By  Anonymous

The world is full of memories. Things may end but memories last forever. Sometimes, one may never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. One-man Nigerians and indeed the people of Owerri Zone will never forget in a hurry in the political trajectory of the Zone is Sen. Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu fondly called Samdaddy. The memories of his tenure in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will continue to linger in the minds of many.

Sen. Anyanwu brought competence, intelligence and panache to the position and unarguable gave Owerri Zone a name in the Senate while his tenure lasted. He was a good ambassador of his party the PDP in the Senate and his quality and capabilities brought fame and fortunes to both his Senatorial Zone and his political party.

The realities of Sen. Anyanwu’s sweet memories while in the Senate is brought to the fore by the seeming ineptitude of current occupiers of that position for whatever reasons. This position has made it possible for Sen. Anyanwu to be so missed since his tenure elapsed.

Sen. Anyanwu upon his inauguration as a member of the eight senate became one of the first Senators to be assigned a Committee Chairmanship position even as a first-time opposition member. His assumption of office as the Senate Committee Chairman on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions instantly brought life back to a hitherto unknown committee. His exploits as the helmsman of this committee rekindled hope and brought succour to many deprived Nigerians and the memories in the lives of these individuals will remain a timeless treasure in their hearts.

It will be recalled that Sen. Anyanwu also used this committee to empower numerous graduates of Owerri Zone persuasion by facilitating their employments in one of the parastatals under his committee, the Public Complaint Commission (PCC).

Other highpoints of Sen. Anyanwu’s accomplishments as the chairman of the committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions is the reinstatement and payment of compensation to sons and daughters of Owerri Zone who were unjustly laid off in their various federal establishments and of course, the facilitation of a son of Owerri Zone as a Federal Commissioner in the Public Complaint Commission. These achievements may have not been celebrated but obviously it will remain an indelible memory in the annals of history. People change, but memories don’t. The benefits of these interventions to Owerri Zone are enormous as Sen. Anyanwu has unknowingly created an enduring job opportunity for the zone only if these beneficiaries will be magnanimous enough to do the needful.

Most Nigerians would definitely regret the absence of Sen. Samuel Anyanwu at the Senate at this period of #EndSARS protest with the firm knowledge of the gusto and energy Sen. Anyanwu would have deployed in interrogating the manner state actors handled the protest.

The memories of the good people of Owerri Zone nay Imolites will remain evergreen on the heels of the vocal, audacious and patriotic efforts of Sen. Anyanwu in presenting the case of the Zone and the State on the floor of the red chambers. Although some of his landmark bills did not attain the peak of legislative process due largely to obvious bottlenecks and regrettable clash of interests, he successfully placed the name of Owerri Zone on the history books of the National Assembly by sponsoring revolutionary and people oriented bills and motions which include, the South East Development Commission bill, which is targeted at repositioning the zone for economic and infrastructural growth, a bill to upgrade Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education to a Federal University of Education, a bill to restructure the NYSC to reflect the imperative need for Nigerian graduates to become productive members of the society by a paradigm shift from the welfare to entrepreneurship, etc.

Sen. Samuel Anyanwu’s courage and sagacity in attracting projects in the budget for the Zone only define him as an uncommon politician with the commitment to leave lasting memories in the minds of his people. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons the current Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Sen. Godswill Akpabio erroneously accused him of garnering so many contracts and not executing them.

It is better imagined how Owerri Zone could have been transformed especially in the area of road construction, if our budget funding system is close to efficient. Some of the roads that were attracted to the budget by Sen. Anyanwu include the Ihiagwa – Eziobodo – Okolochi road, Obinze – Oforola road, Ukwuorji – Atta – Amaimo – Obohia – Afor Ogbe road, Nkwo Emeke- Uzoagba – Ngugo – Atta road, Owerri – Umuahia road, Toronto – Orji road, Amawire Orji – Akwakuma road, Ekemele road in Akabo along the Owerri Okigwe road, Awaka /Ezeogba Emekuku portion of Owerri Umuahia road, Nkwerre Street road in Works Layout Owerri, and Eke Nguru-Orie Ihitte road that cuts across Aboh Mbaise -Ezinihitte in Mbaise fully completed.

Although some of these roads were completed during the duration of his tenure and some others underwent emergency repairs, one could have imagined how Owerri Zone would have looked like if these efforts of Sen. Anyanwu were consummated by the funding of these projects.

It has become an unforgettable memory for the numerous beneficiaries of Sen. Samuel Anyanwu’s skill acquisition programs. From Okpofe to Ahiara Junction to Ulakwo to Nwaorieubi to Iho to Owerri Municipal and St. Mulumba’s Catholic parish facility, training centres sprang up to train numerous youths and women of the zone in various skills of their choice ranging from Aluminium Doors and Windows fabrication, CCTV and cable installation, Driving, Computer Appreciation, Production Technology, Fashion Designing, Paint Manufacturing, Bag and Bead making, etc. It is also important to note that some of these beneficiaries are bread winners of their families today, and they will never forget that Sen. Samuel Anyanwu was once their senator.

There are truly some things Sen. Samuel Anyanwu has got and other contemporary politicians have not yet discovered. These attributes have placed him high and above his colleagues and have continued to single him out everywhere he goes. Owerri Zone and Imo State in the current precipice need a politician in the mould of Sen. Anyanwu to bring about memories that will speak good things for a long time to come.