By: Ugochukwu Ebuka Nweke
Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has been honoured with the award of good governance in the health sector by the College of Medicine, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu campus.
This award does not come as a surprise as Governor Ugwuanyi is an unusual governor. Everything about him is different. His pace of work is phenomenal and his style is unconventional. He likes to be different. That is why he fondly referred to by the name – GBURUGBURU (which reflects his all-round greatness). He is one Chief Executive that does not take No for an answer. He believes the state has lost a lot of time and it needs to catch up fast. That is why he is in a hurry to achieve. And all his aides know this. That is why they have also become frenetic in their pace. Since he came in, all he has been doing is to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the state.
Politically, he has been remarkably active and forthright. The Governor has continued to impress all with the strength of his commitment to selfless service, diligence, sincerity and tirelessness in all the workings of his administration. The strings of awards that have trailed the life of this good-natured leader are eloquent testimonies to all that has been said about him. He is indeed a quintessential politician with a vision, mission and passion.
Above all, Governor Ugwuanyi is a realist and a goal-getter, an amiable personality and of course a dynamic and pragmatic Governor of the people. At the risk of sounding immodest, there is no single serving governor that can contend with Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. Though with several verifiable reasons why he should fail, Governor Ugwuanyi chose the path of success–because that is what he promised the good people of Enugu State.
Today, Governor Ugwuanyi has proved the Enugu people right. He has lived up to their expectations through consistent initiation and execution of pro-people projects and programmes. Everywhere you turn in Enugu State, you see projects. The Ugwuanyi administration has ensured that governance gets a human face. Governance has come to live with the people and the people are glad.
Most importantly, the world has noticed. In a country where governors are certified authors of excuses of why they are entitled to fail, everyone is eager to celebrate Ugwuanyi, a proven performer. Everyone is eager to cite Ugwuanyi as an example, worthy of recognition and celebration. Everyone is asking the question; where is Ugwuanyi getting the resources to perform.
Within a short period, Governor Ugwuanyi by his leadership style which is result-driven, has proven that leading a state without much resources is not rocket science as some of his colleagues have made Nigerians believe. He has become a governor of many feats and firsts. His popularity has soared and testimonies of his goodness and sterling performance in office abound within and outside the state. Among the workers, pensioners, security agents, religious leaders, artisans, residents, visitors and others, Governor Ugwuanyi’s government is popular and acceptable, because of its good governance and people-oriented programmes.
It is pertinent to also mention that four national dailies-The Sun, Independent, Vanguard and Leadership, independently found GovernorUgwuanyi worthy of honour with different unprecedented awards at the same time, after painstaking assessments.
Even in the face of his remarkable performance in office and the myriad of accolades that have continued to trail Governor Ugwuanyi ; he has never been carried away, rather he has remained humble and focused on his job. This is one among many other reasons that has made him the model Governor that fully understands the components of leadership as it pertains to the 21st century.
Nweke writes from Enugu
