t may be that time of life or it could be my regret at observing events taking place in Anambra State and seeing how all of us appear so helpless, so frustrated, so unable to impose a solution - that has prompted me to look back and recall the East I once knew.

What we called the East then, they, you now call the South East or perhaps South-East? But does a hyphen matter? Maybe but again maybe not; I suppose that East and South-East or South East are not exactly the same. I know, but before you accuse me of being so poor in geography that I do not know the difference between East and South East let me explain. The East of then was Anigbo plus the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers Provinces. The COR people were considered as part of the East then but now are seen as South-South with only Ndigbo considered as South-East. This should not matter but sometimes little things like these can become important, like that hyphen!

My earliest recollection of life in the East was at number 5 Kingsway Road Enugu. It was a brick bungalow in the GRA. It was built for the colonial civil servants. Father had by now become one of the few African "senior service". Mother kept house. Life was idyllic, happy beyond imagination, very pleasant by any standards. It was Dr Azikiwe's Eastern Nigeria and later it was to be Dr Okpara's. It was a world of stable exchange rates, inflation was unheard of and government money was as sacred as the sacrament received at Holy Communion. I exaggerate but you get the idea and the contrast to today's offering!

I recall the visit of Queen Elizabeth in 1956 and being held up by the roadside on Kingsway Road so I could get a better glimpse of the young Queen Elizabeth as she was driven past in her black Rolls Royce during her state visit to Nigeria. In contrast in 2003 she could not go beyond the confines of Abuja. There was politics then as now but it was altogether different. Of course there was the discourse and argument and counter-argument but at my level and the level of a civil servant there was an assumed respect based on the inviolate independence of public officials who were all things to all men, serving only the public good. In Nigeria of 2004 civil servants are as actively engaged in corruption as are the political class!

The civil service of yore was cast in a colonial mode - impartial, independent with impeccable integrity. Whilst my father was at PWD Enugu, Engineer Gilbert Metu Uzodike was the Controller of Works. Engr Uzodike once visited me in London and entertained me with the theory of his engineering decision making in keeping the Enugu-Onitsha highway constantly open. In the South-East today the citizens quarrel with potholed roads and accuse Senator Ogunlewe who in turn quarrels with his professional staff at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja. Yet nobody can see what is wrong!?

My Family moved around quite a lot changing residences in the GRA. At various times we lived at Constitution Road; not to be mistaken with Constitution Close. At other times we lived at Cattanach Street which was not too far from the Old Government House, residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Eastern Nigeria. The Lieutenant Governor presided over the ExCo which was in effect the government of the day. At that time along Cattanach Street lived the then Minister Of Agricultural Production and later to be Premier of Eastern Nigeria, Dr Michael Okpara.

When it was time for school I went to WTC Practising School and can remember a time of only happy memories. It was a small school and the quality of teaching was high; I can only contrast the East as I knew it then with the UBE today. Ambition was fostered and expectations were high. I was at school with the children of ministers including the premier's children. We the children of the not so famous related to the children of ministers as children pure and simple. Dr Okpara but particularly Mrs Adanma Okpara entertained no airs in their children, nor did Dr Imoke who was successively education and then finance minister. I remember the high fliers in my class - Emeka Ajoku, and later Chinwuba Onejeme always topped the class. The immediate past president of the Nigeria Bar Association, OCJ Okocha SAN was also my classmate.

The East strove to maintain high standards in everything. Jerome Udoji (later Chief) was the head of the civil service. By and large there was fairness but even then there were rumblings that non-Igbo did not get a fair share of public positions. But there were non-Ndigbo in some positions - Udo Udo Okure who was First Commissioner in the Public Service Commission when FO Ihenacho was Chairman. There was Tom Ikpeme from Calabar and a Permanent Secretary. There were ministers too like IU Akpabio amongst others. But I suppose in every human endeavour there would these complaints. Even so at that time because the East laid emphasis on high standards those not included at that time had expectation that some day yet their time would come.

The difference between then and now was that whereas there was recognition of talent and qualification, today only Federal character is evident to day. There may have been marginalisation but that vocabulary did not exist then! There were others too who were not Easterners. My father at the PWD was head of a cast of Yoruba working in Enugu at that time. They had their "home" at the UNA Church at St Paul's Church in Ogui. Other Yoruba included ASG Nelson, Government Printer and MO Oyedipe at the Coal Corporation. In 1958, Adetokunbo Ademola was made Chief Magistrate in Enugu and my parents held a big party for him to welcome him to Enugu. The Bendelites were also in Enugu including Prince Solomon Akenzua (now Omo n'Oba Omo n'Edo Akpokpolopo Erediuwa) was Principal Assistant Secretary and later Permanent Secretary before he moved to the Federal Civil Service. Chief Frank Giwa-Osagie was in charge of Enugu Prisons and lived in a big house on the hill near the prison. We would occasionally visit his house for in house filmshows. By and large the East strove for quality and sought qualified personnel even if those were non-"easterners".

The expatriates too were there such as Medley, a Brit who drove the very noisy sports car through GRA every afternoon. Others like Sapara Grant, Des Bordes and Johnson were Ghanaians who worked in various parts of the civil and public services in Enugu at that time.

Sir Louis Mbanefo was the Chief Justice and Phil-Ebosie was the senior judge or Puisne Judge - would any judge dare take a bribe with the fearsome Sir Louis at the head of the bench? I contrast it with the perverse judgements that now daily emanate from some sections of the bench leading many to cast aspersions on the judiciary. There were other men of integrity on the bench - I recall the late Justices George Nkemena and one time attorney general, the Honourable Justice MO Ajegbo. Nwabufo Uwechia was Commisioner for Law Revision but would later become Ambassador to Nyassaland or Malawi as we now know it.

Every evening the Eastern Nigeria Information Service, ENIS, would go round the GRA and drop off copies of the bulletin which gave the news of developments in the daily business of government. It was from the ENIS bulletins that my political education started. The government gazette was also available; it was not confidential and I would always read copies on my father's desk.

Forgive me if it appears that all was hunky-dory and sunny but the contrast to today was evident. Social life for my family centred around the Enugu Sports Club and the annual Christmas party was a look-forward-to. My father enjoyed the company of his own group of friends whom he met in the course of work or other. Most notable amongst them was Chief (Dr) GC Mbanugo, medical superintendent and proprietor of St Thomas' Hospital. After evensong most Sundays father and I would visit Dr Mbanugo at St Thomas Lodge and while they chatted the evening away and drank their "Heineken" or "Becks" beer I would have lemonade ad lib! The other friends of my father were George Afamefuna Menkiti later Chief Lands Officer and Permanent Secretary and Engineer Orofo Asika who is remembered as a proper engineer because he always wore shorts! His pipe gave him added gravitas!

In the fullness of time father retired and decided he would go "home" to Lagos; we left GRA first to live in a rented house on Zik Avenue till our own house was completed and we moved to Bede Wright Street.

Even by now one could see that the storm clouds were gathering; the values we knew would soon be overthrown and the ready reckoner which gave steady and reliable answers for our lives would be no more.

In 1964/65 an event occurred that would signal the coming of the storm clouds. A permanent secretary was arraigned for financial misappropriation and eventually found guilty and sentenced. This was a shock to everybody because the sacrament had been despoiled. This was a taboo! It was to prove indicative of how events would unfold.

By the military coup of January 15 1966 the downward spiral was in full motion.