Mbah and Contest of Measurable Outcomes in Enugu

Oguejiofo Ujam in this piece submits that Governor Peter Mbah has raised the bar of governance in Enugu State since assuming office over a year ago.

Within the past 431 days the breeze has blown in terms of governance across the 36 states of Nigeria and exposed the rump of state governors. Post-May 29, 2023, some of the first term state governors succeeded in hitting the ground running. Others had the uncomplimentary fortune of wriggling through political disputations either with their predecessors or burdening themselves with the excesses of their godfathers.

Although the media have helped Nigerians to guestimate and project the performance of some of these first term state chief executives, in Enugu State certain interesting patterns have emerged. This author had mounted an observatory to, not only monitor the lead up to the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial election, but also gauge the progress of governance in the state.

As one citizen who has kept close tab on the politics, governance and developmental goings on in Enugu State, I make bold to state that Governor Peter Mbah has kept faith with the deliverables in his manifesto and mandate. The lofty vision contained in Mbah’s manifesto aroused curiosity of cynics and pernicious critics, particularly his promise of leap-frogging the state’s economic threshold from $4billion to $30billion.

Apart from economic growth, the governor had set for himself another lofty baseline in the area of provision of critical infrastructure and social amenities, particularly supply of pipe borne water and construction of high quality access roads across the state.

This intervention was not intended to celebrate the achievements of the Enugu State governor, but to bring into national consciousness how far self-motivated sub-national leaders could go to remake governance trajectory in their domains.

Further, the decision to write this piece was propelled by Governor Mbah’s recent high water mark offerings in the areas of agricultural productivity and provision of much needed security of life and property to make life worth living for the people.

It should be registered as a remarkable feat. The determination of a state governor to embark on signposting measurable outcomes of his administration’s policy options. From what have been seen after the new administration took root in the Coal City State, it is apparent that Governor Mbah made his campaign manifesto a scheme of work or course outline. Against that background, he has been religiously implementing the components in a comprehensive manner to achieve set targets.

One recalls vividly how during a three-day executive leadership retreat for senior political appointees, in September 2023, Governor Mbah fired up his aides. He assured them that transforming Enugu State to a $30 billion economy in a space of eight years is doable if only they could believe in it and put themselves to achieving that.

Governor Mbah actually showed that he meant every bit of what he was saying. He also demonstrated his seriousness to properly equip his appointees to buy into the can-do spirit and positive energy he radiates around his vision and mission.

The caliber of resource persons arrayed for the retreat was a pointer to the governor’s determination to bring his private sector experience to bear on his mandate delivery.

With eggheads like the Acting Chief Economist of African Development Bank, Ibukun Awosika; Driver at Synthesia, Mr. Joseph Urama; Joe Abah; Linus Okorie and Sam Onyia, among others, nobody was left in doubt that Mbah, a former playmaker in the Downstream Oil and Gas industry, meant business.

Of course, the Secretary to Enugu State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, had explained that the retreat was programmed to enable the senior appointees of government “to digest the governor’s vision and map out strategies for achieving the targets across the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).”

Stressing the need for his disruptive action plan, Governor Mbah had declared that “applying the hands-on knowledge gained at the event was a sure pathway to disrupting the status quo, which, he said “was no longer acceptable.”

It was possible that some of those that listened to Governor Mbah’s remarks at the closing ceremony of the leadership retreat may have taken his bold declarations with a pinch of salt, based on the broad imperatives of his vision.

But, 14 months of his taking up the mantle of leadership of Enugu State, it is left for all to weigh his words against the works done by his administration in the period under review.

The Enugu State chief executive had stated: “Development history is replete with countries, sub-nationals, and cities where the people have come together and agreed that they would change the narrative, the pattern of growth, and they committed themselves to it, and it happened.

“So, nobody should tell you that what we want to do in Enugu is impossible. With our can-do spirit, we can achieve a $30 billion economy in the next eight years. We can achieve a great city.

“We can achieve access to the best quality education that any child can have access to in the world. We can also have access to high-quality healthcare services in this state.

“We can build 10,000 kilometres of road. We can restore water to Enugu in the next two months as promised by our people and also make access to clean water happen for our people across the state in no distant time.

“We can also achieve zero poverty headcount, eradicate poverty from our state and deliver on every promise we made.

“Indeed we can make Enugu the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, and living. We are already thinking about the future that we want to bequeath to our children, and history beckons on all of us to do something. If we believe in it, if we have the can-do spirit, then we can make it happen.”

Scanning through my random jottings and notes on the quiet renovation and remodelling going on in Enugu State, I saw an entry on May 16, 2024, which read: “I had just returned to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka after going to visit my mum in the village. I was marvelled by what I saw as I drove through Enugu while heading back.

 “It is not that some of us who lined up behind the governor during the last governorship poll are surprised. But, truth be told, we never imagined that in a space of 12 months he will turn the state into a huge construction site.

“He gave us water as he promised and cleaned up the city of filth. The governor upgraded our school system with the smart school initiative and up-scaled the provision of quality healthcare.

“The one that forced me into indenting this post concerns the ambitious bus terminus and interchange that not only promises to modernise Enugu, the Coal City and Nsukka, the second largest city in the state, but also cement the fact that Tomorrow is here in Enugu State.

“Indeed, Governor Mbah is demonstrating courage, vision and commitment to mission, which are the hallmarks of primeval leadership. It would seem patronising to call him the father of new Enugu yet. But, Dr Mbah is enhancing our confidence in his capabilities and competence.”

I was compelled to make these findings public following reports that the Enugu State governor has, apart from targeting N100 bilion from livestock production, but also has a first veterinary hospital in view.

The establishment of a veterinary hospital is the agricultural equivalent of the Governor’s milestones in the education sector, where his smart school initiative has garnered huge mileage in retooling teachers and revising the teaching and learning methods. All these are turning out as part of the expected outcomes that culminate in remodeling and populating the society with better citizenry.

Without making noise about it, Governor Mbah has solved the challenge of funding through increased subvention to higher institutions, particularly the State University of Medical and Applied Science (SUMAS) and its Teaching Hospital.

Coming at a time when the issue of herder-farmer crisis is joining to tossing food security in Nigeria, Mbah has demonstrated surefootedness in his determination to boost the economy and scale up the capacity of farmers in animal husbandry.

The governor made the assertions when the National Project Coordinator, Sanusi Abubakar, led a delegation from the Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES) to Enugu for ribbon-cutting of the first Regional Enugu Model Veterinary Hospital in the state.

 The governor disclosed that his administration discovered the need to start putting in a robust policy or a legal framework that can support his agricultural policies, stressing that Enugu has a market size of over ₦100 billion.

He noted that the veterinary hospital was coming at a time the state was focused on scaling up meat and dairy production, adding that the Enugu State Ranch Management Agency Law was conceived to unlock economic opportunities for the state.

This, he declared, would create employment opportunities in the livestock space and contribute to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product from $4.4 billion to $30 billion.

When taken together, Mbah’s policy options, programmes and projects have shown his administration is involved in a contest of measurable outcomes. It is a record, which if governments set for themselves, it makes it easier for the people to reap the benefits of their mandate, thereby ensuring inclusivity.

No doubt, Enugu State has emerged on the front row of promising constituencies of ennobling governance strategies that would in the long run rekindle public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy and responsible governance.

-Prof Ujam writes from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.