Mbah’s Stand Out Performance and Place of Opposition in Enugu

Ifeanyichukwu Ajah writes that with the rating of Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State as one of the nation’s governors that stand out in performance, the door may have been shut against the opposition in the Coal City State ahead of the 2027 gubernatorial poll.

In Enugu State, the footprints of genius in the giant strides recorded by the administration of Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah in the last two years have become evident to national and global audience. Visitors to the state have been mouthing profuse words of commendation and amplification of the huge multi-sectorial accomplishments of the governor.

Although residents and citizens of the state have long become conversant with the myriad of impactful programmes and projects that now dot the entire length and breadth of Enugu State, the confirmation and recognition by various high-profile visitors have shown the extent good governance can go in determining the direction of politics in a democracy.

The Nigeria Guild of Editors, the elite union of senior Nigerian journalists held their annual conference in the state and extolled Governor Mbah’s unique mandate delivery and leadership acumen. But, signs that the governor’s mesmerising record of achievements has become a subject of national contemplation emerged when the governor rolled out three Embraer Aircrafts to signal the entrance of Enugu Air into the aviation industry.

It was not the fact that Governor Mbah unveiled his signature pathway to recalibrating Enugu State’s economy from a mere $3billion to an ambitious $40billion economy that was the gist. What made headlines was that the unveiling of the state-owned airline gave vent for the world to rate Governor Mbah as being head and shoulders above his peers in terms of performance, status of project conception and implementation.

The verdict was clear and loud: Governor Mbah of Enugu State is unarguably the best among the crop of current state governors! Announcing that indubitable result was no less a personality than Festus Keyamo, who is not only a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), but also the wave-making Aviation Minister in the Federal Cabinet.

Keyamo’s observation and declaration cut across governance and petty political considerations in accuracy and objectivity. While hailing the Enugu State governor “as one of the best-performing governors in the country,” the Aviation Minister noted that his verdict was despite the fact that the governor belongs to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Keyamo declared: “I want to mirror what the President said when he visited the other day to commission projects. Dr Peter Mbah, you’re in PDP, but we are scared of you. The way you are going, we don’t know what will happen, and we don’t know how to drop a scheme to defeat you, but we will be planning.

“Beyond party lines, we should not be afraid to say it. You have a progressive spirit, you have done well for Enugu State and you are one of the best performing governors.”

Back in Enugu State, we know that what the President and the members of his cabinet said was without prejudice to the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has a state chapter that contributed a member to the federal cabinet. But the truth-telling was not calculated or intended to offend; it was merely saying it as it is, not minding whose ox is gored.

So, the major takeaway from Governor Mbah’s excellent performance in just a space of two years, is that the Enugu State chief executive has sent the opposition on prolonged holiday till 2031. From vanquishing the members of the opposition so-called, including members of the President’s party-APC- in the 2023 governorship election, Mbah went ahead to vacate them from the state through his laudable performance and legacy of monumental achievements.

However, unknown to many, what existed as political opposition was a tiny clique of acolytes of the Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, who, in his designs to become the Governor-General of South East, decided to impose his person as the APC governorship candidate in the 2023 poll.

At the heels of that failed but hollow venture, the Imo State helmsman quickly provided a space in the federal cabinet, ostensibly to equip him with fiscal enablement for the purposes of a possible repeat contest in the gubernatorial poll.

But, what has become very apparent to the entire country, even to the extent of presidential acknowledgement, is that Governor Mbah’s track record of achievements has made the planned internal colonisation of Enugu State a mission impossible. It could be against the background of this impracticable opportunity to renew opposition politics that some desperate politicians have been throwing road blocks across the path of the high-flying performer and governor of Enugu State.

Yet, the point that needs to be made is that Governor Mbah has become the common denominator of all political parties in Enugu State. The question of platform does not arise, because in the event that any platform wants to provide a launching pad or window of opportunity to divert the governor’s attention and focus on good governance, that party must be possessed and occupied by the patriotic citizens of Enugu State, with their governor at the frontlines.

Enugu State has become the cynosure of the world. Governor Mbah is implementing a new manifesto of inclusive politics that combines the elements of the Igbo age-old system of Umunna and philosophy of Igwekamma (inclusive popular mandate). And, as the state marches into the new era defined by the Tomorrow is Here dynamics, no individual or group can make shipwreck of the people’s resolve.

Chief Mike Ozekhome, the wordsmith Senior of Advocate of Nigeria, who has been a constant visitor to Enugu State by virtue of his many years of legal practice, discovered the salient changes taking place in the state in the form of revolutionary governance system.

Speaking in the course of the recent Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Ozekhome captured his inferences, painting in words, the colours of the visionary leadership of Mbah in Enugu State.

Ozekhome had narrated: “I am familiar with Enugu State over the years; it would be evil for anyone to deny the obvious transformations under Mbah. I come to Enugu every day. So, I am not a stranger at all to Enugu State. It will be difficult for me to deny that I have not seen some ground-breaking projects. To deny your transformative leadership will be sinful, and I do not want to be a sinner.

“I marvel, in fact, I wonder how the governor is able to do these great things in a highly politicised environment infested by political buccaneers, and in an environment where there is more politicking than governance.”

Nothing more to add. But, in Enugu State, those who have ears should hear that it would no longer be business as usual for vassal politics of destruction. The entire Enugu State has congregated and lined up support behind our quick-thinking and smart-working governor.

-Dr Ajah writes from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.