The thought on this article had been incubated since late last year. It was actually provoked by a 22 November 2024 post by a public relations expert, Fred Chukwuelobe, on his Facebook wall, titled, ‘A word for Governor Mbah of Enugu State’.
Chukwuelobe was in Enugu for the ordination of a family friend to the Deaconate of the Catholic Church at Bigard Memorial Seminary. He went round the city after the ordination ceremonies. And gave his verdict: ‘I dare say that, indeed, Enugu is now working… Governor Mbah is changing the landscape of the Coal City in an admirable manner. The roundabout at Okpara Avenue, by Rangers Avenue, by New Haven junction, by the Government House, have been remodeled and they have given the city a new beautiful look. He’s working on roads, on pipe borne water, on electricity, etc’.
Chukwuelobe explained that the write up was not a public relational stunt for the governor but borne of his admiration for good governance for the people. He further enthused; ‘I am completely convinced the man has a purpose and it is to truly make Enugu State better than anybody has ever imagined’.
Fredo, as I fondly address him, is not from Enugu. But Ogbuagu Bob Anikwe, is, and had at a point served as Commissioner for Information in the state. He agreed with Chuwuelobe, adding, ‘If Mbah doesn’t slack, and I don’t believe he will, Enugu is bound to give Nigeria a shining example for all time’.
Former aide to the Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Kanayo Esinulowho was recently in the state for the public presentation of his trailblazing book, ‘OJUKWU: Exile, Diplomacy And Survival’, also weighed in. He wrote; ‘I am still in shock at the transformations that Enugu, the capital of our region, is undergoing. Ogui Road, Independence Layout, GRA, Trans-Ekulu, New Heaven and other areas, have all been touched by this government of Peter Mba. Enugu is undergoing significant and amazing transformation infrastructurally. Hospitals and other healthcare facilities are being totally restructured. Enugu is witnessing improvement in many areas’.
You may, of course, not agree with the remarks by these tested hands but you can hardly ignore them. Each has made marks in our industry, the media. Chukwuelobe, before veering into public relations, gave a good account of himself in the newsroom, capping it as News Editor of the Champion Newspapers. Ogbuagu, erstwhile News Editor of The Guardian, was my boss in The Post Express Newspapers. He was actually the first Managing Director to decorate me with Editor’s rank, when he made me Assistant Editor before further progressions. In the office, we operated at different waves in temperament and disposition, but I always conceded to him the thoroughness and mastery of the job. Esinulo, in similar vein, is like a generalissimo, who has seen it all in the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and The Guardian Newspapers, where he was the first News Editor. He is also a big name in public relations.
Three of them making affirmations on the performance profile of Governor Peter Mbah, cannot be taken lightly. Reports from colleagues and relations in the state, have also rated the administration high. That is commendable and heartwarming.
I am not from Enugu and have not been to the state lately, I must confess. I don’t also have any relationship, with the governor, whatsoever. In fact, in the 2023 election, I did not root for him, for two reasons. He is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I supported his opponent, the candidate of Labour Party (LP), Chijioke Edeoga, a professional colleague, who I can describe as a friend, even if not intimately.
I did not have sympathy for any candidate on the ticket of the PDP at any level. PDP, for me has been a huge disappointment to the South East. In my article on 27 May 2022, titled ‘PDP, South East and how not to reward loyalty’, I took note of how the zone had over the years supported the party, by giving it almost 100 percent of its votes at elections, especially the presidency.
For a people that had demonstrated such unprecedented level of fidelity, there was expectation of reward. 2023 provided the opportunity for the PDP to show gratitude to the South East by picking a candidate from the zone for the presidential election. But in the run up to its 28 May 2022 primary, PDP defaulted and threw its ticket open to all the zones. That, for me, was the height of injustice to the region.
So, Mbah, like any other candidate of the party, did not win my support. The breezy manner at which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced him the winner of the governorship poll, did not also help matters. My support for Edeoga continued through the entire judicial process up to the Supreme Court. In fact, when a close friend sought my opinion about him working with the governor, I did not support the idea. It was that bad! But the elections are over, as they say. It is no longer time for partisanship but citizenship for the good of Enugu residents and the South East. What Mbah is doing in Enugu should therefore be commended and recommended for other states in the region.
For long, officials from the South East had seen public office as opportunity to amass wealth and not call to service. Consequently, the region became byword for failure and object of mockery before others. At some point, law and order were on flight, living the citizens at the mercy of criminal gangs.
Ironically, that was a zone that had produced men and women of class in all aspects of national life. This was an area from which the likes of Ojukwu (Ikemba Nnewi), hailed from. This was a zone that within a space of nine years after the 1967 – 1970 civil war, had risen from the ashes of crushing defeat to produce a Vice President (Alex Ekwueme) and Speaker of the House of Representatives (Edwin Ume-Ezeoke), among other senior government officials.
These were a people who the literary icon, Chinua Achebe, captured in his concise book, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ as though not having advantage of early head-start, had ‘wiped out their handicaps in one fantastic burst of energy in the twenty years between 1930 and 1950’. You will also not appreciate the trademark resilience of the people unless you take the story from the audacity of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and the Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Michael Iheonukara (M.I) Okpara in lifting the area from near ground zero, such that by 1964, it was described as the fastest growing economy in the world by Harvard Reviews.
That is perhaps, the story Governor Peter Mbah wants to reenact in Enugu. The governor says he is in a hurry to develop and transform the state because of the pressing circumstances in the various sectors. He says he is bothered by the need for the state to have portable water in every home and to ensure that the children are exposed to the skill set that prepares them for 21st century work place. ‘We have to ensure that our roads are paved, devoid of potholes. We have to revive our industries. We also have to ensure that we introduce modern transportation systems. There is none of these we felt we could push to a later day’, he told the people earlier in the year, at a holy Mass at the Government House Chapel, Enugu, to formally mark the beginning of another work year.
Pointers to what Mbah has up the sleeves, include the International Conference Centre that was commissioned a few days ago; the 340 bed 5-star hotel that is billed to open in May this year at the International Conference Centre, as well as the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital. Other projects are equally on course. It is hoped that he does not slack in the revolution.
