By Oliver Ujah
On Tuesday, 3rd November 2015, the Punch newspaper carried what appears to be an editorial verdict that Enugu State governor’s decision to buy official cars for lawmakers and cabinet members was ill conceived and totally unnecessary. The editorial judgment stated further that the governor’s action had seriously diminished leadership and concluded that no excuse can atone for what it labeled recklessness.
The reason the newspaper gave for its condemnation of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, governor of Enugu State is the economic difficulties facing the masses. Punch is a top standing newspaper in Nigeria but the tone of this editorial raises serious concerns of bias and unfairness. It is appropriate for newspapers to carry editorial opinions on matters of public interest but what Punch published on 3rd November clearly passed from editorial opinion to judgment on a matter it never gave a fair hearing to the person it condemned.
When the editorial said no excuse can atone for the action, what it simply did was to pass judgment before the hearing – which is contrary to the laws of the federal republic of Nigeria and the rules of equity and justice all over the world. Wide consultations on matters of public interest are the essential ingredients for achieving fairness in reporting and in molding the right public opinion.
The editorial declared the governor’s action as an unnecessary project because of the state of the economy. There is no rule in management science that says workers should not be motivated in certain situations of the economy. It is rather during an economic downturn that stimulatory spending needs to be increased. This is the counter cyclical approach that was applied all over the world to end the last global financial crisis.
To the extent that government spending props up the production-consumption chain within an economy to that extent economic recovery is being activated. This is the globally acclaimed policy action to stimulate economic recovery. It is interesting that the state government is not spending money on selfish projects but on strengthening the machinery of government. What it needs to ensure is that the recipients respond optimally by way of increased productivity as per the set targets.
Governance, like corporate leadership involves strategic actions designed to achieve set objectives. To condemn an action of the leadership without understanding how it fits into the overall strategic design will be lacking in merit.
There is no doubt that the need to spend on infrastructure development is quite pressing in Enugu State as it is in every other state of the federation presently. The roads in the south east generally are still begging for attention they ought to have received four to five years ago. Despite that the Punch editorial did not reflect the views of the Enugu State government, it still fulfills the normal role of the press as a check on the use of public funds. Its question mark on the N552 million, which is seen to have been utilised to empower the critical organs of government in Enugu State is on spending priority – which the governor has explained to the satisfaction of the people. A far more serious probe into the hundreds of billions of naira budgeted and squandered every year for the past five years on the south east road contracts is critically needed.
The picture of recklessness painted by the said editorial appears to be punctured by the question it was asking at the same time whether the vehicles purchased were budgeted for. This simply underscores the fact that the editorial was not based on sufficient information on a matter that it gave such a high handed verdict. If they were budgeted for, could that have changed its editorial content?
A number of actions and decisions of Ugwuanyi since he came into office portray him in colours far different from what appeared in the editorial. The man is reckoned as a leading example of financial prudence that should, in fact, be copied by other states of the federation. For more than five months of coming into office, the governor is still attending to the affairs of the state from his personal house.
He has been quite patient to undertake the necessary repairs in the state house while applying the available resources to settle the more critical matters in the state. It does not appear that he does not pine for the comforts and luxuries that attach to his office as governor but that he is sacrificing his personal interests for the good of the state. He should be commended rather than condemned for this.
It is equally pertinent to learn that the governor for almost five months or more was using his personal vehicles as part of his official fleet, just to facilitate the functioning of the machinery of government since there was no money. This is an example of financial prudence, not of recklessness.
It is understandable that in a society noted for corruption, every move made by anybody is subject to suspicion. The problem with that is that those who are well intended are often misunderstood. This, I think, is a point to reflect upon by all of us in this country. It is quite convincing that the governor of Enugu State is different from the crowd; he lives more for others than for himself.
It is normal that people who are not directly within operating system of government may not understand the actions of government every time. This is where we can see the beauty of democracy – the demand for accountability and the checks and balances it offers. Labour leaders in the state took steps to demand explanations from the governor on the matter and were satisfied after their meeting with him. The Punch’s editorial judgment on the same matter is therefore voided by the fact that the people of Enugu State have endorsed their governor’s decisions and actions, having understood that they are well intended to fulfill electoral promises. This is a fact that the editorial was either not aware of or it deliberately overlooked.
The claim by the editorial that the vehicles were meant to bribe the state legislators and cabinet members, which is quite unfortunate. It is unimaginable that a single car is considered enough to bribe personalities of the caliber of legislators and commissioners. This is so demeaning to these officials and the government of Enugu State. The governor has been elected to oversee the affairs of the state and does not need to bribe anybody to accomplish that.
Every leadership that knows its onions, be it in the public or private sector needs a dependable team to deliver results. It has to build that team; it has to equip it; it has to motivate it continually. Ugwuanyi has not done anything outside the global standards of management practice. He simply equipped government officials to do their work and he did not do so to the detriment of the people of Enugu State but for the rightful purpose of delivering his promises to the people of the state. If anybody has suffered in the process, it is Ugwuanyi himself, who has sacrificed his own personal desires and comfort to address first the critical areas of attention in the normal affairs of government.
The starting point of progress and development in any human society is to create an atmosphere of peace, which Ugwuanyi has achieved in Enugu State. A swift resolution of outstanding issues affecting governance in the state by the governor has provided a new platform to move the state ahead. Given the zeal for accomplishment and the selfless service that he has brought into the affairs of government in Enugu State, it can be expected that the issues of outstanding salaries for workers in the State would soon be sorted out.
The weather may be stormy but it is no solution to throw stones at this time. The issue of unpaid workers’ salaries is not a problem only in Enugu State; it is not a problem only in the public sector. It is affecting the private sector seriously as well. In daring economic circumstances such as we are presently facing in Nigeria, we all need collaborative efforts to launch pragmatic approaches that are needed to overcome the challenges.
It is no doubt an appropriate call by the editorial for Nigerians all over to begin to demand full accountability from their various state governments. Enugu State is clearly leading the example in this area. Leaders of the organised labour in Enugu State initially challenged some of the recent decisions of the state government, in view of which the governor convened a meeting with them on the issues at stake. At the end of the meeting the chairman of the Joint Negotiating Council labour Comrade Chukwuma Igbokwe was full of commendations for the governor for having a listening ear. He said “we met with his Excellency and he gave us the true situation, we reconciled issues; let me commend his Excellency’s mode of operation; each time there are some issues, he will always clear the air.
“There is information his Excellency gave us about the jeep and which we discussed, it’s not the issue of buying, what we said is that vehicles were given out free, but now we know the true situation; when you are in a family, there are times there are misconceptions, the important thing is that at the end of the day, everybody is happy.”
The people of Enugu State and indeed the generality of the Nigerian people should, on the strength of the true position of things in Enugu State, disregard the high handed editorial of the newspaper on 3rd November 2015, which made its conclusions without giving the government of Enugu State, the organised labour and other stakeholders in the state a fair hearing. It will be appropriate therefore for the newspaper to rethink the content of that editorial and try to seek the views of the government of the state and other stakeholders in order to give the public a fair and equitable view of the real state of affairs.
Ujah, a public affairs analyst wrote from Enugu
