Where good men are scarce, strife and disorder rule. You cannot have peace without someone placing his personal time, resources and comfort as burnt offering on the slab for what every other person eventually enjoys.
I am not sure if there is anywhere in the country there aren’t wars of attrition between political godfathers and their godsons – especially incumbent godsons.
One of the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Sullivan Chime, was at daggers drawn with his godfather, Chimaroke Nnamani all through his tenure. It was Gov. Ugwuanyi that supervised and superintended the return of Chimaroke Nnamani back to the Senate for peace to reign. Both men would never see eye to eye while Chime was governor but, on Friday, September 19, 2020, Ugwuanyi reunited both men to mend fences, for the good of their political mentees and the state.
Just so we are clear, the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections in Enugu was a product of peace, brokered and negotiated by Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
I don’t intend to give examples from outside the state, but Enugu State is the only state where the incumbent is not fighting his predecessor. This, by every metric, is a masterstroke and rare, if not totally absent, in other parts of the country.
It is no more news that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State is a man of peace. What is even more newsworthy is that his love for peace has become infectious.
Over and over, the Executive governor has been hailed as a peace-lover and a man who eschews violence; not just by ‘ndi Enugu’ but by all and sundry.
According to Brig. Gen. Lasisi Adegboye, General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division Nigerian Army in Enugu, Ugwuanyi has invested heavily in security.
“…Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has invested heavily in the security architecture of the state. I will not say much but only implore you to please continue with the love you have for your people and Nigeria as a nation. It takes somebody with human feelings and love for his people to invest so much in security like you have done,” said Gen. Adegboye.
According to Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who expressed his delight at the uncommon leadership style of Ugwuanyi in fostering peace and unity among the political class in the state irrespective of party differences, the governor’s disposition in relating with members of the opposition after winning the election, was commendable and the best approach to governance.
Jonathan stressed that Ugwuanyi’s inclusive governance style remains a rare feat other leaders should emulate to move their constituencies forward. “If you are the governor of a state, you must treat all the citizens equally, irrespective of their political persuasions, otherwise you are not a good governor”, Jonathan said.
While urging members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu state to continue to encourage the governor in his peace initiatives, the former president maintained that “we need peace and unity if we want rapid development”.
Also, Jonathan expressed delight over Ugwuanyi’s unprecedented performance during the 2019 election, stating that the governor scored higher percentage of votes to earn a second term and thanked God that the PDP made the right choice in 2015.
“In most cases as presidents and governors, their second term election is tougher because when you are coming for the first term, there is so much enthusiasm, so much hope by the people. But it is almost difficult to meet the needs of the people.
“So, in your second term election, you may win but with less votes. But he (Ugwuanyi) even won with higher votes than in the first election. That is commendable and I always tell people [that] when you become the President or the governor or the chairman, you are not a governor of your party, you are the governor of your state. So I looked back when we all wanted him (Ugwuanyi) and I thank God we made the right choice.”
A former Governor of Abia State Orji Uzor Kalu also commended Ugwuanyi for the respect he has continued to accord President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders in the country, irrespective of political affiliations. Kalu, who expressed delight at the friendship the governor has maintained with political leaders across board, stressed that such uncommon leadership style has brought peace and development to Enugu State.
The Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunlusi, Ojaja II, also extolled the leadership qualities of the governor, describing him as a “wonderful” leader whose hospitality is second to none.
The fact that the PDP opted for him to douse inner-party tension in the chapter of the party in Ondo State, ahead of the party primary, is a testament to that effect.
His goal was to ensure that the party primary in the state did not degenerate into chaos and, also, to make sure all parties – winners, losers and stakeholders – agreed with the process at every step of the way.
True to type, Gov. Ugwuanyi spear-headed the primaries and showed political observers how possible it is to conduct a primary devoid of rancour.
With this move, Ugwuanyi put himself on a pedestal and set his beloved party on the way to achieving great things and, at the risk of sounding bold, a victory at the polls.
But that is not all.
Many argue that the governor is too calm and gentle. No. He simply understands the rules of engagement and, at the risk of coming across so many obstacles, he has ensured that he builds bridges of brotherhood across the various political divides in the state.
This here is the difference between Ugwuanyi and his predecessors, as well as the opposition. The governor has traded a lot for peace but, then, who can blame him?
Ugwuanyi has been able to unite the people of Enugu around the common need to develop the state through rural access roads, revamping the decadent infrastructure and providing relief to the poor, especially rural dwellers. In doing this, he was also able to extract an unwritten understanding that the only things that may divide the state may be political ideology rather than the hitherto usual brigandage over who takes the spoils and who goes home hungry.
In order to ensure that he entrenches peace in the rural areas, especially where there has been no tangible government presence over a long period, the governor took development to them in the form of the ‘Own Your Project’ scheme, prior to his re-election for a second term.
Communities asked for projects they considered important to them and his administration provided the money for the projects to see the light of day; whatever it was – schools, town halls, electrification projects, access roads, primary health centres, skills’ acquisition centres, playgrounds, rehabilitation projects, intricate road networks, market squares etc.
Thus, the Ugwuanyi administration embarked on a smart community project drive, taking the government to those who had lost hope of ever seeing a government intervention in their time.
To further pacify the youth of the state, he allocated over 75 per cent of the tickets of the PDP in the February 29, 2020 council elections in the state to youths, besides other political appointments in his cabinet, in fulfilment of the promise he made during his second inaugural speech, affirming that it is “youth o’clock” in the state, in line with the advocacy for the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ movement.
That move has given young people more confidence in the state administration, earned the governor more trust, catalysed a community-based responsibility for shared governance, taken more young people off the streets, ensured a representative mode of administration and, above all, helped the governor put down his legacy as a man of peace.
Ugwuanyi was the first among the governors of the Southeast to commence the operation of Forest Guards as a security measure, emphasizing that it was an indication that “our governor is highly determined and committed in tackling the atrocious activities of some hoodlums who were terrorizing our people in the recent past, especially in communities in Enugu West.
Ugwuanyi was the first among the governors of the Southeast to commence the operation of Forest Guards as a security measure, emphasizing that it was an indication that “our governor is highly determined and committed in tackling the atrocious activities of some hoodlums who were terrorizing our people in the recent past, especially in communities in Enugu West.
The Enugu West General Assembly, through its Publicity Secretary, Samson Onyia, hailed the governor for “taking the bull by the horn”.
He was once quoted to have said: “if you drive through Opi-Nsukka to Enugu town, plying the road linking through Opi Junction descending down, you will think you are in a countryside in Europe. We know the past stories attached to that road. Enugu residents are very conversant with the high level of kidnapping on that road in the past”.
Furthermore, security is one of the most fundamental needs required by investors before they can invest in a state or region. We are very glad that Governor Ugwuanyi was able to achieve it within the shortest time after his second term inauguration as the Executive Governor of Enugu state.
Also, in another move aimed at ensuring security operatives suffer no hitches in carrying out their duties, Ugwuanyi donated vehicles to the Nigeria Security & Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Also, the governor handed over 65 out of the 100 units of the Innoson vehicles procured and installed with ultra-modern security and communication gadgets by his administration to the Nigeria Police Force, to aid her operations in the state. He promised continuous logistic support to security agencies in Enugu State.
At such a moment when the nation is almost rid of her peace by a myriad of factors which can almost guarantee division and chaos, men like Ugwuanyi who have a strong inclination towards peace and how to bring it back home and fuse it with administration are the rare breed Nigeria needs.
At such a moment when the nation is almost rid of her peace by a myriad of factors which can almost guarantee division and chaos, men like Ugwuanyi who have a strong inclination towards peace and how to bring it back home and fuse it with administration are the rare breed Nigeria needs.
