Hot SourceBy Uche Anichukwu
“I am not a stranger at all to Enugu State. To deny Governor Peter Mbah’s transformative leadership will be sinful“ – Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN
Growing up, I heard how my paternal grandfather, the late Ofia Inyinya Okereke Igboke Anyioma, a highly respected personality, and a wealthy man by their standard in those days, offered three-point prayer as he broke kolanut and poured libations to Chukwu Okike Abiama (God) and his ancestors every morning: “If I ever conceive evil against anyone, may it return to me and vice versa; may everyone prosper, but may the kindest-hearted prosper the most so that the poor would not suffer; may my descendants surpass me and also actualise any of my unfulfilled dreams, for they are too big to be fulfilled in a lifetime.”
Not many places in Nigeria have enjoyed Enugu State’s rich history and special bestowals of mother nature. It is a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. Yet, something was missing: the founding fathers – Chief Christian Chukwuma Onoh, HRH Igwe Edward Nnaji, Chief Enechi Onyia, HRH Igwe Charles Abangwu, Chief Basil Okwu, HRH Igwe John Nwodo, HRH Igwe Ezeudo Abel Nwobodo, Prof. Samson Ukpabi, HRH Igwe Udemgaba Maduka, Justice Augustine Nnamani (JSC), HRH Igwe Paul Egbogu, HRM Igwe John Igwesi, Chief Dan Agbo, and Chief Nduka Eya, among a host of others – dreamt big. They believed that the people known as Waawa would do better with a state of their own to expand the social, political, and economic opportunities for their people. Their prayer was answered on August 27, 1991, when former Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, announced the creation of Enugu State.
Like my grandfather, they understood that having done their bits, the creation of Enugu State was only the beginning of the quest for the larger dream. Consequently, from the first military administrator to successive civilian administrations various degrees of progress have been made.
However, as I have often held, in the life of a people, once in a blue moon, providence throws up that one extraordinary person who must take them to unimaginable heights in such a very short time. I have always cited the likes of Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to as the father of modern Singapore. He literally transformed Singapore from a Third World nation to a developed economy in one generation. I have also often cited Park Chung Hee, who engineered the Miracle on the Han River, transforming South Korea to an industrial cum economic giant; Deng Xiaoping, who lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty in a most dramatic manner; Franklin D. Roosevelt whose ‘New Deal’ rescued the USA from the Great Depression; and our own legend, Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara, whose “Pragmatic Realism” transformed the defunct Eastern Region into the world’s fastest growing economy between 1954 and 1964.
Today, Mbah is following in their footsteps. Having observed his modus operandi, and interacted him at a close range, I must confess that he is possessed by some positive forces greater than him. His quest to transform Enugu is an obsession – literally speaking.
Driven by his Disruptive Innovation approach, Mbah made it clear right from the campaigns that his was a transcendental calling to fast-track the dreams or tomorrow to reality, today. He came with a vision to exponentially grow the state’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion in four to eight years through private sector investment, make it one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of GDP and ensure that Enugu State achieves a zero per cent headcount rate inl poverty headcount index.
Two years and three months after, Enugu has become the cynosure of all eyes and the national reference point in good governance. He is proving, daily, and in practical and verifiable terms that the dreams of our founding fathers were not malarial fever dreams – they are realisable.
Mbah has demonstrated his commitment to realising the dreams of our founding fathers through the rapid resuscitation of moribund assets in line with his campaign promise. Unlike the national norm where new governments abandon the projects of their predecessors, he set out to revive the Enugu Palm Products Limited, EUPPL. Originally founded by the government of the defunct East Central State in 1970 on 6,700 hectares that traverses Ibite-Olo in Ezeagu LGA, Ugwuoba in Oji River LGA, and Umulokpa in Uzo-Uwani LGA, it was destroyed by the “Nigerian factor.” But with a N100bn deal between the Enugu State Government and Pragmatic Palms Limited in May 2024, a five-year aggressive plan is now being implemented to reposition EUPPL as one of the leading integrated oil palm establishments in Nigeria, playing in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors.
In addition, he has revamped the long-abandoned iconic Hotel Presidential founded by the legendary Dr. Michael Okpara some 63 years ago (1963) and Nigergas founded in 1962. He has recovered and completed the International Conference Centre, ICC, commenced by former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani. Today, the carcass he inherited has been transformed into a magnificent complex commissioned by His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, in January 2025. Today, it has become a beehive of activities, drawing visitors from across the country and beyond. Among many other conferences that drew thousands of participants, over 20,000 lawyers are presently having a wonderful experience at the sprawling complex and the Okpara Square where the 2025 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association is taking place.
These conferences and a retinue of other programmes also means huge sums of money coming into Enugu State. the hotel proprietors, taxi drivers, phone accessories sellers, restaurant proprietors, and even the “Mama Put,” etc. are all smiling to the bank. In fact, for the NBA conference, hotels as far as adjourning local governments to the state capital are fully occupied.
Also, standing just beside the ICC is the ICC 5-Star Hotel, commenced by the Mbah Administration on May 27, 2024. Today, the structural work is completed and it will be delivered before the end of 2025. Around the same ecosystem is also the Enugu International Hospital, a world-class quaternary state-of-the-art multi-specialty facility, that will not only help Nigeria reverse medical tourism, but also strengthen Enugu’s robust bid for a substantial share of Nigeria’s overseas medical tourism market valued at over $1 billion annually.
Only recently, a trending and geotagged video showed parts of some neigbouring states deserted by community members due to insecurity orchestrated by unknown gunmen. But today, Enugu is rated as one of the safest states in Nigeria, thanks to the bold and creative steps taken by Governor Mbah since May 2023. He banned the illegal sit-at-home that had virtually crippled Enugu’s economy and invested heavily in resources to tame and route out the enforcers. Today, some forests that used to house such non-state actors are now home to some of the 200-hectre Farm Estates being developed across the 260 wards.
In addition, Enugu houses the biggest and most sophisticated Command and Control Centre in Nigeria today. All the AI-enabled digital cameras installed across the state for surveillance are connected to the centre. Likewise, the AI-enabled cameras installed on all the over 150 security vehicles operated by the Distress Response Squad.
To make good his ambition to attract investors and at least 3 million visitors to Enugu State. annually starting from 2027, Mbah recently launched five ultramodern terminals, 100 CNG Mass Transit buses, the Enugu Transport management System, and 80 modern bus shelters and terminals. Biodun Otunola, is the Managing Director, Planet Projects Limited, which handled some of the Enugu transport terminals. Planet Project also built the Oshodi Transport Interchange and Ikeja Bus Terminal in Lagos. He captured the enormity of what Mbah has done: “This is the first time a project of this magnitude is experiented. Not only that a bus terminal is being built, but five bus terminals are being built. No administration has ever done this before since the history of Nigeria. We are in this industry and we have the records.”
It is also recalled that the state government had on July 7, 2025, rolled out three aircraft to launch Enugu Air as part of the administration’s integrated blueprint for a modern, multimodal transport ecosystem and vision to make Enugu a major aviation hub. And more are being expected before the end of the year.
One can actually go on and on, reeling out Mbah’s trailblazing accomplishments within a very short stay in power: construction of 260 Smart Green Schools in 260 ward to equip the children and youth of Enugu with 21 century skills and make them relevant in the emerging global economy; construction of 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres; over 1,000km of ongoing and completed road projects; creation of Enugu electricity market; establishment of 160 tons per our asphalt plant; establishment of Nortra Tractor Assembly Plant and Service Centre, an investment by ODK Group of Denmark; transformation of GTC from a collection of decrepit structures to a world class Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College with full boarding for 1,000 students; ongoing resuscitation of the long-abandoned Sunrise Flour Mills; and the massive New Enugu City, an ongoing smart city project, just to name a few.
The important thing to note, however, is that these projects are not isolated thinking. They are all connecting the dots in delivering the governor’s vision to grow Enugu State into a $30 billion economy. But even more important, they are all connected to the overmatching dreams of our founding fathers, for the tomorrow they all dreamt about is finally here, fast-forwarded by a visionary leader, Dr. Peter Mbah. As Ndi Enugu celebrate the 34th anniversary of their state, they can now confidently say that tomorrow is here indeed.
•Anichukwu is media aide to Governor of Enugu State
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