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By Henry Umahi
The saying that no condition is permanent certainly rings true for Ebonyi State. From being referred to as backwater, it has become a reference point in terms of super infrastructures. From a glorified village, Abakaliki, the capital of the state, has been transformed to a smart city, a mini Shanghai.
In the beginning, Ebonyi State was hardly reckoned with. In fact, as Governor David Umahi put it, Ebonyi State was “written off.” But the narrative has changed because of Umahi’s leadership and that of his predecessors. Umahi said: “I can say that they laid the foundation upon which I started to build.” And he has built so much.
One of the areas where Ebonyi State has recorded exciting progress under Umahi is the construction of roads and flyovers all over the state. From the state capital to the rural areas, an impressive network of roads greets you while flyover bridges dot parts of the state. In fact, it was learnt that the Umahi administration has constructed more roads than all the past governments of the state put together, while no flyover existed in Ebonyi before he assumed office in 2015.
Today, however, Ebonyi has the highest number of flyovers, after the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Lagos. And because of the seeming ease with which he builds flyovers even when his contemporaries are struggling to complete one, some people joke that Umahi is using spiritual or supernatural means to deliver flyovers across Ebonyi.
After visiting President Muhammadu Buhari to inform him about his intention to contest the presidency, Umahi said he would replicate the Ebonyi wonder across the country, if given the opportunity.
He said: “We want to treat the nation, if God permits, that what we have done becomes a microcosm of the macrocosm of which we expect.
“There are a lot of things that we have done in Ebonyi. We have the best government house. You can see anyway; we have the best exco chamber and the largest.
“We have completed 13 twin flyovers, each one going between 300-metre length to 500m. We are doing the next flyover.
“We have completed a mall that is not like any other mall in the entire West Africa. We’ve completed the best university in this country, which we tagged ‘University of Medical Sciences’, with all the centres of excellence, all with equipment.
“God willing, and if it’s the wish of the people of this country, under Umahi’s presidency, we will be looking at the same thing we did in Ebonyi State.”
A BOT member, Development Association of Ebonyi State, Mazi Ogbonna Ekwe, said it was obvious that Umahi did not come to play marbles. For him, Umahi came, saw and conquered.
According to him, Umahi adopted a holistic approach to tackling the challenges facing the state and making it a leading economy in the country.
Ekwe opined that the dividend of massive infrastructure investments in the state were manifesting. He said: “The gains of the massive investments made in road infrastructure are evident in the fact that the state has been opened up, while investors are coming in, particularly in the state capital.”
Ekwe, who is also the chairman of Uburu Peoples Assembly, Lagos State chapter, said Nigeria would be shortchanging itself if Umahi is denied the opportunity to serve at the national level.
Chief John Amiara said Umahi’s management of the meagre resources of the state was commendable. “Sometimes, I wonder how he does it. The state’s allocation is very small, yet Umahi is doing wonders,” he said.
Umahi’s aide, Mr. Francis Nwaze, said the uncommon transformation that has taken place in Ebonyi under the governor’s watch has made the state a fertile ground for investment, education and job opportunities, among others.
He said: “Governor Umahi is indeed a man who saw the future, Ebonyi’s future, the future of the fastest developing state across the country. He saw this and began to prepare before the time, the time that Ebonyi will become visible in the world map. He began to install good roads, connecting the roads with beautiful fountains in the roundabouts and installing the classy decongesting flyovers across the length and breadth, he anticipated may have a traffic jam, if allowed to remain in the originality.”
