Ugwuanyi: A Man for All Seasons as the Nation Teeters

Chiebuka Nwankwo

There is often a tendency to equate volubility and an overarching media presence with competence. This false reckoning has been quite apparent in the build-up to next year’s general elections as those deemed to be front-runners pitch their strengths and jockey for attention. But the enormity of the varied challenges that currently confront Nigeria has somewhat dimmed whatever glittering resumes they flaunt, and drawn a less than enthusiastic response from the electorate. It is not that their accomplishments don’t matter; the problem lies in the presumptuousness that tends to curate the choice of presidential contenders in a manner that suggests the options are limited to the familiar names. They are certainly not.

There are indeed a few other politicians who are just as accomplished even if their names might not resonate in the media. Such politicians are not the limelight-hugging type. An example is the Enugu State governor. Unaffectedly self-effacing, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi doesn’t seem like one who would have chosen politics as a vocation. But courage doesn’t always roar. Beneath that choir boy’s look lies a steely resolve. It is that gritty spirit, coupled with a forthrightness that totally abhors cant that has helped him navigate the often wily world of politics and earned him a stellar record as a public servant.

Notching impressive IGR consistently in a state that ranks among the least recipients of federal allocation lend themselves to the rather desperate fiscal situation in Nigeria. No less remarkable is how Ugwuanyi has successfully enthroned inclusion in Enugu State. The outcome is seen in the fact that Enugu has continuously earned the enviable acclaim as one of Nigeria’s most peaceful state.

This is quite significant because at the root of the disaffection and resentment nursed over the years by sections of the country is a feeling that they have hardly ever experienced a sense of belonging. Given the mutual distrust that colours every discussion towards securing some political concession or compromise among geo-political zones, it is expedient that Nigeria’s would-be president has to be someone who unifies, not a polarizing figure. The enormous respect that Ugwuanyi is accorded across the partisan divide of politics is unprecedented in Enugu State. This gesture is testament to how equitably he deploys the state’s resources and treats everyone irrespective of creed and political affiliation.

The import of this feat takes on more resonance viewed against the backdrop of Enugu’s historical significance. Enugu’s preeminence is intertwined with Nigeria’s storied history. It served as the capital of the Southern Province, the Eastern Region and old Anambra State. It was also the capital of old Enugu State that then comprised of a significant part of Ebonyi State. This makes it, implicitly, the capital of the south-east geo-political zone, and home to an agglomeration of political elites whose idiosyncrasies, not to mention their bitter rivalry or squabbling, often require more than a middling skill to manage. Ugwuanyi’s success in this regard derives from his disarming humility as well as empathy, an important leadership quality sorely lacking at the national space currently. These are not qualities that can be contrived. He expresses these quite naturally and without any hint of condescension.

Indeed, the trust that Ugwuanyi inspires is often so compelling that it sometimes seems quite surreal. There is, for instance, an internecine conflict that had proved intractable for decades in Enugu, defying peace efforts initiated by both military and civilian administrations in the past. The intractable nature of the crisis had often made it seem like one that has to be lived with. The cause of the crisis is the pernicious issue of social exclusion still prevalent in some Igbo communities that discriminates against individuals on account of family lineage, and denies them the right to ascend to the traditional stool in their communities. It is credit to Ugwuanyi’s power of mediation and unrelenting quest for justice that both communities in Nkanu East Local Government Area have today embraced peace and put aside that ugly past that blighted their development for years.

But even when occasional spike in crime occurs as it would in every society, Ugwuanyi seldom retreats to the background. It’s not uncommon seeing him make barnstorming appearance at criminals’ hideouts alongside his security details, who have since given up attempts to dissuade him. Those who don’t know him might assume that such actions are staged for the cameras to bolsters his reputation. But Ugwuanyi has no populist inclination. He deplores any attempt to reap any political capital from unfortunate situations in the same way that he discourages accolades for performing duties which, to all intents and purposes, are the raison d’etre for governments anywhere in the world.

So, his actions are never motivated by the plaudits they would likely generate. The concern, for him, is how an action directly impacts the situation it addresses. In most cases, the outcome eventually validates the process, as it did when a cross-boundary kidnap-for-ransom gang practically laid siege at the Awgu axis of the Enugu – Port Harcourt highway, capitalizing on the many caves in the surrounding forest to move their victims. Ugwuanyi literally led from the front, rallying a coordinated swoop on the cavernous hideouts for days that led to the arrests of the masterminds and release of several victims.

At present, the Peoples Democratic Party is still prevaricating on the question of zoning of its presidential ticket, torn as it is between the intense pressure mounted by a tiny but influential bloc that the contest be thrown open, and the overriding sentiment – even outside the party – for it to be zoned to the south. With the unflattering state of affairs in Nigeria in almost every sphere of living, the prospect of a PDP victory has never looked more probable as it currently does. But its chances will to a great degree be determined by its choice of presidential candidate. There’s no doubt that settling for any aspirant with vaunting ambition and a sense of entitlement will dim its chances of success at the general election. A safe choice would be an individual whose unassuming character and inclination for building consensus reassure – rather than repulse – the electorate, especially those who are as yet undecided.

Governing a state like Enugu has helped broaden Ugwuanyi’s cosmopolitan outlook. The alliances he forged at the House of Representatives where he served for 12 years has further enabled him to see the country through a broader lens. Of course, a worldview that is antithetical to provincialism ticks a crucial box in many Nigerians’ wishlist for anyone aspiring to be president. A sense of how the Enugu State governor is adept at managing tricky situations could be inferred from his handling of the PDP’s committee on zoning of party offices without controversy.

Another important quality the electorate longs to see in anyone who would preside over their affairs is for such individual to embody the rectitude they demand of others. Through his stewardship in Enugu State, Ugwuanyi repeatedly demonstrates that there is no different code of conduct for his public life and what he does privately when the cameras are turned off. A vivid example is his insistence that elected officials especially at the local government level live among their constituents, and not merely spend office hours at their posts and dash off to the cities at close of work like they were visitors.

As Ugwuanyi would always say when excoriating leaders who have no qualms embracing the fripperies of their office but frown at the sacrifice that comes with it, such as living alongside the constituents whose votes elevated them in the first place: “How often do you see me travel abroad or to Abuja?” Indeed, he has only travelled outside the country twice since his inauguration in 2015. So his chastening remark was not mere lip service. This is a mindset that commends itself to the prevailing mood in the country.