In many ways, the 2021 governorship election in Anambra, scheduled to take place on November 6, is crucial to the existential imperatives of the state and the entire South-East.  As the gateway to the South-East and major parts of the South-South, Anambra occupies a strategic position among the sub-nationals in the territory, which tap from its economic potential. From commerce to industry, entrepreneurship to small and medium enterprise (SME) value chain, Anambra is ahead of its peers in that region as recent facts have shown.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that Anambra recorded a total revenue of N78.92 billion in 2020 made up of FAAC N50.91 billion  (64.51 per cent of the total revenue) and IGR N28 billion (35.49 per cent of the total revenue). Total Tax was N15.84 billion. These figures are among the highest in the country. The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the state has one of the lowest debt stocks among the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Its domestic debt during the period was N59.97 billion while external debt was $108 million.
Being a state rich in oil and gas, Orient Petroleum Resource Ltd (OPRL) was licensed in June 2002, by the Federal Government to construct a private refinery with a capacity of 55,000 barrels per day. The foundation stone-laying ceremony of the refinery was performed in 2012, thereby making Anambra  an oil-producing state.
The Onitsha Inland River Port is a major economic advantage to the state and the entire South East. Anambra is one of the most industrialised states in Nigeria driven by robust SMEs. Available data shows that Anambra is conscious of its potential as an industrialised economy and the state government is working towards that. The export-oriented policy of the government has also created an environment to promote a private sector-driven economy leading to the construction of an international cargo airport in the state.
The industrialsation drive  encourages the government to frontally tackle its revenue challenge – a major stumbling block to the economic development of many states. Anambra ranks among 10 top revenue generating states and the FCT in 2020.   The state grew its internally generated revenue (IGR) by 61.3 percent within five years – from N17.3 billion in 2016  to N28 billion in 2020 which a few like Lagos, Kano, Rivers and Akwa Ibom could attain.
The feat was achieved through its unique Grassroots Tax Awareness Campaign (GTAC) initiative of 2018, which has revolutionised its tax system. The initiative is driven by the Taxpayer Education and Enlightenment Team (TEET) under the Anambra Internal Revenue Service (AIRS), which aims to address the low tax compliance culture in the state. The immediate past President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria CITN, Mrs Gladys Simplice, described it as the best local tax initiative among the states.
Furthermore, Anambra recorded a foreign investment inflow of $10.02 million, making it the 6th highest capital importation destination in Nigeria as of the end of 2020, the COVID-19 ravaged year.  The state also has the second lowest domestic debt in the South-East (N59.9 billion) after Ebonyi (N44.2 billion) as of 2020.  Others are Imo (N150.2 billion), Abia (N89.2 billion) and Enugu (N68 billion).
The NBS Unemployment and Underemployment report for the third quarter of 2020 (Q3 ’2020) showed that Anambra had the lowest unemployment rate among the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.  This is a remarkable development, going by Nigeria’s frightening unemployment rate in the past six years, which grew from 6.4 per cent in 2014 to 33.3 per cent in Q4 2020. The state has a total of 1,220 registered businesses and 3,797 registered vehicles as at 2020, one of the highest in the country after Lagos and Abuja.
Determined efforts must be made and practical actions taken to consolidate the gains of democracy, which Anambra has recorded in the past 16 years under the leadership of former governor Peter Obi and his successor, the outgoing Willie Obiano. This is why genuinely patriotic and well-meaning people of the state and the entire South-East must ensure that the forthcoming governorship election is held in a peaceful atmosphere.
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) should reconsider its sit-at-home action planned for November  4 – 10 in protest of the continued detention of its leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. This is important because it might provide the enemies of the South-East the opportunity to scuttle democratic practice in Anambra and install a leadership of contrary character that will destroy the economy of Anambra and by extension, the South-East.
Anambra residents and indigenes must resist any move to transplant the putrid, ignoble and emasculating electoral fraud that produced the corrosive political leadership in neighbouring Imo where the residents are undergoing the Biblical orgy of weeping and gnashing of their teeth.  Imo is retrogressing rapidly.  A study by THEWILL this year showed that the hospitality industry, which has been the backbone of the economy of Imo State has practically crumbled due to insecurity, bad governance and hostile operating environment.
`Patronage has dropped by 80 per cent with hotel operators losing N2 billion monthly, according to the chairman of Imo State Hoteliers Association, Mr Chima Chukwunyere.
Definitely, the economy of Imo is severely challenged.  The state recorded the highest unemployment and under-employment rates among the sub-nationals  and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in 2020, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Anambra has a total of 1,220 registered businesses and 3,797 registered vehicles as at 2020 – one of the highest in the country after Lagos and Abuja. There are about 590,000 pupils in public primary schools and about 510 public secondary schools as of 2020. Enrolment in private secondary schools is about 14,000 during the period. Its youth have come top in reputable public examinations and competitions in Nigeria and abroad.
wThese are too precious a gain to be left in the hands of  a political leadership that will drive the people into the abyss of and unending valley of the shadow of death like what Imo is experiencing. Anambra must never inhale the putrefied political odour oozing from neighbouring Imo.
