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Ifeanyichukwu Jaja
The recent gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State was very remarkable for many reasons. That was so, because it came up barely a year after the state governor, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, officially joined the party.
So, the gubernatorial primary, which was conducted through direct voting by party faithful confirmed one very fact that is well known to every knowledgeable adult in Nigeria and Enugu State in particular: That is, that Governor Mbah’s popularity is organic and not structurally propelled. Meaning that those who bandy the shibboleth that his exit from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has robbed him of a very crucial factor for his re-election, have clearly misread the political reality on ground.
Secondly, the direct governorship primary, which was more like a mock election, showed that contrary to the arguments in some quarters that the governor defected to APC without the endorsement of the people, his political decision enjoyed overwhelming popular endorsement.
It is therefore not for nothing that Mbah is called the Peoples Governor. Within the last three years, the governor has exemplified humility in serving the people of Enugu State without recourse to clannish, religious or partisan considerations. In a methodical manner the governor has continued to reach out to various leaders of thought in the state, including past governors, traditional and religious leaders, as well as former military administrators from the state.
Although he does not make noise about it, seldom does Governor Mbah take any decision that concerns the interest or wellbeing of Enugu people without collecting a potpourri of perspectives on the matter. He has always said that the mandate bestowed on him is held in trust for the people.
It is against that rich consultative background that I was excited to see the festival-like endorsement of the governor’s aspiration for a second term in office. It was not just the members and stakeholders of APC that queued up behind Mbah last Thursday, it was the generality of Enugu people clapping for their son and governor.
Whenever you hear Enugu people talking affectionately about their governor, it is not just because of their satisfactory appraisal of his mammoth achievements, but the unique leadership style he has come to exemplify.
When the holy book says that before honour is humility and the fear of God, in Enugu, we take it that our governor has internalised those golden nuggets and continues to walk with it: He is humility personified, just as he wears the halo of the fear of God as his hat.
It is the combination of these virtues that has made Mbah’s governorship so unique in Enugu State such that it is very hard to factor in political differences on the basis of party platforms. And, that is where many indigenes of the state feel that the ongoing plots to raise concerted opposition against the governor will fall flat before its take-off.
Already, the disgraced former Minister of Science Technology and Innovation, Chief Geoffrey Uchechukwu Nnaji and Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji, are being associated with a possible run for the governorship to challenge the incumbent.
While these pretenders to the throne have been assuring Ndi Enugu that they would restrict their tenure to just four years in line with the strong power rotation arrangement in the state, it is doubtful if their ambitions are backed by desire for public good.
For instance, it is a well-known fact that Uche Nnaji is being propelled by Governor Mbah’s rivals in the Progressives Governors’ Forum (PGF) who are disturbed by his rising political clout in the ruling party, while Prof Nnaji is banking on the social dichotomy between Odenigbo and Amala in the Nkanu clan.
It was that same obnoxious segregation of Osu and Oru caste system that the Prof employed during the failed Chijioke Edeoga governorship challenge in 2023. Therefore, it is most likely that Prof Nnaji wants to continue from where Edeoga stopped before retracing his steps back to the mainstream of Enugu politics under Governor Mbah.
However, one salient point that the respected Professor of Robotics fails to acknowledge is that Mbah has so welded Enugu State together socio-politically that those unchristian segregation will no longer cut ice, even in search of a fruitless political mandate.
Although some supporters of Prof. Nnaji recently put out a statement distancing him from the gubernatorial contest, the tell-tale signs around his GRA Enugu residence and Oruku country home, leave concrete footsteps of continuing mobilization for a showdown on February 8, 2027. But, until the National Democratic Congress (NDC) rounds off its gubernatorial primary, it is too early in the day to conclude that reason has prevailed against the ill-intentioned gubernatorial chase.
Yet, for Uche Nnaji, who recently won the governorship nomination on the platform of the Minister Nyesom Wike-led faction of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the expected re-match with Mbah is sure to end in hot tears as in 2023, when he came a distant fourth at the end of governorship poll.
Two months ago, the entire Awkunanaw clan unanimously declared their unalloyed support for Governor Mbah’s second term, stressing that the governor has so performed creditably that no Nkanu person is disposed to look elsewhere during next year’s governorship poll.
My understanding of that Ekeotu Declaration is that the entire Enugu East Senatorial Zone has aligned itself with similar resolutions from both Enugu West and Enugu North districts to retain Governor Mbah in the Lion Building, the seat of Enugu State Government, until 2031.
It was that uncommon resolution that defined the recent APC governorship primary in the state. From Owo to Akpufu, Enugu-Ezike to Amagunze, Akpakwume to Umuabi, the singsong was “Tomorrow Is Here,” to stay with Governor Mbah.
Enugu people have gone beyond recounting the many success stories of Governor Peter Mbah’s unprecedented achievements in just three years of his four-year first term. They are now sold to his inclusive leadership style that emphasizes equality in the qualitative distribution of governmental access and attention.
Like the bible said, a body has God prepared for his purpose; and Peter Mbah has become a vessel for the emancipation of Enugu State from stunted vision and pedestrian project conception and execution. He is indeed that leader that Enugu people started dreaming about since 2007.
Now that Enugu people have seen the light, there can be no going back to the Egypt of political taskmasters and jobbers. The people now know the tiny details that define a servant leader. That was why while the people were rejoicing at the opportunity to reaffirm their support for Governor Mbah’s second term, nobody was in doubt of his capacity to make things happen.
Tears of joy streamed down my eyes while watching how a people can whole-heartedly embrace their leader in united acknowledgement of his style, comportment and character. Not only the APC faithful, but the entire Enugu people were excited while the results of the governorship primary were being reeled out.
The greatest show of popular endorsement came up, when Governor Mbah was returned unopposed. The Enugu State APC Governorship Primary Election Committee led by Hon. Danmalikin Hausa, had rounded-off the collation of results, remarking that 397,370 members of the party from across 260 wards lined up for the poll. He noted the unique harmony and peaceful atmosphere that pervaded the primary, just as he gave kudos to President Tinubu and the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by Professsor Goshwe Nentawe Yilwatda, for providing the exemplary leadership that midwifed the peaceful and credible primaries at the subnational level.
According to Hausa: “Enugu State APC is a well-coordinated chapter where internal democracy, consensus-building, discipline, synergy and peace reign supreme. The whole exercise has been rancor-free and indeed a carnival of sorts.
Shortly after announcing the outcome, it was the turn of the Governor to render his acceptance speech. But, his attempt to rehash his achievements in office was met with shouts of “We know, Ozugo (it is enough), We know!”
The governor was trying to do a rehash of his administration’s landmark deliverables in the areas of industrial development, infrastructure uplift, educational reforms, environmental sustainability and healthcare reinvention, where he noted: “With at least one Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centre in each of our 260 Wards, we have ensured that location is no longer a hindrance to quality healthcare.”
The echo of public acknowledgement of his achievements showed that the Enugu State governor’s programmes and projects are not only measurable, but also impactful and credible. No wonder he had stated in his speech: “This moment is not one I take for granted. For me, there was never a sense of entitlement. I accept this nomination with full awareness of the expectations that come with it, buoyed by the knowledge that it’s not an unfamiliar path for me.”
So, for those who think that Enugu people are carping, Tomorrow is Here means that Tomorrow is Here and Governor Mbah has come to stay the course until consolidation in 2031. The governor had a word for the fringe opposition elements that describe his administration as rich in slogan but scant in delivery. He declared: “What once felt distant – that tomorrow could be different – is no longer abstract. It is taking shape. It is visible in the routines of daily life, in how people travel, how they work, and how they now access services that were once unreliable or out of reach.
“We have smashed the notion that promises matter more than performance. Every naira spent has been made to give the people of Enugu a return on their investment of trust and faith.”
So, in Enugu State, the people have seen a governor who shows in concrete terms that good governance consists not just in words, but in visible actions. And, they cannot let him go!
•Dr Jaja, writes from Awgu, Enugu State.
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