"Apostrophe" is a literary device that describes a piece of dialogue addressed to inanimate objects, or someone who is absent, whereas "Aside" is brief comment by a character in a drama addressing the audience, unheard by other characters.

This is the second time I am using these literary devices pedagogically to paint an imagery of fault lines in Nigeria's leadership, that had characterized our political chemistry since All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari came into office.

The first was in April 02, 2021 when President Buhari was in London for his (usual) routine medical checkup and the aid to former President Goodluck Jonathan — Reno Omokri mobilized Nigerians across Europe on a protest march against Buhari's unabating foreign medical tourism. He tried to make hashtag: #HarassBuharioutofLondon trend across social media spaces.

While they were raising banners and singing anti-Buhari lyricized dirge outside the premises of Abuja House in London, the president was cooling off inside the exquisite suites of the lodge, thickly isolated from the noise of the outside world. And so, it is either Reno and his followers were addressing him in absentia (apostrophe) or talking to us the viewers (aside).

For eight years, Buhari maintained loud silence over the pulse of Nigerians. He was media-phobic, and even when he was drafted by public pressure to speak, he would disgust the people into wishing they never conscripted him to address them.

In this platform, six months ago, in the build-up to February 25 presidential election, we mused on how the presidential ambition of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is nothing short of 2015 Deja Vu of Buhari. We drew a painstaking comparison between 2015 Buhari and 2023 Tinubu.

I wrote: "Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's candidature for the presidency of Nigeria, under APC has cut in every inch, the image of 2015 Muhammad Buhari. Both were apparently frail in health. Both were "mediaphobic" and are distanced from everyday Nigerians. The little difference is that Buhari began his solitary life after taking office. In Tinubu's case, he has already started media apathy prior to election."

Then some critics argued that I was making a hypothetic comparative guess on him. Few respondents who slid into my inbox insisted that I was preempting him unduly. But now, after the event of May 27, when the country organized an elaborate Transition Lecture spending huge amount from taxpayers' money to invite former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya to give keynote address, and the central component of the audience — Tinubu the President-Elect was missing, it can be confirmed that I was not wrong.

Kenyatta did justice to the topic of the lecture which was “Deepening Democracy for Development and Integration,”

He shed light on the detrimental effects of divisive narratives on democracy and development in Africa, and emphasized that these narratives sow the seeds of intolerance, ethnicity, and disunity.

He narrated the experience in Kenya on the profound impact of divisive narratives on the progress of democracy and development, urging the incoming administration to embrace alternative approaches. But there no Tinubu to take the advisory.

"Divisive narratives often contribute to political polarization, further exacerbating existing divisions within society. When citizens become entrenched in opposing ideological camps, the prospect of constructive dialogue and compromise diminishes. Such polarization not only hinders democratic progress but also fosters an environment prone to political instability," the former Kenyan president explained. 

Yet it was to the ears of Kashim Shettima the Vice President-Elect that it entered. Our, then incoming number 1 citizen was missing in action.

Mr Kenyatta’s lecture emphasized the need for the incoming administration to embrace new ways of doing things by discarding divisive narratives and promoting inclusive dialogue. 

It was an impressive lecture session with the Kenyan orator. But it was also a sad apostrophe as the principal addressee was conspicuously absent.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, His Lordship, Rt. Rev. Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah were among the host of speakers who made great remarks on the way forward for the country in the incoming administration.

But Tinubu was missing in the whole circumference of the circle!

The main character in the drama of presidential transition went AWOL. But no one seemed bothered. It has set a bad precedence already ahead of the next four years. If "gerontocracy" is government by the elderly then "infirmocracy" should the suitable word for government by the sickly. It means in Tinubu we may have "geronto-infirmocracy." Two bad combination for a sickly nation like Nigeria.

The rumour that his absence at the all-important lecture was occasioned by an impromptu medical trip to France was the least of excuses Nigerians expected to hear, three days to swearing-in. Even if the rumor had tissues of falsehood around it, it sailed wild because Tinubu's movements and activities are always shrouded in secrecy. A veil of mystery surrounds his trips, as a media-phobic public servant.

Now that he's sworn-in amidst barrage of legal tussles challenging the legitimacy of his emergence, let us (with optimism) watch and see how his term unfolds, praying that the early signs of "Buhari-ProMax" which he had exhibited so far, will be extinguished as he mounted the saddle, while the Tribunals tarry.

May daylight spare us!

Today is historic. Symbolic. Another smooth transfer of transient power from one administration to another. We saw it eight years ago. Goodluck Jonathan handling the baton to Muhammadu Buhari. It was a watershed. Epochal. Defining. In 2007 when Olusegun Obasanjo passed the notes to Umar Musa Yar’adua, we witnessed it, too. That refreshingly cherished moment paved the way for the significance of today's event. To a screeching end, the various military interregnum had to return to the barracks. We saw it when the white-bearded, easy-going, and smooth-talking General Abdulsalami Abubakar walked his talk in 1999.  

But handling the reigns of leadership is only guaranteed in democracy. We saw what men in khakis could do when they have their excesses run amok: Abacha mocking democracy, Babangida dribbling dreams, and so on. We all know this system of government is a work in progress, and that is why we must always be eternally vigilant to see the trees in the forest and uphold various democratic norms, values, and ideals.

Of course, that’s not to say there have not been sit-tight leaders who got frightened by what life would turn out to be once they are out of the perks of offices and privileges of power. In far and near, history is repleted with leaders who have tweaked their laws, tinkered with their people’s choices, and trudged the road leading to infamy. Once, our country had a horrible experiment in the years past, in this same fourth republic. But for the vigilance of Nigerians, that experiment got discarded with the biting voices of democrats.

Today, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed and Senator Kashim Shettima will take their oaths of office and assume their biggest leadership responsibilities. The road leading to this day is full of turns, traps, and thorns. It wasn’t an easy one. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easily. Both men knew what lay ahead. The bitter pill that must be swallowed. The tough decisions that must be taken. Under their watch, Nigeria's mess must be turned into a message. The ailing economy must be revived. The roads must be tarred. The power that must be restored. Trust that must be returned. Hope that must be renewed. Outside looking in, the country is reeling. The system is bleeding. People are dying. Hope is hanging. But Asiwaju and Kashim Shettima are no strangers to defining moments like this. It was on account of their track records of excellence that they come out to test the water in the first instance.

Neither the opportunists who think they can ride on the tidal waves of anger, displeasure, and dissatisfaction against the government nor the serial hopeful who think people will buy into his divisive rhetoric; Asiwaju and Kashim Shettima had their plans mapped out. First, before others, we saw how a man faced his obstacles and dismantle them with tact, tactics, superior thinking, and strategies. He didn’t ask us to pity him on account of the expectations hanging on his head. He signed up for this daunting job and only needed our support. We are witnesses to the realization of this long and lofty dream.

That we can all dream and watch as our imagination boomed into transformative reality. That we can hope and not just survive but thrive in ways never imagined. Today is about dreams. It’s about hope. It’s about a strong pact. It’s about rewriting the history of commitment to personal fulfillment and the upliftment of a people. We are here as bearers of these epochal moments. Two men who have promised to work in the interest of the people. Two men who have demonstrated what stood them out. Two men who will be the poster boys of our country in years to come.

A lifetime of ambition is upon us. The world is gathered to witness this day. The breathtaking event of today is symbolically significant. It is a day. It is a date. It is today.

Muftau Gbadegesin

Oyo, Oyo state

With gratitude to Almighty God, I stand before you today to perform one of my last duties as the Governor of Ebonyi State and to bid farewell to all Ebonyians, especially to those who contributed in one way or the other in the successes we have recorded in the last eight (8) years.In the book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, the bible says  that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace”.

 About this time in 2015, I took oath of office and in obedience to the above quotation, the laws of our land and law of nature, it is a time to bow out.

 I consider it a great honour for this divine privilege to serve the people of Ebonyi State as Governor from 2015 to 2023. On this occasion, it is appropriate for me to once again thank God Almighty for honouring me with His grace, love, favour and protection in the 8 years of my social contract with the people of Ebonyi State and to appreciate our destiny helpers and benefactors who battled the odds of the times to ensure not only that our administration came on board but also that we came, saw and conquered.

 The story of my journey to this office as Governor of Ebonyi State, the challenges that confronted our administration and the successes we recorded are shared testimonies of God’s abiding grace that did not only see us through but also anchored our administration in glory. We prayed for God to use us as a vessel of honour to prosper our State, to change our lamentation to laughter, to fight our battles, to disappoint the gossipers, to remove the mountains that inhibit the development of Ebonyi State, to turn our humiliation into triumph, to turn our prayers into reality to reveal every hidden treasure in the land of Ebonyi State and to build a City of Pride that will earn the recognitions of nations.

 Today, God has given us a State of our pride. We have been emancipated from the shackles of under-development, rejection and dejection. We are now a reference point in innovative development. We prayed for God’s grace to finish strong. We prayed for God to bless our Divine Mandate with a successor with the capacity and passion to deepen the development prospects of our State. Today, God has answered our prayers with a successor with outstanding pedigree, who has served the State with dedication and commitment. We can say that “we have run a race, wehave fought the good fight, we have finished the race, we have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7),

• OUR CAMPAIGN PROMISES:                                      In our commitment to God who made our victory possible in 2015 and 2019 General Elections and in pursuance of our social contract with the people of Ebonyi State, we made firm promises which we did read at our inaugural address of 2015. I stand here in Thanksgiving to God Almighty for He has been faithful and has never let us down. We promised to tackle education, security, urban renewal, health, agriculture and food production, infrastructural development, solid mineral development, youths and women empowerment, welfare of our people, peace and unity and civil service reforms. We set the core values and guiding principles of our administration that would help us achieve our vision and mission for the State. In our 2019 inaugural address, we captured the promises and progress made and where we hoped to be in economic regeneration and human capital development by the time we would be winding up on May, 29^th

 The remarkable day is here with us. Our achievements and challenges are captured in the song that says:

We are able to go up and take the country,

and possess the land from Jordan to the sea:

Though the giants may be there our way to hinder,

     our God has given us the victory.

 Our achievements are founded on the need to empower the State to attain a higher level in economic growth and development and to have the necessary strategic, critical, social and physical infrastructure that would make Ebonyi the economic hub of the South East. Today, the thematic sectors have been given massive attention. This was made possible by the inspirations of God and our unflinching commitment to the mission statement and our five-fold covenants which God gave to me us himself.

 OUR FIVE-FOLD COVENANTS AND MISSION STATEMENT

 The Five-Fold Covenants are:

• To serve Ebonyi State with the fear of God.           The fear of God they say is the beginning of wisdom. This virtue was the bedrock of our administration and the secret of our success. In all our administration did in the 8 years, I was conscious of my covenant with God and the oath of my office which is to handle the affairs of all manners of people, all Local Government Areas, all zones of the State and indeed all men and women in the State and Nigeria with the fear of God. In achieving this, we battled against selfishness, clannishness and discrimination based on where one comes from, we ensured equity and equality in the distribution of the dividends of democracy and allocation of the resources of the State.

 We ensured effectiveness in the costing of our projects and prudence in the management of the State funds. Quality assurance, probity and accountability were our watchwards. Our public and civil servants who worked with us made sacrifices in order to give our State the best. We entrenched the principle of zoning in the body politic of the State. Every community was made to have a sense of inclusion in the elective positions and appointments shared under our administration. We made sure that every Local Government Area has a fair share of the projects and key offices of government and that our brothers and sisters were only those who conformed to the moral and ethical standards required to work with our administration.  We neither slept nor slumbered in ensuring that our State comes best in all indices of development. We ensured transparency in the conduct of government’s financial transactions. All our Exco decisions were not only regularly made available to the public through Press briefing, they were also sent to our website for our people all over the world to access.

 Our inter-personal relations with stakeholders have been cordial. Where apologies were required, we did, where forgiveness was required, we did not waste time. Our welfare programmes were for the poor and the rich, the old and the young, the partisan and non-partisan, those who were against us and those who were with us; our party faithfuls and opposition forces alike. We had inclusive governance and never declared anybody an enemy of our administration.

 We stooped low to conquer.

• To prosper Ebonyi State with the Word of God.         In our commitment towards achieving the purpose of God for Ebonyi State and the aspiration of the founding fathers, we pledged to serve Ebonyi State in deference to God Almighty. This virtue of our administration remains the secret of our success in the last 8 years. We partnered with the men and women of God, the Divine Mandate Pastors, CAN, Bishops and Churches to ensure that our administration’s ideals have a spiritual backing.

 One of the legacies of this administration is the culture of praise and worship, periodic thanksgiving, fasting and prayer, evangelization by notable men of God. Our administration played host to great preachers and this added value to our relationship with God as a people. We bonded with all the religious groups in our efforts to reinvent value re-orientation in the State. We introduced school evangelism with a charge to preach the world of God in all our schools and counsel our children on value re-orientation. It is worthy to mention that virtually in every house of God we went to, we were inspired to tackle their immediate needs; we made donations, reconstructed their access roads and most importantly sought for their prayers for the peace of our State. We never discriminated against other faith especially our Muslim brothers & sisters as we extended same treatment to them especially sponsoring their pilgrimage to Mecca a number of times.

 For this, I remain grateful to all the religious groups that stood by our administration.

• To make Ebonyi State the number one Economy in the whole country.                                                       Our administration understood the enormity of this covenant with God and started from day one to aggressively and tirelessly pursue the cause of development. We deployed all the days of our social contract with the people towards realizing this goal.

 We deployed our passion and commitment, ingenuity and professionalism in ensuring that this goal of making Ebonyi State the number one economy in the whole country was pursued.

 To the visionary, our administration has done justice to this goal. Today in Nigeria, the State under our administration has been adjudged as:

• having the best and smoothest network of roads after Abuja and Lagos
• the fastest developing State in the Country
• the State with the highest number of flyovers after Abuja and Lagos and the administration with the highest record of road and flyover construction in Nigeria
• the State with the biggest Shopping Mall ever built by a government in Africa.
• the State with the biggest light tunnel in Nigeria, a 4-way light tunnel that glitters in the night and represents the new face of Ebonyi State
• the State with the best Airport in Nigeria, and the longest runway and tarmac in Nigeria done on concrete pavement of 14 inches thickness
• the State with the most elegant University of Health Sciences and Teaching Hospital in West Africa with a centre of excellence for the production of dialyzers, treatment of heart diseases, heart transplant, cancer, liver problems, etc.
• the State with the best Government House and the biggest Exco Chamber in Nigeria
• the State with the best International Market in South East.
• the State with the biggest Fertilizer Blending Plant in South East, having 80mt capacity per hour
• the State with the biggest Recycling plant in South East having 200 metric tonnes capacity per day
• the State with biggest State Ecumenical Centre in Nigeria, having over 20,000 sitting capacity
• the State with over 1000-kilometer Street light that shines non-stop across the metropolis, satellite towns and Local Government Areas
• the State with the most conducive socio and physical environment for investment in South East

We have attained other feats such as:

• the best State in Capital Budget implementation, investment in capital projects
• the best State in Nigeria in Economic Growth (Budgit Office 2021).
• the most prudent State in the use of public resources in Nigeria (Budgit Office 2021).
• the 2nd Best State in 2021 Fiscal performance rating (Budgit Office 2021).
• the least indebted State in the South East, (and 33rd in Nigeria) only 3 States are ahead of Ebonyi State in Nigeria (Budgit Office 2021).
• the 4th best State on controlled borrowing in Nigeria and the best in South East (Budgit Office 2021).
• the 4th best State on investment towards self-reliance (Road to State’s viability).
• above average in maternal mortality ratio (2018 World Bank State of States Health index)
• one of the 10 best States in Economic Development performance (Philips Performance Index of the year 2020)
• one of the 5 best States in Nigeria (2020 State Fiscal Sustainability Index).
• One of the largest producers of Rice in Nigeria in the year 2021 (Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment).
• the 2nd best State in Empowerment and Job Creation in South East (National Bureau of Statistics in 2020).
• the best State in South East in Primary Health Care.
• the 2nd cleanest State in Nigeria and the cleanest State in South East by Clean Up Nigeria (2021)

 It is good to know that the 25-years State Development Plan prepared by USAID which I have endorsed will assist the incoming administration to deepen our prospects in this regard.

 To passionately help the widows and the oppressedOur administration saw the need to see to the cause of the widows and the oppressed including the women and girl-child as the cause of humanity, and this is the divine purpose of governance. We introduced empowerment and welfare programmes for the widows and the less privileged.

 Today, the widows and the oppressed including the women can testify of the magnitude of what government has done to improve their standard of living. We have over 43000 widows, who each received One Hundred Thousand (N100,000.00) Naira Empowerment funds, over 300 widows who received monthly stipends, we constructed houses for indigent widows, we gave empowerment of N200,000 each to 403 wives of Security officials drawn from virtually all the Security Agencies in the State.

 All our empowerment programmes were targeted at the youths and women, including the oppressed and downtrodden.

 The Pet project of my dear wife in the Family Soccour and Upliftment Foundation was also used to give soccour to the widows and the downtrodden. My dear wife embarked on aggressive battle to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and today this evil practice has been eliminated and Ebonyi is an FGM - Free

 Apart from the battle she won against FGM, her foundation substantially address1ed other dangerous unorthodox practices like harmful widowhood, rape, denial of family inheritance, child abuse and abandonment of aged parents among others and championed not only the domestication of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law but also its enforcement across the State. She used the opportunity of our empowerment programmes to provide skill acquisition programmes for women and constructed houses for indigent widows.

 These welfare programmes are in addition to the programs of the office of the Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Religious and Welfare Matters, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Abraham C. Nwali where financial assistance has been offered to deserving persons including the CAN and the Divine Mandate Minsters of God, State Legionaries, members of School Evangelism, physically challenged and the widows and aids in form of hospital bills to indigent Ebonyians hospitalized in FETHA 1, FETHA 11, David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences Community Hospital Uburu, Mile 4 Hospital Abakaliki, Cape Hospital, Grace Hospital and Mater Dei Hospital, Afikpo and other health institutions.

 Today, Ebonyi State is reckoned with in the area of Affirmative Action and Gender Mainstreaming, as we have promoted the women in politics. All through the period of our administration, women are compulsorily made Vice Chairmen of all the Local Government Areas. Today, a woman is the Head of Service, a woman is the Chairman of Civil Service Commission, women are also making exploits as Council Chairmen, Legislators and State Executive Council members. Today, our administration has broken record as the first in the history of Ebonyi State to produce a female Deputy Governor who will be sworn-in a matter of hours as the 5^thelected Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State. Congratulations to our women.

 Through the Office of the SSA on Welfare and Religiouss Matters, we paid 58 Million Naira monthly to take care of the sick, the widows, the hospitalized, the aged, the needy and the vulnerable persons through the arrangement of the Churches and other religious bodies.

• To build God a befitting place of worship like Solomon did so that any Ebonyian that is faced with any difficulty anywhere in the world and turns to the direction of the temple and calls upon the name of the Lord, God will answer such prayers.

 Our commitment to this covenant was born out of the sheer need to bring to the fore, the importance of God in the lives of Ebonyi people and the Divine Mandate administration. Like Solomon, we built a monumental edifice and befitting sanctuary of God that the people of all works of life, corporate bodies and groups may use the facility for spiritual and social corporate events.

 We are happy that the State Ecumenical Centre is one of the projects we executed during our tenure and it has been a wonderful facility that most of the times, houses the fellowship of the Divine Mandate family, other governmental and non-governmental programmes.

 Our administration also built 4 Churches at Church Avenue Uburu, namely,Presbyterian Church, Assemblies of God Church, Redeemed Church and Christ Ascension Church. In the course of our construction, some of these church buildings were destroyed and we just had to rebuild them.

 The different denominations are making good use of the place for church service and this brings a sense of dignity to the people of God and glory to God Almighty. We also built our Government House Chapel within Ochoudo Centenary City. We thank God who has seen our honest hearts and has answered our prayers in all the developmental projects we embarked upon in the last 8 years.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission was to enhance the welfare of our people and empower all of them to be self-reliant through the compassionate delivery of transparent and God fearing governance based on integrity and dignity. The miracles we see in our exploits in the different sectors are direct products of our commitments to these ideals.

 OUR POLICY THRUST AND SECTORIAL PERFORMANCE:

Our policy thrust was geared towards addressing the various critical sectors of development and benchmarking our physical and socio-economic infrastructure with a view to attending a greater threshold in our aspirations towards self-reliance, revenue generation, job creation, industrialization and to give value to the standard of living and prosperity of our people.

 Our administration views education as the most important sector in human development which is needed to raise our mental, psychological, moral and emotional wellbeing as a people. Before 2015, our State was classified as educationally disadvantaged, we had dire need to address poor infrastructure at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education in the State. We had alarming case of out-of-school children and poor school enrolment. The rate of street hawking by Ebonyi youths was alarming. Our people had little sense of confidence and self-worth because of the degrading and stigmatizing level of social stratification that we suffered as a people.

 In our bid to revolutionize the statusquo, we worked towards reviving the programmes and policies on education, we decided to reinvent a workable curriculum and adaptable infrastructure that will trigger the passion of the pupils, students and teachers for education. We introduced out-of-school children programmes and entrenched discipline and reward system to motivate hard work. Education was factored in our security and welfare initiatives in order to give our children the hope and confidence to school in the State.

  Our Performance in Education:

Our performance in education is best captured in the attainment certain institutions and individuals have made since we came on board. For instance,

• We have since exited the map of educationally disadvantaged States in Nigeria
• In 2017, a local Government in Ebonyi State (Ikwo) was adjudged by NUC as having the highest number of undergraduates among the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
• In 2017, a student of Ebonyi State Secondary School was adjudged by NUC as having the best result in Medicine and Surgery in JAMB Examinations
• In 2022, in the National School Science Competition conducted by Federal Ministry of Science and Technology for Presidential Award, Ebonyi State became the third best State in School Science in Nigeria as one of the Students of EBSU Secondary School came overall 3^rdbest in Science education.
• Today, Ebonyi State has continued to be among the best 10 performing States in WAEC  and NECO
• Our out-of-School Children programme has improved.
• Our administration constructed David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences and Teaching Hospital which is the best in Africa.
• Our target on School enrolment, girl child education and better Education for all.

 We have increased the interest of youths in education through the construction and reconstruction of over 2000 World class primary school blocks across the 171 wards of the State, the reconstruction and equipping of the three Government Technical Schools in the State, remodeling and reconstruction of the modern secondary schools and construction of more Tertiary Schools including School of Nursing and Midwifery, Federal University of Health Sciences, King David Gifted Academy for the brightest of the students across the LGAs, Vocational College for artisans, craftsmen and technicians, adult education for our teaming market men and women as well as our farmers who had little or no opportunity of going to school. We have institutionalized plan to have Aeronautical University and University of Science and Technology in the State to be located in Ezza South and Izzi LGAs respectively.

 Our State paid counterpart funds to access UBEC intervention projects, BESDA projects, cluster tracking programme of teachers among others.

 So far we have reduced the rate of out-of-school children from 12 % to 2%. We have accessed all our UBEC counterpart funds up to 2022 and have constructed brand new school buildings numbering over 4,000 numbers, renovated over 3,000 school buildings all scattered in 13 LGAs of our state. We have provided furniture, laboratory equipment, computers. We have trained and retrained our teachers. We have also provided boreholes and toilets to all these new buildings and renovated ones. Our 2022/2023 UBEC jobs are presently ongoing. We have increased teachers retirement age from 60 to 65 years or 40 years of unbroken service.

 I am happy to note that our orientation and new mindset which are a product of education, freedom and transformation are now on a high tempo and this is another hallmark in our quest to change the narratives of the State and it is one of the greatest achievements of our administration

INFRASTRUCTURE

This sector was considered by our administration as very critical in the developmental aspirations of our State. We inherited a sorry State of road infrastructure. We had other existing infrastructure that needed reconstruction, renovation or completion so that our people could make optimum use of the facilities. We saw a need to address pressing infrastructural needs and we braced up to it with systems of control, monitoring and evaluation. We pledged to be aggressive in addressing the infrastructural deficit with quality, honesty and high proportion of local content.

 Road Infrastructure

We kept our promise on road infrastructure and thus made the State a construction site from our first to our last day in office. Today, we have broken records in road construction. We brought a new concept on road construction based on the challenges of our sub-soil. Today, Ebonyi State is a global village with durable network of road built on concrete pavement of minimum of 8 inches thickness that was introduced to address road failures hitherto suffered by the State.  We have actualized the objective of our administration in the works which is to construct, reconstruct ad rehabilitate urban and rural road network in the State so as to stabilize the public transport sub-sector of the economy and maintain smooth drive, reduce accident , check insecurity and guarantee safety in our transport system.

 Time will fail me to mention all the roads we constructed, but we made sure that every  Local Government Area has at least 40 kilometers road done in rigid pavement, we created more satellite towns in each of the Senatorial Zones and created more roads to bring the satellite towns to a befitting status. Our administration dualized the major Federal and State roads and connected major junctions leading to major communities with twin flyovers to ensure ease of transportation and business. When in my inaugural address in 2015, I promised to build at least 6 flyovers, people screamed astonishingly but today, we have 14 twin flyovers of average of 23 spans, which we started and completed in less than 8 years. We now have as fully completed twin flyovers, Ibeto 20 spans twin Flyover, Sen. Sam Egwu 23-Span twin Flyover, Dr. Offia Nwali 23 Spans Flyover, Akanu Ibiam 23-Spans twin Flyover, Margaret Umahi International Market 25 Spans twin Flyover, President Muhammadu Buhari 33 Spans Light Tunnel, Engr. Fidelis Kings Nweze 23 Spans twin flyover, Prince Arthur Eze 23 Spans Flyover, Akanu Ibiam Amasiri Junction twin Flyover, 29-Spans President Goodluck Jonathan Iyere Edda Flyover, David Umahi Federal University 23 spans twin Flyover, St. Joseph Umahi 23 Spans twin Flyover, Bishop Nnachi Okoro, 26 Spans Flyover, we also completed many bridges including the 2-Spans Bridge across Ebiya River along Amikeaba-Ozibo, 6-Spans Bridge across Ebonyi River at Ishinkwo, 2 Nos 2-spans bridges along Hill Top-Nwofe Road, 6-spans Reinforced concrete bridge along Ogwor-Okue-Nzerem road, 4 span reinforced concrete bridge along Amagu- Uburu-Akaeze road, 2Nos. 2-spans reinforced concrete bridge at Ishinke-Odomoke Road, 2-spans Bridge at Umuchima river, 4-spans bridge at Ivo River along Uburu Akaeze road, 4-spans bridge at Esu Umunaga, along Uburu Mpu road, 2 Nos 2-span Bridges at Nguzu edda, 3-Spans Akadoro bridge, 2-spans and 4Nos 1-span bridges at Ora in Amaeze and Ochin in egedegede at Nkalagu respectively along Nkalagu- Ehamufu road.

 We have Ebia-Amikeaba reinforced Concrete bridge. For Pedestrian bridges, we have Ebonyi State University Permanent Site Pedestrian Bridge, Margaret Umahi International Market Pedestrian Bridge, Nkaliki Junction Pedestrian Bridge, Akpu Egwu Pedestrian Bridge and Umunaga Primary School Pedestrian bridge.

We realized the execution of 198 kilometers ring road project cutting across 8 Local Government Areas of Ebonyi North and Ebonyi Central Senatorial Zones which was a conceptualization that had been in incubation since the regime of old Enugu State. This touch of road infrastructure has been benefited by many churches, Schools, health institutions, commands of security agencies, government critical infrastructure, traditional rulers and many other stakeholders of the State.

 So far, a total of 1500 kilometer roads have been constructed in the State under our administration and those roads have helped in inter community connectivity, thus making the State a global village. Areas that were cut off when we came on board can now be accessed. These roads are scattered across the major communities linking communities with each other.

 It is a thing of joy for the people of Ebonyi State regarding these roads that we have done for our people (as contained in the table below)

 It is to be noted that our decision to create the Ministry of Infrastructural Development for Concession was informed by the expanding construction needs of our administration. The Ministry was created in 2019 to specifically handle some other critical infrastructure needs including the International Airport, dualization of Federal roads, Construction of roads leading to the critical infrastructure including the Stat-of-the-art new Government House, premises of Shopping mall, the State Ecumenical Centre, and the Four-way President Muhammadu Buhari light Tunnel

 Today, many of our youths and women have secured employment in the State International Airport and we hope that when concessioned, more opportunities in job and wealth creation will be made available to the people of Ebonyi State. We have done so much through the Ministry of Housing and urban Development and Project Monitoring to build Standard economic facilities that will create business opportunities for our people.

 In our commitment towards stimulating economic development, and raising the bar in our sense of actualization, we have put on ground many economic facilities that can attract investment, encourage industralization, create jobs and wealth for the teeming population of the State

 STATE SHOPPING MALL

We constructed one of the best Shopping Malls in Africa, fashioned after the Dubai Mall and it has started to generate businesses for the people of Ebonyi State. Not less than 5000 direct and indirect jobs are expected to be created through chains of business in the shopping mall. We are happy that the Mall has opened and it is private sector driven.

 MARGARET UMAHI INTERNATIONAL MARKET AND OTHER MARKETS

We completed the construction of St. Margaret Umahi International Market. Today, some marketers who tried to resist our honest initiatives are giving testimonies of the dignity and viability of the State International Market. The market has Five (5) lots with over 28,000 modern shops. Each of the shops has been given to individual marketers who are now proud shop owners.

 In this market, we built Police Stations, Microfinance Bank, Mass Literacy School, motorized borehole, cold room, sophisticated toilets and other recreational facilities that make the market one of the best among equals in the country. This market has given business opportunities to our teaming market men and women and has created over 15,000 direct and indirect jobs for our population.

 The market is surrounded by a 5-kilometer concrete road and it is situated strategically along the Trans-Sahara Highway and open to all forms of trade. Other markets we created are the building material market, the timber market, the Kpiri-Kpiri market. It is to be noted that we relocated some existing markets because of the need to bring the capital city to its standard and prepare it for maximum development. We relocated the mass transit operators and created new central park, the building material market well as the Abakpa market. The Ministry of Market and Park development was created to achieve this.

 We constructed Nweke market, Agugwu, Amenu Uburu and the Uburu regional Market. We also constructed a massive industrial cluster at Uburu for Cooperatives and Police building which houses the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) and the Special Protection Intelligent Unit (SPIU). We constructed two other industrial clusters in Ohaukwu and Ishielu LGA.

 THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Our international Airport has been completed. Sitting on 4 x 4 km and 3.5 km by 75m runway, it has the longest runway, biggest tarmac and single largest terminal building in Nigeria. Many doubted the possibility of completing the Airport project, but God in his infinite mercy saw us through. 58. We have secured approval for flight operations in the Airport. We have recruited and retrained over 500 staff in different departments of the airport through the newly created Ministry of Aviation and technology to provide staff support to the facility. You need to visit the Airport and you will be happy that you are from Ebonyi State. Through this airport, we shall raise millionaires who shall be travelling straight to any part of the world to sell and buy goods and services. It will be a money spinner in terms of revenue generation and wealth creation. We are grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari GCFRwho made time to commission it.

 The Federal Executive Council in their FEC meeting of 25/5/23 approved the FGN takeover of the Airport for concessioning and also approved the refund of the cost of  constructing the airport to Ebonyi State Government. 

DAVID UMAHI FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF HEALTH SCIENCES

My dear brothers and sister, the concept to build a world class University that would be the best in the continent came as an inspiration from God. We remembered that our nation has lost a lot in medical tourism.  We conceptualized and completed the construction of a University of Health Sciences & Teaching Hospital that will be a centre for academic excellence, medical man-power and a centre of excellence for the treatment of liver problems, cancer, heart diseases, renal diseases, eye problem, radiology services, mother and Child Care, and production of dyalizers which you cannot see anywhere in Africa.

 Today, the school has taken-off in earnest and the Teaching Hospital is working. We have created over 1600 direct jobs and 2000 indirect jobs in both the University and the Teaching Hospital. You need to see how beautiful the University looks. I must also use every opportunity like this to thank the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari GCFR for the role he played in taking over the University and for approving that it be named after me.

 PRESIDENT MUHAMMAD LIGHT TUNNEL

Our idea of building a four-way light tunnel at Akanu Ibiam Junction is to reflect the new narrative that we now enjoy  in Ebonyi State. The Light tunnel is the new face of the State and it connects to our critical facilities including the Shopping Mall, the State Ecumenical Centre, the new Government House, the International Market and the new central Park. It links to the International Airport at the central Zone, the University of Health Sciences at the Southern zone and the ultra-modern Stadium at the Northern Zone that will be the best in Nigeria when completed among other critical facilities in the State.

 NEW GOVERNMENT HOUSE

Part of our mission is to change the perception and conception we had as a people before the comity of States in Nigeria. The complex they forced our people to have because of the state of our infrastructure. Government House being one of the first ports of call for visitors both nationally and internationally, we had to not only renovate the old Government House, including the entrance gate, the Presidential Lodge, the Governor’s Lodge, the Banquet hall, but we also embarked on construction of a brand new Government House that beats the elegance of its counterparts anywhere in Nigeria. We started and completed the Governor’s Lodge, the Governor’s Office, the Presidential Lodge, the First Lady’s Office, Exco Chambers, Government House Chapel and other support facilities needed to add value to the Ochoudo Centenary City. We did not only direct a full occupation of the Centenary city secretariat complex built by the previous administration by  all the Ministries, Department and Agencies but we also carried out perimeter fencing of some of the Ministries, with sensitive facilities and created more roads around the Centenary city and the new Government House and developed two (2) estates that share boundaries with the centenary city secretariat.

GOOD ENVIRONMENT AND STREET LIGHT

One of the commitments of this administration was to evolve a State that could ensure a good physical and social environment for trade, investment and tourism. We came with a desire to develop the State, connect it to the world and make it attractive to investors and tourists through creation of aesthetic and utility facilities such as the roundabouts, water fountains, ornamental decorations, traffic light, CCTV connections and Street light, underground electrical cabling, adequate trees, flowers and grassing and water supply.

 We are all living witnesses to the successes we have recorded in this regard. The capital city is a beauty to behold. The beautiful roundabouts and water fountains especially at the Capital City and the satellite towns have made our physical environment to be serene and inviting, and the trees we planted, blossom. Our street light illuminates every night from 6pm to 6am and therefore promotes night life and 24 hours business in the Capital City. The constancy of street light in Ebonyi State has been viewed by many as one of the greatest achievements of our administration as it enhances security and tourism.

 Under the street light project, our administration embarked on aggressive streetlight installation at the various streets of the metropolis and satellite towns along the roads we constructed including the dualizations, our flyovers and major junctions as well as our critical facilities, schools, barracks, health care institutions, police Stations, etc. We procured fire-fighting equipment and many Transformers, and generators, and hybrid rice husk powered plant to ensure optimum operation of our street light across the State.

 The need to change the physical environment informed our intervention on the environment of our Capital City and other parts of our State including our waste to wealth initiative, intervention on tropical environmental diseases, ecological interventions, installation of weather forecasting station across the 3 zones of the State and integrated waste management system.

 Our intervention through the NEWMAP project and ecological funds in the State have reduced drastically, erosion, flood problem and other natural disaster that used to ravage our State, especially our Capital City. Our administration completed the 1.29km Nguzu Edda Gully Remediation Works, the 4.83km Ebia River Flood Control Channelization Works, the 3.00km Odunkwe-Nkaliki- Hatchery Road Flood Control Channelization Works, the 3.85km Iyiokwu- International Market Flood Control Channelization Works and the 7.478km Iyi-Udele River Flood Control Channnelization Works and the importance of these projects cannot be over emphasized.

 We installed 200 liters capacity institutional cook stove in many of our secondary schools to provide efficient energy source and reduce carbon footprint in the State

We have 200 metric tonnes capacity recycling plant which we installed to help convert all biodegradable wastes to wealth, the borehole intervention across our communities, schools, health care centres, police Stations to mention but a few. All these interventions have helped in reducing the level of environmental pollution, degradation, depletion of natural resources and have also enhanced the preservation of our natural ecosystem.

 Part of our efforts in realizing a Capital city of our pride is the investment we made in the creation of Housing Estates and industrial parks. We developed Camp David Estate which is one of the best Estates in Nigeria, Dr. Kelechi Igwe Estate, Salt city Estate, Chief (Mrs.) Rachel Umahi Estate, City Centre Estate, Ugwuachara Housing Estate, and Pharmaceutical Park.

 Our administration attracted investment on the rural Telephony which was meant to put telecommunication network in rural villages of the State, We implemented various policies that facilitate Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in Ebonyi State and signed MoU to fast track investment in the State. We allocated three hectares of land to the Lagos-based Computer Village Merchants free of charge to enable them invest in the State.  We signed a - 99 year business agreement with multiple Business conglomerates on the investment and development of her Ultra-modern shopping mall with 3^rdRetail Solution and the place is working as we speak. Thanks to the Ministry of Trade and Investment

 AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION

Upon coming on board in 2015, our administration planned to implement robust agricultural programmes to awaken the interest of our youths and women to see agriculture as a reliable means of employment and wealth generation. We pledged to mechanize Agriculture and expand our rice production potentials. Today, our Agricultural Mechanization and Commercialization Policy has brought a new paradigm of revolutionary agriculture. We started by introducing co-operative systems in our partnerships in Agriculture. We procured 40 brand new tractors with all their implements and gave to co-operatives.

 We distributed available 2,275 farm machinery including transplanters, planters, harvesters, reapers, threshers to over 500 farmers on equality of Local Government Area. We introduced one –man-one-hectare programme and profiled 53,000 farmers for rice and cassava farming and that was for the beneficiaries who were ready to do at least a hectare of land in any agric business. We gave them inputs ranging from rice seeds, agro-chemicals and fertilizer. This we did for many farming seasons under the CBN Anchor Borrowers programme and Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme. It is noteworthy to mention that we ventured into dry season farming and it was rewarding, save for want of dams and irrigations.

 We supported the small scale and commercial farmers with ₦8B Naira through CBN Agricultural Anchor borrower Scheme and released 4 Billion Naira Agricultural loan to our civil and public servants to go into Agriculture in order to support their economic livelihood. We created industrial clusters at Uburu Agba and Ekwasi-Ngbo in Ebonyi South, Ebonyi Central and Ebonyi North respectively, to encourage cooperatives and industrialists to improve productivity in the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of Agriculture. We procured 13-number bulldozers and shared to each of the 13 Local Government Areas, we procured other processing plants including rice and cassava processing plants, reactivated the existing Rice Milling clusters at Izzi, Ikwo and Afikpo South LGAs and installed a total of 36 metric tonnes per hour capacity parboiling plant making Ebonyi a State that has the largest milling clusters in West Africa. We overhauled the moribund State Fertilizer Blending Company and increased the capacity from 40 metric tons to 80 metric tons per hour and the fertilizer plant is now the biggest in the South East. We built the biggest Mushroom Plant in Nigeria in the old Government House.

 In actualizing our aims in Agriculture, we partnered with Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Trade an Investment, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Development partners, including IFAD-VCDP, FADAMA 111 Additional Financing and other World Bank Programmes. Today, our people understand better, the gains of Agriculture in the State. Through these programmes, we have assisted farmer’s cooperatives and communities to strengthen their means of livelihood and this has impacted on the economy of the State. We are happy that our efforts in Agriculture have placed us on the map of the best performing States in Agriculture in Nigeria.

 HEALTH

In our commitment towards making our health institutions work, our administration had a baseline survey on the state of our primary Health care, secondary health care and tertiary health care facilities. We saw the need to upgrade the 171 primary health care centres and 14 General Hospitals, revitalize the College of Nursing and Midwifery Uburu, School of Health Technology, Ngbo, and establish State Health Insurance Scheme for our civil servants and raise health capital to drive our vision on health care development in the State.

 Today, with our administration’s interventions in upgrading the primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities, our Health Care Service Delivery System has improved. Our General Hospitals are wearing a new look in terms of infrastructure and Health care.

 We did not only embark on renovation, reconstruction and fencing of our General Hospital, we also provided social amenities including water, street light and access roads to make healthcare services available to our people. Our administration created more tertiary facilities to tackle our deficits in tertiary Health Care Service delivery, we constructed ultra-modern accident and emergency  Hospital Complex  at FETHA which we donated to Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (AE-FUTHA), the College of Nursing  and Midwifery Uburu, David Umahi Federal University Teaching Hospital with centres of excellence for the treatment of diseases such as cancer, Liver problem, Heart Diseases, and kidney transplant. We attracted Army Referral Hospital, we established the State Health Care Insurance Scheme and this is aimed at giving medical intervention to our civil and public servants.

 Our health intervention through the construction and equipping of the virology Centre has drastically reduced the case of Laser Fever which was killing our people in dozens before we came on-board. The centre also helped us to handle Covid-19 cases both within and outside the State. This is why Ebonyi State recorded minimal cases of Covid-19 victims and was adjudged to be the 1^stState in South East and South South to have a centre of excellence for the treatment of Covid-19

.Our interventions paid off in the health sector as we were rated high on control of epidermic, robust immunization coverage and medical outreaches. Little wonder the World Bank in 2018 rated the State as above average in maternal mortality ratio. Just recently, the State was given a cash grant of 500,000 US Dollars by Dangote Foundation as the best State in Primary Health Care in South East. Our State was also given award as the best State in immunization.

 I believe that our intervention in the health sector which is sustainable will make the State the next destination for medical tourism in Nigeria.

 YOUTH AND SPORTS DEVELOPMENT

Our administration places premium on total development as a precursor for human development through youth and spot development initiative. When we came on board, we had a moribund township Stadium. We immediately carried out reconstruction and modernization of the old Abakaliki Township Stadium (Now Pa Ngele Oruta Township Stadium), constructed a classical glass pavilion that stands the Stadium out today as the best in South East. We built a standard Guest House for athletes at the entrance of the Stadium and tarred the entire premises to make it suitable for sporting activities. We stared a world class international Stadium with 30,000 siting capacity around the Centenary City and the project is about 70 percent completed. This sports infrastructure is expected to be one of the best in Africa and can turn around sports industry and create jobs for our teeming population. We reconstructed the NYSC Orientation Camp at Old Macgregor College. In our talent hunt initiative, we introduced Super Cup Football for all the workers, football competition for the young ones, Para military games, veteran football competition for people above 40 years among others.

 SOLID MINERAL DEVELOPMENT

We promised a robust engagement on investment in the solid mineral development in the State as that is our area of comparative advantage in terms of revenue generation and our first port of call was facilitating of signing of Community Development Agreement between Ibeto Group of Companies and the people of Nkalagu Community for cement production in Nigercem. Although the company is yet to take-off, we are hopeful that all the necessary bottlenecks will be loosened so the company can commence operations.

 We had a survey of the solid mineral deposits in all the Local Government Areas and their classifications, including limestone, granite, salt, zinc, and clay and this gave us an idea of the potentials of the solid mineral sub-sector. We developed a policy framework for solid mineral exploitation in the State that will give investors greater commitment in the development of their host Communities and ensure people oriented intervention guaranteed by their Community Development Agreement. Today, we have greater potentials in solid Mineral investment because of the environment we have created and that is why we have more expressions of interest in investment in our solid minerals in our State than ever.

 We have more quarry and mining companies that did agreement with their host communities based on the new template provided by the State Government and thus have raised more development funds for the host communities if properly channeled.  

 YOUTHS AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Our administration from onset appreciated the importance of human development to the socio-economic prosperity of every society. Part of our commitment was to assist our teaming youths and women to have business of their own, to own small and medium scale enterprises and to produce artisans, craftsmen and technicians.

 Our policies and programmes on youths and women empowerment were geared towards raising human capital through mental empowerment, moral empowerment, health, empowerment and psychological empowerment. In achieving our set goals, we worked through the Ministry of Empowerment and Job Creation which we later changed to Ministry of Human capital Development and Monitoring for strategic reasons. We worked also with the office of SSA on Welfare and Religious Matters, and office of Her Excellency, my dear wife through family soccour and upliftment foundation as well as the Ministry of Women Affairs. We also worked collaboratively with the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources and other development partners including IFAD-VCDP, the CSDA and FADAMA III Additional financing.

 In our efforts to actualize our set goals, we initiated empowerment programmes including youth and women empowerment where we released a total of N750Million for 3000 youths and women, at N250,000 each, the Street to Skill Empowerment where we released a total of 130million Naira for 520 Ebonyians living in Lagos at N250,000 each, the Horticulture empowerment where we released a total of 6million Naira for Six graduates selected on equality of zones at N1 million each, the tricycle empowerment where 400 number TVS tricycles amounting to 260 Million Naira were given free of charge to Ebonyi People in Onitsha Anambra and within the State, the wives of security personnel empowerment where 403 wives of security personnel were empowered with 80.6millon Naira at N200,000 each, the Toyota Sienna Empowerment where 92 Toyota Sienna were procured and distributed to the our Commercial farmers for Agricultural use, the Divine Mandate Pastors empowerment of 500,800,000 for 5008 beneficiaries at 100,000 each, the SHE-CAN Youth Empowerment of 3,000,000,000 Naira to 3,000 beneficiaries, the Widows empowerment of 374,000,000 Naira to 4001 beneficiaries, the ENDSARS empowerment of 95,000,000 Naira to 40 Ebonyians, the Covid-19 Empowerment of 1,044,600,000 Naira to 3,482 beneficiaries, the Ebonyi Cares Empowerment of 1,080,000,000 to 9,000 Ebonyians among others .

 PEACE AND SECURITY

Upon coming on board, our administration had a study of cases of existing communal crisis, inter and intra communal crisis, the crime waves in the State and major flash points, their causes, and the way forward. We also carefully looked at the causes of political tensions and youth restiveness in the State. In line with the manifestoes that brought us on board, we had to profile the cases, form committees and initiated practical actions including a legislative framework that would bring the situation under control. We came up with policies and programmes that would encourage peace, equity, justice, and empowerment of the youths and women. We introduced engagement process that are all inclusive, reorganized the security architecture of the State and formed different security outfits including Neighbourhood Watch, the Ebubeagu Security Outfit, and the Community Vigilante Corps. We had to create the Ministry of Internal Security, Border Peace, and Conflict Resolution to have a full charge of our local security architecture in partnership with the various Security agencies in the State.

I am happy that our efforts have yielded a great result.

 The Ezillo/Ezza Ezillo was tackled head-on from the first day we came to office. With the assistance of the Christian Association of Nigeria, 5-CAN Blocks, we restored peace in the two war-torn communities. Our efforts yielded fruit as we made a legendary breakthrough in the case of Ezillo and Ezza Ezillo. We also had a breakthrough in Enyibichiri - Enyigba land dispute, Abaomege - Ishinkwo (although boundary demarcation has not been concluded), Inyimagu - Ekpomaka, Amasiri - Edda to mention but a few. Our challenge in resolving the Effium and Ezza Effium communal dispute is the needless instigation by some of the stakeholders of both Communities. We spent a lot of money on keeping the peace of the place.  Regrettably, the situation has not abated.

 We resolved town union leadership tussles, Ezeship tussles, Fulani herders - farmers conflict, and inter-state boundary disputes that received our attention including Ikwo - Cross River, Izzi – Cross River, Mgbo - Agila, Isu - Nara, Ishiagu - Lokpanta, Ofenakpan - Nsobo, Ekoli Edda - Erei, Igbeagu - Yala, but more is required to put a stop to the needless incursions.

 The Ministry of Internal Security and the Department of Conflict Resolution and Legal Services are on daily track of situations and agitation in communities with a view to nipping dispute issues in the bud and resolving such problems.

 Our policy on security has been that of prevention instead of reaction. We tackled insecurity head-on by adopting mechanisms for addressing insecurity; we fortified the security architecture, we created vigilante groups including the Neighbourhood Watch,  Community Vigilante Corps, and Ebubeagu Security Outfit and we ensured engagement through advocacies, sensitizations, olive branches, and offers of rehabilitation.

 We made laws through the House of Assembly to give effect to policies and regulations we made on security, including the Law establishing Ebubeagu Security Outfit, Neighbourhood Watch, etc.

 We recruited and fortified the local vigilantes in accordance with the law establishing them. We bought and distributed Security vehicles to ease the movement of security agencies. We bought and distributed gadgets/motorcycles etc to them, we bought and installed CCTV cameras for security surveillance/ viewing centre, and install traffic lights.

 In our resolve to motivate the Federal Security Agencies in the State and encourage them in their fight against insecurity, we made it a point of duty to provide social amenities and assist in the renovation and reconstruction of their stations, barracks, and commands. A case in point is the construction of the internal roads in Army barrack with concrete pavement. We used rigid pavement concrete to re-construct the dilapidated roads in their premises. We provided boreholes, street light, and perimeter fencing where necessary, we reconstructed some dilapidated buildings. We gave them a patrol vehicle. Time will fail me to mention all our commitments to fighting against insecurity in our State.

 We are happy that today, the wave of insecurity in the State has been reduced except in isolated cases. We are happy that our State doesn't sit at home courtesy of the efficacy of our war against banditry.

12.0. CIVIL SERVICE

We inherited a Civil Service that has no accurate data about employment needs and no reliable figures of State Civil Servants and Local Government Civil Servants that died and those that retired. We inherited a civil service that needed increased motivation training and retraining, a welfare package, and other benefits. We needed a civil service that would be closer to the public servants.

 We did our best as an administration in tackling these deficits. Our policy direction was centred on empowerment and building of disciplined and committed workforce which must be lively and accountable. We introduced a second address policy to enhance the means of livelihood of our civil servants. We profiled them for the BOI empowerment programme which is over 4-Billion Naira. We involved them in our direct labour jobs. We introduced a reward system, training, and retraining. Our civil servants have however made sacrifices by not making overtime allowance a condition precedent for them to work.

 OUR FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

 Ebonyi State Budget Summary Appraisal 2015 – 2023

The Ebonyi State Government budget from 2015 through 2023 has been designed to fit into the Divine Mandate vision and mission.

Relentless efforts are made to implement these budgets, which are very rewarding as the programs and projects are such that they will continue to support growth in the State.

Table 1: Appraisal of State Government expenditure budget and its performances through 2015 – 2023.

From the data shown in Table 1 above, the State Government spent a total sum of N635,011,808,174.67between May 2015 and December 2022; this covers 60.66% of the estimates between 2015 and 2022.

Table 5: Chart showing the Expenditure trend between 2015 – 2023.

Chart showing Recurrent and Capital trend from 2015 to 2022

106. From Table 2 and the chart above, the total operating cost increased between 2017 and mid-2019 and maintained a near-stable pace until 2022. This shows that the government has consistently reduced the cost of governance. On the other hand, Capital expenditure maintained a steady rise until 2019, when it had a sharp drop, though it has increased significantly to date. Between 2015 and 2022, all Recurrent costs stand at N253,996,859,503.88,representing 77.97%. While all Capital costs stand at N381,014,948,670.79,representing 52.84%

Table 3: Capital Expenditure Appraisal 2015 – 2023

Table 4: Revenue Appraisal between 2015 – 2023

Table 5: Chart showing the revenue trend between 2015 – 2023

Looking at the chart in Table 5 above, it is obvious that the FAAC revenue is a major source of our revenue, while the IGR collection continued to improve with a significant increase from 2019 upward. Other revenues that accrued to the State Government saw remarkable increases in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Some of these include the Excess Crude Account Refund (SUREP/SUBSIDY), IPPIS, PHCN Ground Rent refunds, Paris Club refunds, SFTAS Grants, Federal Government facilities, and more.

Table 6: Chart showing the IGR trend

The growth of our Internally Generated Revenue is very important, as shown in the chart in Table 6 above. Our administration worked vigorously to increase IGR over time. We did this by passing a revenue harmonized law that helped to streamline the codes, items, the amount collectible, and the collection processes. Several leakages were blocked, and this enhanced our IGR positions today.

LIST OF AWARDS AND RATING

Table: 8: List of awards and rating by notable international organizations

 OUR CHALLENGES

The Divine Mandate administration under my watch was not without any challenge. The greatest challenge was how we could satisfy the limitless expectations of the people, having given them a passionate promise during the 2015 inauguration. As you know, the Political Party which is a vehicle that brought us on board at that time lost at the centre. Our administration came at a time the country and the world as a whole had its major case of economic meltdown, US Dollar rose geometrically, and Inflation was massive.

 The next challenge was the status of our State which was next to nothing in under-development; all projects were a priority, especially the road infrastructure and economic facilities which were absolutely non-existent. The business-as-usual syndrome was a big threat to our honest developmental ambitions. We were confronted by the problem of clannishness and selfishness.

Much later, we had problems such as #ENDSARS, Covid-19, IPOB agitation, and activities of non- state-actors, etc.

 FAAC was dwindling and our IGR was almost at the base of the ladder. We had a leaking revenue collection and un-streamlined payment modalities. Also we had a problem on how to entrench the values of hand work, commitment to duties and honesty, gratitude, and patriotism, especially in our attitude towards government affairs. Despite our challenges, we were able to change our mindset to know that the future of Ebonyi State belongs to all of us.

 There is no doubt that our 8 years in office have been eventful. We are leaving the State better than we met it. We thuggered in thick and thin together with the government appointees especially the EXCO members, the elected representatives of the people especially the House of Assembly members; the Judiciary, especially our judicial officers, our Local Government officials especially the Council Chairmen, the Coordinators, the 171 Councilors, Security agencies, the Founding Fathers and Elders Council, Traditional Rulers, Divine Mandate Pastors and Professors, CAN and CAN Blocks, Muslim Community, Hausa and Yeruba Communities, the Akubaraoha Youth Assembly, the Rachael Umahi Women for Akubaraoha, the Market Women, the Governor Umahi Beneficiaries Association (GUMEBA), Dave Nweze Umahi Support Group, Consular Support Group, FON Support Group, Women in Politics, Women in Mining, National Council for Women Society,  Ebonyi State, National Youth Council and other groups that supported our administration. We thank them all.

 We appreciate our State Civil Servants and the Local Government employees, especially their unions including NLC, TUC, and NULGE, our dear teachers, the men of the fourth estate, who always put us on our toes, a host of our women and youth groups including Rachel Umahi Women, and the different governmental and non-governmental organizations. We have partnered with different agencies and development partners, ministerial and inter-ministerial agencies at all levels of government. We have enjoyed the support of our young youths, the students, farmers and age grades, town union leaders, and indeed all Ebonyi men and women within and outside the shores of the State. And for this, I am deeply grateful.

 Let me specially thank my dear wife whom God has used mightily to organize the women and prayer groups to support us in prayers. She has been the face of the success of this administration, helping to mend fences where necessary and using her pet project to support our human capital development initiatives. My special thanks to all my children especially Osborne my first son and Heaven my dear friend for their encouragements and best wishes to our administration.

 The Deputy Governor deserves a pat on the back for remaining dependable and steadfast in the ideals of our administration. I thank him immensely and his dear wife for being who they are. I treasure their support to me.

The Rt. Honourable Speaker is a son in whom I am well pleased. Without him in the House of Assembly, perhaps, the State would have been in trouble. He has diligently pursued legislative businesses that will promote peace, and engender development in the State together with the House members. And for this, I am grateful. My trust in Mr. Speaker and Incoming Governor of Ebonyi State is unwavering. In a matter of hours, he will take up the mantle of leadership of the State as a new leader whom we all must honour and support to take our Divine Mandate to the next level

 To the Chief Judge of Ebonyi State, Hon Justice Elvis Anegu Ngene, I thank you for your commitment to the cause of justice and constitutionalism. You have added value to the dignity of the judiciary and the officers therein. You are a man of character and integrity. Thank you, my Lord. The President of the Customary Court of Appeal, His Lordship, Justice Patrick Uchenna Uhuo, has been a perfect gentleman. My appreciation to all the judicial officers

 The South East CAN Chairman, Very Rev Fr. Dr. Abraham Chukwuma Nwali and the South East Chairman of the Traditional Rulers Council HEH Eze Charles Mkpuma OFRhave been very wonderful in their support to my administration. I appreciate them immensely and wish them well in their respective offices in South East.

 Let me immensely thank my family members, General Abel Obi Umahi, HRH Eze Laz Umahi, Barr Roy Umahi, Deacon Austine Umahi, Chief Stanley Umahi, and a host of our relations. You have all been wonderful to me. I deeply appreciate you all.

 I must not fail to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR. He has honoured Ebonyi State with his good heart and for this, we are eternally grateful to Mr. President. We chose to name some of our key projects after him because of his immense support and goodwill to the government and people of Ebonyi State

 We are grateful to the Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo GCFN, SAN, the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan GCON, and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and all the National Assembly members. We thank the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Gidahyelda Mustapha CFR, GCEHF the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Zainab Ahmed CON, GCEHF, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, His Excellency Godwin Emefiele, GCEHF and a host of other development partners who have contributed in one way or the other supporting our administration in the last 8 years.

 Let me also specially thank the incoming President of the Federal republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Sen, Ahmed Bola Tinubu CON, the story of the completion and commissioning of the most beautiful Governor’s lodge Abuja built by our administration cannot be without you. Also deserving of our appreciation is His Excellency, Sen. Kashim Shettima, the National Chairman of our great Party, His Excellency, Abdullahi Adamu and the members of the National Working Committee, the Federal Security Chiefs and all Heads of Federal Government Agencies who have assisted our administration in one way of the other.

 I am bowing out, not out of the service of our dear State and fatherland but because of the constitutional imperative that the word of God in Ecclesiastics 3:1-8 might be fulfilled. For all those who may have wronged our administration by their conduct, omission or commission, be rest assured that it was not taken to the heart. For those who felt offended by my actions, please it was all in a bid to move our State forward. I wish you all well as I bow out and may the Most High God grant your heart desires, amen.

Thank you and God bless you.

Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi FNSE, FNATE, CON. GGCEHF

Governor of Ebonyi State.

I am currently outside the shores of Nigeria, and on an LNER Train to Aberdeen from London when I got the pleasant news that I am part of the eminent Nigerians listed for the conferment of one of the country's highest National Honours of Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON. I am number 37 on the list.

This took me by surprise and never did I have a slight knowledge that the President could have such a magnificent parting gift for some selected Nigerians and one of the gifts would have my humble name on it. 

My constructive positions and contributions have solely been influenced by my passion for an egalitarian society and this is a testament that the government, particularly the President understands the genuine intentions of these patriotic acts. 

I want to sincerely thank the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for this rare honour. May Almighty Allah shower divine honour on you, Sir. 

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” Henri Frederic Amiel

This honour is a challenge for me and at the same time an energizer to keep contributing to the development of the country through the capacity the Lord has bestowed on me.

I appreciate all well-wishers for their references, goodwill, calls, messages and posts on this honour, and I also congratulate other deserving compatriots. 

Thank you.

Dr Olukayode A. Ajulo, OON, FCIArb. UK

CASTLE OF LAW,  109, Boundary House, Cricket Field Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1QG

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Today, as we begin the journey of Tinubu's 'Unity-Trinity' Presidency with the tripod issues of National Re-birth, Reorientation and Renaissance. It is imperative that as a nation destined for greatness - we need to holistically address certain issues that undermines the unity of our beloved country Nigeria. Fundamentally, the healing process as envisioned by the new administration with security and economic rejuvenation as the priority. It signposts the beginning of a new dawn. A NEW NIGERIA.

In the recent past few days, while ruminating on what will be the focus and achievements of the Tinubu's Presidency in the 'first hundred days' given the significance of national re-birth, reorientation, ethics and cohesion. First, it is argued that the prospect for nation-building policies, built on the idea of a shared national culture, is severely restricted by the liberal egalitarian requirements of justice defended in a fair-minded spirit. Gladly, the new administration under the leadership of President C-in-C Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu is well equiped to navigate us through the storm and arrive at destination the promised land.

More relative are the issues of the old and new Nigeria national anthem. Undoubtedly, the present situation and challenges are threatening our togetherness and deserve to be given adequate attention. Few of our compatriots take the view that there is a necessary connection between loving one's country and believing falsehoods about it, and there are enough patriots whose love is unquestionable. Therefore, the need to revisit "NIGERIA WE HAIL THEE" the old national anthem which speaks directly to our conscience and challenges us as citizens.

When "Nigeria, We Hail Thee" was first announced, the new national anthem faced criticism for a number of reasons. The Daily Service, a newspaper run by the Yoruba organisation Egbé Ọmọ Odùduwà, started a rebellious campaign against the national anthem, which led to a committee being established to collect signatures as a petition. Notwithstanding, the anthem was adopted as Nigeria's National Anthem when Nigeria acceded to national sovereignty on October I, 1960.

I keep asking myself why was this beautiful anthem thrown into the waste bin. But, for various reasons, including the need to promote indigeneity of ownership and also inspire Nigerians, the Anthem was replaced in 1978 under the military administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo, with ‘Arise O Compatriots.’ Inspiring Nigerians and securing public trust and support, especially after the reckless killing of Murtala Mohammed on 13 February 1976, a day, so dear to me, my fourteenth birthday.

Nigeria, We Hail Thee" (1960-1978)

"Nigeria, we hail thee,

Our own dear native land,

Though tribe and tongue may differ,

In brotherhood we stand,

Nigerians all are proud to serve

Our sovereign Motherland.

Our flag shall be a symbol

That truth and justice reign,

In peace or battle, honoured,

Hide quoted text

And this we count as gain,

To hand on to our children

A banner without stain.

O God of all creation,

Grant this our one request,

Help us to build a nation

Where no man is oppressed,

And so with peace and plenty

Nigeria may be blessed.

Arise, O compatriots.... may not have given the level of motivations needed to drive the zeal that encouraged patriotism, instead it may have been responsible for the level of decay, despondency and individualism.

Therefore, to make Nigeria work for all with good and functioning government, it is important to reconsider the message from the previous National Anthem. Also the Civil Service needs cleansing and in order to remove incompetent, mediocres and reposition the service properly to meet the requirements of the emerging challenges; there must be consistent, synchronized and synergiezed economic policies and procedures in place. We as a nation also need to be an apostle of national healing.

The Nigeria's system has one of the most individualistic cultures in the world. The mindset of an average Nigerian is primed to individualism than nationalism. It breeds unimaginable level of greed, self-centered mind-sets and personal accomplishment over and above Nation-building. This is where we got it wrong completely and it will take a 'RENEWED HOPE' through 'Mind Restructuring Advocacy' motivated by strong dispositions and drives similar to "Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You"

I will like to therefore, share with us the profound words of encouragement from John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961: "We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom — symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning — signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.

"To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support — to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective — to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak — and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run." 

Conclusively, let this be an instructive peal to folks bent on ‘Unbridled brigandage Ideologies’, therefore, I will like to dedicate this contribution that seeks to reevaluate the role of leadership and citizenship with a view to signpost the beginning of an era. It should be noted that when corruption wants to fight it starts by defeating the inner consciousness of man and rendering patriotic thoughts useless. The new National Anthem may have killed the spirit of the old Anthem that stood as the Armour that shielded us from Corruption. Life-changing experience with the now silent emergency political opportunistic interlopers.

Finally, the new administration may do well to revisit issues such as the old and latest National Anthem amongst others. This is an existential reality as we march on to the promised land. Above all, I will like to join all our compatriots at home and abroad to say Congratulations to our beloved country Nigeria.

Congratulations to the Nigerian government for finally kicking off the Nigerian air operations. A flight which we are told is one of the three flights to be used for the Nigeria air operations landed at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday but the bigger problem the Ministry of Aviation and by extension the Nigerian government is facing right now is getting a proper website or domain for the Nigeria air where passengers can book and make reservations for their flights. 

As an airline which intends to be used for commercial purposes, the befitting website or domain name should be “Nigeria air dot com or Nigerian air dot com or dot Ng but surprisingly, none of these domain names or anything closely or far related to the above-mentioned domain names are available for use. They have all been reserved and taken by cybersquatters who want to sell the domain name to the Nigerian government. Some are willing to sell the domain name for 20000 USD while others are going for the whooping sum of 50000 USD.

This is not just obtainable with domain names or websites reservation, people do it too with company incorporation and name Trademarking; There are some people that this is their professional hustle, always keeping their ears to the ground to hear of the next big or trendy name; they will quickly register the name with the CAC or trademark it, you the original owner of the name can either be forced to buy it from them at an outrageous price or you will have to use another name.

This act of registering or reserving a domain name with the intention to sell it out is called cybersquatting and it is a crime in Nigeria and most other jurisdictions of the world. In Nigeria, upon conviction, it is punishable with at least 2 years imprisonment term and or a fine of N5,000,000

Cybersquatting, also known as domain squatting, is the practice of registering, trafficking or using an internet domain name with the intent of profiting from the goodwill of a trademark or the popularity of someone else.

Squatting simply means the act of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space pending when the owner of the space comes to take possession. cybersquatting, therefore, refers to the unauthorized registration and use of Internet domain names that are identical or similar to trademarks, service marks, company names, or personal names.

Cybersquatting became a crime in the USA with the 1999 Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA). The statute made it illegal and criminal for anybody to buy domain names that are identical to or very similar to trademarks or to register a domain name with popular phrases/ words which had come to be identified with a particular person.

It became criminal too in Nigeria with the introduction of the cybercrime act of 2015. This act in section 25 of it specifically prohibits Cybersquatting and provided a punishment of two years term for Cybersquatters.

Tech bros and tech hustlers should get to know that their ever-booming business of cybersquatting is a crime which is highly prohibited by our laws.

Stan Alieke is a legal practitioner based in Abuja.

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One of the most important lessons from the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s unfortunate disconnection of the nascent Aba Power company from the national grid for 10 days starting last April 21 was the need for decision-makers in Federal Government organisations that provide ancillary services in the power sector such as the TCN and the Market Operator ( a unit in the TCN,) as well as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), to develop a business-oriented consciousness. As the case with Aba Disco in April has indicated, these government agencies seem to perceive private sector operators as rivals who should be clobbered with a sledgehammer of Federal Might, rather than as business and development partners who should be encouraged to thrive and succeed in a mutually beneficial relationship.

In his well-circulated article, Dr Yemi Balogun advised the FG firms to borrow a leaf from Professor Dora Akunyili’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) which, though a regulatory agency or a so-called policeman of the food and drug sector, spent years educating and guiding firms producing and importing medicines and processed foods in the country; instead of using the sledgehammer on these firms anytime they erred, NAFDAC punished them with care and understanding, as a good teacher would do to his or her students. The result was that the businesses supervised by NAFDAC began to post superior profits and became more compliant quickly. On Professor Akunyili’s 50th birthday in July 2014, the food and drug companies held in Lagos an unrivaled birthday celebration in Nigerian history. An appreciative nation paid a deserving homage to a most accomplished public servant and NAFDAC became the most admired and trusted public service organisation.

In a response to Dr Balogun’s thoughtful piece, Dr Fredrick Barde, an international management professor in the United Kingdom, called the attention of Nigerian state-owned enterprises (SoEs), including regulatory agencies, to the need to learn from their Chinese counterparts who have the mindset of businessmen and women. Chinese public officers, including regulators, go out of their way to encourage businesses to succeed. In fact, as Professor Barde has informed Nigerians, one of the major criteria for promoting executives to the next level in China, which has five tiers of government, is the number of domestic and foreign businesses they bring to their territories annually. This practice encourages healthy competition among state and Communist Party officials, resulting in China’s rapid development.

As someone who has been consulting for some power sector firms in the country, I am struck by the enormous wisdom in the articles by Dr Balogun and Professor Barde, who are authentic Nigerian patriots. There is a particular area where government agencies can easily help power firms, especially distribution companies, without losing even a kobo. One is referring to the time of the month when Federal Government organisations cut off feeders of DisCos from the grid to compel them to pay up. They frequently do so from the second part of a new month. In the case of Aba DisCo, the TCN cut off all its 29 feeders on April 21, at the height of revenue collection, and on April 26 descended on three feeders from the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company to force it to pay N51bn.

DisCos send out their bills to customers in the first two weeks of the month. They start revenue collection in the second part of the month, and this frequently entails disconnecting electricity users who fail to pay for the previous month(s). But the second part of the month is when the Market Operator, TCN, or even electricity suppliers like the Niger Delta Power Holding Company yank off DisCo feeders from the national grid or cut off or reduce supplies, throwing large numbers of customers into darkness. DisCo revenue officials who go out to the field during this period are regularly attacked physically by angry customers who have no electricity supplies. Some have their ladders removed and seized when they are already on the pole; their lives are thus put in great danger.

In other words, when FG agencies in the power that provide ancillary services want to force power distribution firms to pay up and cut off their feeders from the national grid and do so in the second part of the new month when DisCos are collecting revenues, they end making the distribution firms collect less. And when the DisCos have less money, they cannot meet their obligations to electricity suppliers and ancillary service providers. The situation becomes a loss-loss for every stakeholder, including the government, which loses tremendous goodwill from the public as the latter grows increasingly disenchanted.

Electricity and gas suppliers as well as ancilliary service providers can get their money only when DisCos are able to collect reasonable revenues. When the distribution companies pay, generation companies can pay gas suppliers like Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ENI, Seplat, etc. As everyone knows, the electricity business is a value chain. A chain is as strong as the weakest link. Therefore, to encourage DisCos to generate more revenues which will, in turn, benefit all players in the power sector, FG agencies should not cut supplies in the second part of the month, but in the first part when electricity bills are being distributed and customers will be willing to pay to have power restored or not to be disconnected from their meters or poles.

All stakeholders in the power sector need constant meetings to know the challenges facing one another and how they can assist each. The current mindset where FG agencies see themselves as policemen in the streets who display cruelty under the guise of of instilling discipline in the electricity industry is counterproductive. They also are great losers. Nigeria needs people and organisations with a win-win mindset for the country to get it right in the critical power sector. The power sector need not remain the albatross of infrastructure development in Nigeria which has been delaying the country’s economic takeoff.

Engr Mohammed, an electricity consultant, wrote from Abuja.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).

For Nigeria, this is a time to take stock; a time to dispassionately critique where we are coming from and where we are headed. One had refrained from passing a definitive verdict all these days because, as in a soccer match, a last minute goal was still a possibility. Now, the match has ended and chroniclers are at liberty to start laying the building blocks of history.

“The old order changeth, yielding place to new, And God fulfils Himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world”, wrote Alfred Lord Tennyson in his famous poem, Morte d’Arthur. When Muhammadu Buhari mounted the saddle in 2015, a two-term tenure of eight years looked like eternity. Now, the man who ascended the throne in a blaze of glory is crawling back to private life thoroughly demystified.

Shortly after the swearing in ceremony of May 29, 2015, those of us who had covered Major-General Buhari’s first intrusion into governance in 1984 expected that competence, discipline and transparency would be the hallmark of his tenure as a democratically elected president. 

In the first two weeks, motorists noticed that police checkpoints had been dismantled nationwide. Everyone was scared that Buhari’s broom would sweep away all crooked people from public office. But after two weeks and people saw that it was business as usual, checkpoints started rearing their heads again and the people slowly but surely returned to their riotous ways.

It turned out that Buhari was overrated, overhyped and that the expectations of the public from the new ‘messiah’ were, therefore, unrealistic. Once his health problems were sorted out by his foreign doctors, it was thought that he would swing into action and intervene in many areas of national life. But no such thing happened as Buhari was content with reigning as a monarchical president rather than a political leader.

The underside of that monarchical posture was that Nigeria was on auto-pilot. Each minister became a lord unto himself. But for a few times when the office of the secretary to government intervened, there was no central coordination of policy initiatives. As far as the public could see, the president was content with appointing his ministers and leaving them to their own devices.

More than any other president before him, Buhari displayed a lack of cerebral capacity to think through various national problems and proffer solutions. Nowhere was this more pronounced than in the vexed matter of nomadic herdsmen destroying farms. While forward looking people suggested that the federal government assist the herders to set up ranches so that the primitive system of roaming the wilderness in search of pasture for grazing would become a thing of the past, Buhari was more interested in establishing grazing routes from the desert to the ocean so that the herdsmen could roam freely.

In terms of style, Buhari’s limited exposure and narrow circle of friends made it difficult for him to understand how to deploy contemporary tools to effect desired changes. Many people felt that he was arrogant, but I think what they mistake as arrogance is actually a recoil into his shell for, in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln, “It’s better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than open it and remove all doubt.”

Buhari will be remembered for many infrastructural projects, especially the revamping of the railway sector and the completion of the second Niger bridge. But the jury is still out as to whether the borrowings — highest level of borrowing since Nigeria became independent in 1960 — were judiciously expended.

Nigeria’s total public debt stock as at 2023 is N46. 25 trillion. This excludes another estimated N27. 55 trillion ‘Ways and Means’ loans from the Central Bank and additional debt envisaged in the 2023 annual budgets of States and the Federal Government. There are claims that many of the projects being executed are overvalued when placed side by side with similar projects in other parts of the world. 

Under Buhari, corruption rained like confetti. Public officials used to pilfer millions of Naira; now under Buhari, they stole billions in plain sight. One of the examples of profligacy often cited is the opaque way the Ministry of Aviation has been going about the establishment of Nigerian Air — from the ‘unveiling’ of the logo in London to the opaque partnership with Ethiopian Air (which made local airlines head to the courts). Then came the N1.7 billion consultancy fee for the design of the second runway in Abuja and the N12 billion expended on acquiring 10 fire fighting trucks without competitive bids.

The ownership structure of Nigeria Air is shrouded in secrecy. The minister had disclosed that Ethiopian Air owns 49% equity while Nigeria owns only 5%. So, who are the other shareholders? Indeed, what is the authorised share capital of the airline? What equity did the other unnamed stakeholders contribute? 

Also, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called for the immediate reversal of the concessioning of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano. “Why borrow and spend public money to upgrade the airports only to hand them over to private concerns in the name of a concession?” the centre asked.

“It is also disheartening to understand that the total amount of money that this airport is accruing to government is $700m for Abuja and then $97.4m for Kano”, said CISLAC. “Put together, it is about $800m and Nigeria is receiving a concession fees or upfront of less than $10m, that is, only $7m for Abuja and $1.5m to be given for Kano.” Apparently, Sirika has treated the aviation sector like a family inheritance.

The incoming administration will have its hands full with many ghostly projects. Mercifully, the proposed borrowing of additional $800 million to “cushion the effects of the proposed removal of petroleum subsidy on the poorest of the poor has been shelved. Like the COVID palliatives and the feeding of absent school children during the COVID scourge, it would have been another phantom bazaar.

In the eight years of his reign, Buhari cut the picture of a standoffish leader who was doing us a favour. He didn’t brook criticism and seized every opportunity to congratulate himself. Only recently, he proclaimed: “I have run a good race”. 

The way to assess any administration is to weigh the quantum of resources available to it. Dollar for dollar, Naira for Naira, we could have achieved more mileage with the resources available in the last eight years with more prudent management. For the government to give itself a pass mark, its standards must be very low indeed.

The outgoing administration made some gains on the security front but neutralised its gains by employing double standards in dealing with terrorists, bandits, armed herdsmen, tribal warriors , etc. The impression was given that some people could not be prosecuted no matter their crimes. 

The Buhari administration must however be commended for its achievements in the war against narcotics. The NDLEA under Brig-Gen Buba Marwa (Rtd) has rediscovered its mojo. Also, the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) under Dr. Abike Dabiri-Erewa has performed creditably as a trusted link between the country and its citizens abroad. 

Unfortunately for the administration, all the lofty economic goals earmarked at the onset of the regime were stultified by a combination of voodoo economics and sheer incompetence, especially with regard to how the central bank has managed the monetary policy and caused untold hardship to the generality of the people through its planlessness. 

The attempt to introduce new colours of Naira notes in the run-up to the last elections must rank as one of the most brainless moves ever made by any government since Independence. 

All in all, Buhari has satiated his longing to serve as a democratically elected president of Nigeria. He shares the distinction of leading Nigeria twice — as a soldier and as a civilian — with General Olusegun Obasanjo. His military adventure had ended on a sour note when he was overthrown in 1984. His return as civilian president was supposed to be a golden opportunity to show what the country missed when he was overthrown. But alas, the verdict over eight years is anything but rosy. He has said he can’t wait to return to his farm in Daura. For once, Nigerians are in agreement with him. They, too, can’t wait!

As we bid President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a professor, goodbye till we meet again, it is fitting to ask the outgoing President an update on one not-so-popular but so-significant promise he didn’t fulfil to Nigerians and humanity: release of Ms Leah Sharibu The Guardian, Nigeria had in 2019 tagged her as ‘A goddess of resistance.’

While reflecting the other day on possibilities in a verdict of history, our president had looked into the seeds of time and wondered if history would be kind to him as he was persuaded that he had tried his best. He should leave that to the judgment of history. But there is a sense in which we can claim today that history will be harsh to our outgoing president if he leaves office the morning after May 29 without proclaiming to the nation that he has fulfilled his 2018 promise on Citizen Leah.

And here is the thing, I haven’t been led to do a contextual reporting and analysis of the inauguration lectures and related activities today as there is a time for everything. As I had noted here on January 29, this year shortly before the 5th anniversary of Leah’s cruel abduction that it would be tragic for Buhari to leave Leah in captivity of the wicked. I had noted then that the oracle had nudged me on to raise a flag of appeal to our leader Buhari the Mauritanian authorities just then honoured as a ‘Peace Ambassador, who would leave office at the end of May, 2023.

MY appeal then: “Mr. President, on February 19, it will be five years since that daughter of Zion, Citizen Leah Sharibu was abducted by the wicked ones. Expectedly, on that day (February 19, 2023), there will be another round of activities to mark another dark day in our history of building our strange federation of complex diversity. That will be another day of diverse messages of solidarity and even condemnation for the authorities and indeed your presidency. It is not expedient for me to wait till that day to send this last appeal so that you can get it before the usual noises of February 19.

“What is more urgent, I just read your opinion in the media, in which you stated: ‘I have done my best, I hope history will be kind to me…’ Our dear President, this is very remarkable except to deconstruct it from one of the classics of Williams Shakespeare who notes, ‘the eye sees not itself but by reflection by some other things…’ Yes, you can claim to us that you have done your best within the context of the promises you made to us in 2015 and where we are today as a nation. The verdict of history is inescapable in the end. But one thing you need to do to make history to be kind to you is to work for the release of that daughter of yours, Leah before May 29, 2023. That is barely four months away. Many people believe that her heartless captors will kill her when you leave office. And as our own iconic Chinua Achebe would have written to you, do not allow the wicked ones to claim that you bear a hand in her death despite the fact that that girl regards you as a father, and your administration didn’t reach out to pay the terrorists what they allegedly demanded for her release. Your Excellency, may the good Lord who enabled you to be in the highest office in the land grant you the grace to deepen your understanding of why Citizen Leah should not be left to die in captivity where aid workers and rescued ones have consistently claimed that she (Leah) has been forced to renounce her faith as a Christian and marry a Boko Haram Commander by whom she has had two unwanted children in the wilderness of life.”

It will be recalled that in a 30-second video clip in Hausa, after seven months in captivity in 2018, the 15-year-old then appealed to the president for help and help for her agonising family. In the video, she pleaded: ‘I am Leah Sharibu, the girl that was abducted in GGSS Dapchi. I am calling on the government, particularly, the President to pity me and get me out of this serious situation…I also plead to the members of the public to help my mother, my father, my younger brother and relatives…Kindly help me out of my predicament…I am calling on the government and people of goodwill to intervene to get me out of my current situation. I am begging you to treat me with compassion. Thank you.’

Our outgoing President, recall the last testimony of Leah’s mother who merely responded to a media inquiry about the last time the family heard from you: “…When my daughter was taken away in February 2018, I did not hear from the government; I did not hear from anybody until seven months after. It was then that a video was released of her in a hijab. Boko Haram had released a video to say they had killed one health worker and they said the next person to be killed would be Leah. So, the Leah Foundation organised a world press conference in Jos. We asked the world for help because the next person Boko Haram said they would kill was my daughter. We said we had not heard from the government or anybody as a family and that, as far as we were concerned, we were calling on the international community to plead with the Nigerian government to take action. The night of the press conference, we got the attention of the government and the President called and spoke with me. That was the first time they (the presidency) got in touch with us.

“After speaking to me, he (President) promised that he would do everything possible to bring Leah back. Two weeks after, he sent three ministers led by the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, to us. He came to Dapchi with two female ministers. When they came, they told me the President had sent them with a very large delegation and the media to say that very soon, Leah would be found. In fact, when they came that day, we thought Leah was coming back because we had just spoken with the President two weeks before. But they just came to register their presence with us as Leah’s parents. They took pictures and it was all over the media that the President sent ministers. After that time, we never heard anything from anybody in the government until October 2020 when the Minister of Women Affairs (Paulen Tallen) came to Yola (Adamawa State) to pay us a courtesy visit. She told us that she had brought a message from the President, that the President was still working towards fulfilling the promise that he would rescue Leah. Since then, there has been no contact or communication…”

Our out-going President, as I was saying, intelligence received on the status of Leah indicates that she has delivered a second child in captivity. There has been no rejoinder denying this unpleasant development even as diplomatic and intelligence sources have also confirmed. This is not a good news item of childbirth, in ay case.

‘The Guardian,’ Nigeria, had (on January 1, 2019), named Leah Sharibu as its 2018 ‘‘Person of the Year,’’ aptly describing her as “A goddess of resistance.” Remember this story too? To commemorate the March 21 third anniversary of the release of the Dapchi girls returned by their captors and “abandonment of Leah Sharibu,” a US group in its commemorative statement said, “until she is released, Leah remains a poster child and symbol of a failed state that can’t protect its children…” The group also lamented the “full-scale onslaught on education in Nigeria by Islamist extremists: Boko Haram wars against education; bandits mass kidnap of children in school; and religious violence against Christian mission school owners in Ilorin over hijab controversy.” These too are sad commentaries even as we are not talking about the more than 100 Chibok school children that the same Boko Haram insurgents have wasted since 2014. Our father and leader, I hope it is still clear that Leah’s father who hails from Adamawa State is a policeman, who was posted to Dapchi where his daughter was abducted. But they had transferred him to another beat at the time Leah was kidnapped. Does anyone feel how Leah’s family has been coping?

The words of the mother two years ago are still instructive: “…For us as a family, it is very painful; it is not something that is palatable. It is painful when a child is taken for three years and you don’t know anything regarding the child’s whereabouts. We are not happy as a family. I am not happy, her father is not happy and my son is not happy. We are in pain every day. She has just her younger brother, Donald. He is in school… My son has gone back to school, but every day I’m afraid; my mind is not at ease. But he has to continue with his education and people have supported us. The Leah Foundation has taken up his education. With that, he has to go to school, but every day, I am afraid. We are in deep pains. We are not happy. It is not something to be happy about…”

Mr. President, this is the summary of the reality we are checking: while 104 of Leah’s colleagues were released on March 21, 2018, five of the hapless girls died in captivity. Although, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed announced then that the 104 girls’ release was unconditional, the refusal of the terrorists group to release Leah since 2018 because she refused to convert to Islam questions this view, which buttresses some perception that the Federal Government’s negotiations through a back-channel led to the release of the girls.

So, it is indeed becoming inexcusable that the Federal Government has not been able to negotiate Leah’s release for five years. This may account for the resentments by various individuals and groups within and outside Nigeria as aptly captured in the earlier question posed by ‘The Guardian:’ “Mr. President, Where is Leah Sharibu?”

Mr. President, it can be repeated here that on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, you consoled and assured Leah’s parents that the Federal Government would do its utmost for the safety and security of Leah. You were then quoted as telling Mrs Sharibu: “I convey my emotion, the strong commitment of my administration and the solidarity of all Nigerians to you and your family as we will do our best to bring your daughter home in peace and safety.”

Despite your assurance to Rebecca Sharibu (mother of Leah), the Leah albatross still hangs on the neck of your administration Sir, as the girl is still held in captivity. Till the present, there has been no update on the plight of that unlucky girl and her whereabouts have remained unknown, five years on. Our dear President, as I have been saying here, this is an albatross that you should have removed from your neck before leaving for Daura tomorrow (May 29, 2023). As you fly over all the uncompleted road projects along Abuja-Katsina axis tomorrow, let your conscience be aroused by the Leah Sharibu conundrum as a strategic promise not kept, after all. Certainly, that failure has grave implications on the ticklish national question. Goodbye!

Those who grew up in the old Midwest Region which became Bendel State and now Edo and Delta States, must have heard the story of a particular ethnic group that reportedly loved court cases.

The story was that the importance of a person in that ethnic group was usually determined by the number of cases such a person had in court. In later years, increased litigations in the entire country was attributed to people who were bad losers in an event especially politics and elections. They were described as litigants who never dropped a case until the last court spoke. Unfortunately, no one has put forward the factor of how our justice system oils the trend. If a citizen is unable to attain what he believes is the justice of his case until he gets to the Supreme Court, why should his neighbour not emulate such perseverance?

The greatest achievement that stakeholders in Nigeria’s justice system ought to be proud of is the extent to which they have solved societal problems that usually provoked litigations. Although, it is only a few people that take up the issue of defections from one party to the other after election, many people are aggrieved over the trend. When a governor for personal reasons defects to another party and our judiciary says, defection is not one of the reasons constitutionally provided for removing a governor, the decision does not solve the real problem. Instead, it paves the way for many more governors to defect in future thereby forcefully altering the decision of voters. Defections would have ended long ago in Nigeria if the Supreme Court as a court of policy had nullified any defection and ordered the ‘irremovable’ governor back to the party whose votes he was hijacking; after all, votes in Nigeria legally belong to political parties.

The major factor which accounts for the greatest number of political cases in our courts, is rancorous party primaries. It has been so over the years because among other things, our judiciary prefers to hide under the argument that party matters are internal to the parties as if there are no laws guiding party conduct. During the Babangida years, government decided to build party offices throughout the country to avoid the practice of the rich diverting party matters to their houses where they held sway. Many years later, when the dictatorial powers of party caucuses remained a problem, the judiciary made a persuasive ruling which set guidelines for party behaviour during primaries. One of the guidelines was that for a political party to replace the victorious aspirant in its primary election, the party must provide cogent and verifiable reasons.This helped only for a while.

Today, the Electoral Act 2022 provides that INEC must monitor party primaries; yet in any dispute over party primaries, the judiciary merely upholds the position of the party. This was what happened in Yobe state during the last senatorial primaries of the ruling All Progressives Congress when Ahmad Lawan, the senate president who never featured as an aspirant was affirmed by the judiciary as the candidate of his party. If political parties are to handpick their flagbearers, why do we need party primaries to which we expend ample tax payers’ resources, such as the deployment of thousands of law enforcement agents? What was the intention and purpose of legally requiring INEC to monitor party primaries? That cases concerning this subject were reportedly lost and won because either the wrong person sued or deployed the wrong procedure may have satisfied the judiciary but it has not brought out the truth and more importantly, it has not helped society.

Political cases in court have continued to increase because it is only litigants and their lawyers that are reprimanded or fined. The cases will reduce when INEC officials who collude with politicians to rig elections are jailed. For instance, the victory of the APC in the 2018 governorship election in Osun state was donated by the judiciary because rather than tell us who won the election, the judiciary ended up identifying a tribunal member who was allegedly absent on a few occasions when the relevant tribunal sat. The higher level judiciary discountenanced the finding of facts by the tribunal that “a substantial number of the Certified True Copies of the Forms EC8A were altered and that the alteration in figures and fresh filling of the columns were not on the pink copies of the forms EC8A distributed to the parties polling agents on the day of the election. This shows clearly that the forms which were in INEC’s custody were altered after the election ended.” Has the trend ended?

Leaving the facts of a case or not investigating it at all cannot resolve a case, it neither brings out the truth nor does it help the larger society. Upcoming judges who followed the judgments of the legendary Chukwudifu Oputa of the Supreme Court must have learned several lessons. One of them was that truth must prevail in order to ensure that justice is done because “justice is more than a game of hide and seek; it is an attempt to discover the truth on human imperfections.” For this to happen, Oputa insisted that “the courts and all ministers of the temple, that is, all lawyers and all other stake holders must strive at discovering the truth regardless of legal technicalities.” All those who have refused to listen to Oputa by holding rigidly to the letter and not the spirit of the law are responsible for the tension in our polity today.

Technical justice brings forth several evils. One of such transparent evils in today’s Nigeria, is the abundance of crooked leaders. Too many Nigerian leaders have immense sleazy past which the system continuously helps them to hide. Many of us unfortunately hardly remember that old habits die hard. A fraudster early in life is more likely to use state power to meet his old habits. It is therefore pertinent for us all to stop oiling the safety valves which our system provides to persons with bad traits of character. When a would-be governor is accused of having forged certificates or other documents, it does not help society for the whistle-blower to be shut out with the argument of whether he came with or without originating summons or that indeed he should have waited for the appropriate time for raising his alarm. Getting to the bottom of the case to find the truth is best for society because a certificate forger is more likely to forge bigger matters.

Nothing stops us from getting a statement from the issuing authorities of a suspected forged certificate. The other day, the University of Ibadan did not only write, she came forward to testify that Edo Governor, Godwin Obaseki’s certificates were genuine. Similarly, it was good to hear that an American University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has confirmed that the certificates presented by the last Labour Party governorship candidate in Lagos state, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour are genuine. The approach is more capable of resting cases beyond legal arguments. It is hoped that the running battle over the authenticity of the NYSC certificate presented by the last PDP governorship candidate in Enugu state, Peter Mbah would be similarly handled. Otherwise, predictability which a good legal system bestows on society, will be lost.

Nigerians expect the same results when similar cases are handled. Two days ago, the case of double nomination brought by the PDP against the then vice presidential candidate of the APC, Senator Kashim Shettima was dismissed. The court described the PDP as a meddlesome interloper because it raised a matter about another party. However, not many know why the same PDP was not similarly described when it raised a case of impropriety against the then APC Deputy governorship candidate during the last governorship election in Bayelsa state. Could it be that in Nigeria, meddlesome interlopers get different judgments? We need not be impatient with those who are confused because the complainant in both cases was the PDP, the party complained against was the APC, the court in both cases was Nigeria’s apex court. Should we just take it that both parties won one and lost one case each?