It is a fact readily available in the public domain that honours are given to some individuals, companies and organisations for serious significances and there are millions of unique awards for unique purposes, ranging from sports, educational to Noble Peace Prize.
Without much ado, most people would bear witness to the testament that there are a lot of symbolic attachments of every award that exceed the boundary of victory because subsumed in those carved inanimate objects and papers underscore the effort, time, focus and grace that combined to add some edges to the recipient’s status. There also lies an investment of motivation and inspiration for more conquest and explorations, after all, the premium designed for excellence is more assignment.
It is upon this pedestal of thought that I chose to briefly mirror the connotations of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s numerous awards and their impacts on his profile in particular and the status of Coal City in general.
Taking you back memory lane, it was around November, 2017, two years into his first tenure, that Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi in a night of glitz, pomp and rewards for excellence emerged as the Most Efficient Governor of the year at the grand finale of the fifth Annual Brand and Marketing Conference of Brand Journalists Association of Nigeria (BJAN), organised to reward outstanding performances by individuals, brands and service providers across the country.
During the citation for the BJAN award, it was mentioned that Gburu Gburu had won the award for taking lead in efficient management of the dwindling resources, prioritising infrastructural development and the welfare of the workers.
Around September, 2019, the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ituku Ozalla, Enugu Campus after due consultations, found it worthy and expedient to confer Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi with Good Governance Award on Health. Speaking at the event, the Provost of the College, Prof. Uchenna Nwagha, submitted that the award was conferred on Gov. Ugwuanyi for “providing the enabling peaceful environment and good policies on Health and Medical Education.”
At a point in time, in September, 2020, The Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN) after due learned and logical reasoning decided to decorate the Gburu Gburu of Enugu State with the Governor of the Year Award in recognition of his leaning and support for not just education but legal education for his people.
Today, being a witness to the enormity of calamities, violence and controversies that rock the globe, one would be grateful for the slightest modicum of peace experienced around him and the recent Peace Award also packaged for Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on the occasion of his induction as the first Fellow of the Institute of Peace, Conflict and Development Studies (IPCDS) , Enugu State University of Science and Technology, speaks volume of the effectiveness of his administration in peace development and sustenance.
During the event, the Director of IPCDS, Prof Felix Asogwa after extoling Governor Ugwuanyi in high-spirited and colourful epithets admitted that the choice of Gov Ugwuanyi, which was a unanimous decision, was made: “On account of Your Excellency’s sterling qualities and achievements in Enugu state, since 2015, especially in the area of peace-building and security.”
And just recently, Enugu State under Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration was recognised as one of the six states in Nigeria with the highest level of economic viability by an independent intelligence publication; Economic Confidential.
In addition to several other awards from credible sources that keep coming the way of Governor Ifeanyi in recognition of his multiple milestones and impacts on the growth and development of one of the fastest growing Catholic Universities in the Eastern, region, Godfrey Okoye University within the month of November, 2019, honoured Governor Ugwuanyi with Doctor of Political Science (DPS), Honoris Causa.
Just recently, Enugu State was recognised as the sixth most economically viable states in Nigeria by an independent intelligence publication, Economic Confidential.
As I get closer to concluding this piece, I wish to submit my genuine admiration of Governor Ugwuanyi’s leadership orientation which must be responsible for attracting much laurels and accolades to his icon because I understand that those awards apart from making him more visible in a crowd go a long way in validating his administrative policies. And I also know for sure that those awards have made Gburu Gburu the protagonist of this narrative and would stand as relics of testimonies in the achives of history.
And who does not know that those inanimate but aesthetic treasures stand as the embodiment of humane inclinations and dispositions and imbues one’s reputation and biography with enviable aura of heroism which stands prominently in the strands of Gburu Gburu’s political narrative?
ENUGU STATE IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD.
WRITTEN BY
BIBIAN ANEKWE NEWS MEDIA CORRESPONDENT.
ENUGU DI N’AKACHUKWU MOVEMENT
