What is currently going on in Enugu State is akin to rescuing the proverbial wise tortoise from the deep pit where in his obvious display of impatience began to yell at his rescuers that they should do it quickly and in a jiffy.
Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mba being a visionary on a mission is keen on doing a race against time.
My hunch is that he and his deputy were never under any illusion that the job of taking the people of Enugu State out of the pit is going to be easy or a tea party. He came prepared with a plan, a strategy, and indeed they were committed in their determination and willingness to succeed.
The bare faced truth like Americans will say is that, Enugu state is undoubtedly in a shithole at the moment.
Advertently or inadvertently, the coalcity state is on a rollercoaster swirl down the drains in terms of insecurity accentuated by the pervasive economic mismanagement and the darkling cloud of misgovernance of the previous administrations which was not helped by the asphyxiatory situation of the on-going compulsory and indefinite Monday’s sit-at-home as ordered by a faction of IPOB, the Indigenous people of Biafra in all the five Southeast states of Nigeria.
The above situation brought about retrogressive and pervading economic and social outlook that has plagued the economy of Ndigbo.
This wide ranging despondency brought in the land has orchestrated a deep and debilitating poverty in our homeland. These and many more leadership gaps have dealt a severe blow to the economy of Enugu State.
The envisaged tourism potentials of Enugu state is worsted by a decrepit rural and urban environmental decay that reduced the once beautiful Enugu’s city urban areas into a glorified slum.
This attendant Inertia and social fatigue could only be the obvious outcome.
Hopelessness and limited vision brought about backwardness which have enveloped the citizenry. City dwellers descended into Schizophrenia, mild madness and disorderly behaviour and conducts which have become the norm thereby reducing the psyche of average once highly productive, enterprising and industrious people of Enugu, the pride of the Eastern Nigeria now become a ghost of their former selves.
Amidst the prevailing despondency, helplessness and hopelessness, Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mba took up the gauntlet and the challenge to steer the ship of the state towards prosperity and stability by firstly ending the perennial sit-at home on Mondays. He is more focused on the job of draining the swamp.
The inept and decadent regimes of the past was obviously lacking in citizens engagement or stakeholders inquiry, this behaviour worsened the situation. The previous administrations were largely uninspiring enmeshed in political shenanigans and sloppy credentials.
They were neither forward-looking nor motivating for any better social or economic order.
The introduction of “Mbanomics” as economic and political agenda encapsulated in his philosophy and strategy to release the energy of the youths population for enhanced productivity and wealth creation is patently on course.
The implementation of this agenda was envisaged to be innovative and disruptive and shall be powered by technocrats in line with e-governance models. This blueprint shall be sitting paripasu with ways and means to achieve deliverables to the people of Enugu State. His plans to incorporate politicians and political elites in the business of government will be icing on the cake.
His motivation to double down on insecurity in Enugu State took preeminence, precedence and priority in scheme of the social contract with the people.
A sustainable framework has already been weaved in collaboration with the security and law enforcement authorities in partnership and consultation with the stakeholders.
Governor Mba adroitly intends to unleash his welfare packages to the state surely, methodically and seamlessly.
He synchronises his call for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK) with an official visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Aso villa in Abuja which was a filip to the endeavour. Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mba has since banned sit-at-home on Mondays and has mobilized the populace to work for increased productivity.
A townhall consultative and citizens engagement meeting followed suite according to the masterplan.
Having established the framework for smooth take off of his administration, he appointed his Secretary to Enugu State Government and other unimpeachable team as members of government (MOG) to pave way for a smooth sail to the new path to prosperity with e-governance model. The journey to promised provision of amenities such as water supply, other public utilities, road network infrastructure, power, employment, food security via Agriculture, Ict, lean sized governance structure and reduced cost of governance will be realised timeously in line with the global best practices.
Soon, as the Enugu State House of Assembly which was recently inaugurated began their sittings, Governor Mba is crossing the (t)s and dotting the (i)s, in preparing a list of his cabinet members to be presented to Enugu State House of Assembly to commence it’s consideration and passage.
The task of fine tuning and retooling the governance machinery in the state is step by step and arduous, the job could never be a dash but a marathon in the delivery, all he needs now are your prayers support, and solidarity.
Augustine Okolie PhD
(Entrepreneur,Management consultant & Aluminus of National Institute,NIPSS
