The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, has decorated the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, as a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) champion, describing his leadership as the model that Nigeria, the UN, and Africa need.
Fall said Africa was tired of wars and other depressing stories, hence the need to celebrate and support leadership models anywhere on the continent that show the vision, drive, discipline, rigorous planning, and improved efficiency to change the narratives and inspire hope.
The UN chief, who was on a working visit to the Government House, Enugu, on Friday, where he met with the state’s Executive Council and had an interactive session with the media, acknowledged the difficulty faced by the international communities in meeting up with their commitments to the people, regretted that with only six years left to attain the SDGs by 2030, many nations, including Nigeria, still struggle with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“We are fed up with having states (nations) that keep having problems in conflicts and fighting. That is why every success recorded here (in Enugu) will come to change the narrative about Nigeria and Africa, and we will all be proud of it.
“I think in these difficulties and a very gloomy backdrop, there are still leaders, who go out of their ways and try to bring wellbeing for their people. I think those should be showcased to create a kind of healthy competition, and create a blueprint for other leaders.
“That is why this (Mbah’s) leadership galvanised me. I have found exactly what we need in the African Continent and in the United Nations,” he said.
He further expressed happiness that several of the present set of state governors give cause for hope and should be supported.
“We have governors that are younger. You have governors that are extremely committed. You have governors, who have their hands on the deck. You have governors, who have such a good appetite for improving the wellbeing of their people and I think Enugu is one of those examples.”
The UN chief commended in particular Governor Mbah’s strides in education, healthcare, water and other critical sectors, noting the governor’s ability to block leakages and waste to improve efficiency in a very short time.
“We had a conversation around education, around health, around social protection and how to alleviate poverty, how to support women who spend their day struggling to earn a little to bring back to their families, how to support civil servants, whose salaries cannot cope with the price increase the country is facing.
“Among all these, what impresses me most is the governor’s commitment to deliver. For example, in a short tenure, we see how much access to water has improved during the first to six months of his tenure.
“The good part of our discussion is the investments in education, and I happened to have served in the education sector for about 20 years of my life. I understand that today’s wealth is not what you have on the ground. Today’s wealth is not the amount of cash or hard currency you have as a reserve. Today’s wealth for any community, any society, any nation is human capital. It is the way you train your children and equip them with the knowledge that they need for the 21st century,” he stated.
Fall explained that Nigeria remained an important example for the rest of Africa, hence the need to support any good example emanating from the country.
“That is why an example of the initiative we have seen in Enugu State is also important for not only Nigeria, but beyond. The reason I am saying it is not because Enugu State is the biggest in demography with seven million people, if you compare it with Lagos State which is 25 million. It is not because it is the richest, but because I have a belief that development is not all about money. Development is about vision, leadership, drive, planning, discipline to follow and monitor those plans. If you put together those criteria, they are the defining factors that make development happen,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mbah, while appreciating the UN chief for the honour and visit, reiterated his administration’s commitment to better the lives of the people of the state through the SDGs and disruptive thinking.
“In the buildup to the election, we took the view of Enugu State that we have to work towards in order to join the rest of the world in being measured by the SDGs. If you look at the manifesto, a lot of the promises were inspired and influenced by the SDGs.
“We knew that if we go by the operating method practiced over the years, we won’t be able to meet up. We felt that we needed to innovatively disrupt the status-quo by doing things differently. And this is just the beginning, as we are poised to do more” he said.
