Appraising Gov. Mbah’s Mission to Do Things Differently in Enugu

PERSPECTIVE

By Louis Amoke

Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the Enugu State governor’s inaugural address on May 29, 2023, at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, clearly articulated the boldness and unswerving focus his broad governance vision to advance development in the state would take.

Governor Mbah’s address was loud and clear, reiterating the striking force of his mission to do things differently and guarantee the state’s future, its people and generations yet unborn.

While appreciating all those who contributed to the success of his governorship struggle, Governor Mbah dwelt on the invaluable contributions of former Governor Ugwuanyi towards his emergence as governor, stating that “posterity will certainly be kind to you for your deep sense of patriotism.”

A month before his inauguration, Governor Mbah was at the Government House, Enugu, with members of his Transition Committee on a courtesy visit to Ugwuanyi. The governor (then-governor-elect) expressed profound gratitude to Ugwuanyi for standing firm in his belief in patriotism.

Dr. Mbah equally thanked the immediate past governor for successfully leading the campaign for the emergence of someone with a public and private sector background as his successor despite blackmail, discord and vilification to accelerate development in Enugu.

He said that the decision of Ugwuanyi with the members and leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to support his emergence as the party’s governorship candidate was driven by patriotism.

Governor Mbah told Ugwuanyi that “you recognised that the line of the land is shifting rapidly, and you took a view that if we must accelerate development in Enugu State, the people who will be leading or championing that development must also have the necessary public and private sector background.”

He added, “In the light of that, you fixed your eyes on the fight despite the blackmail, discord and vilification you received during the campaigns and electioneering processes.”

The governor disclosed that in constituting the committee which Ike Chioke chaired, “we searched for the very best in virtually all views of development,” adding, “Here gathered are the products of that scrutiny.”

He further noted, “We have experts from virtually all fields of development. These are technocrats. These are private sector giants, both men and women, that have distinguished themselves in their various professional endeavours.”

Ugwuanyi as a peacemaker, bridge-builder, visionary and God-fearing leader, had an uneasy experience in office that bordered on the nation’s economic downturns, state’s limited resources, outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, EndSARS protest, other security issues in the country, and the daunting effects of the Obidient Movement during the last general election laced with betrayals, sabotage and religious influence, etc.

Despite all these challenges, the immediate past governor was able to stem the tide and hold the tempo of peace and good governance in Enugu State till the end of his tenure.

He paid workers the new N30,000 minimum wage with its consequential adjustment; embarked on unprecedented rural development programmes; covered about 850 kilometres of urban and rural roads largely concentrated in the rural areas with the provision of numerous educational, health, agricultural and security facilities; maintained the existing facilities in Enugu urban, among others.

Ugwuanyi’s administration also constructed the first flyover bridge by the Enugu government, the T-Junction Flyover Bridge by Nike Lake Road, Enugu; reconstructed and remodelled the ancient, historic and undulating 11km Millken Hill Road, Ngwo, Enugu; established a medical university, the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Igbo-Eno, Enugu State; built a 5,000-seat Township Stadium, State Secretariat Annex and a befitting Conference Centre in Nsukka; empowered the youths through various empowerment programmes; and a host of other interventions. 

Prior to the transition committee’s visit to Ugwuanyi, Governor Mbah had at different fora explained that his ambitious economic plans for Enugu State as contained in his manifesto cannot be actualised with the state’s lean resources alone but by doing things differently that would take the state through a consequential journey of growth, development and greatness.

The governor had promised to grow the state’s economy from its current level of $4.4 billion to $30 billion. He talked about ensuring that his administration achieves a zero per cent rate in the state’s poverty headcount index.

Governor Mbah had also talked about making Enugu the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living, as well as unpacking the skills of the youths in digital technology so that he will be able to equip a minimum of 40,000 youths with digital technology and a minimum of 10,000 youths in practical skills yearly. 

Dwelling further on his plans, adjudged by many to be ambitious, Governor Mbah had equally said they are “achievable because they are measurable,” stressing that “we also know that the growth level we are talking about cannot come from the public sector alone. This growth will happen through constructive investment, and they will come largely from the private sector.”

Addressing the people of Enugu at Michael Okpara Square shortly after his inauguration, Dr. Mbah expressed gratitude to them for the opportunity they gave him to serve them as their governor, saying that he will forever be grateful to them for the honour.

The governor declared that “the youths of Enugu State will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the tomorrow that is now here today” and that he wants “to expose our youths to the skills required to grasp the emerging future and create opportunities for the genius in them to flourish.”

The governor also mentioned that “we also want to invoke and instil in them the can-do spirit that is innate in the Igbo man.”

He said, “Enugu will rubbish ‘Japa’, not by legislation but by creatively addressing the challenges to the future of our youths. We will equip our youths with e-commerce, fintech and cyber-security skills, such that they will become globally interconnected and can indeed ‘Japa’ all over the world by providing services online through their e-commerce skills.”

The Enugu governor noted that “they will be champions of the globe without necessarily” having to leave Enugu.

“I am standing before you today pregnant with ideas on how to rescue our youths and indeed the whole of Enugu State from the threats against our existence. You can trust me,” stated Mbah. “I will be operating from the vantage of transcendental values and not narrow interests. That is what we are driven by. I will not let you down. We believe that the only purpose of leadership is to bring the best out of every one of us. You are why all these are possible.”

Harping on doing things differently, Governor Mbah, among other promises, stated, “Take notice that this administration will be business unusual. Tough decisions will be taken. Those decisions will, however, be taken in the best interest of Ndi Enugu and Enugu State in general. You will constitute the driving force of every action we take as your representatives.”

He vowed to “serve you with every fibre of our being and devote all our energy and your resources to working for you and your interests,” pointing out that “our driving force and governance philosophy will be always based on transcendental values.”

The new governor said he would “invoke the spirit of enterprise, the creative energy of our people and the remarkable industry on the streets of Enugu State to create the difference in governance” and pursue unrivalled economic growth “in this part of the country” by tapping into the limitless resources of the private sector to provide world-class infrastructure and productive sector growth.

He aims to retool and re-energise agriculture and the agro-allied sector, unlocking the rural economy by implementing Special Economic Zones and Special Agro-allied Processing Zones, emphasising that the commerce and industry sector “will help us to kick-start this drive.” The governor also plans to provide a N100 billion revolving fund for our SMEs in partnership with the private sector and other development financial institutions.

“In the area of information and communication technology (ICT), we will provide a tier 4 hyper-scale data centre to attract hyper-scale businesses like Amazon, Google, Netflix, TikTok and Microsoft,” said the governor. Demonstrating his persuasion and steadfastness towards achieving his ambitious economic plans for Enugu, Governor Mbah, immediately after his inauguration, headed for his office at the Government House, Enugu and performed his first executive task, by signing three executive orders, including the Citizens’ Charter which demands that “we manage your money, the people’s money” in the people’s interest.

“This charter holds me and members of my team to account on your funds. The Citizens’ Charter mandates us to provide detailed information on our public financial management system, report our revenue to you in detail and ensure that we adequately capture our expenditure,” the Enugu governor explained. “The charter demands, in the same vein, that our expenditure is consistent with government priorities.”

Mbah added, “In line with the Public Financial Management (PFM) system, we will also ensure implementation of programmes and projects that deliver value for our money, factoring due process and public procurement laws into them.”

Ending his inaugural address, Governor Mbah directly invited Ndi-Enugu to his envisioned journey into prosperity.

“Let me invite the people of Enugu State to accompany our administration on this journey into prosperity. This is not the time for politics. It is not time for passion as well. It is time for the sowing of the seed for the Enugu of our dream,” he stressed. “Each Enugu son and daughter should ask themselves the question: what sort of future do we desire for our children? In answering the question, we must begin to work together to forge that future of our dream. Posterity will not forgive us if we fail.”

It has always been Ugwuanyi’s wish that his successor will perform better than him as a father prays for his son.

Governor Mbah has shown that he has the will, fortress, capacity and courage to take Enugu to the next level. Doing things differently for tomorrow is indeed here. The governor has already hit the ground running. Let’s, therefore, give him the needed support to excel.

•Amoke writes from Enugu