Ejike Anyaduba
That Anambra state is safe today is not in doubt. That she wants to remain so and avoid complacency that encourages relapse is understandable.
But it is well to remember that she once copped an image of a gangland, feared by everybody and avoided by visitors. And it wasn't until Operation Kpochapu, the 2nd phase of which is to be launched on Friday 11 October, 2019, to strengthen some loose ends, that she exited the crime zone.
It was a grim situation that saw the state experiment with a motley of security arrangements, some unorthodox, to little avail.
Abduction and armed robbery were rife, forcing residents, especially those in Onitsha to relocate to Asaba and workers to commute from Enugu to Awka. Ceremonies hitherto exclusive to villages like traditional wine carrying were conducted in urban areas with relative security. The rich traveled incognito. Those not as disposed hired personal security. While many more avoided home. Though no place was safe, but certain areas became flashpoints of criminal activities. For example Upper Iweka/Bridge head, the very important portal to the state became a haven for muggers, armed robbers, abductors etc and was consequently dreaded by all.
It took the Willie Obiano government 3 months in office to sanitize the state through its security arrangement called Operation Kpochapu. A good number of the criminals were arrested while many more fled the state. The state has remained peaceful since after.
The government is launching the 2nd phase of the Operation Kpochapu on Friday with over 100 operational vehicles, mobile Hi tech surveillance cameras and other security gadgets to sustain the tempo of safety in the state.
Anambra has zero tolerance for crime and you bear her a responsibility to report acts capable of thwarting the new order.
Ejike Anyaduba
Abatete