SHEDDY OZOENE 
On Saturday 27th June, 2023, two days before his inauguration as Enugu State governor, I spent about 30 minutes discussing several issues with Dr. Peter Mbah. The discussion centred on his vision for Enugu State. For a man on the cusp of history, he discussed calmly while the general ambience of his Zoo Estate home was rather tranquil. The flurry of activities was there alright but they were more organised than you would find elsewhere in such circumstances.
It portrayed to me a man who had depth and focus. At a point in our discussion, I told him that one of his campaign promises that resonates with NdiEnugu is the promise to deliver water to the state capital. Since all the former governors made the same promise without delivering on it, it will count hugely for him even if that’s all he does in his first term. So, the question: why then did he shackle himself with an impossible 180-day deadline?
His response was reassuring: he would not only deliver on the promise, he was full of pity for the hundreds of water tanker drivers who would be out of jobs and the many others in Kenyatta Market who sell storage tanks. “Nobody will need them by Decem- ber,” he said matter-of-factly. The can-do spirit belied his seemingly frail frame and I left him that Saturday convinced that his tenure as governor will substantially rewrite the history of the state. Just yesterday, the 180 days came and he delivered on that promise.
It may not be the endpoint, but Governor Peter Mbah’s initiative to address water scarcity in Enugu city, reached an important milestone. With a target-driven approach to governance, a carry-over from his enviable private-sector experience, Mbah has proved he was prepared to take on the big issues and prevail against them. His administration has an ambitious vision for the state as a destination for business and tourism and it projects to take the economy from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion through private sector investments.
It all sounded unrealistic, considering the existing state of the state’s infrastructure. For a state that had become accustomed to sedentary governance in recent years, the administration’s request for N170 billion in facilities from Fidelity Bank and Globus Bank nearly brought the roof down with all sorts of insinuations. The uproar was understandable in a state where the request for a mere N11 billion loan by Governor Sullivan Chime in 2015 was resisted. The amount requested by Mbah sounded humongous – even outrageous – until the government broke it down to bits and pieces.
It has since become clear that it was the only way to catalyze the government’s massive investment in infrastructural development that are factors in the state’s economic growth plan. Apart from the ongoing construction of the New Enugu City which is expected to cover 10 hectres of land across four Local Government Areas, as many as 71 urban roads are either being constructed or rehabilitated.
There is also the construction of a 17km Owo-Ubahu-Amankanu-Neke-Ikem dual carriageway, a big effort to open up the rural economies and create a gateway direct from the state capital to the North Central region. As expected, Peter Mbah draws heavily from his private sector experience to take on the big issues in the state. If one takes into account the petition against his election which he had to battle simultaneously in the law courts, it becomes easy to conclude that his performance in the past six months is, indeed, far above average.
However, the provision of water, marked by the commissioning of water projects at designated locations yesterday, takes the biggest prize. Not every household in Enugu may be able to turn the taps yet, but there are nearly a hundred public stands across the city where residents can now cross the road to fetch water while the house-to-house connections continue. It is understandable that the test- run of the facilities these past weeks reveal that most of the existing pipes are broken or weak and unable to withstand the pressure of the new installations.
The good news is, while reticulation was prioritized to public institutions, the daily water production has risen from the old 20 million liters that were usually not attained, to over 60 million litres with a future projection towards 120 million liters. This investment in infrastructure not only improves the overall reliability of the water supply but also ensures that the quality of the water meets the required standards for sanitation and consumption. Despite these commendable efforts, challenges persist, among them the topography and geological characteristics of Enugu State.
While the government continues to work tirelessly to overcome them, he appears resolved in his dedication to ensuring that every resident of Enugu has access to a sustainable and clean water supply. It is still morning in his administration, but on the account of that singular promise, he has impressed. He probably would now ad- dress people of the host communities like Nsude, from where the millions of liters of water were piped to meet the deadline in Enugu, but which have no drop to drink.
