By Praise Chinecherem
Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo has commissioned an ultra-modern multi-million naira security post for the Nigerian Army and other security forces, singlehandedly built and donated by the President-General of Umueri community, Amb. Chief John Chukwudi Metchie.
The security post located between boundaries of Anambra-East and West is expected to assist ward off kidnappers, gunmen and other hoodlums terrorising the area at the same time guarantee a peaceful atmosphere between the two Council Areas.
Performing the commissioning ceremony, Soludo, represented by Special Adviser on Security, AVM Ben Chiobi, described the security post as monumental edifice which is in tandem with his mission of a liveable, lovable and prosperous home land through watertight security for all and sundry.
Soludo who praised the transition committee chairman of Anambra-East council area, Dr. Anslem Onuorah for convincing Dr. Johnny Metchie to sponsor the project, said the security post was a laudable initiative and bold step taken to combating insecurity in the state.
He also commended the sole sponsor and benefactor, Dr. Johnny Metchie, saying that government did not put a penny in the project as it was the singular efforts of Dr. Johnny Metchie, which he said implied that people in the communities were very much in support of his initiatives particularly in the approach to see that security is grassroots driven.
“With the establishment of the security post, crime has greatly reduced in the area. Anyone with bad intentions coming into the area, should know that there are competent people now to stop them.
“This administration is community driven in initiatives and is equally in sync with Public Private Partnership as exemplified in the security outfit built by Umueri President-General,” he said.
Meanwhile, Transition Committee Chairman, Anambra-East Local Government Area, Dr. Anslem Onuorah, said the facility would provide security for Anambra-East and West and Ndi-Anambra as a whole.
Describing Metchie as one of his stakeholders, Onuorah also noted that Soludo has always emphasized community partnership in the development of the entire state.
He appreciated Metchie for the project and urged other public-spirited individuals to borrow a leaf from what Umueri President-General has done, pointing out that government can not do it alone.
The financier and sole sponsor of the security post project, Amb. Chief Dr. John Chukwudi Metchie also known as Ife Omambala, said the facility will not only serve Anambra-East and West but will by extension serve the entire state.
Metchie who recalled that in the past insurgents found their ways into Anambra-East through a neighbouring local government and unleashed terror and mayhem in the area, said the new security post for the Nigerian Army and other security forces will help curtail criminal activities in the area.
He therefore expressed hope that henceforth Umueri and other communities in Anambra-East and West will sleep with their two eyes closed because he believes that the new security post will further empower the existing security operatives already in place which includes the Police, the Vigilantes and Hunters in the area.
Metchie who also functions as the Prime Minister of the Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU) said the motive behind the establishment of the security post was in line with the Solution Agenda of the present administration of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo.
He said everything should not be left for government to undertake, which according to him, was the primary reason he built the security post with his own money and donated it for public use.
Although he pointed out that there are areas where government can help the masses like construction of standard roads, job creation for youths and a host of others; he also commended Governor Soludo for empowering Anambra citizens with the One Youth, Two Skills Capacity Building Programme, where he acknowledged that the governor has taken many youths off the streets with the programme.
The Peace Ambassador who disclosed that the idea of the security post was muted by the Anambra-East TC Chairman and the President-General of Aguleri community and communicated to him, however encouraged other Presidents-General to relate more cordially with members of their communities to enable them to institute projects in tandem with the most pressing needs of their respective communities even as he hinted that Umueri was the first community to install Close Circuits Cameras before other communities copied from them.
Again, Metchie stated that Umueri community has taken the lead by providing accommodation for Nigerian soldiers in their domain while urging other PGs to copy from their initiative, adding that communities should not wait for government as government can’t be everywhere at the same time.
Meanwhile, a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from the Omambala region, Sen. Emma Anosike, who performed the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the security post, said Chief Johnny Metchie has given a leaway to other PGs in the area to emulate what he has done; that it is a window for them to excel.
Anosike said Umueri PG has provided a beautiful and befitting place for the military, stressing that if every community in the Omambala region does the same, then 50% of their security architecture is solved. He therefore congratulated Amb. Johnny Metchie, saying that it is expected that all other communities will support his efforts and the efforts of the Anambra-East local government chairman while also extending appreciations to Governor Soludo for supporting each local government area in the state.
Also President-General of Aguleri community in Anambra-East, Barr. Ifeanyi Rolex Iloakasia, said he was full of joy for the establishment of the new security post in the area because in the past, the area has been a nightmare because unknown gunmen invaded the area kidnapping people for ransom.
Iloakasia therefore prayed that God should replenish Chief Johnny Metchie with plenty to enable him to undertake more developmental projects for humanity in general while urging other PGs to replicate same in their respective domains.
On his part, the Chairman Nneyi Umueri Security Committee, Chief Joseph Anikpe Obelue, said the establishment of the security post was a welcome development because it will help end the ugly era of kidnappings and armed robbery attacks in the area.
Obelue emphasized that the combination of Army, Navy, Police, Civil Defence and local Vigilantes at the new security post will help a great deal to guarantee security in the area.
The new security base built and donated by Amb. Chief Dr. John Chukwudi Metchie was consecrated by Fr. John Manafa of St. Jerome Obosi, Idemili-North Local Government Area of Anambra State while operatives of the Nigerian Hunters and Forest Security Service (NHFSS), Soldiers, Police personnel and a host of other very important personalities attended the official commissioning of the new security base for the Nigerian Army and other security forces in Umueri Anambra-East Local Government Area.
