his last Christmas period, I was in Nigeria and spent most of my time in Nnewi, my home town. I have been undertaking this pilgrimage, of sorts, for the past several years. The visits have enabled me to closely follow and monitor the pace and progress of development in the town. Many times, during my past visits, I have had cause to cheer because of positive developments, but at other times, I have had reasons to become concerned. This past Christmas, there were many reasons to cheer but I also saw many opportunities for improvement. This is why, Sir, I am writing.

First, it is worth noting, to the credit of your administration and the good people of Nnewi, that a town that was teetering on the verge of becoming a "no-go" area, security wise, is gradually returning to normalcy. Although it is too early to say that all is won, but most residents I chanced upon, during my visit, freely moved about their businesses, to banks, markets and social gatherings, without palpable security concerns. Even churches held their Yuletide services in relative peace. Whatever steps your administration and the indigenes of the town put in place, to make the town livable again, should be lauded by all.

Other developments that warmed my heart include road projects like the Nnewi-Oraifite road (Nkwo to Nkwo), Eme Court Rd, portions of new Nnewi-Oba road, Igwe Orizu road, Nnewi-Nnobi road and several other roads in the town. It will be an understatement to say that it was heartening to drive into the village of Nnewichi and parts of Otolo only to observe that several erstwhile dusty and pothole- laden roads have been tarred. While there are more roads that need attention, the projects executed so far indicate that more will come.

Last year, I had the opportunity of seeing a master plan developed by UN-Habitat at the behest of your administration. The master plan is a blueprint for the infrastructural development and revitalization of the three major urban centers in Anambra state: Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi. When implemented, this has the potential of stemming the tide of urban sprawl and unplanned development that is creating pockets of slums in these towns. The development of that master plan is a very bold first move and one cannot wait for its implementation. I realize that because of the sheer size and complexity of the project, implementation will take years to complete. I am however hopeful that your administration will take steps to give legislative teeth to its implementation. That way, when your tenure expires, your successors will not abandon the plan as is common in Nigeria where change of administration often mean change of priorities and abandonment of even good projects.

I could not help but observe, again to the credit of your administration, that several of the new road projects now have roadside drainage gutters. These gutters, as you know, play the important role of draining storm water or runoff away from roadways, preventing premature roadway failure attributable to subgrade weakening. However, as an engineer, I was concerned that because the gutters are the open types, their effectiveness will be reduced or even stymied very soon. As I write, several of the gutters have already become repositories for debris and are half-full with banana peels, pure water plastic sachets, plastic bottles, wood chunks, rubber, burlaps, human waste, empty cans of beverages and other difficult to discern items. Once these open gutters fill up with debris, they become useless. When the rainy season comes, concentrated runoff that is supposed to flow into the gutters, will by-pass them and start pooling on and around the roadways. Gradually, the standing water seeps into the roadbed, weakening it. As the roadway weakens, vehicle tires start depressing their path of travel, creating potholes. As the potholes widen, more runoff seeps into the subgrade and eventually start breaking up and washing out the asphalt.

Clogged open gutters also create health risks to the citizenry because the storm water they carry stagnate and become reservoirs for green, algae-laden, disease-infested and putrefying pools. The malaria parasite-carrying female anopheles mosquito thrives well in these types of stagnant water. Furthermore, as the organisms that breed in the stagnant water break down the contents of the gutters, toxic and noxious gases like sulfur and methane, both by-products of decomposition, are released into the air and cause health problems when inhaled.

From an engineering standpoint, the concealed underground pipe drainage system, although more difficult to clean out, is better. It is not only out of sight and so will not be a dumping ground for trash, it also lasts longer and does the job better.

Sir, I am mindful of the unfortunate nature of the fact that residents have chosen to use gutters as repositories for trash. However, since there is, as yet, no practical way of enforcing good behavior within the ranks of the citizenry, keeping the gutters out of view will help deal with this problem. I am therefore suggesting that for the areas where open gutters already exist, long sections of removable concrete panels, interspersed with cast-iron inlet grates, should be used to cover them. The openings in the cast-iron grates will allow water to flow into the gutters but will keep out debris because of the closely spaced iron grates. The long sections of reinforced concrete panels could be removed, when necessary, to clean out the gutters. For new road projects, I suggest underground pipe networks with intermittent inlets at curbsides.

Several times during my visit, I plied the bank road called Ogbufor/Oraifite road. This road is flanked on both sides by major banks in Nnewi. It used to be a tarred road but is currently characterized by the presence of ubiquitous potholes and craters. Cars routinely break down on the road because of its condition and then block the road for other motorists, creating traffic hold ups. From my engineering judgment, the absence of drainage system must have contributed to the speedy crumbling and washing away of large sections of the asphalt. While I suggest that your administration add this road to your rehabilitation priority list, one is hopeful that work on the road will include the installation of a sound drainage system. That will make the road last longer.

Then, there is the old Nnewi-Oba road. The section of this road in front of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, is also pothole laden with large sections of the asphalt washed away, leaving craters that motorist frantically strive to avoid. I was astounded that storm water that pooled in some of the potholes, during the rainy season, had not dried out on the 23rd of December! That tells how deep these potholes are. Consider that this is the roadway that leads to the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital where patients, in medical distress, are taken to in emergency. A seriously ill patient, being conveyed to the hospital, with all manners of galloping and jarring, might become even sicker before getting to the hospital. Furthermore, dust emanating from this road, as vehicles jockey past one another, settle on the exterior and interior of the hospital buildings. Sir, you very well know that filth, in the form of dust, is not good for a hospital where critical surgeries are routinely performed. There are other road projects that need attention but I just highlighted the above because of their critical locations and attendant importance.

Another problem along the old Nnewi-Oba road, near the Teaching Hospital, is the issue of trash. There is a section where trash dumping is threatening the roadway itself. The trash bins located in the area have filled up and people have resorted to dumping trash on the bare ground. It has become an eyesore. Again, it is unfortunate that the presence of trash bins has not deterred people from dumping trash on the ground but here is my opinion: It may be that people dump trash on the ground because the bins are routinely full. In that case, it may become necessary to provide more bins commensurate with the amount of trash generated in the area. Or, the frequency of removal of trash from the trash bins could be increased so that at every point in time, there will be space in the bins.

Another issue that needs urgent attention is the persistent burning of trash along the new Nnewi-Oba road, at the section referred to as "ugwu akpati ozu". Since 2004, every time one visited the town, mounds and mounds of trash would be seen burning along that road, with plumes of smoke wafting upwards into the sky. A constant haze of dark grey cloud now hangs perpetually over the horizon. Infact, a review of satellite pictures over the area, taken by Google earth in 2009 December, show plumes of smoke in the southern part. Your Excellency, I realize that some of these issues are the responsibility of the Local Authority and the citizens, but I am also aware that your administration has oversight jurisdiction and can make a huge difference by intervention. The health implication of people constantly inhaling by-products of thrash incineration makes this an issue that cannot wait another day for jurisdictional determination. Anecdotal evidence show that cases of pulmonary diseases like asthma, COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases) and allergy are on the rise in Nnewi. While we do not, as yet, have a specific scientific study linking trash incineration with the rise in pulmonary diseases, it is reasonable to assume that someone that breathes in methane and sulphur, on a daily basis, will become susceptible to pulmonary ailments. I cannot count how many times, during my December visit, that I sat in a gathering where this issue came up. People are concerned for their health and will appreciate your coming to their aid on this issue.

Sir, you are aware that there has been an upsurge in the problem of erosion in the town. In some areas, erosion has started creating huge craters. 40 years ago, erosion was nearly not a major issue in the town. The town was forested and there were fewer buildings. Rainwater had sufficient pervious land mass to seep into. Also, many families dug and maintained what we called "umi" or rainwater catchment pits in the compounds. This was where excess rainwater (runoff) was channeled into. Furthermore, there were natural and manmade swales or "uzo ide" which were shallow channels along which storm water traveled without disruption of the whole landscape. That was then.

These days, because of population explosion and unbridled real estate development, the forests are gone and large portions of the landscape are occupied by buildings and road networks. The buildings create impervious areas that do not allow rain water to seep into the ground. As if that is not bad enough, most compounds today are paved with concrete or interlock pavers. The pavements are impervious to the infiltration of rain water. The result is that during storms, huge amounts of runoff are generated in the compounds and the water has nowhere to go but farmlands and roadways. Inotherwords, runoff from these compounds flow out and merge with storm water from other compounds, increasing in amount and velocity. Increase in velocity of flow provides the force necessary to erode farmlands and roads. If practical steps are not taken to deal with this issue, huge craters will continue to develop and cause damage not just to the landscape, but to the roads that your administration is working hard to construct.

What am I hoping that your administration will do? Well, work with the local authority and citizens to put a practical policy in place to require that owners of paved compounds do the following:

Build underground catchment basin, within the compound, where runoff generated in the compound will flow into. The catchment basin is a hole dug in the ground. The top of the catchment basins will be covered with reinforced concrete panels with grated cast iron opening. Storm water flows into the basin through the iron grate inlets. The size of each basin will be directly proportional to the surface area of the paved area in the compound. Engineers in the Local Government council can help citizens calculate the size of catchment basin needed for each compound. The goal of this is simple, after each rain event, all runoff from each compound flows into the catchment basin located in that compound and gradually infiltrates into the ground.

Also, require that henceforth, before approval is granted for the construction of any new building, where the compound will be paved, the plan of a catchment basin must also be shown for attenuating the storm water generated within that compound. In the same light, mandate that residents no longer block manmade or natural swales or uzo ide.

As you know, the good citizens of the town are responding to the clarion call by government to embark on self-help projects. They are establishing factories of all sorts and creating hundreds of employment opportunities. We appreciate the support your government has been giving to them. Clearly, because of the absence of a master plan and through no fault of the factory owners, several of the factories are located within residential neighborhoods. While we welcome industrialization and infact rejoice about it, it is clear that if waste by- products of the activities like chemicals and gases are not disposed of in a responsible manner, the lives of residents will be threatened. Majority of the factory owners seem to be practicing safe and responsible disposal of waste-products. If safe disposal is not practiced, liquid waste-products migrate into adjacent lands, slowly leach underground and with time harm farmlands and pollute ground water (bore hole). It is my fervent hope that guidelines for the disposal of waste by- products are being adhered to by existing and new factories.

Just as I was rounding up this letter, I read that your administration has set up Anambra State Road Maintenance Agency. This is the right step in the right direction. Even a well-built road is susceptible to wear and tear and if the wear and tear are caught on time and repaired, less money will be spent rebuilding from scratch.

Nnewi is a great town and we need to bequeath that greatness to the generation to come. One of the ways to achieve this is by implementation of your UN-Habitat master plan. I am optimistic that when that is done, much of the perpetual issues enumerated in this letter will be reduced appreciably. But while the modalities for implementation of the plan are being hashed out, something that will take a while, it is my fervent hope that you will give urgent consideration to attending to the issues outlined above. Like I stated earlier, I realize that jurisdiction over the remediation of some of these issues may reside with the local authority and even citizens. However, regardless of who has jurisdiction, I am hoping that with your administration in the lead, these issues that are threatening to stagnate the holistic development of a burgeoning and boisterous town will be arrested. Nnewi needs you.