Anyone who has failed to recognize that Enugu has gone up many notches in the area of safety of live and properties is not interested in the truth. And in saying this, I am not about going in the direction expected by the cynics and their wailers, but by referencing the testaments of many eminent Nigerians, including the Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Mr Musiliu Smith, who singled out Enugu State as the most peaceful in the country.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics rated Enugu State as one of the most crime-free states in Nigeria. Same statistics ranked Enugu as most peaceful in terms of crime per capita. Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory led, followed by Enugu State and the rest of the states.
Enugu state has progressed from the previous security challenges witnessed by the previous administration to the mid-table among peers which is indication of the kind of work that has gone into creating an atmosphere for peace in the state. How this achievement is a “peace gimmick” in the eyes of the wailers still beats my imagination.
Governor Ugwuanyi has been able to build bridges of brotherhood across the various political divides in the State, denying him such uncommon accomplishment just to sow seeds of discord among the people is quite uncharitable. There is a big difference between Ugwuanyi and his predecessors on the one hand, and the opposition, on the other.
Where good men are scarce, strife and disorder rule. You cannot have peace without at least one person placing his personal time, resources and comfort on the slab as burnt offering for what every other person eventually enjoys.
Governor Ugwuanyi has been able to unite the people of Enugu around the common need to develop the entire State through rural access roads, revamp of decadent infrastructure and providing relief to the poor, especially to those who have shown commitment to entrepreneurship. In doing this, he was also able to extract an unwritten understanding that the only things that may divide us should be political ideology rather than the hitherto usual brigandage over who shares the spoils and who goes home hungry.
This, by every metric, is a masterstroke and rare, if not totally absent, in other parts of the country.
I am not sure there is anywhere in the country there aren’t wars of attrition between godfather political leaders and their godsons, most especially incumbent godsons. One of the leaders of the All Progressives Congress in the State, Sullivan Chime, was at daggers drawn with his godfather, Chimaroke Nnamani all through his tenure. I don’t intend to give examples from outside this state, but Enugu State is the only State where the incumbent is not fighting his predecessor.
It is also important that some certain quarters forming cabal in Enugu State should try and teach their supporters how to run campaigns of decorum. Allowing their blind supporters to dish insults and baseless allegations against our peace loving governor should not be tolerated.
