Do you think Gov.
Alamieyeseigha is being victimised for not
supporting alleged third term
bid?
The Ebeano
Phenomenon
11.05.2005
Recently, Governor Nnamani was the cynosure of eyes
and attention as he redefined governance. He hosted 13 European
Union Ambasssadors, an event that is unprecedented in the history of
the country. The 13 ambassadors who by all standard are their
country's heads of sgovernment in Nigeria, converged in the Coal
City to confirm for themselves what they had heard were strides of
development in the state. The visit simply showed that
what has been happening in Enugu State in the last six years
has caught the attention of the world. And because the governor and
the people of the state had a lot to showcase, they were not
perturbed one bit. When the ambassadors sought to measure the
tenor of governance in Enugu, they received a pleasant shocker from
their host. Taking them through an intricate analysis of the process
of reform in the state since he assumed the mantle, Governor Nnamani
brought his well-known oratorical and intellectual prowess to the
fore. Laced with statistics and anecdotes, the governor harped on
what has happened with the first indigenous reform effort, long
before the federal government came up with the National Economic
Empower-ment and Development Strategy, NEEDS., which every state was
then cajoled to adopt a local version of (State Economic Empowerment
and Development Strategy, SEEDS). They were drilled on poverty
reduction strategy and budgetary and fiscal reforms that compare
with any fiscal system anywhere. The Ambassadors were so
impressed with Governor Nnamani capacity of leadership and the
cohesion that exists between the leadership and the people. People
who thought they had never seen diplomats of foreign nations in such
relaxed and undiplomatic posture were surprised when the visitors
spoke to the press about their impressions at the airport as they
set to jet out of Enugu. They praised their host. But that was
hardly the kernel of their delivery. They had not, they confessed,
seen this heady development in any part of Nigeria. Their
testimonies simply stopped short of saying that if the president was
worried about who will carry his reform banner in post-2007, he
should look in the direction of Enugu. • Francis Duru,
Enugu
