Wednesday, September 14, 2016
September 14, 2016
Pleasant tale from the Coal City
by Laurence Ani
For one with a near two-decade journalism experience, this is a
rather humbling submission: as journalists, we do not always have a
sufficient grasp of the socio-political landscape outside our immediate
metropolitan space that validates the sort of daily pronouncements we
make in the press.
The realization, sadly, often becomes apparent when the journalist takes a break from active practice – or becomes a part of the establishment that usually bears the brunt of the media’s cynicism – as I’ve done lately.
This flaw is mostly the reason journalism teems with so much assumptions which almost always take on a magisterial hue in public discourse and, also, why journalists treat regions outside the mainstream media’s capital as an afterthought or with a hint of condescension.
The conceit bred by this mindset obscures even reports of trend-breaking accomplishments from the “far-flung” states. It has been a refreshing discovery since I left Lagos for Enugu to work as an aide to the self-effacing and hardworking governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
I have seen projects here that are just as remarkably grand as those for which some governors have earned several plaudits and receive perennial media spotlight. They may not find ample space in the media, but their value is by no means diminished; they remain enduring touchstones of development and strongly demonstrate that “Enugu State is open for business,” as he had declared during the Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit held recently.
Despite the impressive scorecard recorded in just a little over one year since his inauguration, the governor betrays no obsession for the limelight. For him, fixing roads, constructing bridges, establishing new schools and hospitals and expanding their capacities are just a part of the raison d’etre for governments anywhere they exist.
So he would rather not gloat about these. Yet, we should never be indignant at those who would rather be ecstatic about their implementation, particularly with regard to locals whose lives they impact.
As a Mass Communications student of the Institute of Management Technology (I left before the first semester rounded off when offered an admission at the University of Calabar), it was always a nightmare each time I had to commute to the campus in Enugu from my country home.
Such trip often entailed a change of dress before lectures as I would by then be daubed in the red dust that swirled around as vehicles meandered through the unpaved roads (now don’t start imagining that grim state of the road was partly the reason I quit IMT).
It’s an entirely different tale today as the roughly 30-kilometre stretch which could back then take two hours to traverse has witnessed an impressive revamp. In addition, communities long rendered inaccessible due to absence of roads have been opened up, with bridges built in several cases to link neighbouring villages whose residents visited each other in the past only via a circuitous journey that sometimes involved driving through the state capital. What Governor Ugwuanyi seeks to enthrone is a vision that is enduring, one that ushers in a new work ethic.
The concrete structures are essentially not an end; they are mostly conceived as growth catalysts as evident in this statement: “As we had pointed out during the Summit, Enugu State is endowed with such potential as could easily make it the choice destination for investment in Nigeria.
Apart from the abundance of human and material resources, we can also boast the presence of factors that provide very conducive atmosphere for investments to thrive.
These include security, necessary social and physical infrastructure, essential services and most importantly, a hospitable, vibrant and enthusiastic populace. “All these and more had, of course, contributed to Enugu’s elevation to the coveted list of 100 most resilient cities in the world. As we also said, we have on offer for privatization and commercialization 14 potentially viable companies and ventures covering different areas of industry and production.”
Resilience is indeed the word that best describes the positive socio-economic indices seen in Enugu State in the last one year which has been a particularly challenging one for Nigerian states. With the country’s economy severely buffeted by steep decline in oil price, revenue accruing to states from the federal purse has been anything but cheering.
It’s instructive the projects cited earlier were carried out under such trying circumstances and, even more so, the fact that the drop in statutory allocation did not result in the failure to meet obligations such as payment of workers’ salaries and pensions – a familiar refrain in many states. That’s credit to the governor’s creative deployment of resources and his ability to inspire a new thinking to bolster the state’s revenue base.
It wasn’t merely the realization of just how presumptuous journalism tends to make its practitioners that my relocating to Enugu has fostered; I’ve since discovered (that is a long known fact, actually) how swiftly one’s mobile line could return to the speed dial list on phones that stopped calling it years ago.
Among the countless text messages I received after the news of my appointment was published was a humorously telling one that prayed for my phone to “never stop ringing”, an apparent reference to the equally humorous piece alluding to man’s fickle nature written by Reuben Abati, the former spokesman of ex-president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, after a new administration was inaugurated: “The Phones Have Stopped Ringing.”
But there is no sense of indignation in all this; I’m having an indulgent laugh at the sardonic humour my “long lost friends” would discern each time they dialled my phone and listened to the ring tone – William Onyeabor’s When the Going is Good.
I’m indulging myself also in little luxuries which residents of the Coal City take for granted such as jogging without worrying I could be harassed off the sidewalk by a commercial bike, and enjoying a smooth journey to work and back, neither experiencing a perennial gridlock nor the shakes you get driving on a potholed road. Each day as I experience these and more I can’t help conceding, as Governor Ugwuanyi often says, that Enugu State is indeed in the hands of God.
•Ani is Senior Special Assistant on Research and Communications to the Enugu State governor
The realization, sadly, often becomes apparent when the journalist takes a break from active practice – or becomes a part of the establishment that usually bears the brunt of the media’s cynicism – as I’ve done lately.
This flaw is mostly the reason journalism teems with so much assumptions which almost always take on a magisterial hue in public discourse and, also, why journalists treat regions outside the mainstream media’s capital as an afterthought or with a hint of condescension.
The conceit bred by this mindset obscures even reports of trend-breaking accomplishments from the “far-flung” states. It has been a refreshing discovery since I left Lagos for Enugu to work as an aide to the self-effacing and hardworking governor of the state, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
I have seen projects here that are just as remarkably grand as those for which some governors have earned several plaudits and receive perennial media spotlight. They may not find ample space in the media, but their value is by no means diminished; they remain enduring touchstones of development and strongly demonstrate that “Enugu State is open for business,” as he had declared during the Oganiru Enugu State Investment Summit held recently.
Despite the impressive scorecard recorded in just a little over one year since his inauguration, the governor betrays no obsession for the limelight. For him, fixing roads, constructing bridges, establishing new schools and hospitals and expanding their capacities are just a part of the raison d’etre for governments anywhere they exist.
So he would rather not gloat about these. Yet, we should never be indignant at those who would rather be ecstatic about their implementation, particularly with regard to locals whose lives they impact.
As a Mass Communications student of the Institute of Management Technology (I left before the first semester rounded off when offered an admission at the University of Calabar), it was always a nightmare each time I had to commute to the campus in Enugu from my country home.
Such trip often entailed a change of dress before lectures as I would by then be daubed in the red dust that swirled around as vehicles meandered through the unpaved roads (now don’t start imagining that grim state of the road was partly the reason I quit IMT).
It’s an entirely different tale today as the roughly 30-kilometre stretch which could back then take two hours to traverse has witnessed an impressive revamp. In addition, communities long rendered inaccessible due to absence of roads have been opened up, with bridges built in several cases to link neighbouring villages whose residents visited each other in the past only via a circuitous journey that sometimes involved driving through the state capital. What Governor Ugwuanyi seeks to enthrone is a vision that is enduring, one that ushers in a new work ethic.
The concrete structures are essentially not an end; they are mostly conceived as growth catalysts as evident in this statement: “As we had pointed out during the Summit, Enugu State is endowed with such potential as could easily make it the choice destination for investment in Nigeria.
Apart from the abundance of human and material resources, we can also boast the presence of factors that provide very conducive atmosphere for investments to thrive.
These include security, necessary social and physical infrastructure, essential services and most importantly, a hospitable, vibrant and enthusiastic populace. “All these and more had, of course, contributed to Enugu’s elevation to the coveted list of 100 most resilient cities in the world. As we also said, we have on offer for privatization and commercialization 14 potentially viable companies and ventures covering different areas of industry and production.”
Resilience is indeed the word that best describes the positive socio-economic indices seen in Enugu State in the last one year which has been a particularly challenging one for Nigerian states. With the country’s economy severely buffeted by steep decline in oil price, revenue accruing to states from the federal purse has been anything but cheering.
It’s instructive the projects cited earlier were carried out under such trying circumstances and, even more so, the fact that the drop in statutory allocation did not result in the failure to meet obligations such as payment of workers’ salaries and pensions – a familiar refrain in many states. That’s credit to the governor’s creative deployment of resources and his ability to inspire a new thinking to bolster the state’s revenue base.
It wasn’t merely the realization of just how presumptuous journalism tends to make its practitioners that my relocating to Enugu has fostered; I’ve since discovered (that is a long known fact, actually) how swiftly one’s mobile line could return to the speed dial list on phones that stopped calling it years ago.
Among the countless text messages I received after the news of my appointment was published was a humorously telling one that prayed for my phone to “never stop ringing”, an apparent reference to the equally humorous piece alluding to man’s fickle nature written by Reuben Abati, the former spokesman of ex-president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, after a new administration was inaugurated: “The Phones Have Stopped Ringing.”
But there is no sense of indignation in all this; I’m having an indulgent laugh at the sardonic humour my “long lost friends” would discern each time they dialled my phone and listened to the ring tone – William Onyeabor’s When the Going is Good.
I’m indulging myself also in little luxuries which residents of the Coal City take for granted such as jogging without worrying I could be harassed off the sidewalk by a commercial bike, and enjoying a smooth journey to work and back, neither experiencing a perennial gridlock nor the shakes you get driving on a potholed road. Each day as I experience these and more I can’t help conceding, as Governor Ugwuanyi often says, that Enugu State is indeed in the hands of God.
•Ani is Senior Special Assistant on Research and Communications to the Enugu State governor
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