By Ikenna Onovo
There is something unique, indeed commendable and worthy to be copied about the aggressive development drive of the government of Enugu State. Rather than keep lamenting about inherited problems, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the governor of Enugu State, is moving forward with new strategies to make his electoral promises happen in the state.
Governments at various levels in the country have continued to bemoan the failures of the past administrations as an excuse for non-performance six months after taking the oath of office.
The comments being made so far by those elected into the various offices at state and federal levels show that they are still campaigning and are yet to start governing.
Ugwuanyi seems to be a typical example of a governor that isn’t giving or taking excuses for what he has been called to do by the electorate.
Yet, huge debts inherited from his predecessor can serve as a veritable excuse for not fulfilling his electoral promises.
Ugwuanyi has focused on his economic development blueprint while at same time employing innovative strategies to deal with the problem of a lean purse.
His focus is on running a seamless administration that ensures continuity in all the organs of government. Governments and institutions run better in continuity – when an incoming leadership takes responsibility for what government has done before and seek ways to improve rather than engaging time and resources in criticizing the past administration.
It is highly recommended to federal and state government officials to follow Ugwuanyi’s example of decisive actions going forward to change the future in place of criticisms that cannot change the past.
The electorate believed that these officials were capable of changing their living conditions despite the odds and that is the reason they have been elected. To be dwelling on the problems they claimed to have understood and promised to resolve as excuses for non-performance is quite unacceptable at this stage of Nigeria’s democratic governance.
The resolution of the Senate recently to compel the APC-led federal government to implement its promise to pay the sum of N5,000 to unemployed persons in the country has shed a light in this direction. Part of the expected dividends of Nigeria’s maturing democracy should be holding the various levels of governments responsible for the implementation of their electoral promises to the people.
People who come into offices in both government and institutions need to defend the might and integrity of that office. This, I think, is what Ugwuanyi has done in Enugu State by building on the platform of the previous administration to construct a more elaborate roadmap for taking Enugu State to the next level.
While appreciating the achievements of his predecessor, in his inaugural speech, he promised to build further on them. “What we can and must do, is to try and utilise the advantage that comes from this historic achievement”, he said.
This is an ideal strategy in matured governance, which maintains an atmosphere of continuity rather than the wasteful stop-go pattern that is the order of the day in this country. It saves a lot of cost in administration by avoiding the time and cost of putting up a show of policy deviation – that is often beclouded with selfish, political undercurrents that at the end amount to a waste of public funds.
The new administration in Enugu State is moving ahead with a number of ambitious and capital intensive projects in spite of the challenges of funds at this time. The economic development strategy is aimed at making Enugu the hub of the eastern economy by driving investment inflow, developing critical infrastructures and giving a renewed attention to the agricultural sector.
Human capital development and skills acquisition are also part of the engagement strategy in the state.The government is also pursuing rural development and creation of more urban areas to boost economic growth and spread economic opportunities.
Ugwuanyi has just created Enugu State Urban Renewal Team to drive the rural/urban development plan. Modernization of the university town of Nsukka – the second largest town in Enugu State, is a key project under the rural development plan.
This is a strategic move to attract technology and knowledge-based businesses and other industrial support ventures. Ugwuanyi isn’t looking at the gloomy face of the crude oil market; he is counting on the ability of his economic team to employ innovative approaches to effect desirable changes in the affairs of the state.
According to him, “We are blessed with great men and women. We feel as a government that while others are busy lamenting over their fate as a result of the development in the oil sector, we should quickly initiate the Enugu State Economic Advisory Board. This, we have done.”
The board consists of men of high caliber, who have undertaken to play active roles in the effort to open up Enugu State by attracting new investors. The quality of the personalities lined up on the board indicates how big are the dreams of Enugu State.
They include Monsignor Prof. Obiora Ike, Vicar-General of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, who is the chairman of the board. In the board also are people like Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, deputy Senate President, Prof. Barth Nnaji, former Minister of Power and Chief Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of Innoson Group of Companies.
Among others are Prof. Osita Ogbu, former Economic Adviser to the President and current Director of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Nigeria and Amb. Fidelia Njeze, former Aviation Minister. Enugu is centrally positioned within the south east and Ugwuanyi plans to take this advantage to launch it as a new centre of commerce and industry.
The availability of an international airport in the state also places it at an advantage to attract the attention of both domestic and foreign investors in the new investment drive of the government of the state. This is a typical case of moving ahead with what we have rather than keep lamenting for what we lack.
With the vision and the dreams being pursued, Enugu State could become the next place for an unexpected economic miracle this side of the Sahara. It is pertinent to note that the effort to boost internally generated revenue in the state follows a fundamental approach. The immediate task is to build the capacity for enhancing internally generated revenue by first building the economy.
This is quite unlike the quick fix measures in many other states where government is just increasing taxes and levies on the people who are already circumscribed by the present economic hardship. The wisdom in seeking to enhance internally generated revenue by first creating capacity for it should be applauded. According to Ugwuanyi, “the reason for this approach is that we want to begin by laying a strong foundation”.
Enugu seems to be one of the few states where the governor set out early, without much distraction on the course of delivering electoral promises to the people. Ugwuanyi is known for his commitment to empowering people to work as well as sternness in ensuring value for money. With his seamless continuity policy, for instance, he is getting contractors under the previous administration to deliver jobs they would have abandoned. He is touching lives with new road projects, which is a critical requirement in not only Enugu State but the south east generally.He is also moving ahead decisively in the area of agriculture, which he considers the most promising area for the creation of large, gainfully employment opportunities. He is giving priority to the San Carlos Farm project, Ada rice and other similar farm settlements in recognition of the need for increased local production of food crops in the light of declining food imports due to foreign exchange constraints.
Development of adequate stock of infrastructures, provision of favourable policies, legal frameworks and business-friendly environment are the essential ingredients of the government’s new investment drive.
A critical part of the drive is a call on the citizens of the state in the Diaspora to invest more at home under the new phase of development in Enugu State.
Onovo, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.
