“My governor has met all you see on this banner,” Anya said during
a casual discussion. Anya is the chief press secretary to Umahi and
has a policy of getting things done as quickly as possible. “It is the
trademark of this administration. My boss wants anything that
would positively affect the people done as fast as possible.”It could be true. Abakaliki is filled with people all pursuing their
individual businesses with no time to mind others or succumb to
provocations. This is why it is very difficult to see public fights or
tension. With smiles playing around his face, once of the drivers
attached to the governor’s office told us that for the first time, the
state is enjoying the presence of government. According to him,
every civil servant now has a feeling of being a stakeholder in the
project called Ebonyi state. “I have been taking you round the state
for some days now; have you seen people fighting? Have you heard
people insulting others? You have seen the projects scattered around
the state.”From the entrance of the state, a traveler comes in contact with
projects, some completed, others ongoing. The state now boasts of
some flyovers, one located opposite the international market in the
state to assist travellers heading to Cross River state. To ease the
challenges that could be faced by motorists in the state now and in
the future, another flyover is cited at the Vanco junction. Yet, one
is found at the popular Presco area of the state.Professionalism counts. With a professional in government,
contractors must think twice before embarking on their tasks. This
must be why every project in the state must meet a particular
standard. This is why Abakaliki counts among one of the best cities
in the southeast with a nightlife that has more than doubled since
Umahi emerged.
Dr Ugbala Kenneth Igwe, the governor’s senior special assistant on
security, said the state remained peaceful because every youth is
positively engaged. “It is almost a crime to be idle here in Ebonyi.
People must know what you do. We had pockets of criminalities
before Governor Umahi came to power. But this changed with his
ascension to office. Governor Umahi believes that with God,
anything can be achieved. And this is what he has inculcated in the
electorate.
“Apart from believing in God, the governor gives all the support
both to security and external departments to make sure that the
state is secured since it is a constitutional responsibility. He is a man
that believes that when you build roads, put on streetlights and
water, such infrastructures should be secured. As you can see, in
Ebonyi state, you can stay on the road and enjoy your life without
interference."How are the youths and other able-bodied men engaged to the
extent that all they now care for is making money and becoming
millionaires? Chief Donatus Odi Njoku, the commissioner for
Economic Empowerment and Job Creation, has an answer.
"It is a crime to be idle in Ebonyi state" - Njoku
Hear Njoku: “It is not normal for any healthy person to be idle in
this state. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. So, it is prohibited
in this state for a person to while away his time doing nothing
because manna does not fall from heaven. It is odd when you see
graduates waiting for non-existing government jobs that are not
even sustainable. Is it not part of ignorance to wait for a job that is
not forthcoming?
“There is a recent programme which targeted over 3,000 women
and youth. In this we announced that people into different trades
but lack funds, would be empowered. They were also mentored.
The money we gave them is to develop their business because we
believe that if they are successful, this would have a multiplier
effect. If anybody is caught in this state whiling away his time, he
would tell us how he exists. About one-quarter of these people
have been certified and given N250,000 each to start or boost their
businesses. We are monitoring them. If they satisfy us, they will
qualify for an approval for an amount. The whole essence is to
make sure this money does not end in beer parlours.”It does not end here. The state has another programme in which it
intends to withdraw Ebonyi people hawking in major cities of this
country. Like Njoku, Umahi continues to wonder how long people
from the state would continue to hawk.
“We have gone to Lagos, Aba, Abuja and other cities to talk to
these people to come back home and embrace the programme. The
governor has said he would ensure human development no matter
what it takes,” the commissioner said. “About 12,000 Ebonyi civil
servants are being encouraged, government is paying their
counterpart funds to enable them benefit from agriculture. For
those who are not indigenes of the state, the government provides
land. This cuts across all civil servants both at the federal level.Again, there are other programmes for young graduates. Over 270
persons are currently doing their practical works in different parts
of the country and the government procured everything they
needed for this. Talk about the Governor Umahi Mentorship
Programme that looks at engineers in different cadres. “We want to
train these young graduates to start implementing the governor’s
infrastructural programmes instead of getting expatriates to do the
work. Now, as they are being trained for a period of one year, the
government pays them. Every member of the state executive council
has a farm. We want to make sure that Ebonyi people are
liberated,” Njoku revealed informing us that one of the mission
statement of the governor is to move the state from backwardness
and re-write its history and make it the number one in the
federation. The Ebonyi man must be able to compete and overtake
the other person.
Orji Uchenna Orji, a lawyer and commissioner for Agriculture and
Natural Resources in the state, provided more of the needed
explanations in relation to agriculture.
The policy is ‘one man, one hectare’
“We have a policy that says every man, every inhabitant must be a
farmer and have a hectare. That is what we call ‘One man, one
hectare’ programme. Whatever you are doing, you should have a
second address and that is farming. The only way you can be
patronized by the government is for you to have a farm. We have
over 250 hectares of arable land particularly for rice farming.
Because of enlightenment, the number of farmers has continued to
grow.“Before now, agric was for leisure; you give people money, they
would spend it on other things. Under this administration, it became
agric for business. People now appreciate the shift in the system.
We are also making people understand that everybody must be a
farmer. The governor is the number one farmer in the state.
“Since the country is in recession, the governor believes that
through agriculture, wealth can be generated and more people can
be employed,” Njoku told the NAIJ.com team.
According to the commissioner, when the current administration
emerged, there was a major challenge with commercializing
agriculture as there was hardly mechanized equipment. What the
governor did was to procure 13 buldozers and brand new tractors as
well as small holder farm machineries which he distributed.Today, Ebonyi, through the efforts of the governor, has become
one of the biggest rice-producing states in the federation. This is
just a yard-stick. It actually earns more than being in the same
category with other states with regard to rice production. The state
now boasts of having the highest number of rice mills in the whole
of West Africa and this evidence can be found in the Guinness Book
of World Records. Orji said what the governor is doing is to ensure
that no other state beats Ebonyi. He has thus continued to procure
more rice mill. “We have over 1000 individual rice mills in a particular
cluster. We also have government-owned mills producing thousands
of metric tonnes of the commodity,” Orji said adding that the
governor further procured four processing plants to boost the
cassava production. “So for rice, imagine a farmer who invested
N250,000 in production and in three months, he makes N800,000.
We have maize processing plant that can successfully handle 40,000
metric tonnes. With time, we will go into tomato production. We
are also doing well in the area of poultry. It is a multi-billion naira
farm.”
Does it actually end here? No. Dr Umezurike Daniel, the
commissioner for Health in the state, says Governor Umahi has
achieved measurable success in the sector.
The progress is enormous –Dr Daniel`“Our governor is health-friendly and declared a state of emergency
on the sector when the administration started. He is a miracle
working governor and a game changer. He set up a 22-man
committee chaired by the former deputy governor with me as a co-
chair. After a robust discussion, we rolled out a report,” Dr Daniel
told us.
The commissioner said two epidemics caused crisis in the state
sometime back. Both Lassa fever and cholera were curtailed easily
because this was the time the governor began to focus on the
health sector. However, it was not just tales of woes. Something
good came out of the epidemics. The state never had a diagnostic
centre. The two incidents boosted the governor’s determination.
Now, a virology centre has been built in the state and it is the only
one in the southeastern part of the country. It has state-of-the-art
equipment and this means that the state and its neighbours would
not have to send samples to Irrua Specialist Hospital in far-away
Edo state again like they used to do and which often delayed
treatment resulting in very bad prognosis.
The commissioner is excited that under Umahi, HIV/AIDS prevalence
in the state has dropped from 4.3 to 0.9 percent, making it one of
the lowest in the country. The state also has a clinic for the
management of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Previously, patients with
such disease were sent to Owerri in Imo state and treated in
batches. That meant if a batch was being treated; patients with new
cases had to wait. Remember this disease is communicable. Now the
centre is constructed.True to his dream, Governor Umahi has ensured that Ebonyi state
has maintained the first position in the country in the management
of malaria. Under him, the state is upgrading 171 primary health
centres previously left comatose. This means there would be a
centre in every ward as is stipulated in the World Health
Organisation standard. The centres would also be standardized with
alternative power supply. There are also free medical programmes
including surgeries. We have incinerators to manage medical wastes
with one in each senatorial district.
He has also supported the teaching hospital and helped with
equipment that have made movement to the University of Benin
Teaching Hospital reduce. “The state already has a school of nursing
which will soon commence academic activities. There is also a total
overhaul of the state school of health technology. The progress is
enormous,” the commissioner said.Indeed, Umahi’s progress is enormous, but he does not think so. He
has a lot to do and hardly sleeps. The people of the state believe
that he would end up making the state one of the biggest
economies in Nigeria if he continues like this.

Bros space your write up