Completing another existential course around the sun goes beyond a celebration. It is a key milestone and indeed calls for thanksgiving and gratitude to our merciful God, offering ample opportunity for a retrospective narration.
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In this month of March, it has pleased God to extend double markers to an outstanding leader whose antecedents and engagements in his private and public life bear uncommon testimonies to the ingenuity of The Almighty as the ultimate decider of man’s destiny.
The immediate past governor of Enugu State, and exponentially, the present Nigeria’s Ambassador to The Hellenic Republic (Greece), His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi is that outstanding leader enjoying these double milestones.
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Ambassador Uguwanyi remains a pillar of humanitarianism and political ecumenism with deep bites of vision, godliness, compassion, humility, peacefulness and ebullience. Ugwuanyi who continues to impact humanity is driven by his solemn desire to appreciate God’s unmerited favour, nurture peace, provide selfless service, and unrelentingly alleviate the sufferings of the people.
Clocking 62 on March 20, a few weeks after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu graciously approved his posting to Greece as Nigeria’s chief diplomat in the Southeastern European nation known as the cradle of Western civilization, is a great testimony to the glaring fact that Ugwuanyi is a child of destiny.
As a leader standing firmly on the pedestal of uncommon testimonies, the former governor, popularly known as Gburugburu, is one unique personality whose life, decisions, and impact are defined by extraordinary divine intervention, remarkable resilience, with the rare ability to turn difficult challenges into a narrative of grace.
Such leaders are not just managers of resources but are often viewed as living testimonies of faith, whose character stands out because of their ability to remain calm, peaceful, focused, visionary, and principled under extreme pressure and trial.
Ugwuanyi’s sound vision and verifiable accomplishments, his commitment to God, his milk of human kindness, unswerving integrity, humility, passion for people’s wellbeing, peacefulness, dexterity and vigour in striving to reprieve humanity, tolerate slurs, and accommodate all diverse interests and opinions, irrespective of class, ethnic, religious or political differences, without losing sight of his mandate on good governance and selfless service, have carved an enviable niche for himself as a phenomenal leader, whose shining light from within can never dim.
His maturity in calmly handling the conscienceless acts of ingratitude, betrayal and insatiability, instill in us a lesson that the best portion of a good man’s life is his numerous, nameless, unremembered and unappreciated acts of kindness, principled accommodation and love.
Ugwuanyi’s exemplary leadership qualities remind us that “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
His recent ascendancy as a chief diplomat, after his meritorious service as governor for eight years, is a living testimony that “people may not reward or thank you for the good things you have done. But when God is your reason for serving, you will receive greater blessings in return.”
It is all about those who bite the hand that fed them and took such act of kindness for granted. It is all about the hearts of men gazing at their conscience, insatiability, and the grave consequences of their untoward actions and inactions, soberly.
Your Excellency, Rt. Hon. Amb. Ugwuanyi, today is indeed a day of thanksgiving to God for His goodness and mercy upon you and your life of kindness, humility, sacrifices, and selfless service to Enugu State, Nigeria and humanity.
It is, therefore, a momentous occasion to relive your sacrifices and remarkable contributions towards the peace, unity and progress of Enugu State in particular and Nigeria in general, at an unfortunate time (2015-2023), the state experienced a perennial shortage of funds under the then administration of President Muhammed Buhari.
This shortage of the state’s purse then was occasioned by the nation’s economic downturn and outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, et cetera, that plunged the country into two economic recessions.
The resultant effect of the harsh economic realities during your administration was a 30 per cent drastic reduction of what used to come in, as federal allocations, to the coffers of the state government before you assumed office in 2015.
Today, one is glad to see President Tinubu and present governors testifying that the governors now receive far more abundant financial resources from the federation account that quadruple what the previous governors received to govern their various states.
Besides, your tenure as governor also encountered other unforeseen challenges that became clogs in the wheels of governance. The #EndSARS protests and herder/farmer clashes were among other obstacles that reared their ugly heads against your visionary and people-centred administration.
It is common knowledge that your days as governor were not the best of times to be a governor.
But in all these, you were not daunted or deviated from fulfilling your sound vision and campaign promises. You secured the state and entrenched peace and good governance through robust grassroots development drive, inclusive governance, and people-friendly policies and programmes. It was indeed a government with a human face.
The major beneficiaries of your administration were the ordinary citizens in the rural areas, the long-neglected and underprivileged, who you profoundly describe as the true heroes of democracy.
You did not forget their enthusiasm, and the massive love and support they accorded you during your election as governor of Enugu State in 2015 as well as your 2019 re-election, which you won with 95.54 per cent of the valid votes cast, unprecedented in the annals of our nation’s electoral exercise.
In rewarding the people with good governance, you were one of the few governors, under President Buhari’s administration, who were able to pay workers’ salaries when 27 states could not, in spite of the glaring fact that Enugu is a civil service state-oriented economy.
Only a few days ago, President Tinubu reemphasised that governors, since the inception of his administration in 2023, no longer rush to banks to borrow money to pay workers’ salaries in their various states.
Confirming this obvious fact, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, a few days ago, was reported, saying: “This is a wonderful time to be a governor, unlike before, state governors are now sharing N1.9 trillion, N2.7 trillion under Tinubu”. These show how fortunate the present governors are.
As a leader passionate about workers’ welfare and its trickle-down effects on businesses in the state, especially in favour of market men and women, low and middle income earners, et cetera, during your tenure as governor of Enugu State, you were expedient and legendary in prompt payment of the N30,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustment to the state’s workforce when many of your colleagues could not pay because of dearth of funds caused by dwindling federal allocations.
Despite intense pressure from advisers amid popular option of sourcing funds through aggressive taxation, you, in your usual compassionate instinct, organic love for the people and sensitivity to their plights, exempted market traders in Enugu State from paying Personal Income Tax and Market Tax. You went further to launch a novel traders’ empowerment scheme, called Enugu State Traders Empowerment Programme, which assisted them to grow their businesses.
Your administration, generally, ran a tax-friendly regime and created a favourable environment for businesses to thrive despite all the temptations and financial constraints it faced.
As a servant leader, your reason for these acts of kindness was that the people were already suffering the adverse effects of the nation’s economic meltdown, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, among other challenges, explaining, figuratively, that one does not need to take blood from those suffering from Kwashiorkor.
Your Excellency, you championed massive infrastructural developments in the rural areas through your administration’s peace and grassroots development initiatives, opening up the rural areas with meaningful projects and life-saving/changing programmes that have direct positive impact on the dwellers.
The rural development drive which was not largely appreciated by Enugu urban residents for obvious reasons, gave the long-neglected and underprivileged a great sense of belonging.
To maximally protect lives and property in the state, you initiated, launched and equipped the novel Forest Guards of 1,700 trained youths and repositioned the Neighbourhood Watch/Vigilante groups for effective community-based policing and intelligence gathering.
Over 100-unit of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing (IVM) patrol vans fitted with communication gadgets were purchased and donated to the security agencies to aid their operations in effectively securing lives and property in the state.
Your administration equally purchased over 260 security vehicles, among other equipment, to aid the operations of the Forest Guards and the Neighbourhood Watch/Vigilante groups.
No wonder Enugu under your watch was widely adjudged as the most peaceful state and one of the safest states in Nigeria.
Today, it is a thing of joy that an average family in Enugu State and beyond can fulfil the dreams of their wards to study professional courses in medical-related fields in the state with ease.
Your establishment and nurturing of the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Igbo-Eno in Nsukka Zone is advertently one of your numerous legacy projects that will outlive you.
In the same vision, you went further to attract a federal polytechnic to Nsukka zone, precisely in Ohodo, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area, known as the Federal Polytechnic Ohodo.
SUMAS has grown rapidly beyond a pioneer university of medical education to a veritable platform for indigenes of Enugu State to explore, harness, and mould their future academically.
The university is the current bride in the state for academic excellence both in character and learning, and kudos must be extended to you for investing heavily in the future of the people, especially the younger generation and those yet unborn.
The crown you wear as the second leader, after Zik of Africa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, to bring a university to Nsukka land, is an indelible imprint in the political lexicon of Enugu State in particular, and Nigeria in general.
Your philanthropic gestures, especially the rural-based medical programme, “Gburugburu Free Surgery Programme,” that renders free medical services to underprivileged patients with surgical conditions but lack funds for treatments, is on the prowl, saving lives, and ameliorating people’s sufferings.
A lot of indigent students benefited (and still benefit) from your private scholarship scheme and that of your administration under the Enugu State Scholarship Scheme and Loans Board, which made it possible that most of the beneficiaries are enjoying greener pastures today in top countries of the world, across Europe, America, Australia and Asia.
In all, your people-centered administration made great impact virtually in all spheres of development too numerous to mention, such as in the areas of health, education, infrastructure, sports and youth empowerment, human capital development, agriculture, investment promotion and economic growth, judicial reforms, security, urban and rural development drive, workers’ welfare, peace and good governance, among others.
At the national scene, the names of leaders who fought tenaciously for the sustenance of our democracy, and upholding of peace and national unity as well as the principles of equity, justice and fairness, preluding the 2023 presidential election, cannot be mentioned without you and your G5 colleagues led by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, and then governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Bar. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
Your G5 family grabbed the bull by the horns in its demand that the presidency of Nigeria shift from the northern part of the country to the south in 2023. This act of patriotism by the G5 saw to the emergence of Tinubu as president.
Today, your support for President Tinubu, more especially now you have joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) alongside your successor, Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, your hard work, foresight, tenacity, patriotism, peace and bridge-building instincts, and firm belief in the principles of equity, justice and fairness had paid off as Mr. President found you worthy to represent Nigeria in Greece as its Ambassador, to play a diplomatic role in promoting our nation’s image and fostering a robust bilateral relations between our country and the Hellenic Republic (Greece).
In this new assignment, you will surely deliver creditably, by God’s grace, and through your wealth of experience as a former member of the House of Representatives for three consecutive legislative sessions, and a two-term governor of Enugu State.
Congratulations, the Udulekenyi 1 of Orba Udulekenyi, and many happy returns.
More wins, Your Excellency. The sky is the limit!
