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A few weeks to his inauguration as governor of Enugu State on May 29, 2023, I had my first meeting with Peter Mbah along with a few other colleague media personalities. The meeting, which was at the instance of my good friend, brother and perhaps one of Nigeria’s best media relations guru, Uche Anichukwu, held at the Abuja Transcorp Hilton. Present at the meeting was also my good friend Ifeanyi Ossai, then deputy governor-elect of Enugu State. For many years, I have been deeply connected to the political leadership of Enugu State, to the extent that it has become my second “state of origin.” And in these years, I have come to appreciate a leadership value system that is firmly hinged on a deep connection between the political leaders and the people of Enugu State. In my close interaction with leading lights of Enugu, such as former Governor Ifeanyi Uguwanyi, former Deputy Senate President Ike Ekwerenmadu, and former House of Representative members Patrick Asadu and Toby Okechukwu, among many others, I have come to the realisation that, if there is one state in Nigeria where democracy is truly work in progress, then it is my second home state.
But throughout my years of involvement in Enugu’s affairs, I never met Peter Mbah, who by then was busy carving a niche in the ecosystem of Nigeria’s organised private as a leading player in the oil and gas industry, as the chairman of Pinnacle, until the Abuja meeting. At the meeting, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, a lawyer, businessman and politician who previously served as chief of staff in the administration of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani, in a very calm, composed and stoic mien, took us through his vision for the state. In fact, he reiterated his campaign promises, including the creation of a $30 billion economy, resuscitation of urban water supply, ending sit-at-home, upgrading health facilities and, most importantly, the building of smart schools to usher Enugu children into a future that is today. Listening keenly to this gentleman, I saw a serous-minded man who meant the business of governance.
Satisfied that Peter Mbah knew exactly what he wanted to do as governor, I decided to quip in a little suggestion on the need for him to run a government that was going to be inclusive of all Nigerians resident in the state, irrespective of ethnicity and religion, especially given the fact that Enugu was the former regional capital of the old Eastern Region. I specifically made this suggestion to the incoming governor because there is a widespread perception that the Igbo people of Nigeria are not accommodating of other groups as they are accommodated outside their eastern heartland home region and this issue has often been used as a campaign of calumny against individual politicians seeking the highest office in the land from one of Nigeria’s most important sections. As I made this appeal, Mbah, an otherwise straight-faced and expressionless man, let out a smile of appreciation without saying a word. Little did I know that I was preaching Catholicism to the Bishop of Rome.
The recent controversy about the abandonment of a multibillion-naira contract for the construction of Mbah’s smart schools across the state, which was awarded to Olasijibomi Ogundele, a Lagos-based Yoruba property developer, has clearly revealed Mbah as a detribalized pan-Nigerian nationalist living out the vision of the Great Zik of Africa of a united Nigerian nation of citizens, away from a fractured country of disunited tribesmen. After all, it all began in 1952, when Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC party threw up Mallam Umaru Altine, Hausa-speaking Muslim from northern Nigeria, who was resident in Enugu city, as the Mayor of the regional capital of the Nigeria’s Igbo homeland, a feat in national integration that has remained a reference point in national unity for more than half a century.
This commentary is not about the business dispute between Olasijibomi Ogundele and Enugu State government but more about the fact that Mbah has shattered the myth, or, if you like, the fallacy and falsehood, about Ndigbo not being accommodating of others as they want others to accommodate them. By entrusting some of his most important projects to the hands of ‘others,’ Mbah’s action has clearly vindicated the Igbo people of Nigeria and rebranded their image as a people who truly believe in the philosophy of “Nwanne di na mba [a brother can be found in foreign lands]”. Interestingly, Olasijibomi Ogundele is not the first and only beneficiary of Enugu State government’s patronage within the context of this commentary.
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Recently, the governor inaugurated five ultra-modern bus terminals in the state as part of his administration’s transportation master plan to provide affordable and seamless interconnectivity across the major towns and city centre. Four of those terminals were constructed by Planet Projects, a Lagos-based construction firm whose major promoter is Engr. Biodun Otunola. The modern Oshodi Bus Terminal in Lagos was constructed by this firm. And the good thing about these projects is that they were competitively bidded for but the Yoruba ethnicity of Enugu State government’s preferred bidders did not limit or diminish their chances of winning the contract in Mbah’s Enugu. Just as Planet Projects has a track record in transport infrastructure construction and management, so does Olasijibomi’s Sujimoto Property construction firm have a solid track record as pioneers of smart buildings in Africa. That the Enugu State government has taken steps to sanction Olasijibomi Ogundele clearly shows that Mbah has no incestuous relationship with the Ogundele and the engagement was purely based on the belief that he could deliver on the job.
Away from these two cases, among many others, Mbah, in making strategic appointments in Enugu State, has demonstrated the oneness of Nigeria, where the principles of inclusion, equity and justice reign supreme. The man helping Mbah to drive his vision for available, accessible and affordable healthcare is Dr. Yomi Jaye, Special Adviser on Health Matters. To help boost the internally generated revenue of the state, Mbah hired Adenike Okebu as his Senior Special Assistant on Revenue.
While Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf Sambo serves as the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Special Duties, the commander of Enugu Forest Guard is Olamitisoji Akinbamilayo, a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police who served in the Enugu State Command. The retired DCP was in charge of operations when Mbah directed the full implementation of the ban on sit-at-home and other violent activities by miscreants. For his meritorious service to the state, DCP Akinbamilayo was retained by the state as part of its security management team.
Peter Mbah’s Enugu State is the Nigeria of our dream. And when next the Igbo people of Nigeria are accused wrongly, they should point in the direction of Peter Mbah’s Enugu State. Like I have consistently maintained, Nigerians are essentially one people and the various ethnic groupings are simply members of the same family that are living in different parts of the family compound. A movement from one part of the family compound to another should not render a member of the family an outsider inside his/her family compound. This is called citizenship. And as citizens of Nigeria, we should be free to reside in any part of the federation without the dichotomy of ‘indigene and settler,’ wherein ones ethnicity can enhance or diminish access to state provision and protection. The fundamental condition preceding national development and security of any sovereign entity is the social cohesion, national integration and unity of the constituent peoples. Now we know why Peter Mbah’s Enugu State is working progressively.
