By Celestine Okafor (Editor-in-Chief) @CelestineOkaf11
A chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu state and former Secretary of the Enugu North Local Government, Ozo Jude Celestine Uchechukwu, has appraised the seven and half year administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu state and described it as a "total failure". Uchechukwu who is popularly known as 'Ozo' in the state, spoke in an exclusive interview with an Abuja-based leading Online/Print newspaper in Nigeria, NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER.
He pointed out in the conversation, areas where the administration has failed the people of the state, despite what he described as the 'confidence and high hopes' the citizens had on Ugwuanyi and the PDP in the state at the inception of the regime in 2015. Ozo, while making interesting revelations, however, maintains that the people of Enugu state will definitely respond with their votes in the 2023 polls. Excerpts:
Q: How do you appraise the administration of governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in Enugu state. Will you say that the governor has met your expectations as a citizen of the state in the past seven years?
Ans: Eight years ago, sometime in 2014, we had very high hopes when we were campaigning for this present government in Enugu state. That was because what Ugwuanyi's predecessor, Sullivan Chime, did was beautiful. There were a lot of infrastructural development all over the state. We thought that with the coming of Ugwuanyi, things will move from the Sullivan Chime's level to another higher level under Ugwuanyi. But unfortunately, the government in Enugu, in the past seven years, has been a total failure.
Q: In specific terms, failure in which area?
Ans: Let us start with infrastructure! There is no single project in Enugu that one can say has been done by the Ugwuanyi government in the past seven years. There are no good roads. Honestly speaking, even the rehabilitation of the roads that Sullivan built has been a problem for this government. Enugu state, today, is a refuse dump. The city has been completely taken over by filth. There is no industry, a cottage industry that is employing our people in Enugu that can be credited to the Ugwuanyi administration. There is not one tangible thing in Enugu state today that one can say this government has achieved. Is it in the health sector? The state-owned Park lane Hospital is like a death centre where people go to die. There is no standard hospital in Enugu. You can not move from one point to the other in Enugu without getting trapped in a terrible traffic jam. There is no single flyover in the state to decongest the traffic in the city of Enugu. Do you call that thing the government built at Abakpa area a flyover? It is certainly not a flyover! Look at our neighboring Ebonyi state, the government of governor Dave Umahi was able to build twenty-three (23) strategic flyovers to ease traffic congestion in the capital city of the state and its environs. But come to Enugu, from New Market area, it is total traffic gridlock. You come to Old Park area too, you meet traffic gridlock. You also come to Holy Ghost, Akwata, and Gariki areas, the same traffic gridlock. You go to New Heaven and Abakpa areas, the same thing. In fact, Abakpa is the worst! There is no place in Enugu that you can go and feel that you are in a town. There are a lot of things that we were expecting from the Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi's government and that was why we ushered it in in 2015. We thought his tenure will be an opportunity to decentralize Enugu town and open up the state. That Prison yard at Old Park was built in the 1920s. We had expected the state government to move that prison yard to a remote area like Ugwu Omu. The Enugu Main Market was established in the 1950s. We had also expected governor Ugwuanyi to move that market to an area like Umu Odogwu. We also had expected the governor to open Enugu up. We were not expecting a government that will be telling lies, deceiving people! We were not expecting a government that is not ready to work, a government that is only interested in acquiring people's land. That is what you see in Enugu. And they (Enugu State Government) will tell you that 'Enugu is the hands of God', it's not true, 'Enugu is not in the hands of God'. Enugu is in the hand of manipulators, 419 people! It's quite terrible!
Q: Now, if the governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, didn't do well as you have claimed, why does it seem that the electorates are still comfortable with his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) going by the choice of Peter Mba, his chosen?
Ans: That is a wrong perception. Now, the worst of it all is that people that are doing all these things in the state are coming out again to say that they want to remain in public office, they want to serve the people again, but l ask: serve who? They have been serving their own interest and not that of the people. When l say 'They', l mean members of a government and not an individual per se. But there's an arrow head in that government. I am talking about the whole apparatus of government. You know, the Holy Bible said that when the wicked is in power, the people suffer and groan. But when the just is there, the people will be cheerful, happy and liberated. We can not compare the eight years of Sullivan Chime with what is on ground presently. Even the eight years of Senator Chimaroke Nnamani was better than this. At least, there are things you can credit to Chimaroke. He established the School of Medicine and took ESUT (Enugu State University of Technology) to Agbani (in Nkanu West Local Government Area). Chimaroke did so many other things you can point to. But in the case of Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, he did nothing and achieved nothing, yet his tenure is about to end. There is no single thing you can credit to this administration. How can you open a University on paper? Just go to the site of that Science University, the School of Medicine which he said he established and see whether anything has been built there. It was all lies and manipulation! And let me tell you something! There is something that is very very bad about this administration in Enugu State. You describe these things as acts of wickedness. Wickedness is not politics!
Q: What were those acts of wickedness associated to the present administration in Enugu state?
Ans: For instance, what do you call a situation where people were asked to go and take nomination forms for the election, that they were going to be this and that? These are people that were going about their own businesses and you invite them to go and pick forms for the election. A lot of these people came out to pick the party nomination forms and they were quoting the governor (Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi) as having told them to go and pick the forms. At the end of the day, all those aspirants were disappointed. We have a lot of cases like that, from Oji River to Udi and to Nsukka.
Q: Did they mean that the governor actually encouraged them to go for those party nomination forms for elective positions?
Ans: Yes! When these people were meeting with people like us, they told us that the governor was the one who actually encouraged all of them to go and buy the forms. That was the talk of the town. Some even said they consulted the governor and he gave his approval. At the end of the day when they had finished spending their money, they were disappointed. Some other people took up those positions. Is that not an act of wickedness? Going by the personal account of those aspirants, was that not act of wickedness? You see, a lot of people who actually worked for the success of the Ugwuanyi's government are today not within the corridors of power in the state. When you are talking about governance, there must be a vision. And when you get into that leadership position, you pursue that vision real hard. You don't come into power without a vision. Ugwuanyi's administration is a visionless government! When Sullivan Chime came into government in 2007, he was busy doing roads which were in terrible conditions when he came on board. That was one thing he (Sullivan) did that was wonderful. The Opi-Nsukka road through Abakpa, was built by Sullivan. The road from Enugu urban through Ezeagu to Umulokpa, and the road to four corner in Ozalla and to Agbani, Sullivan did all that. He also rehabilitated so many existing street roads and other roads both in the Enugu municipal and in the outskirts, he touched all of them. We were thinking that when Ugwuanyi comes on board, he would take the road works to another level by building flyovers to decongest the road traffic everywhere. Enugu needs upto fifteen flyovers to open up the area. Also, there are some federal and state institutions that ought not to still be where they are presently located within the town. Some of these institutions have been there since the 1920s. These schools need to be relocated so that there can be room for modern development. Nothing was done. Enugu became too congested, dirty and muddled up, yet the state has a Chief Executive who drives round the state, and through the traffic jam, yet he is comfortable with all these things.
Q: In the past, we have heard stories of power domination by a section or some sections of the state over the other. Since 2015 that the Ugwuanyi administration came on board, does such scenario still exist?
Ans: Look, it is even worse now under his government!
Q: Really?
Ans: Yes! Can you believe that in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, only one local government alone is producing a Senatorial candidate, a House of Representatives candidate and a deputy governor of the state, while others are excluded. A lot of information, verified data on what is happening in Enugu since the past seven years are available. Our expectations of this government is now below average of what we had thought would happen. Some of us have sacrificed so much for this government since 2014 to ensure that we had a better and well run state but we are very disappointed. Our expectations have not been met in any way. The Ugwuanyi government can not claim that they are actually in governance at all, by every parameter. You see, from 2003 to date, there is nobody that has ever won any election in any local government in Enugu state. All these people who have been parading themselves as local government chairmen and all that, have always been selected and put there.
Q: Really? You mean all the local government elections that were conducted all these years were always rigged by the PDP?
Ans: Yes! They were all rubbish. There is no fair play. That is why one needs to be very careful. Even if you are choosing people for the local governments, choose correctly. Select people that have integrity, people that can work for the people. And that is why it is important for whoever is the arrowhead there (governor of Enugu state) to lay good example so that people you put in the local governments can follow suit. When a foundation is wrong, the whole thing will go wrong. Local Governments are the closest Governments to the people, so the best materials in governance must be put there. This has not been the case over the years. But the people in government today in Enugu state will tell you that Enugu is in the hand of God, yet the truth is that Enugu is inthe hands of mischief makers! I know that a lot of people are afraid to speak up about what is happening in Enugu state today. They say if you speak up, they will victimize you. They will bring trumped-up charges against you. But we can not keep quiet and allow these things to continue. We have to say something for the sake and future of our people.
Q: You raised the issue of land grabbing earlier, and l know that some other chieftains of the PDP in Enugu state including other stakeholders have equally raised same allegation of land deals against the government of Enugu state. What is the nature of this land grabbing saga?
Ans: Let me take it from this angle! A community sold a land to me in Ugwuachi, and l resold that land to somebody else, and this community owned this very land. I have no problem with this community, but all of a sudden, l heard that the Enugu state government has taken over the land. What is the business of the state government taking over a land that a community had sold to an individual? The next thing, they (government) called it one estate or the other. They also said that people that bought land there should submit files and this and that paper. At the end of the day, they published names, and later, the Commissioner for Lands was removed. We never heard anything about it again. The only thing we heard was that there is a now developer on that same land.
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Q: So, why did the government ask people to submit names?
Ans: Thank you! Only the Enugu state government can answer that question. But nevertheless, we still complied, and submitted the names in twelve (12) copies. Why? You see, l used Uguwachi as a case in point.
Q: Was there any compensation by government after taking over that land purchased from the community, or did they promise to compensate later?
Ans: There was nothing like that. It was just a case of forcefully taking over what belongs to people. The question is this: why go into that land business that belongs to the community? Is that an industry, a food or plastic industry they are supposed to site at Aninri? Is that the rice manufacturing and packaging industry they are supposed to site at Ezeagu? Is that the cottage industry that they promised the people that they are going to build when they were campaigning? Look at the Ohebe building material industry that was there over the years, it is now moribund. The same thing with Nachi Vegetable Oil Company that was producing AVOP. That one is dead too. Governments only acquire land in the overall public interest and not for people to start selling or re-selling them. How can government enter into the business of land agentry? The only road that you see them tar, are the roads that lead to where they acquired peoples land. I only mentioned Ugwuachi, there are so many of them, so many cases like that across the board. The people of Enugu need to open their eyes to the fact that all these things happening under this government in Enugu state are not supposed to be happening. The people will soon understand that they have entered a one-chance vehicle.
Q: Let's talk about Kenyatta Market. Recently we heard that bulldozers were moved into that market to pull down shops and other structures belonging to the traders. What actually were the reasons for that action by the Enugu state government?
Ans: Kenyatta market is a kind of industrial market where they sell building materials and other accessories. Some years ago, government mapped out an area somewhere at the Independent Layout for them to go and continue their business. They completed it. But l don't know what happened eventually. I would not like to go into the matter for some reasons. I believe that there should be integrity. Let me give you an example. The Tinker market at the Coal Camp Enugu has been there for a very long time. Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, when he was governor, mapped out an area at the Nsude-Owa of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway axis and asked the Tinker market people to use that expansive place and even do their industrial market there without disturbances. Nnamani though acquired the land but couldn't continue the project until he left office. Then Sullivan Chime came in as governor but l don't know what stopped him from completing it. Now, when we were fighting for this Ugwuanyi's government to come in, we were believing that one of the things this government will do was to move this Tinker Market from Coal Camp to that very designated new site. If government had spent money to develop the necessary infrastructural facility there, government can set up a committee to allocate shops to traders who want a shop there. And since it is a business, government will recoup it's expenses that way. Government will also give them a deadline to move out of the old Tinker market to the new one. You don't need to start politicizing that issue. That is, you leave some sacred cows at the old Tinker while others will move to the new Tinker. Nobody will read any political motive in that action. You will also decongest the old Tinker and government will recover the money they spent in constructing the new market. Another approach by government was to allocate the lands to the traders so that they can go and develop it on their own. So, everybody will now know that the Tinker market has moved from that old site at Coal Camp to the new site. I think that is the issue involved in that Kenyatta matter. If there is a new market site for them, government should ensure that it has a place that can accommodate all the Kenyatta traders. When a government is building an industrial market, you don't build what looks like a kiosk and call it a store, because people are expected to pack rods, plumbing materials and tiles, etc. You should make provisions for a warehouse, something that can contain them. If somebody is moving goods worth about N20million or N50million to a new site, that site should be able contain them so that you don't suffer people all in the name that you are relocating them and decongesting an area. There are things you put into consideration before you talk about relocating people from one area to another. You don't do these things because you want to do them, you do them because they are carefully planned. You have a vision of what you want to do as a government. And you get people that know about it involved. Just like the trailer park at 9th Mile Corner, they have been talking about Lion Park, but what have they done? Who are the people doing the Lion Park thing? In Enugu, we have a lot of issues!
Q: Talking about the issue of water shortage in Enugu state, has it been resolved by the government?
Ans: No! The water shortage in Enugu is a perennial issue.
Q: So, what is the problem? Why can't there be water supply in Enugu state?
Ans: There is water in Ajali, the water corporation. Remember that in October 1979 when Chief Jim Nwobodo came in as governor of old Anambra state which comprised of Enugu, Anambra and some parts of Ebonyi state, Ajali which is in today's Anambra state, was supplying water to Enugu under this project they called Greater Enugu Water Scheme. They had 12 boreholes at 9th Mile Corner. They reticulated water to every street in Enugu. That was in 1979/1980 - 1981/1982 and 1983. The problem in this case of Enugu water shortage is just the political will. Sullivan Chime's government entered into that business sometime ago but there are a lot stories about the issue. I have a good friend of mine who brought in some experts to make sure that the problem was solved. But actually, l don't know what happened because there are a lot of stories. But the point is that the issue of water in Enugu has become an elephant project where government come in and sap money and tell you that they are doing water project. In Enugu state presently, that is the same problem.
Q: How about the issue of security, what is it like in Enugu under the Ugwuanyi administration?
Ans: When people say that Enugu is safe, Enugu is peaceful, some us on ground here laugh. You cannot talk about security without talking about proper development that has to do with the people. When l say development, l mean employment generation and raising of the standard of living of the people. If you say that Enugu is secure, is there any two or three months that policemen are not killed here and there in the state? Recently, three policemen were killed at New Heaven area. People are also robbed indiscriminately even through one-chance. People live in fear. That the people are docile doesn't mean that peace reigns. I don't see peace where there are hungry and frustrated people. The only thing is that in Enugu, we have a culture which has been there for a long time. That culture is that Enugu people are very reserved and mature people. That is why they call it a town of civil servants. Enugu is a small place. It is not a big city as such. So, everybody tend to know each other. People respect their neighbors. The talk about security in Enugu state is a two-way thing. It is a product of the collective efforts of the indigenes in Enugu who like to secure their lives and properties. Also, we have a number of good, professional security officers in Enugu. Because of their wonderful security approaches, Enugu is made relatively peaceful. The security problem is though that of a nationwide thing. I can not attribute the security we have today in Enugu state to the efforts of the government, rather l will say it is a contributory thing. We are all involved. The security agents are doing a wonderful job. But if the government here is doing anything in that respect, we will know. The community policing we have in Enugu was initiated by the former Inspector General of Police and in collaboration with the public spirited effort of our communities and not by the government here. Enugu is a place where we have a lot of students because of the cluster of educational institutions that we have here in the state.
Q: Now, considering all what you have said about the alleged poor quality of governance in Enugu state, will you blame this deficiency on the pattern of leadership selection process?
Ans: Let me be honest with you, the leadership problem of the country is a nationwide thing, not just in Enugu state. The problem had been this thing you called leadership selection process. When Chief Olusegun Obasanjo found himself as the president of the country in 1999, he tried his best. But what happened then was actually the genesis of the problem we are having presently. Obasanjo didn't allow a free hand in the selection of who leads the country. Former governor of Rivers state at the time, Dr Peter Odili, was coming on strongly for the presidency after Obasanjo in 2007 but suddenly, Obasanjo manipulated the process and gave it to ex-President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of blessed memory.
Q: But Obasanjo couldn't have morally handed over power to another Southerner after his two terms of eight years and just leave the North like that. Is that not the same objection the South is currently raising in the PDP?
Ans: But the likes of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, was a major contender in that presidential race. At a point, Babangida withdrew and said he can not contest or drag anything with his younger brother (in quote). You see, at that time, we had tested brains, excellent leadership hands. They were experienced hands, real technocrats who were fighting for the office of the president. But Obasanjo singlehandedly manipulated the process and gave it to Yar'Adua and brought Goodluck Jonathan as his Vice. He did not even choose Peter Odili who did a lot of campaigns and had things to bring to the table. Immediately Obasanjo did that, the other state governments followed suit. A lot of people contested for the governorship in 2007 in Enugu state but Chimaroke Nnamani carefully guided it to Sullivan Chime and did everything to ensure that Sullivan became governor of the state. Other governors at the time, did the same thing in their various states. They believed that they were doing this thing to protect their interest and not the interest of the majority of Nigerian people who elected them. While this was ongoing, people were jubilating and making fun of it, not knowing that they were undoing their future, their destiny. That is what we are reaping today and everybody is now complaining. You see, when evil thrives for too long, it becomes an accepted culture among a people. So, in the case of Enugu and the present governor, many other aspirants like Senator Ayogu Eze, Chief Onyishi (chairman of Peace Mass Transit), the former Speaker of the Enugu House of Assembly, Hon. Eugene Odo and people like Ikedi Asogwa and so many others contested for the governorship but Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was singled out and given the ticket. Because we know the kind of person Sullivan is, we all decided to rally round Ugwuanyi to see how he can change the system. Unfortunately, that process of anointing a candidate came up again in the last governorship primary in May this year and somebody (Peter Mba) was singlehandedly chosen. Our process of selecting leadership is not good. Somebody was telling me the other day that somebody said he bought the ticket to the 'Lion Building' (Enugu Government House) and, therefore, he is going to sell it. But l am aware, if what that person told me is true, that this is the first time the ticket of Enugu governorship is being purchased by anybody. Right from the time when we were in the Eastern, it has never been sold. Enugu was the capital of old Eastern Region just like Ibadan was the capital of old Western Region and Kaduna was the capital of the old Northern Region. Enugu is a wonderful place. The Government House there is not just meant for any kind of person. The campaign has just started and l know the people of Enugu state who have been caged all along will speak correctly with their votes. The civil service retirees in Enugu who left service after over thirty years have not been paid their gratuity. These people will speak with their votes. Sullivan Chime cleared all that pension when he was there as governor.
Q: Are you saying that pensioners in the state have been denied their due?
Ans: Somebody, a female retiree was telling me the other day that she went for her gratuity and the officials in charge in this government told her pointedly that if she wants her gratuity paid, she should concede 50% of the total sum to them as bribery for the release of the fund. Can you imagine such callous, wicked and devilish suggestion? Can you imagine what somebody worked for over thirty years which government was paying them monthly as peanut. Some of them were receiving as little as 15,000 or 18,000 monthly as at the time they retired. Our people, including the retirees are carrying a lot of burden, suffering and smiling. But this time around, we will make sure that they lay that burden on their voters card. The votes will speak because the narratives have changed. The Electoral Act has changed too. It is no more a rigging arrangement. As a matter of fact, the rigging level will be so minute which only the ICT literates can do, but it won't be substantial to the level of giving any election rigger a landslide victory at the polls. There is no more ballot box carrying and result falsification. The only rigging anybody can do now is to hack into the INEC portals, that is, if the person can succeed because everybody is awake now to vote monitoring. Now is the time for us to turn things around.
Q: From the foregoing, what suggestion would you make for a reform of the local government election system?
Ans: First, the state governments should have no business conducting elections for the local councils. The 774 local governments in the country receive their monthly allocations from the federation account. So matters that have to do with the local governments should be handled at the federal level. INEC should be able to take over the conduct of council elections in the country. And elective council positions should be for four years and not three years as we have it currently, because they are the closest government to the Grassroot people. When Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was president, l made a proposal to the federal government suggesting how best the local councils could manage their affairs because no matter the beautiful policies you churn out from Abuja, before it gets to the Grassroot, it might take one or two years, and meanwhile, this is supposed to be a policy that should get to the people at the Grassroot within one week. This is because sycophancy, corruption, tribalism, etc, will not allow such policy to get to the people at the right time. I therefore suggested to President Jonathan's government that the only way to prevent these ills of the society from delaying such Grassroot based policies is to have Personal or Special Assistants in charge of the six geo-political zones who will work with the president, in synergy with the relevant federal ministries to get these policies to the grassroots with the help of the state governors. Then, l also suggested that each state should have an elected ALGON Chairman who will be a member of the federal executive council and who shall be representing the interest of all the local governments in that state at that level of decision making. So when the governor of that state is there at that meeting, the chairman of ALGON will also be there. That way, governance will get to the Grassroot faster and this control on local governments by governors will be reduced. The councils will no longer be at the whims and caprices of those governors. It will eliminate corruption and the local governments will begin to have the feel of the federal largesse. You will find out that people of good characters will also start coming up to take up such positions of responsibility. I think there should be a fundamental reform in the local government management system in the country. It will be good for the system.
Q: But won't this your recommendation create friction or power conflict between the ALGON chairman and the governor of his state, a situation of height-measuring between them?
Ans: No, l don't think it will. Ego doesn't come in there because both of them don't have the same focus. While one is in charge of the state, the other one is in charge of local governments. The governor will be very petty to start looking into the affairs of the local governments. The ALGON chairman will be foolish or stupid to start comparing himself with the governor. The issue of security in the state lies with the governor. I don't foresee any such conflict at all. As it is presently, there is no conflict between the chairman of the governor's forum and the President of the country, provided the rules as spelt out by the constitution is followed by every tier of government. Local Governments, as the third tier of government, is recognized by the constitution. They have all their individual roles to play and the judiciary is also there to guide them. If there is any conflict, they will head straight to the judiciary for interpretation of the provisions of the constitution for them regarding that matter. The major objective is to take governance to the Grassroot for democracy to prevail. That is the most important thing, for us to have development as they have them in other advanced democracies. Why can't we run our own system here better? Corruption, wickedness and poor mentality is certainly our problem!
Q: You raised the issue of courts, and l recall that governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi said recently that his administration has done well to reposition, equip and generally improve the judiciary system in Enugu state. Is he right or wrong in that claim?
Ans: I am not a lawyer and neither am l a judicial staff. But from what we read in the media, that is what he said. But you can never hold him by his words by the kind of lifestyle he lives.
Q: What kind of lifestyle, you mean?
Ans: He (Ugwuanyi) is not known as a truthful and honest person here in the state! I am very very sure that if l talk to some of my friends who are judicial officers, you will find out that some of these things he has said are lies. There are many things he said that are not correct. But l am not contending that fact with him. What l know is that the campaigns will expose most of the failings and inadequacies of governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi's government. NNL.
