Countdown to Coal City Centenary
GAELINNA
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I
was in New York City, NY last week for an annual hangout with some friends from
way back in Coal City (Enugu, Nigeria). We call it our “August meeting”–first
weekend in August. We decided to do Italian yesterday for no apparent reason.
The spaghetti-sea food dish was delicious, and the ambience was unexpectedly
un-Italian--very quiet. On Thursday, we had tried a Nigerian eatery in Brooklyn.
Good food and cholesterol-laden, but the ambience was like some food-is-ready
outlets you see by Central Police Station, Enugu when the University of Nigeria
Teaching Hospital (UNTH) was still across the rail from Udi Siding.
Before the margaritas hit home, we all realized how much we missed Coal City, the city that gave us normalcy in life. From the much we know about our American-dream circumstances, it was obvious that we will never relocate back to Enugu --even if we wanted. The one who should have led the way (since she has a mansion in Enugu) has since bought a cemetery plot in Atlanta, GA. The other travels often to Abuja to visit her American-born daughter whose Irish-American husband works in and loves Nigeria; yet, our friend is so glued to Houston, TX you would have to explode a nuclear bomb to get her out. Me? Too complicated to contemplate! Visit, yes; resettle, no. But you never say never, right? Right!
My flight out of LaGuardia was delayed due to some security concerns. A knucklehead allegedly entered the airport with a bag containing wires and a battery! I fished out a copy of June 15 edition of African Abroad. I got it from an African market in the Bronx, where we shopped last Wednesday, July 29. The center spread features a “Special Supplement” that showcases “great strides in Enugu State” and a brief talk from one Chinyere Ogakwu, a special assistant.
The presentation looked rather hurriedly put together. It was hard to grasp what the advert was designed to do. It aroused my curiosity enough to crank up my computer once inside the terminal. I googled. Besides Wikipedia, the official website of the Governor was available. And there was kwenu.com. I surfed!
To my pleasant surprise, the
sociopolitical capital of southeastern Nigeria is rolling out red carpets for
its centenary celebrations in December 2009. Several accounts agree on a
“changed” Coal City, thanks mostly to the early efforts of Governor Sullivan
Iheanacho Chime to reassure the people that he is the real deal. The strategy
worked. He endeared himself to his harshest critics. The momentum did not
sustain, but it is not stagnant either.
From all available information I gathered before boarding, it appears the committee coordinating the centenary has been made little effort to reach out to our Diaspora communities. Chairman Nnia Nwodo, former federal minister, is apparently engrossed with infrastructure. I read of giving old Premier Lodge, where Zik lived, a facelift. I read that a Nollywood village will be built. I read that hosting of an international soccer tournament is part of the deal. I also read that people will be painting their homes.
Question: How will these help to infuse needed capital into the economy of our beloved Coal City? Why couldn’t the state make a case for direct flight into Enugu, if only for the festivities? Besides projections and pronouncements, nothing much filters out to our Diaspora communities and the larger international community. Enugu has been home and good to so many people -- Igbo, Nigerians and non-Nigerians. Many will not want to miss the official celebration of the city’s 100th birthday since it was declared a colliery township. Yet, there is no official website for the dissemination of information, no contacts abroad to help with hospitality arrangements, and not an email address of anyone of some importance.
The official website of the Governor appears to have been discarded on the digital superhighway of cyberspace carcasses. The April 27, 2009 link announcing the setting up of Nwodo Committee was "404"—dead link, and appears to have been dead for months. The only available article is from February 13, where the State commissioner for information gave some background but provided zero information on what is happening.
As I put these thoughts together on my long-haul flight west to attend my husband’s town union convention, I wonder whether the “great strides” of Coal City are trickling down to our rural communities in Aninri, Awgu, Ezeagu, Igbo Etiti, Igboeze, Nkanu, Nsukka, Oji River, Udi, etc. This is the greatest challenge facing all governments in Igboland: the quality of life in our rural communities, not the fancy façade of okada-free cities.
Happy Birthday, my beloved Coal City; may the tender loving care you provided us be extended to other communities for perpetual peace and popular progress.
© Obiagaeli Nnaedozie, 2009