By Buchi Nnaji

When as a governorship candidate, Barr. Peter Mbah declared that if elected, his administration would be "business unusual", a lot of people couldn't comprehend it. But on assumption of office as the Executive Governor of Enugu State, and his immediate signing of Executive Orders 1, 2, 3, it became obvious that indeed a new sheriff is in town to make a difference in the state's administration.

The governor had during his campaign made a lot of promises to the people of Enugu State which include provision of portable water, adequate security, enabling environment for businesses to thrive, growing the economy of Enugu State from $4.4 billion to $30 billion etc. However, he also emphasized that all those promises can only be actualized through disruptive innovation and taking stern decisions that would affect the people.

From the time of it's creation from the old Anambra state, Enugu State is known and recognized as capital of the southeast zone of Nigeria. Since then, the state has been going through ups and downs in it's voyage of political, economic, cultural, infrastructural developments among others. What prevails at any point in time depends not only on the wisdom and creativity of the state administrator or governor as the case may be, but also on the psychological mindset of the citizens and their willingness to support the government in power. 

Before now, the economy of Enugu state boomed, mainly because the state didn't depend solely on federal allocations to survive, but explored her rich agricultural, economic, commercial and cultural advantages. Unfortunately, over the years, people began to consciously and unconsciously abandon their rich natural endowment to chase after so called civilization, without minding the negative implication of their actions. 

As a result of the above, the Gross Domestic Product of the state reduced drastically because the people who were formerly producers and exporters of rich agricultural products later turned to consumers, and depends on imported goods and services. This unfortunate situation birthed economic degradation, infrastructural decay, poor revenue generation, insecurity etc. The state was eventually thrown into disarray, thereby requiring an experienced technocrat with proven track record to restore her lost glory.

To demonstrate his resolve and determination to recover Enugu state from non-state actors at all cost, Mbah quickly employed a radical but productive approach to combating insecurity. His actions brought to an end the ugly sit-at-home menace, which crippled the economy of Enugu State over the past 2 years. Heavy security presence as currently seen across the state, and the recent launching of Distress Response Squad, DRS by the state government shows the preparedness of Peter Mbah to restore peace, order and safeguard the lives and properties of Enugu people. Mbah has practically won the fight against insecurity in Enugu State.

Moreso, the political appointments made so far by the governor speaks volume of things to expect from his administration. He chose to appoint those whom he believe would give him desired results rather than compensating average politicians with sensitive positions at the expense of the entire state. However, it is expected that Governor Peter Mbah as a good manager of human resources would eventually carry everyone along in the process of rebuilding Enugu state. 

As expected, some people are already expressing displeasure over the outcome of Mbah's recent appointments. Some insist that Mbah's reward system is poor and need to balance his appointments to accommodate the politicians who worked assiduously to bring him to power, while others are of the view that it was necessary for the state to move forward. Whichever way, there's a general opinion that Enugu State will reclaim her lost glory under Dr Peter Mbah's watch.

In the area of infrastructural development, the state government recently announced that about 81 roads have been marked for immediate construction. The news gave a sigh of relief to Enugu state residents who have over the years lamented the horrible condition of roads in the state. Mbah had earlier stated in his campaign manifesto that one of the ways to woe investors to the state is by providing good access roads to remote communities where various industries can be sited. Many farmers had previously abandoned farming due to difficulties in moving agricultural products to the market among other unfavorable reasons. Hence, with the provision of good road network, farming activities, which has been the predominant source of income for Enugu people will be resuscitated.

The progress report from the ongoing work at the moribund Ajali water reservoir and other efforts being made by the new management of Enugu State Water Corporation to reticulate water across the state before Governor Mbah's 180 days in office brings a renewed hope that a new Enugu is assured. When Mbah specifically stated that he would ensure that Enugu people get pipe borne within 180 day, it generated mixed reaction. While some people felt that he made an error by specifying a time frame for the actualization, others who knew him as a gogetter trusted his ability. Today, it is becoming glaring that indeed Enugu will have water supply within Mbah's specified time frame.

Conclusively, judging the performance of Governor Peter Mbah in the past 100 days, a liberal mind would agree that his leadership style rekindles the hope of a new Enugu State. Things are done differently since he assumed office, hopefully to bring about the desired future that eluded Enugu State for so long. 

Engr. Buchi Nnaji (PhD in view), writes from Enugu