By Charly Onah

It appeared that November 1, 2020 ushered in a new dawn of so long a letter and open letter writing to Enugu State Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi by some persons of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo stock from his senatorial zone, Enugu North.

First was from one Rev.Fr. Dennis John Chukwubuzor Attah of Catholic Diocese Nsukka and another from one Celestine Okanya also from Igbo-Eze South Council Area in Enugu North zone, who has been mischievously and fallaciously critical of Ugwuanyi’s administration.

The two epistles which were of the same tone and agenda, but fraught with malice, mischief, lies, inconsistencies, missing links, nepotism and unfounded allegations were timely made public on the day Governor Ugwuanyi went on a private visit to senator representing Enugu North Senatorial zone, Senator Chuka Utazi in his home at Nkpologu, Uzo-Uwani Council Area alongside some prominent leaders of Enugu North Senatorial zone. Was this coincidental or conspiratorial? Time will tell,because there is no smoke without fire.

In his narration cum lamentations, Rev.Fr. Attah reminded Gov. Ugwuanyi that from November 1, he has only 2 years, 7 months and 28 days to handover in 2023. By implication, he strongly reminded the governor that what he could not achieve within the remaining 31.7% of his time will remain an illusion to him or anybody.

The Reverend acknowledged that as a matter of fact politics is not his field, but he is not blindfolded in the political sequence. This is a case of aprobating and reprobating at the same time, which is not good for a stable and principled character.

From Rev. Attah’s postulations, he is both blinded in the art of governance and politics especially in Enugu State. It is not enough to hide under cassock to tribally pontificate on governance and government in Enugu State without substantial facts and statistics. One Rev. Fr. Kelvin Odigbo had once toed the same infantile path in the past and got his fingers burnt.

Getting directly involved in the politics and governance of the state will be of great advantage to Rev. Fr. Attah and will help him to speak from the point of deep knowledge, instead of pontification and grandstanding through unsolicited and malicious open letter targeted at impugning the character of the governor and his government.

Meanwhile, the last time I read the 1999 constitution as amended, nothing precludes or bars an ordained priest of any denomination from joining or playing partisan politics and having experience of it and governance and its concomitant challenges and benefits.

After all, we have had the likes of late Rev. Moses Adasu, becoming governor of Benue State and Rev. Jolly Nyame serving as two-term governor of Taraba State.

Just last month, October, 2020, an Anglican Priest, Reverend Wavel Ramkalawan was elected and sworn-in as President of Seychelles. His victory came after six attempts to become the President of the country, a dream he started pursuing in 1998.

Before his presidential aspiration, he had joined politics by being a staunch member of Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) while serving as an ordained priest of Anglican church. He was still in active service when he was elected President and sworn-in. He is now in power and expected to correct those things he has been strongly critical on the pulpit.

Although all of us must or should not be politicians, nothing stops the likes of Rev.Fr Attah and his colleagues from joining politics. It is important and good for them to join. Membership of political parties in Nigeria are open to every Nigerian irrespective of religion or tribe. One does not need any qualification or certificate to be a member. That is by the way.

While it is true that the essence of power rotation in Enugu is to enable people from different parts of the governed area to access power inorder to ensure equitable development of the whole area, it is not presumed or true that an individual who was voted into office by the people to serve as governor should concentrate every development in his area as being espoused by Rev. Fr. Attah. That is totally uncalled for and divisive.

If that has been the practice in Enugu since 1999, it is very wrong and should not be encouraged, promoted or used as a reference point for good governance. In short, a visit to the Council areas, communities and villages of the past governors of Enugu State’s senatorial zones, since 1999 shows that none of them completed the needed infrastructural developments in their zones, talk more of other zones.

This is because of the age-long infrastructural deficits or gaps that required huge financial resources and time to tackle. Many communities in these zones are still yearning for urgent government intervention in the area of infrastructural development, while many people are still languishing in abject penury and starvation.

A local government like Nkanu East is one of the least developed local governments in Enugu State today, whereas it shares border and cultural affinity with Nkanu West LGA which is Senator Chimaroke Nnamani’s council area. The problems and challenges Rev. Fr. Attah emphasised in his letter is not peculiar to Enugu North Senatorial zone. It cut across senatorial zones, local governments, communities, wards, indigenes and residents of Enugu State.

That Gov. Ugwuanyi is not following the same path of skewed infrastructural developments in the state does not make him a failed or weak leader. It should have been nice if Rev. Fr. Attah had factored in or presented statistically the state of the economy now and when Ugwuanyi’s predecessors were in office. How much was crude oil which is the country’s major source of income sold for then and when Ugwuanyi assumed office? What is the state wage bill now and then? What is the political atmosphere, alignment and realignment then and now?

What was the population growth between then and now? Was there any recession and COVID-19 pandemic then? This is just elementary knowledge expected of anyone who wants to analyse the performance of any government or governor. Providing clear and factual answers to these germane questions raised above will help anybody to easily assess Gov. Ugwuanyi’s performance, not only in Enugu North Senatorial zone which Rev. Fr. Attah has become their spokesman, but the entire state.

It is very uncharitable and hypocritical of Rev. Fr. Attah to say that people are yet to see Gov. Ugwuanyi’s food yielding trees, because none has manifested and at the same time acknowledged that beautiful secretariat, good road network, housing estates and others done by Gov. Ugwuanyi’s administration in Enugu North zone are all good for the people.

If I will not be mistaken, it seems that to Rev. Fr. Attah the only food yielding trees expected of Ugwuanyi is to build or attract or relocate some higher institutions to his zones like his predecessors. This is even when it is obvious that none is available to be attracted from Federal Government now. That is why Ugwuanyi is gradually developing those ones that his administration has relocated to Enugu North Senatorial zone.

Eventhough Gov. Ugwuanyi is not the governor of Enugu North Senatorial zone, Rev.Fr Attah in his letter should have painted a vivid picture of the state of infrastructure and human development in Enugu North Senatorial zone before Gov. Ugwuanyi became governor and now that he has been governor for five years plus.

This will help a layman to assess the performance of Gov. Ugwuanyi administration in Enugu North zone and pass an unbiased verdict.
On being remembered for tangible achievements, it will be unfair for any reasonable person from Enugu North Senatorial zone to accuse Ugwuanyi of not doing much for people of Enugu State and Enugu North Senatorial zone in particular in the face of daunting challenges his administration faced from inception in 2015 till date.

Ugwuanyi’s numerous and solid achievements litter the nooks and cranny of Enugu North Senatorial zone. Everybody including visitors know the deplorable state of infrastructure in Enugu North Senatorial zone before Gov. Ugwuanyi assumed office as governor. If Ugwuanyi’s offence is that he has not built higher institutions or industries in Enugu North Senatorial zone, I cannot remember any of his predecessors that established industries, even with the financial solvency and liquidity they enjoyed while their administrations lasted.

END IN PRAISE

The much I know and have followed, Ugwuanyi government’s slogan is not It Will End in Praise, but Enugu State Is In The Hands of God. It Will End In Praise was coined as a campaign slogan of the governor towards his reelection bid.

The reelection eventually ended in praise with the governor garnering 94.5 percent votes which is unprecedented in the history of governorship elections in the state since 1999. Then came another slogan: The Goodness of God In Enugu State

How else will someone win election legitimately if not by following all the electoral guidelines, rules and regulations. Elections in Enugu in 2019 were the most peaceful in the country. This was attested to by Barrister Mike Okoye of INEC the day INEC presented Ugwuanyi certificate of return for his reelection in Enugu in 2019.
People, including the downtrodden and the elites have been giving testimonies of Ugwuanyi’s exceptional performance in office especially in the area of security, infrastructure development, peace and unity of the people.

Is Rev. Fr. Attah saying that these testimonies were induced or manufactured or that those giving it are fools. Even the workers and youths have been testifying and sermonising of Ugwuanyi administration’s outstanding and giant strides in office.

On Late Nnamdi Azikiwe’s establishment of UNN in Nsukka and the reason Nsukka should not forget him Zik did it then because the opportunity called for it and he has the platform and reach to attract it to his state.

On Governor Chimaroke Nnamani taking UNTH to Ituku Ozalla, it was not Nnamani that took UNTH to Ituku Ozalla. It was not Nnamani that did that. UNTH has been relocated to Ituku Ozalla before Nnamani assumed office as governor. I could remember vividly that Dr. Chris Ngige who is the current minister of Labour as a deputy director in the Ministry of Health was among those that facilitated the relocation before joining politics in 1998. Ngige is still alive today and inquiry could be made.

Nnamani attracted Law School to Agbani because of his close relationship with the then President Olusegun Obasanjo who was in the same party with him.

The same political latitude and advantage was enjoyed by Nnamani’s successor Sullivan Chime. This enabled them to empower their people with some juicy federal appointments, contacts and contracts.

These were not the case with Ugwuanyi’s administration that came on board with the PDP’s loss of power at the centre and economic recession that followed suit. This ugly development affected his government and governance drastically and brought human and financial pressure on Ugwuanyi’s administration. The rest is history.

APPOINTMENT AND EMPOWERMENT

Saying that people need empowerment not appointments is sounding hypocritical because appointment is synonymous with government.

Those appointed apart from working with and for the government, invariably work for the people. Saving or managing their finances judiciously will help them to empower others that are not in government. There is no way everyone will be in government at the same time.

There is no way government can empower everyone. Government can only provide enabling environment and atmosphere for people to operate and be empowered. That is what Ugwuanyi’s administration is doing by providing critical infrastructure like roads and healthcare centres in rural areas of which Enugu North Senatorial zone is a beneficiary in the state today.

In the construction sites across the state, artisan and engineers working there are mostly from the communities where the projects are sited.

ADVISERS

Describing all the politicians in Southeast as nothing, but mere praise singer is very derogatory and bad of a Rev. Fr. of Attah’s status. How can a Reverend who is ordained to serve God speak about his people in such an insultive and scathing manner, deviod of respect and decorum.

Who made him judge unto his people to condemn people with finality? What a bad way to generalise people. There are good and bad people everywhere and in every profession including the Christendom.
Good and evil knows no religion, tribe or status. It is innate in all human beings. Ugwuanyi just like any other governor knows his advisers. He made choice of them and takes responsibility for their actions and inactions.

Mind you that no matter what any leader does in Nigeria, hunger cannot vanish overnight. This is because hunger is part and parcel of human existence. It is even Biblical. After all, it is stated that man shall not live by bread alone. Why is Rev. Fr. Attah talking as if life is all about food and eating food. It goes beyond that.

INVIOLATE TRUTH

It is obvious from Rev. Fr. Attah’s tone in the letter that he is a fastidious and arrogant person, who sees his opinion or views as superior and spiritual. If not, how can he describe his personal opinions or views as truth without substantial evidence or subjecting it to scrutiny.

That is self-adulation, which is not expected of an ordained priest who has God’s fear.
Rev. Fr. Attah is entitled to his view, especially in our society, where talk is too cheap and writing open letter has become a hobby.

FEEDBACK

Ugwuanyi as a grassroots leader does not need his colleagues or advisers alone to get honest feedback from the people. I am quite aware that he reaches out to the less privileged and downtrodden directly.

He is always handy and accessible and often interface with his people. What feedback is worth more than the massive support his administration has enjoyed and still enjoying with the majority of the people.

This the people demonstrated clearly by reelecting him with 95. 45 per cent votes in 2019. His administration has continued to embark on people’s oriented policies and programmes that are directly benefitting the people.

Ugwuanyi is not a sycophant and does celebrate or indulge in sycophancy. Remember that sycophancy and praise are two different thing.
Ugwuanyi’s taciturnity and humility is not a weakness, eventhough some persons wrongly assumed it to be so. He is not a garrulous leader. He is a grounded leader who has his ears on ground and eyes on the ball.

NRASHI

Nrashi is nothing, but a joking slang used by politicians and people to describe enjoyment. It just became prominent in Ugwuanyi’s administration. That does not mean that Ugwuanyi is promoting epicurianism and hedonism. That Governor Ugwuanyi intermittently assists people with immediate financial needs with monetary gifts does not make him a spendthrift or profligate.

That does not mean that he distributes public money to the people recklessly. That is very a wrong impression by the Rev. Fr. Attah and his cohorts. Such assistance or interventions which happens from time to time is all about welfarism. It is an open secret that people seek for financial assistance from political leaders from time to time.

While others may not be disposed to assist, Ugwuanyi assists because he is generous naturally.

Recently Ugwuanyi was at UNTH Enugu to see the school children who were victims of ghastly motor accident in Awgu Local Government Area.

While going round in the hospital, a woman whose little daughter needs to be operated but has no money, saw him and started weeping for financial assistance. Gov. Ugwuanyi responded swifly by paying N300,000 for the operation immediately. Can this be described as distributing money?

RUMOURS

For Rev.Fr. Attah to pen down an open letter on the rumour he is hearing about Gov. Ugwuanyi that he could easily access and interact with without investigations shows that he has a different agenda and personal grudges against the governor.

If a Catholic priest of Attah’s personality can swallow lies and rumours hook, line and sinker, what will he teach his worshippers and what would they be practising or believing?

On the allegations that Ugwuanyi is distributing money among big men in the state and across the country to become a senator or vice president in 2023, this is a lie from the pit of hell. As of today, Ugwuanyi has not declared interest to contest anything in 2023.

Even if Ugwuanyi has such ambition, it is within his constitutional right to do so, provided he is qualified. But for the fact that he has not declared or told anybody such thing, it is too preemptive and condemnable to be spreading spurious rumour against him in that direction by men of God like Rev. Fr. Attah and his likes.

If Gov Ugwuanyi did not distribute money to be in the House of Representatives for 12 years and be governor of Enugu State on second term, why should he distribute public money to become senator or vice president in 2023. If Ugwuanyi is interested in any position in 2023 and it is the wish of God and the people, it will come to manifestation. Unsolicited and malicious letter like this of Rev.Fr. Attah cannot stop it because power belongs to God and not men.

On self-assessment, Rev. Fr. Attah needs to reexamine his conscience, before asking Gov. Ugwuanyi to assess himself if he has done well for Nsukka people to be supportive of him to go Senate in 2023.

This is where Rev. Fr. Attah exposed his mission, which is political. Is Rev. Attah saying that he is now the political leader of Nsukka people to decide or dictate, who to be supported or not to be supported in 2023 elections by Nsukka people? Why is Rev. Fr Attah delving into politics, a terrain he has earlier denied knowledge of?

Why the inconsistency and partisanship his position and point on this issue? Has Ugwuanyi discussed his senatorial ambition with Rev. Fr. Attah to justify the needless attack on his person by him? Even if he has, is this open letter the best Rev. Fr. Attah can offer as a response? Is Rev.Fr Attah altruistic or executing a hatchet job with the open letter?

CASH DISTRIBUTION

No cash is being distributed in Enugu State by Ugwuanyi’s government. Providing immediate financial succour to the needy can not be termed as distributing money.
If the alleged distribution of money by Gov. Ugwuanyi has benefited Rev. Fr. Attah, he should let the world know. Relying on rumourmongering to pass judgment on a person
is the worst thing a right thinking person can do.

BEHIND SCHEDULE

Hmmm, with due respect, Rev. Father Dennis Attah has continued to display ignorance about simple rudiments of constitutional democracy. He is not aware that government is a continuum. It is clear that Rev. Fr. Attah is parochial and a tribal irredentist. He has queer sense of entitlement and have continued to live in delusion that so far Gov. Ugwuanyi is from Enugu North Senatorial zone, he should overlook other parts of the state and concentrate attention in Enugu North zone alone.

What is lacking in Ugwuanyi’s government is financial resources, not time or expertise. If his government gets enormous resources today, it will do more than it has done with the meagre resources at his disposal. Ugwuanyi has completed some of the projects he inherited from his predecessors.

It is expected and traditional that his successor to continue with some of his projects that will not be completed before he leaves office in 2023. That is how government works and should work.
I don’t know when Rev. Fr. Attah went to Orba last. Works are ongoing at the campus of the relocated Enugu State Polytecthnic Iwollo in Ezimo, Specialist Hospital at Igboano and others.

Apart from UNN which was attracted to Nsukka by Zik, what were other industries or federal or state higher institutions that have been attracted and sited in the zone since then until Ugwuanyi became governor? What was the state of Nsukka urban and its environs before Ugwuanyi’s emergence as governor?

GOOD WORK

It is good and surprising for Rev. Fr. Attah to acknowledge that there were good works done by Ugwuanyi administration.
That nobody will not like to settle where there is hunger does not erase the fact that hunger is part and parcel of human existence. It has come to stay and has continued from generation to generation.

Those before Ugwuanyi were unable to stop it, not because they did not try just the way Ugwuanyi’s government is doing, but hunger is unstoppable and natural. Poverty is universal and natural. Living or means of livelihood is not equal or balanced anywhere on earth.

QUALITY OF THE ROADS

I am sure that Rev. Fr. Attah is not an engineer. It is preposterous and foolhardy of him to delve into writing about the quality of roads being constructed by Ugwuanyi’s administration, when he is a novice in engineering field.

It is instructive to inform Rev. Fr.Attah that governor don’t singlehandedly award contract to companies. The contracts go through rigorous process including bidding before they are awarded.

Ugwuanyi’s government use certified contractors and companies to do road contracts.That a portion of road develops potholes does not mean that the road has collapsed. Even in developed countries, section of road collapses from time to time and they will be fixed and maintained regularly.

How will our indigenous contractors survive and prosper if they are not used to do some roads by government. For the mere fact that Rev.Fr. Attah was not specific about roads constructed by Ugwuanyi’s administration that collapsed showed that he was on gossip and vendetta mission.

HOUSING ESTATES

The basic needs of man according to pyschologist is food, shelter and water. The housing estates being massively developed across the state by Ugwuanyi’s administration has created jobs for both professionals and artisans.

It had brought rapid development in the areas they are located. With Enugu metropolis being congested and overpopulated, the estates which were mostly located at satelite towns will help decongest Enugu urban and reduce rural urban migration.

GOVERNMENT PRESENCE

It is axiomatic that government presence in the area of infrastructural development has never been felt in rural areas across the state the way it had been felt under Ugwuanyi’s administration. Before now, rural areas are being remembered only during elections. Ugwuanyi changed the situation by making development of rural areas one of his government’s top priorities. His government has so far constructed 275km road which is in the rural areas aside from the roads in the urban and semi-urban areas.

In Uzo-Uwani LGA alone, where Rev.Fr. Attah is serving as a priest, Ugwuanyi administration has asphalted the 26.665km Ukpabi-Nimbo-Ugbene Ajima-Eziani road as well as finished doing earthwork on Edem Ani-Urobo Abbi road.

Massive work is ongoing on the long-neglected 39km Umulokpa-Adaba-Ukpata-Uvuru-Nkpologu road which links many communities of Uzo-Uwani to their headquarters at Umulokpa.

Before the construction, the people of Uzo-Uwani usually crisscross around four local governments namely Igbo-Etiti, Nsukka, Ezeagu and Udi before getting to their council headquarters at Umulokpa. Also being constructed at Nkpologu by Ugwuanyi’s administration is one of the seven type 3 healthcare centres in the state. It is on record that Uzo-Uwani LGA is the least developed local government in the state before Ugwuanyi’s administration.

The local government which is made up of mostly agrigarian communities needs infrastructure, especially roads that will give farmers access to market to sell their produce. That is why Ugwuanyi’s administration is working on roads in the area first before any other thing. That Ugwuanyi has not constructed road leading to Rev. Father Attah’s Parish at Nrobo in Uzo-Uwani is not enough reason for him to maliciously castigate and attack his government in open letter that smacks of rascality and exuberance.

Due to paucity of fund and other challenges, there is no way, any government including that of Ugwuanyi can address all the challenges confronting it. It is not possible unless we are not sincere to ourselves.
Constructive criticism imbued with facts is a tonic for good governance.

It is synonymous with democratic governance. But armchair criticism embedded in malice, fallacy and mischief as exhibited by Rev.Fr. Attah in his open letter to Gov Ugwuanyi is the most embarrassing venture an educated and exposed person of Rev. Attah’s status can embark on. It exposes one to ridicule and put the person on the spot assessment.

It will be good if Rev. Fr. Attah can also write such open letter to the Senator Chuka Utazi who is representing the Enugu North Senatorial zone in National Assembly and hails from Uzo-Uwani LGA.
Nothing stops the Senator from complementing the efforts of Gov. Ugwuanyi in his local government and across other local governments in the senatorial zone through execution of quality constituency projects.

The responsibility of developing Enugu North Senatorial zone does not only lie on Gov. Ugwuanyi government alone. It requires collective and concerted efforts of all the people of the zone, including Rev. Fr. Attah and his colleagues. Rev.Fr. Attah’s watery, emotional and nepotic open letter to Gov. Ugwuanyi will not add any value rather it has just exposed him for whom he is and has potrayed the Enugu North Senatorial zone people in badlight.

It is true that politics is a game of personal interest. Governance and government is about carry everyone along and touching lives of the people irrespective of language, zone and religion. Ugwuanyi has so far used his position as governor to unite Enugu people like never before. He has changed the leadership dynamics in the state for good.

Charly Onah writes from Opi, Nsukka, Enugu State.

This post has already been read at least460 times!