The above question becomes pertinent when it is realized that this is
not the first, second, or even the third time, that stories have been
circulated purporting that Gov. Sullivan Chime of Enugu State is dead.
This is actually the fourth time, by my count.
So, who are these people that are persistently spreading this evil
rumor, and are trying to cause tension in the polity, when there is
none? More importantly, perhaps, why are they doing it?
Governor Chime promised God, not man, at the onset of his
administration, that he was going to work for those who elected him as
Governor, that is, the good people of Enugu State and he is trying so
hard to make a statement, to leave a worthy legacy, when he leaves
office. The Chime I know will want to be a free man after his tenure.
Like he always says, he will want to mix up with his people. He will
certainly not want to be outside the country, running around because
he failed to do things he was supposed to have done. He is so
dedicated to the job that he is even putting his own life on the line
because he has the good interest of his people very close to his
heart.
My consolation is that whoever wishes him dead does not have the right
to give or take life, and the person or persons don’t even know who
will die first. All those who wished the late great Zik of Africa dead
before his time, and went on to make obituary announcements in the
media, all of them, you will recall, died before the grand old man.
Governor Sullivan Chime is a grand young man; the more they wish him
dead, the more God Almighty is adding more years to his life, and more
wisdom to expand in his experience and efforts to accomplish the good
things he is doing for his people.
If you come into Enugu, his achievements are there for all to see. I
wish to highlight on just a few of them as we look forward to marking
his two years of second term in office on May 29th 2013. Governor
Chime’s administration has tremendously improved the road net work in
Enugu state. So far, 585 km of roads have been built, 340 km urban,
245km rural, with asphalt overlay, side drains, walkways, bridges, and
culverts; 1,546 double armed and 1,909 single armed street lights were
installed along some of the major streets within Enugu state capital,
and traffic control lights maintained at 9 major road intersections
within the town among others.
Out of 472 communities in the state 434 are already linked to the
National Grid while the remaining 38 communities will be completed and
linked up to the national grid by December 2013 to ease the problems
of commuters and facilitate movement in the urban centers. 720 taxi
cabs and 50 Coal City buses were acquired and distributed under
Public/Private Partnership; Enugu State Emergency Response Team,
ENSERT, was established and equipped with vehicles and other first Aid
kits; Free Maternal and Child Health Care, FMCH, was set up and is
being implemented; Enugu Songhai (Green City Farm) and San Carlos, a
1000 hectare pineapple farm, were established; 300 buses for all the
public secondary and few mission schools in the state, and modern
school infrastructure and equipment installed, as well as training of
teachers; Volunteer Teachers Scheme was introduced, to improve the
teacher-pupil ratio.
692 high, middle, and low cost houses are already built in partnership
with some private estate developers; 4,000km of water pipes of
different sizes have been laid, thus boosting the water supply rate to
60%; 213 rural communities have been provided with access to potable
water; crime rate has been reduced by about 70%, through the State
government’s provision of patrol vans and security gadgets to security
agencies, many more have also been procured recently and ready for
distribution.
A robust Neigbourhood Watch programme (Youth Community Policing
Initiative) set up, with a membership of about 70,000 youths all over
the state; a database of unemployed youths has been developed for
further planning; and a Conditional Cash Transfer programme
established in the state was designed to empower more than 3000
poorest families, while training 3,150 youths, one from each of the
indigent families, who will be empowered after their training. We
could go on and on in this vein.
Things have changed for the better in Enugu. Chime will leave office
in 2015 with pride and fulfillment. Generation yet unborn will live to
hear that, once upon a time, a man, Sullivan Chime, transformed Enugu
State. We wish and pray that his successor in office will continue
from where he stopped.
There are still ongoing projects, and new ones are coming up. The
Governor has promised that the projects will be completed. The new
Secretariat complex, started late last year, already looks as if work
has been going on there for at least two years, judging by the rate of
progress of construction because they work round the clock.
Construction of Akwata road which is another hallmark of Governor
Chime’s administration has brought lots of commendations from road
users, citizens and residents of Enugu. The Zik avenue (P&T) Twin
Bridge under construction is also receiving prompt attention; same is
the dualization of Abakiliki road with overhead bypass and many other
projects.
Today, people trope into Enugu from different parts of south- east and
south-south states to shop in the Polo Shopping Mall which is almost
the biggest in the country and houses many reputable international
trading firms including Shoprite, Game, Woolworth and so on. The young
man is doing well and people should find a way to encourage him, to
thank him, to support him, and to think of better ways to move Enugu
State forward.
Those who have been opportune to be with Chime, can bear me witness
that he does not even see himself as the supposed ‘Oga at the Top’ but
a mere servant. He always loved to be close to his people, exactly the
reason he could feel their pulse. It baffles me that someone in his
right senses would sit down and begin to think of Governor Chime in a
casket! Why? God forbid.
It will really be nice if security operatives and agencies will find a
way to track the people who use social media to participate in
criminal and malevolent practices. Unfortunately, some journalists,
who should know better, just pick these materials and start working on
them for the purpose of one interest or the other, thereby losing
credibility in their report and making a whole mess of the profession.
Perhaps, there should be a security code to detect the people who are
perpetrating this evil act. Today it is Governor Chime, tomorrow;
somebody could go on the net and post something that will bring the
whole country into disarray. The earlier these are curbed, the better
for all of us.
I say woe, woe to them that wish evil because even the Holy Bible
says that there is no peace for the wicked. The more they wish him
dead, the more he is enjoying the blessings of the Almighty God.
I am sure the rumor mongers really covered their faces in shame when
Governor Sullivan Chime, in person, not ‘ably represented’ inaugurated
the newly appointed 57 Local Government Development Centre
Administrators at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu, on Wednesday, May
8th, 2013; his first public function since he returned from his
vacation abroad on the 8th of February 2013.
Thank you Mr. President, His Excellency Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
as you lay the foundation stone of the International Terminal Building of
the Akanu-Ibiam airport, Enugu. Again, His Excellency, Governor Chime
was present alongside other South-East Governors, National Assembly members,
Ministers, major stakeholders of the South-East and many top government functionaries.
The occasion was indeed a clear indication that the transformation agenda of
our dear President is still on course and in Enugu state, the 4-point agenda of
Governor Chime has contained in all sense of it, the dream of actualizing not only a greater Enugu state ,
but Nigeria at large.
To all those who believe and have supported the transformation agenda
of Governor Chime’s administration in Enugu State, I shall leave you
with this Quote from the fourth paragraph of his inaugural address, a
pledge to do more, on the occasion of his swearing-in for 2nd Term as
the Governor of Enugu state on May 29, 2011 at Michael Okpara Square,
Enugu ”I cannot, and I will never, take these gestures of love, trust
and solidarity for granted. And for these, and for many more, I say a
sincere and humble thank you to all the good people of Enugu state. I
also thank our friends from outside our state, who have in one way or
another, supported us and wished us well in our quest and struggle to
use the instrumentality of government to put permanent smiles on the
faces of our people . May God continue to bless and reward all of
you”.
Afam Okereke writes in from Government House, Enugu, where he is the
Senior Special Assistant to Governor Sullivan Chime on Media Matters.