The Anambra State Government has said that proactive plans and effective management of limited resources were key factors that enabled the state win the COVID-19 war.
The Special Adviser to Governor Willie Obiano on Creative Security, Retired Air Vice Marshal Ben Chiobi, disclosed this while welcoming students in the Nigeria Study Tour Group 8, Senior Course 43 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, to Anambra State on behalf of the state government.
The students, made up of senior officers from the Nigeria Navy, Air Force, Army, an officer from the Counterterrorism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force as well a man from the Department of State Security, DSS, is in the state as part of a mandatory research course to help the students create an academic balance and expand their knowledge of the society.
The central focus of the lecture was on COVID-19 and efforts made by the Anambra State Government to checkmate the pandemic in the state and the way forward.
The Secretary to the Government of Anambra State, Professor Solo Chukwulobelu, who joined up to welcome the students, said that the course is a rewarding experience for the state government adding that the thesis that would come out from the research is essential, as it would help in solving many of society’s problems.
In his presentation titled “Fight Against Coronavirus: The Obiano Approach” Retired Air Vice Marshal Chiobi, noted that the state had expidited an emergency management strategy to checkmate the pandemic during its outbreak including setting up strategic security and safety measures and the promulgation of the COVID-19 Law by the Anambra State House of Assembly.
Retired Air Vice Marshal Chiobi also stated that Anambra State remains the first state in Nigeria to have carried out a COVID-19 test in a general hospital, adding that Governor Obiano’s decisive models have helped regular both the spread and threat of the virus in Anambra State.
In his presentation titled “Concept of COVID-19 and National Security”, the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Mr John Abang, noted that despite the challenges faced by the joint security agencies set up by the state government to control human movement during the height of the pandemic, the consistency of the team and robust support by the state government made the efforts fruitful.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Vincent Okpala who also gave a presentation, stated that Anambra State has the lowest coronavirus positivity rate among other states in the south east geopolitical zone because there was structure already on ground to help the state’s response to the outbreak, adding that the goal is to meet the World Health Organization’s three ‘Ts’ benchmark: test, treat and trace.
The Director of Administration Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, Brigadier General John Adeyomi, who is the students team leader, said that the Nigerian Study Tour is an annual academic activity that interrogates a particular security issue that the college has pointed out, and commended Governor Obiano for his support to the students.