Welcoming Year 2022 in a grand style

Today is New Year. It is a day that commemorates the beginning of a new Gregorian calendar year and is globally recognized as a period that offers mankind the chance to take a critical look at the outgone year to make new resolutions that will guide and regulate activities in the next twelve months.

New Year is generally a unique day in human history. Apart from the fact that many see it as a time to reflect on the past, it enables others to map out plans on how best to achieve their objectives in the days ahead.

New Year day is particularly celebrated with pomp and pageantry by many families in appreciation of God’s love, protection and guidance in the past year. It equally enables many to bid the out gone year farewell, often in a grand style.

Beyond this, New Year ushers in new marriages, religious programmes, reconciliations and peace initiatives aimed at cementing human relationships. Visits to different parts of the state, show a deluge of preparations, eating and drinking as well as other social activities such as traditional wine-carrying, white weddings and get together to mark the day, indicating that the people are happy with their state government for serene and conducive environment.

Some communities use the New Year for town hall meetings where issues of socio-economic importance are discussed. New Year is indeed a rallying point and a veritable forum for plans and programmes that will help to move the polity forward.

Thus, as we welcome the New Year, 2022 today, it is hoped that we should individually and collectively appreciate the enormity of the challenges and opportunities offered by the New Year. While we may have made beautiful resolutions on how best to conquer the New Year, we should equally realize that the best way to make those resolutions result-oriented is to work in conjunction with government towards realizing our national imperatives.

All said and done, today is a day for sober reflection, when people in their meek mood, think about their relationship with God.  It is not a period to show off the amount of wealth one has garnered. The central message is that it is a moment to amend where one has gone wrong. It is a time to make peace with God and fellow beings. All old bad habits must be dropped for new and better ones. It has been customary to make New Year resolutions of dropping old bad habits.

To this end, all of us, right from the family level through the community, the state and the nation at large must imbibe positive ethnical values that would help to promote our national consciousness and identity. We should resolve to make the new year a year of true social and economic regeneration by keeping away from vices such as stealing, drugs, kidnapping, trafficking in persons, murder, arson, bribery and corruption, cyber-crimes, smoking, alcoholism, destruction of public property, jealousy, laziness, pull-him-down syndrome, rituals, terrorism, human rights abuses, embezzlement of public fund, hatred and sectarian violence, among other societal ills.

Traders, artisans, okada riders, commercial drivers, captains of industry, retailers, wholesalers, street hawkers and other businessmen should do their businesses with the fear of God and in accordance with our extant laws governing business relations, while every worker should live above board.

In Anambra, 2022 is a crucial year – year of transition. On March 17, 2022, our wonder working governor, Chief Willie Obiano (the legacy projects governor), will hand over to the Governor-elect, Professor Chukwuma Soludo and his deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim. Obiano has done the much he can and Ndi Anambra would want a continuation from where Akpokuedike would stop.

Therefore, all stake holders should see the New Year as a period of self-transformation and positive attitude in our civic responsibility, work place, our fellow human beings and our dear state. It is expected that this year is a year when all our positive heart desires will be fulfilled; the year of blessings when we shall all get to our promised land. Welcome to 2022. Happy New Year!