When the chips are down and scales fall off your eyes, you ask yourself in realistic terms Ugwuanyi is the most criticized Governor in Nigeria.
The answer will be difficult to admit but it's relatively straight forward, and I will tell you why.
The Answer is difficult because according to the book, _An Honour to Serve: Enugu State in the Sullivan Years_ by Tony Onyima, the Sullivan Chime Administration constructed a total of 627 Kilometers of roads( 295 Kilometers urban roads and 332 kilometers rural roads), while the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has constructed over 700 Kilometers of roads in Enugu State. While Nigeria witnessed Oil boom from 2007 to 2015 plus billions from excess crude accounts, and Sullivan borrowing over 62billion naira domestically, Nigeria witnessed two recessions and a global pandemic with total economic lockdown between 2015 and 2023, such that 90% of the states couldn't pay basic salaries. Yet people shout that Governor Ugwuanyi didn't do anything.
You see, the answer is difficult because the administration of Sullivan Chime began with zero debts(according to Chimaroke Nnamani), with many approved grants from international bodies, but it buried over 2billion naira in Enugu Medical Diagnostic Center, and not seeing to the full construction of any major hospital in the state, but the administration of Governor Ugwuanyi has been able to erect 7 Type C hospitals in 7 local governments, a general hospital in Nkanu West, Udi, Nsukka, and Igbo Eze local government areas, a state of the art Infectious Diseases Hospital, Colliery Avenue and a brand new University of Medicine.
But somehow, people's opinion say Ugwuanyi has done nothing but Sullivan did everything.
The answer is difficult to admit because before Ugwuanyi, successive administrations have neglected the law courts such that most of them were still resting inside colonial buildings that looked like shrines, but the administration of Governor Ugwuanyi built over 34 new Court houses for the judiciary in every nook and cranny of the state. Yet people, including lawyers, who step into these law courts everyday with their brains intact, open their mouths to say he has done nothing.
The answer is difficult to admit but relatively straightforward because Enugu State had remained a strictly Civil Service state since it's creation, until Governor Ugwuanyi came with the Oganiru Enugu Summit that birthed the Enugu free trade zone, where he recently commissioned the Lions Business Park, and went a step further to facilitate the listing of Enugu State as an oil producing state, opening the gates of a prosperous future for Enugu State, and even went a little bit further to ensure he hands Enugu State over to a business mogul to lead the way in the new Enugu State. Yet, people whom their lives have been lifted say he has not done anything.
You see? The answer is difficult to admit because Ex-Governor Sullivan Chime refused to implement the 18,000 minimum wage and also refused to employ teachers into government primary and secondary schools, leading to gross under staffing and stifling of Education. Simply put, primary and secondary education were on standstill, while tertiary education was on a free fall as the tuition fees of ESUT rapidly moved from a little below 50,000 naira to 125,000 naira, at a time of economic boom, but the Ugwuanyi Administration went ahead to implement the minimum wage, recruit more than enough teachers for the schools and went ahead to build and renovate over 1,700 primary and secondary schools, while maintaining the exact figures of ESUT school fees as he met them. He even went a step further to establish a brand new University of Medicine and Applied Sciences, bring the Enugu State Polytechnic into full functional status, laid the groundwork for University of Education Ihe, moved Enugu State College of Education Technical, ESCET from a glorified primary school to a worthy tertiary institution and Made IMT a degree Awarding Institution while upgrading their entire infrastructure to reflect an elite school.
Yet, somehow, people believe he did nothing while Sullivan did everything.
Now you can see clearly why the answer is difficult but relatively straightforward, because the Ugwuanyi Administration remains the first and only administration with a female Deputy Governor, the first administration to domesticate Child Rights Act, the first administration to launch a child and women's protections program. The first administration to truly incorporate young people and women in large quantity, giving equal but fair opportunities for all. Yet somehow, these same people say he has done nothing.
Clearly, the answer is difficult but relatively straightforward because between 1999 and 2010 when the rest of Nigeria enjoyed Peace, Enugu was one of the most insecure place to live, being filled with cultism, kidnapping and related crimes.
However, between 2015 and 2023 when the rest of Nigeria was thrown into all kinds of chaos and widespread insecurity, with terrorists, insurgents and unknown Gunmen occupying Various communities and local governments, Enugu State has remained one of the most peaceful States to live in, such that neighbouring states come in to host their weddings. Yet, someone who enjoys this security is of the opinion that the governor has done nothing.
Now let me tell you why the answer is straightforward. It's straightforward because everyone who criticizes Governor Ugwuanyi and his Administration does so simply because he or she can. It's not just the most easiest and safest thing to do, it's also one of the most popular things to do.
It's so safe to attack the governor to the extent that those who are afraid of mentioning the names of their ward Councillors can freely abuse the governor unjustly without anything happening to them.
This is because in a country where Governors like Nyesom Wike are applauded for their dictatorial tendencies and Samuel Ortom's showmanship eulogized as Greatness, you expect nothing but disgust for a man who chooses to be calm, gentle, kind, accommodating, peaceful and free spirited.
In a country where the idea of democracy is a show of force, where using thugs on people or locking people up means that one is incharge, but consulting people before choosing who will lead them is weakness. In a country where tyranny is strength and freedom is weakness, you expect nothing less.
Therefore, when the chips are down, we all will realize that the unjustifiable and unceasing criticisms against the person and Administration of Governor Ugwuanyi is simply the price he has to pay for being peaceful and Democratic.
Now, for all ages to come, Governor Ugwuanyi shall stand as a symbolic figure that we all will have to look at and say, there was man who lived his life in the interest of Peace and chose the interest, wellbeing and the lives of those he led above his own. His name...
Ugwuagbo Emmanuel Chizoba
