By Emeka Johnson Nwaneri
The Igbo people will vote for President Jonathan, if he wishes to run for a second term in office. Aside the sentiment of seeing him as more or less, a part of them, if truly one good turn deserves another, Jonathan deserves another resounding support from the southeast in 2015 and there is nothing on ground to prove that the story has changed.
Generally, Jonathan’s performance in key sectors, in the last three years has been tremendous. His deliberate policies, programmes and projects geared towards the upliftment of the standard of living of southeast people have been remarkable.
Before we go into the details of the ongoing transformation in the southeast, it would be recalled that prior to Jonathan’s emergence as President, Igbos had for many decades complained of being marginalized by other parts of the country which get to claim the position of presidency. Basically, most of the issues that make up the Igbo sentiments against Nigeria have been taken care of by Jonathan.
It was Jonathan who appointed the first Igbo Chief of Army Staff in the person of General Azuibuike Ihejirika. It was Jonathan who gave Biafra hero, Odimegwu Ojukwu the sort of a state burials that are often reserved for presidents who die in office. It was Jonathan who gave the late iconic writer, Chinua Achebe a similar treatment in death.
In fact, anyone who visits the southeast or any large concentration of Igbos within or outside the country, will discover that Igbos now see the Jonathan- led Federal Government as the fulfillment of the Igbo presidency they had wanted for many years. This is why:
Infrastructural development
The launching of the ‘Operation Safe Passage’ by the federal government under Goodluck Jonathan saw to the reconstruction of Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway (ongoing), Onisha-Owerri road, Owerri-Port Harcourt road, Owerri-Ngor Okuala-Aba road (ongoing) and Owerri-Okigwe road.
Also worthy of note is the rehabilitation of Mbaise-Ngwa road, Abiriba-Arochukwu-Ohafia road, Ohafia junction-Oso in Ebonyi State, Obiozara-Uhuru-Isiagu road, Umuahia-Umudike-Akwa Ibom road, Okpuala-Igwuta road, Ikot Ekpene border-Ada Owerri phase 1 road to mention a few. Contracts of over N11billion were also awarded for erosion and flood control in the southeast. Bear in mind the expansion of the Bridge head of Upper Iweka section of Enugu-Onisha road to 10 lanes to decongest the road.
The flagging off of the construction of the second Niger Bridge marked the beginning of work on the bridge which will last for four years. The bridge is 1,590metres and form part of the 11 kilometer Onisha by-pass which would cost over N117billion over four years.
The Enugu-Port Harcourt axis of Maiduguri-Port Harcourt rail is also being rehabilitated as part of Jonathan’s special interest in the rail sector.
In the area of power infrastructure, the federal government under Jonathan established the 7.5MVA power injection and distribution substations in New Haven and Trade Fair area of Enugu, Oraifite and Amichi in Amambra state. Also, the federal government constructed second 330KV Onitsha-Benin transmission lines.
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