I was against the renaming of ABAKILIKI street in OKA the Capital of ANAMBARA State, but what makes me more angry is now the epileptic defense of the Government on it .
In a knee jerk reaction of the Government, which was signed by the CPS and I quote
"ABAKILIKI STREET STILL EXISTS IN AWKA.
The Chairman of Awka South Local Government Area, Mr Leo Nwuba has confirmed that contrary to the recent uproar in the media over the renaming of Abakaliki Street in Awka, the Awka Capital City had long designated another street to be named Abakaliki Street within the Capital City.
The new Abakaliki Street runs from Club Road, across Queen Suites to Enugu-Onitsha Expressway at the Parktonia Hotel end of the road. The street has clear signs identifying it as Abakaliki Street on both ends.
Mr Nwuba expressed surprise that there was no attempt to balance the story of the renaming of the street with the announcement that another street had been also renamed as Abakaliki Street.
Explaining that the renaming of the former Abakaliki Street as ‘Club Road’ was part of the on-going efforts to interpret the Awka City Master Plan, the Council Chairman revealed that the plan was being tweaked to fit things into their proper places.
Mr Nwuba expressed shock that anyone could have read a malicious meaning into the renaming of the street and quickly dismissed the speculation that it was an attempt to discriminate against anyone as false.
Throwing more light on the development, Mr James Eze, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Anambra regretted that the renaming of the street had been given a wrong interpretation by some people.
"Governor Obiano is the last man to put down a fellow human being let alone his own Igbo brothers. It is totally inconceivable that anyone could assume that the renaming of Abakaliki Street was done with an intention to spite anyone. The question to ask is, to what purpose, really?” queried Mr Eze.
According to him, "Governor Obiano has always been clear about what he wants to do about the new Awka Capital City. The former Abakaliki Street and the surrounding area have been designated as the entertainment hub of the city. That is where you have the largest concentration of entertainment hangouts. It is also a part of the city that never sleeps. We have a 24 hours life there. Government has provided adequate security, streetlights, road markings and everything that would encourage a 24 hours life in that axis. That district is gradually evolving into what might be called the Las Vegas of Nigeria especially on Friday nights,” Eze further explained.
He revealed that when there was an effort to rename the old Abakaliki Street as ‘Willie Obiano Avenue', the Governor had quickly turned it down because he wanted the streets within that entertainment circuit to bear names that reflect the offerings of the area.
"He is meticulous about what should be where. That is why he has mapped out an area that would be known as the Central Business District within the capital. Other areas are also being carved out and properly designated. So, there is really no such thing as an attempt to discriminate against anyone in Governor Obiano’s plan.
To underscore Governor Obiano's openness to all, Mr Eze explained that recently, the Governor announced that he had set aside the sum of N765m for commercial motorcyclists in the state to enable them replace their motorcycles with shuttle buses following the policy to restrict them from operating in Awka and Onitsha respectively.
"The beneficiaries of this loan are indigenes of the five states in the South East, Delta and Kogi State who are mostly involved in the motorcycle transport business in Anambra State. This kind of initiative cannot come from a governor who has any intention to discriminate against people,” Eze further explained.
He wondered why anyone would associate Governor Obiano with discrimination of any type, pointing out that "Governor Obiano has always maintained the posture of a modern Nigerian leader who treats every citizen with equal respect and dignity.”
From the Office of the Chief Press Secretary, Government House, Awka"...
Now come with me, hold my hand, smile for the Camera, then take this Pepsi Cola and sit still while we look over the Insult given to ABAKILIKI as a Town, the state Government said and I quote
"Explaining that the renaming of the former Abakaliki Street as ‘Club Road’ was part of the on-going efforts to interpret the Awka City Master Plan, the Council Chairman reveal"end of quote..
And this "The former Abakaliki Street and the surrounding area have been designated as the entertainment hub of the city. That is where you have the largest concentration of entertainment hangouts. It is also a part of the city that never sleeps. We have a 24 hours life there. Government has provided adequate security, streetlights, road markings and everything that would encourage a 24 hours life in that axis. That district is gradually evolving into what might be called the Las Vegas of Nigeria especially on Friday nights,” ..end of quotes
ANAMBARA State Government is Interpreting the State master plan and to them the Street has grown now with STREET LIGHT, SO MANY CLUBS and a good night life that it called LAS VEGAS of AFRICA,,, well the state think that EBONYI is so backward that they should be consigned to another slum,.
Yes, they remove ABAKILIKI from developed area and shift it, sorry shove it to another slum, in other words, ABAKILIKI as a Town and interpretation is not good enough to be seen where there is electricity, street light or Club.
Maybe because expensive wine are been sold in those Clubs instead of Kai Kai and TOMBO, that may have informed the new interpretation that move ABAKILIKI away from developed part to under developed, which is a clear message that EBONYI is not fit to feature in ANAMBRA STATE CAPITAL, and the message is terrifying to say the least.
I do not even want to interpret the Import of KEKE that will replace OKADA, how can I make argument that we want to use few numbers of KEKE to replace Thousand of OKADA and push millions of Riders into Labour market, well even OKADA UNION endorsed and work for Akpokue second Term, so they got what they paid for, my main concern is the packaged insult against EBONYI as a state and ABAKILIKI as Slum that doesn't belong.
No matter what plans they have for the Capital, that street were named ABAKILIKI when it was a no go area, when the road was impassable, when few houses can be sighted there, that was when they opened the first Bar called GAGA LOUNGE then out of Frustration and want , another one was opened called H20 or CAR WASH and later COFI,, all this while , the street was a slum and known as ABAKILIKI Street, maybe because it was a Slum we did not interpret it , but now that the place has taking another turn with connecting road to Ngozika Estate the Government has interpreted it as higher and worthier than ABAKILIKI of EBONYI STATE.
Like it or not,, interpret it or not, there is no reason whatsoever to change the name, had it been it was named after any town in Anambra state, there is nothing there to raise Eye brow but the only street named after a Town in another state and a sister state and we changed it, then reluctantly put a sign post to another insignificant street is a slap and my hands are not there.
Having said that, I do not want to talk about this OKADA ban again, I have made my appeal because I care, but I will be here when it will happen, when crime in the state will reach crescendo and then even when we unban OKADA, it won't make any more sense, only then shall I relocate to EBONYI STATE and enjoy my retirement in peace.
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