I was never a fan of Dr. Sam Egwu former Governor of Ebonyi State 1999 to 2007 for some reasons bothering on personal principles. He was elected in 1999 one year after my election as the President General of Ebonyi State Community, Abuja in 1998. I could recall that Dr. Egwu then Governor Elect visited the Executive members of Ebonyi State Community in company of Chief Geoffrey Chukwu erstwhile Chairman of PDP Ebonyi Chapter at Optima Hotel Area 10 Abuja, venue of our meetings as part of his thank you visit to Ebonyians who gave him the mandate to lead them as their Governor.
The expressions on his face were that of someone with burning desire to get down working and transforming the society for the good of the people. His statements at the meeting showed his readiness and determination to deliver on his campaign promises. Ebonyi people in Abuja congratulated him and promised to give him maximum support to succeed in his administration. Later that year, the Ebonyi Community organized a Reception for the Governor Elect and other newly elected political officers from Ebonyi State including those of the National and State Houses of Assembly. It was a grand occasion attended by the Vice President of the country Alhaji Atiku Abubakar represented by one of his aides from Ebonyi State Dr. Hamilton Isu. The Liaison Officer of the Ebonyi Liaison Office then was Barrister Hyacinth Uguru. Based on the cordial relationship between Ebonyi indigenes in Abuja and that of the State government through the liaison office, we were directed to prepare a blueprint for the new Governor and also to carry out a research on the number of Ebonyians in the Federal Civil Service with a view to creating employment opportunities for the indigenes of the State in the Federal Service.
The blueprint was articulated and the research carried out. It was eye opening for the new Governor who swung into action and ensured that many Ebonyians got opportunity to work in the Federal Civil Service through the cooperation of the Ebonyi State Community, Abuja and members of the National Assembly from the State. But that good relationship did not last for too long. When Senator Anyim Pius Anyim became Senate President and the 2003 elections approaching, the issue of who controlled power in Ebonyi PDP arose. Advisers of the Governor made him believe that he was number one citizen of the State and would not take instruction from Senator Anyim and members of the National Assembly. Anyim and members of the National Assembly from Ebonyi State felt that the Governor was not respecting Anyim who was number three citizen of the nation and the consequence was political disagreement on many issues that should naturally promote growth and development in the State. That was how Abuja group came up as the two groups struggled to take control of the PDP structure in the State. Historians in future will not forget the lives and properties lost in that avoidable political war. The rest is history.
Despite whatever could be recorded for or against Dr. Sam Egwu as Governor of Ebonyi State from 1999 to 2007, the events in Ebonyi would clearly show that Dr. Sam had genuine policies that touched on human life and social development which if continued would have changed the situation in Ebonyi State today. Dr. Sam Egwu was new in governance at the time he was elected. He had only been a lecturer in the University and few years as Commissioner for Education, the challenges in the high profile office of a Governor were enormous and would pose a great task for such a political beginner. That is why advisers are imperative in political leadership. The performance of any political officer depends largely on the type of advisers around the person. Most of what could be seen as Sam’s mistakes were as a result of some of the advisers he had and the type of attitude they made him to adopt in office. While I do not make any defenses for the erstwhile Governor, I would like to acknowledge that the policies of Dr. Sam Egwu on education, Sports and cultural development, agriculture and human capacity development were attractive and helped move the State to a different level.
Dr. Egwu had human touch and was compassionate. He shared the grief of those who were in grief, he rejoiced with those who had course to rejoice and he admonished when it was necessary. He empowered many young people and never believed in keeping one set of people in one office for 8 years or more as is the case today. He felt that there was need for new ideas and creativity to be brought into governance and because of that, he reshuffled his cabinet occasionally, changed Coordinators at intervals and appointed new people into different offices at different times. He by so doing created opportunities for a lot of people to make their own contributions to the development of the State.
He introduced a scholarship scheme in partnership with foreign Universities called HIPACK which provided platform for young Ebonyians to study up to Doctorate levels in all disciplines in different renowned Universities abroad. Most of the beneficiaries of that project returned home and became resource persons at the Ebonyi State University while many others are practicing in other areas and as employers of labour. The current leadership in Ebonyi has abolished the programme. Egwu also in consideration of the poor situation of parents in Ebonyi, allowed indigenous students in Ebonyi State University to pay their tuition fees in installments. With that, many children from poor homes were able to complete their education in the University. Today such privilege is no longer available in addition to over 100 percent increase in tuition fees. Students are required to pay at once. Many indigenes of the State who cannot afford the new fees and method of payment are sitting idle at home with their parents. In Sports, Ebonyi introduced female soccer programme called Ebonyi Angles through which young ladies from the State and those with the talents harnessed their creativities in football. Today the club has been sold by the current administration thereby denying young ladies in the State the opportunity to be like their counterparts in the female National team called Falcons.
My consideration here is that though Dr. Egwu had his weaknesses and shortcomings as a leader, his antecedents no doubt presents him as a credible and formidable candidate for Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to represent Ebonyi North Senatorial Zone. The basic functions of a Member of the National Assembly are Lawmaking, representation and oversight. It requires some level of experience, knowledge and energy to drive them. It also requires someone who is relatively established and who would not consider the position of a Senator solely as a meal ticket rather than a responsibility to the people. The most essential aspect of the legislative duty is that of oversight where a member is expected to demonstrate competence in handling issues that affect national budget with regard to monitoring, implementation and evaluation. A member is expected to ensure that provisions of the budget are adhered to and with particular emphasis on constituency development. For one who was a Governor and now outside the office prison where aides never allowed him to see the people he governed, Egwu’s place in the Senate will be an opportunity to readdress the things he left undone when he was Chief Executive of Ebonyi State. Age is still on his side and would not need to make the Hallowed Chambers a sleeping bed. While I do not think that the Senate should be turned to Ex-Governor’s Forum, those of us from Ebonyi and work in the National Assembly feel that we need better or more quality representation as a departure from the past.
What I know about Dr. Sam Egwi is that he has a human touch, he is compassionate, and he invests in human capacity development and believes that leadership has no meaning if it is not used for the service of the society. He is a man who believes that there are two problems confronting Ebonyi people which he said are poverty and education the twin major issues he addressed when he was in power. He understands the poverty of power without the people. Such personalities if elected into the National Assembly will raise the bar on the quality of people from Ebonyi State and increase the chances of the citizens of the State in national politics including Federal Civil Service. Representative democracy is a game of first eleven and not a game of sentiments. It is time for Ebonyi people to make a difference in national politics.
- Uhuo is a Public Affairs Analyst and former President General of Ebonyi State Community, Abuja.
