As every rational, logical and progressive-minded soul in Enugu State and Nigeria at large gets occupied with the agenda for the advancement of the state and nation, it becomes incumbent on us to engage in consistent appraisals of our current and potential leaders for the purpose of entrenching effective leadership model as we all unanimously agree that the major portions of our societal absurdities are direct flights of leadership failure. It is my encounter with the introduced realm of deliberations that primarily informed my decision to view the administration of Governor IFEANYI Lawrence Ugwuanyi at least from a keyhole; ascertaining his credibility and pedigree or otherwise. Infact, it is the urgency of such regurgitations that motivated this brief assessment of Gburu Gburu’s symbolic reference as the water of Enugu State politicking.
I am aware that the scientists would choose to define water as “an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless and nearly colourless chemical substance which is the main constituent of earth’s hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent)” and I am convinced and conscious that most religious sects see water as the ultimate purifier. However, I happily crown the symbolic implications of water with our traditionally epic reference to water as that which has no enemy. It is my conscious acknowledgement of the revitalising associations of water as a living substance combined with my steady engagement with the political activities of Governor Ugwuanyi that foregrounded my stance to employ his personality in symbolising the water of Enugu politics.
Ordinarily, the tradition of suffocating opposition in a characteristic Nigerian political atmosphere has been sustained in most of the states and even at the centre. It has always been the implementation of winner takes all mentality by most of our leaders; both past and present but the emergence of Gburu Gburu as the governor of Enugu State opened a brand new chapter specifically in Enugu State politics as the governor acts mostly with little or no regards for party or religious affiliations; substituting hostility with affection and replacing discrimination with unadulterated accommodation. Of course, it will be in the interest of the sound citizens of the Coal City state to demonstrate tangible earnestness in appraising and criticising the policies of our government in order to meet up with our civil responsibilities and I believe the beneficiaries of Governor IFEANYI Ugwuanyi’s leadership across the party lines and religious circles ought to start acknowledging the positive vibes of his administration and may be, by then one would understand that the governor is the proverbial water that knows no boundary and has no enemy.
Beyond expected measures, Governor IFEANYI Ugwuanyi has given political appointments to substantial number of people in all political parties and religious affiliations in the state, dramatizing his fatherly figure in the state. By providing for APC members, APGA members what is made available for PDP members despite being a PDP governor indicates the abundance of love oozing out of such unique character. For taking care of needs of both the leaders and the led shows that Gburu Gburu is not elitist but is directed by the genuine yearnings of the people no matter their stations in life. By now, no one would need to be tutored on why Governor IFEANYI Ugwuanyi symbolises the water of Enugu politics.
Furthermore, the purifying and sanitizing effects of GOVERNOR IFEANYI Ugwuanyi finds expression when you consider how peaceful and economically viable that Enugu State has become under his government. And because I know that no one gives what he does not have, I know that Gburu Gburu could only get this far because it is in him; because buried in his character are heavy measurements of beauty, love, joy, peace and humility; because defining his attitude are the purifications and extreme friendliness of water responsible for placing Enugu State on the highway of timely advancement and globalisation patterned after the best practices endorsed by the wider world.
As I pause to reflect and take in some fresh breath, I wish to humbly reinstate the thesis statement of this textual construction by emphasizing that even beyond realising our traditional connotation of water as a leader with no pronounced enemy, Governor IFEANYI Ugwuanyi by omission or commission has proven that just like water, he is well appreciated for his irredeemable transparency as he would relish relating with anyone not due to one’s colour, party, tribe or religion but due to the contents of one’s character.
ENUGU STATE IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD.
WRITTEN BY
HON. MRS BIBIAN ANEKWE.
SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT (SSA) TO THE GOVERNOR ON MOBILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT.
ENUGU DI DI N’AKA CHUKWU MOVEMENT (DG.)
