the facts remain as follows:
(1). The governor visited Utuh many times during his tenor at the invitation of the commissioner. On his first visit the Commissioner requested the governor to build Orie UTUH-Akwuata- to court road 3.4 kilometers and the governor agreed. Work started soon after. On his second visit two year’s later our honored bishop requested the governor for Nkete AMICHI road and the governor also said yes. Two separate requests two years apart. Akwuata road has been done as approved by the Governor. Nkete road promised the bishop remains despite the efforts of the Commissioner to get it done. Though, Utuh still has the opportunity to get this road even without the commissioner there. All you have to do is ask and it shall be done for you
(2).The 33kva electrification from Awada to provide UTUH better electricity. How childish it is to argue that because other communities in NNEWI south benefited that it was not Utuh project.
The commissioner lobbied for the project and it was done and you are arguing other communities shouldn’t have benefited too that it should only be Utuh. What a depraved logic.
(3). On street light projects, the lie that 177 communities ( though, Anambra has 179 COMMUNITIES) benefited therefore it is nothing special is pathetic . Half the communities in ANAMBRA state do not have street lights as we speak including many communities in the former governor’s senatorial zone.
What Utuh is enjoying is the result of intensive lobbying by the former commissioner .
(4). Erosion intervention projects done in Utuh in the last one year.
The intervention in Okpo and Umueze villages to save houses and roads linking Utuh, Ebenator and Osumenyi was done by the ministry of local government at the commissioner’s initiative. This has nothing to do with the world bank. Pictures of before and after are available and have been posted here on this platform.
About NEWMAP AND WORLD BANK, there are over 900 active erosion sites on the world bank list. The commissioner put Okpo/UTUH on their priority list. Every site in ANAMBRA is on the list but work is selected from the priority list where the commissioner has placed UTUH .
5. Court house at Ugwu Nkenu. An Ezinifite man posted a picture of the brand new courthouse to prove to Utuh people the court building is there.What a pity. Some People have eyes but cannot see.
6. The legacies and contributions of late Emmanuel Obi is a matter of verifiable historical oral and written records of Utuh. DOZIE’s sick attempt to lie about historical figures makes you wonder who is paying him to make caricature of his sorry self.
(7). About the alleged missing transformer: untill Dozie, provides a documented proof of the missing transformer, anyone believing him is as guilty as the person peddling lies without proof.
Moreover, he chose to ignore other projects listed by the Commissioner, yet failed in his obsessed attempt at discrediting him for attracting those projects to UTUH.
Again, let’s recall that the Commissioner has stated in his account that these projects are verifiable, so one wonders why Dozie rushed with a vague rejoinder filled with bitterness to counter the claims in the original account of the Commissioner without first, providing prove of his enquiry from the relevant ministries.
At the Nnewi South forum, other communities are aggrieved that the projects were not evenly spread but concentrated in UTUH yet Dozie and his paymasters are here denying their existence. The facts are there for Utuh people to verify.
The claim that other communities in the local Govt did not benefit is just not true. The 33kva line spread through other communities, erosion control benefited other communities in the Local govt and the 20 million community project which was the initiative of the commissioner with of course the approval of exco and the governor was midwifed and supervised by the ministry of local govt. Those familiar with the workings of the past administration can tell you who made the program the success it was. Utuh alongside all communities benefited from the commissioners stellar performance in this area. Previous attempts through MDG projects failed woefully but through the past commissioners initiative ANAMBRA 20 million choose a project became a success story and a model for other states to emulate.
Commissioner did all these, sincerely because of his love for Utuh and not because he has any political interest whatsoever as he has no interest in any elective position. He is simply a Technocrat.
Ndi Utuh, let us not allow ungrateful hearts and misguided elements in our midst to continue spreading lies. Our heroes, both past, present and the future must be respected and honored. Denial of reality cannot change facts or history rather the soundness of mind of those that engage in such should be questioned by all.
This is the time for a sober reflection.
God bless and keep Utuh MBADIKE.