What is happening in Ehamufu, Isi-Uzo LGA is deeper than herdsman – farmer altercation. Of course, the herdsman is there, and it is no doubt a problem, but much more problematic is the communal crisis that had raged between a Benue community and Ehamufu a long time before Ugwuanyi came to office. For the first time, however, a permanent solution is in sight as the communities are coming to an accord.
Those who, for whatever political reason, are proclaiming that Ugwuanyi has abandoned Ehamufu could not be more wrong. How can that be? In terms of democracy dividend under Ugwuanyi, Isi-Uzo has had a lion’s share. The Udenu Ring Road meanders through Imilike, Obollo Afor and Ezimo to Mbu in Isi-Uzo LGA. At Mbu, it spreads out like the Biblical Mustard Seed and splashes through communities that would never have dreamt of tarred roads. Ugwuanyi will not abandon the very people that are considered his first love. The ingratitude of one man with an entitled mentality cannot make the Governor veer away from the master-plan of his Government.
Am I rationalising the killing in Ehamufu? Definitely no! In fact, there is nothing as terrible as losing a human being to a needless crisis. I pray earnestly that grieving families will find consolation and healing.
But we all know that it takes more than guns and mortars to secure a people. Ugwuanyi is not just securing the present, he is equally securing the future, especially of Isi-Uzo people. I am in a position to know. Isi-Uzo is a beneficiary of most UNICEF education programmes for the educationally disadvantaged LGA. And it has nothing to do with political ambition; after all, Isi-Uzo is not by any means in Ugwuanyi’s Senatorial Zone. It is all about need.
Generally speaking, Enugu State has the least out-of-school children in the entire Federation, and this is thanks to the robust implementation of the compulsory, free and universal education for the first nine years of every child. It is not an accident, therefore, that in 2021, Enugu State emerged First in WAEC Nation-wide.
It is also not an accident that Ugwuanyi has added more academic institutions, including specialised institutions more than any other Governor since Enugu State was created: Enugu State University of Medicine and Applied Sciences (SUMAS), Federal Polytechnic Ohodo, Ezimo Campus of College of Agriculture Iwollo, Military Schools etc. By investing hugely in education, Ugwuanyi is depleting the recruitment base for criminals and bequeathing us a safer future.
With Ugwuanyi, it is indeed a case of the carrot-and-the-stick approach. On December 22, 2022, just two days ago, Ugwuanyi received the Inspector General of Police to flag off the 76 Mobile Police Squadron at Ekwegbe in Igbo Etiti LGA. The siting of the Mobile Police Unit is strategic - Ekwegbe shares close neighbourhood with Isi-Uzo, and a mobile unit at Ekwegbe will certainly have drastic impact in curbing criminality around that Axis. Although the Unit is at Igbo Etiti, it is positioned to serve the security interest of Isi-Uzo more than any other LGA.
Ugwuanyi plans thoughtfully, strategically, and intentionally. He inherited seemingly intractable security challenges, and he is bequeathing to the next Government a legacy of peace and calm, he inherited a fractious political environment, and he is bequeathing to the next Government an Enugu that is one united political family, he inherited an elite Government that catered for the interest of the big boys, and he is handing over to the next Government the legacy of a people-based Government in which the priority is the common man. How more will a leader love his people?
At the beginning of this year, some politicians looked gargantuan and larger-than-life, and utilised every opportunity to bait Ugwuanyi for a confrontation. Many people thought the State was on a cliff-hanger. In fact, to be precise, on December 28, 2021, the Governor was dared in his own community, yet the wise man kept his cool and insisted that peace must be sustained in the State at all cost. He tucked in his ego to keep peace, he reined in his power to give all of us calm. As the legendary writer, Chinua Achebe, would say, Ugwuanyi draped the loincloth of peace around the crude, naked waist of power. May God bless and keep him.
Just two days ago, an attacker mowed down three persons and injured a host of others in one of the most beautiful world Capitals, Paris. The same man who carried out the attack was arrested and charged last year for attacking migrants, yet France with one of the most sophisticated security networks in the world could not anticipate him.
On July 14, 2016, a truck driver barrelled through the crowd in Nice, Southern France, and crushed to death more than 80 persons, including 10 children and wounded about two hundred. Did the French people start to cascade blame on President Macron? No! Instead they rallied support around their President, and pushed for a solution as one united people. May we borrow a leaf from such landmark examples of de-politicised support and response to crisis situations.
As we settle down to enjoy another beautiful Christmass, let me join Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the legendary champion of peace and tireless advocate of unity, to wish the beautiful people of Enugu a merry and fun-splashed Celebration. May we all return intact from the celebration refreshed and primed to usher in Peter Mbah and Ifeanyi Ossai to the Lion Building so as to continue our journey towards the Enugu of our dream. Shalom!
God bless Enugu State!
May God bless and prosper Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi!
Dr Hyginus Eze
