Anthony Emeka Nwosu

Sometimes, the best way to judge a public official is not by the promises made when he first takes office, but by what is left behind when he gets another opportunity to serve.

That is perhaps the simplest way to understand the decision by the Anambra State Government to retain Emeka Agbata as the head of the Anambra State ICT Agency.

Agbata is coming into another tenure with something many people in public service would like to have — an opportunity to build on what he has already started.

His story in Anambra’s technology space has been about trying to make ICT useful in the everyday business of government and in the lives of ordinary people.

It is not just about computers, software or big technology words. It is about making government work better.

Over the years, the state has moved towards using eGovernment platforms to help government agencies communicate and work more smoothly. The aim is to reduce some of the delays that come with paperwork and manual processes and make it easier for officials to get things done.

For an ordinary person, that may sound like a small change. But anyone who has had to move from one government office to another, carry documents around or wait endlessly for a process to be completed understands why a more connected government matters.

Technology, when it is properly used, can take some of that stress away.

That is the direction Agbata has been pushing.

And Anambra’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. The state has received awards, recognition and accolades for its ICT development, digital innovation and smart governance initiatives, strengthening its reputation as one of Nigeria’s states that is taking the digital economy seriously.

But perhaps the most interesting thing is that the state is not stopping at government offices.

There is growing attention to STEM and ICT capacity building in secondary schools, with the understanding that the children sitting in classrooms today will become the people running businesses, government institutions and technology companies tomorrow.

A young student who gets the opportunity to understand coding, robotics, digital tools, science or technology today may discover a career path that was not even imaginable to him or her a few years ago.

That is where technology becomes personal.

It can mean a young person finding a skill, starting a business, getting a job or simply realising that there are opportunities beyond what is immediately around them.

Agbata’s approach also appears to recognise that Anambra cannot build a digital economy by simply buying expensive technology. The state has to build the people who will use and develop that technology.

Artificial intelligence is now becoming another important part of that journey.

Rather than trying to build a huge AI model from scratch — something that would require enormous computing power and financial resources — the state is taking a more practical route by adapting open-source AI technology for local needs.

Agbata explained the thinking behind the approach.

“To be clear: this is an open-source system. We did not build a proprietary frontier model or a base Large Language Model, as that requires massive computational and financial resources beyond our current reach in Nigeria.”

The state is instead adapting an existing open-source model, with one of its early applications already being used to automate internal operations within the ICT Agency.

It is a practical way of looking at technology: What problem are we trying to solve, and what technology can help us solve it?

That may ultimately be more important than simply saying that Anambra is using AI.

Now, with Agbata given another opportunity, the expectations are naturally higher.

The foundation has been laid. There are digital platforms. There is growing investment in infrastructure. There is experience within the ICT Agency. There are young people who need to be trained. There are businesses looking for better digital opportunities. And there is already recognition for the progress the state has made.

The next step is to bring all these pieces together.

Anambra wants to become a state where government can operate more efficiently because of technology, where students are comfortable with digital tools, where businesses can use technology to grow and where residents can access public services without unnecessary stress.

That is a much bigger assignment than simply running an ICT agency.

It is about helping a state prepare for the economy that is already arriving.

And perhaps that is why Agbata’s second tenure matters.

The state government is not simply giving him another chance to occupy an office. It is giving him an opportunity to take the work already started and push it further — to move Anambra from being a state that is recognised for ICT initiatives to one where technology becomes part of the everyday fabric of governance, education, business and community life.

For Agbata, the awards and recognition are a good reminder of how far the state has come. But they also raise the bar for what comes next.

The real success story will not be another trophy or another headline.

It will be the student who learns a digital skill and gets a job.

The entrepreneur who uses technology to grow a small business.

The civil servant who gets work done in hours instead of days.

The citizen who accesses a government service without unnecessary frustration.

That is where Anambra’s digital journey will truly be judged.

And that is the opportunity now before Emeka Agbata — to take the foundation already built and help Anambra climb even higher in Nigeria’s rapidly changing digital economy.