A former Member of the House of Representatives, Ozo Rt. Hon. Barrister KGB Oguakwa, has hailed the Governor of Enugu State, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, on the occasion of His Excellency’s 20th March 58th Birthday Celebration, describing him as “a leader we can trust.”
In a moving and factual congratulatory tribute, Oguakwa also described governor Ugwuanyi as “An eze’udo in fact and an eze’gbasapulu’aka in deed.”
In a cerebrally articulate News Commentary aired by the major Radio Stations, notably Radio Nigeria and Enugu State Broadcasting Service, unabridged transcripts of which was obtained by Journalist101, Oguakwa, who had represented the Aninri/Awgu/Oji-River Federal Constituency, as he did earlier last year, once again, publicly nominated Ugwuanyi for Nigeria’s Presidency or Senate in Y2023.
KGB Oguakwa wrote:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO A LEADER YOU CAN TRUST.
God is the King of Peace.
History however, is replete with the deserved celebration of the handful of mortal men who, through sheer empathy, compassion and uncommon large-heartedness, have exhibited remarkable approximation to the otherwise unattainably eternal.
Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Lawrence Ugwuanyi, fondly Gburugburu, alumnus of St. Theresa’s College, Nsukka, alumnus of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Right Honourable alumnus of House of Representatives, Abuja, and currently Excellency Executive Governor of Nigeria’s Enugu State, a lion of genteel roar, is one of such leaders.
If we did not live in this age; if we all are not self-confessed witnesses, each and every one of us, then, it would have been difficult to believe that one man; …that the example of one single person; …that the humility in leadership of one individual; can decisively douse the flames and smoke, or quieten the thunder of the acrimonious, to decibels below the murmur of a bedside whisper. This is God’s gift to Enugu State at a time when the rally of impassioned unity for peace, justice and development is most urgent.
It is his humbling actions which endear him with the positive toga of being “everybody’s friend”. An eze’udo in fact and an eze’gbasapulu’aka in deed.
In paragraph 2:
(eze’udo – an Igbo expression describing -“A loving leader who is an irrepressible apostle of peace”).
(eze’gbasapulu’aka – Igbo expression describing- “a leader whose permanently outstretched arms of seemingly endless welfarist goodness and goodwill, reaches out and positively touches all”).
Under his Gubernatorial watch, the shut doors opened, to usher in the excluded; …the windows flung wide, to illuminate yesterday’s darkened rooms of State; …the formerly under-represented, were plentifully included; and …the previously privileged, retained their seats at the developmental table.
All around our State, traditionally combative and sworn foes sheathed their swords, grimly muttering under their breath “hmmm…if not for Governor Ugwuanyi”, but yet, forgoing previous grievances at his behest, to his credit and in his honour.
Indeed, the Holy Bible’s Proverbs, 29 verse 2 proclaims that, “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice”.
Of course, there are always some disgruntled in every clime, the few who want it all, only for themselves. This is in the nature of all things eternal and human, hence, Lucifer, Judas Iscariot, even Brutus, yet, Enugu is blessed with a Leader whose genuine compassion stretches with both unbelievable elasticity and unending flexibility. Governor Ugwuanyi has proven a decisive leader without a drop of fear or prevarication. It is his genuine love of God and of all Ndi Enugu that foreshadows his endurance of the not so few occasional darts cast at him by the uncharitable. His deeply effacing sportsmanlike disposition has exposed the truism that real strength is at the very hard core of true Christian meekness.
Peace is usually taken for granted. It is as unquantifiable as it is incorporeal. Peace is a very expensive resource. Yet, because of the trust which our population have in Governor Ugwuanyi, an unbelievable cloud of peace has continued its overhang throughout Enugu State during this award-winning tenure.
With world-acknowledged humility, he led the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic from the front -the very first Governor to keep the face-mask always properly adorned and in permanent public view as he pushed forward both vigorous public enlightenment and timely and transparent delivery of palliatives into the homes of the most vulnerable ndi Enugu. Apart from an intensive public-spaces’ fumigation regimen, the Governor also quickly reconstructed, remodeled, refitted and outfitted the Colliery Hospital Enugu and designated it as an Infectious Disease Isolation and Treatment Centre amongst other interventions to control the spread of the virus in the State. Realizing the critical place of frontline workers to the overall success in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor approved Group Life/Group Personal Accident Assurance Policy for all medical doctors in the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Parklane, Enugu, Fire Fighters, staff of Enugu State Emergency Management Agency and all those involved in associated essential services. The first State to secure the vaccine for our people, Governor Ugwuanyi’s proactiveness saved countless lives from the merciless pestilence of Covid19.
With a gold-plated pedigree of public service from Nigeria’s lower Parliament, only the previously blind are taken by surprise by Governor Ugwuanyi’s successes today. In a clime where selective amnesia is endemic, it is important to recall and place on record once again, the giant strides which were recorded in the Maritime Sector on the African continent, arising from his remarkable efforts, as the longest-serving Ranking Chairman of the Committee on Marine Transport in the House of Representatives, during which tenure he artfully utilized the potent combination of focused sector legislation and active legislative oversight to instill discipline, build stakeholder consensus, compel regulation and thereby secured the robust revamping, deliberate repositioning, sustainable growth, pervasive development, and economic viability of that previously tottering, though important, global sector.
Along with God’s peace across Enugu State, and spiced with massive investment in uplifting human infrastructure, has come one of the most ambitious and successful multi-sectoral developmental Programmes embarked upon since Premier Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara’s long defunct Eastern Nigeria Regional Government, – a predecessor’s worthy successor indeed.
In a frenetic revitalization of infrastructure pace, he literally turned the State into a beehive of construction sites. Quite apart from his ongoing monumental flagship Project -the “Nike-Lake-Axis” Flyover, at the last count, over 620 kilometers of roads, including Milliken Hill Road;Nike Lake Junction Road which links Harmony Estate to Amorji Nike and the popular Adoration Centre through Orie Emene; the Opi-Nsukka dual carriage road; and the 14-Bay Baily Bridge across Nyama River which connects Umuogo and Umuagba Amechi Uno/Obeagu communities in Enugu South LGA; the Neke-Mbu-Ogbodu Aba-Obollo Etiti Road; the Abor Road; Egede-Awhum road; St. Mary Ngwo-Nsude road; Ugwuoba-Nkwere Inyi road; UNTH-Enugu Agu-Ndiagu-Umuaniagu-Obe-Amuri road; Ukpabi-Nimbo-Ugbene Ajima-Eziani road; Ikwoka-Amagu-Ajuona-Akabusiyi Obimo road; Nkwo-Inyi -Akpugoeze-Nkwere-Ufuma-to Anambra State Border Road; and the Adani-Asaba-Igga-Ojjor road have been undertaken, to mention a few.
With uncommon humility, he has ensured that the Projects undertaken by the ENSG are equitably distributed throughout the three Senatorial Districts, faithful to our sensibilities, in an Enugu State where, for instance, the certainty of equitable, predictable and orderly rotation, unbroken since this Republic’s dawn in 1999, (East-West-North, 2023-East, ’31-West, ’39-North, etc), has guaranteed sense of belonging, sustainable peace and unity for cohesive development.
In the Education Sector, mercurial Gburugburu established higher institutions, attracted the establishment of higher Institutions by the Federal Government and has constructed and reconstructed over 1200 classroom blocks, provided ICT materials for all secondary schools in the State and paid a historically critical N2bn in counterpart funding for Universal Basic Education with attendant salutary and multiplier effects to the sectoral economy of Enugu State.
Governor Ugwuanyi’s robust multi-sectoral development action significantly impacted the Health Sector also. Apart from the establishment of Colleges of Medicine for the training of healthcare professionals, several hospitals including: General Hospital, Ogrute, Poly Clinic, Asata, Enugu (now Poly General Hospital), General Hospital, Oji-River and most general Hospitals are being reconstructed, expanded, upgraded, outfitted and restocked.
Agriculture-friendly Governor Ugwuanyi, through a multifaceted strategy including
the payment of the counterpart funds for Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS), the same for International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and heavy investments in Ada Rice,
Uzouwani agricultural project, with the attendant provision of seed inputs, fertilizers, herbicides and agric extension services, has deployed his tireless energy towards directly impacting the breakfast, lunch and dinner tables of every home in Enugu State through his ambitious and continuing investment in food sufficiency, food supply, cheaper staples and overall food security with their salutary effect not only on youth unemployment, but also in rolling back rural to urban migration and in dramatically increasing the real incomes of our rural majority.
Rather than bemoan the categorization of Enugu State as a Civil Service State, Governor Ugwuanyi positively focused on how to tap into the sector and maximize productivity, applying the simple economics of deploying training, motivation and reward as integral components to achieve public sector output targets. The initiation and sustained payment of the 13th month salary to every civil servant; the heartwarming dedication towards offsetting the inherited backlog of gratuity to state pensioners by setting aside N100 million monthly for batch payments since May 2018; the provision of funds to gradually liquidate the 12-years backlogged arrears of emoluments to Staff of the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS), the Enugu Sports Council and the Enugu Agriculture Development Programme (ENADEP); added to Governor Ugwuanyi’s engenderment of smooth Government and Labour Unions relationship; and the restoration, Service-wide, of the system of regular promotions and prompt release of leave allowances, have all acted in a deliberately-focused combination, to virtually revamp and bring renewed sustainability to this critical sector.
As if all these were not enough, Ugwuanyi, with a single stroke of his compassionate gubernatorial pen, swept away the previously seemingly intractable decade-long labour struggle by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) as he approved the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) bringing relief and joy into many homes in Enugu State.
His giant strides in the area of security have gained, for Enugu State, the coveted classification as one of the safest States in Nigeria. The implication vis-a-vis Enugu State’s attractiveness as a destination of choice for both commercial and foreign- direct-investment opportunities, need no emphasis.
Governor Ugwuanyi set up the Forest Guards Commission and, beyond its dramatic impact on lowering unemployment and providing skills-development, debilitating strife is gradually becoming absent in the targeted rural communities.
To give more bite to his other efforts and enhance robust provisions in and for the security sector, the Governor, in February 2020, signed the State’s Security Trust Fund Bill into law. He also renovated and furnished the office complex for the newly created Force CID Annex for the South East geo-political zone located at the Detective College, Enugu. He has provided 94 operational vehicles (the highest in one tranche by any State Government) to all the security agencies including the Enugu State Police Command, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Immigration Services, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency, the Nigerian Correctional Services, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the Federal Road Safety Corps, and the Department of State Security (DSS).
Imbued with the gentle tolerant mien of the accomplished and legendary sage Nnamdi Azikiwe, with the populist uncomplicated puritanic heart of Mallam Aminu Kano and with the disarming unassuming candour of the immortal Mahatma Gandhi, you have protected lives here whether they be Igbo, Yoruba, Fulani or Efik. With equal vigour, your Excellency has defended Mosques and Churches here from the destructive pillage of temporary darkening emotions. All through your tenure, regardless of sphere, subject or sector, you have always urged a progressive calm which pierces through the din of even the loudest drums of avoidable discontent. Nigeria needs to learn your amazing art of stamping firm, decisive, effective, fair and compassionate pro-development authority, without the ruffling of even the littlest feather.
A passionate crusader for Youth Mobilization & Empowerment; a tireless investor in the ICT development of our population as a catalyst for repositioning Enugu State for the globalized future; an ardent adherent to gender equality and providing opportunities for the girl-child; he is a reliable benefactor of market traders, commercial enterprise development, committed also to uplifting all components of our Tourism and Sports Sector.
As a holder of the highest Office here, his graciousness remains unequalled. Routinely visiting hospitals, settling bills for the indigent; rescuing students unable to otherwise afford even the lowest school fees; attending events, mingling freely as though not Number 1; dispatching Buses throughout Nigeria during festive periods to bring back indigenes of Enugu State free-of -charge; Ugwuanyi is truly a Governor for all of our people, “big or small”.
A man, constantly seeking the face of the Almighty through targeting government programs towards doing the greatest good for the greatest number, especially amongst the most vulnerable, Governor Ugwuanyi also offset over 50% of the cost to the civil-servant beneficiaries of Elim Estate.
For those who may not be aware, although Elim Estate was an Housing Estate built for and sold mainly to civil servants under a previous administration, the civil servant beneficiaries were struggling to pay the cost of the houses, in installments, through their salaries and this was a source of pain and suffering due to the depletion of real incomes. Governor Ugwuanyi, being himself a champion of continuity in Government, decided to remove this yoke of mortgage from the necks of those beneficiaries. He paid off the debt balance of 59% for those civil servants affected and each of them now fully owns a home for their families, forever. This is but one of several examples of his transparent humanity at its best.
Always restless until he has uplifted many, many more, Governor Ugwuanyi extended his inimitably disarming and roundly successful inclusive novel style of communal democracy. He deliberately conscripted the lowest strata of rural self-governance into the overall development equation. Governor Ugwuanyi pioneered the direct funding of community-based projects by placing millions of Naira directly into the hands of all the communities throughout Enugu State to execute development projects of their choice -effectively placing their destinies into their own hands.
He has given us Security.
He has brought us Peace.
He has brought us inclusion.
He has brought us Justice. He has brought us Development.
He has given us Growth.
He has brought unpretentious humility to Leadership .
And he has earned our Trust.
Still restless to serve his beloved people, within the hallowed grounds of the Lion Building/Government House where Regional Governor Akanu Ibiam once trod, Governor Ugwuanyi built a Chapel for the perpetual worship of God, our Almighty Father Who Art in Heaven.
(Song)
Happy birthday to you…
Happy birthday to you…
Happy birthday, dear Governor …
Happy birthday to YOU!!!
Your Excellency, God is leading you on a definite journey towards a tomorrow where, from a new pedestal, ensconced within the federal capital city of Abuja, the entire Nigeria will, most certainly, benefit from your golden touch which Enugu today enjoys.
It is, however, for your present gifts to us, of pervasive peace, even-handed justice, hard won security, amazing inclusiveness, progressive unity, unparalleled magnanimity, disarming humility, integrated development, forgiving tolerance, and your abiding love of God and of your people, Ndi Enugu, as evidenced by the sum of your governance actions, that we all are proud to offer today, not just our most hearty congratulations and warm wishes on your 20th of March Birthday celebrations, but more importantly, prayers for God’s continued guidance, blessings and good health upon you, – a People’s Governor – who has placed our dear Enugu State In The Hands of God.
Happy birthday, your Excellency.
Thou art, indeed, a Leader we can Trust.
To God Be The Glory…God Above All!
Reputed for standing behind his words, the writer, KGB Oguakwa, a friend of the Governor & a Solicitor & former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Tourism, contributed this Birthday Message from Inyi, Oji-River, Enugu, Nigeria.
