The Pacesetter Frontier Magazine

Category: Opinion

  • The Redesign of the Naira amidst National insecurity, crippling inflation and the 2023 presidential election

    The biggest topic on the front burner in economic policy discourse in 2022, unexpectedly, is the abrupt decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to redesign the N200, N500 and N1000 notes. The public announcement came on October 26, 2022 by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, via a press release. The announcement came with mixed reactions from the public, many questioning the importance of such policy in a time when the Naira continues its daily plunging against the dollar and the country facing so many security threats.

    In the press release, the CBN governor stated clearly the reasons and the need for this key monetary policy. We will look at some of those reasons, how they impact the economy and what it means for the general public. It is right to point out that currency management comes within the ambit of roles of the apex bank, CBN, as clearly stated in the section 2(b) of the CBN Act 2007. It is in their duty/rights to maintain the integrity and credibility of the currency.

    Reasons/Benefits of the Redesign

    According to the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, one of the reasons the CBN decided to redesign the bank notes was based on the disturbing fact that the currency had faced several challenges that had gotten not only bigger in scale but more sophisticated in practice. These challenges included significant hoarding of bank notes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80% of the currency in circulation was outside the banking sector, which is quite alarming. With the scheme, the central bank aims to take control of the money supply by mopping up all the cash from the economy, both within the vaults of the banks and in the hands of citizens. With the current inflation rate in the country at above 20%, this will serve as an unorthodox way of tightening the money supply. And this serves as a huge opportunity for the CBN to move away from physical cash in business transaction to a more cashless economy. This policy in large part will give the apex bank the opportunity to have full control of the volume of physical cash in the system.

    The increasing sophistication in counterfeiting of the Naira is another reason for the redesign, which the CBN have promised to imprint more security features in the new currency, to help in mitigating and preventing the risks of counterfeit. According to the CBN annual report, a total of 67,265 pieces of counterfeited notes with a nominal value of N56.83millon was recorded in 2021. That is a lot of fake money in circulation threatening the credibility and integrity of the currency. Some of the secondary benefits hinted by the CBN governor was the fact that with the redesign, the ill-gotten cash hoarded by kidnappers, terrorists and politicians will be brought out or face becoming obsolete.

    In view of the prevailing level of security situation in the country, the CBN is convinced that the incidence of terrorism and kidnapping would be minimized, as access to large volume of money outside the banking system used as a source of funds for ransom payment will begin to dry up, the process being under the surveillance of both the CBN and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). With the effect of this policy, terrorists will have to choose between the risks of being trapped while smuggling the huge amounts they have accumulated through ransom payment into the bank or see it become valueless.

    Another key secondary effect of this new policy is the issue of vote buying. As Nigeria heads to the polls in 2023, the redesigning of the Naira will eliminate and address vote buying and the purchase of permanent voters’ cards in the 2023 elections. Vote buying over the years has always played a role in Nigeria’s polls, helping politicians that have created personal bank vault at home to sway voters with money. This policy will put politicians who have amassed huge financial war chests to prosecute the 2023 election in a tight hole, as all the old currencies are expected to back to the vaults by January 31, 2023 and with Section 2(1) of the Money laundering Act of 2022 which states “No person or body corporate shall, except in a transaction through a financial institution, make or accept a cash payment of a sum exceeding (a) N5,000,000 or its equivalent in the case of an individual or (b) N10,000,000 or its equivalent, in the case of a body corporate. This won’t rule out the whole practice overnight but it will definitely go a long way in mitigating it.

    Restrictions and Regulations on Bank/Cash transaction.

    In a circular issued by the CBN on December 6, 2022, it stated that with effect from January 9, 2023, the maximum over the counter cash withdrawal limits by individuals and corporate organizations per week, would be N100,000 and N500,000 respectively, adding that withdrawal above these limits would incur a processing fees of 5% and 10% respectively. It further stated that the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated Teller Machine (ATM), from January 9, would be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20, 000 cash withdrawal per day. The decision saw a huge backlash from stakeholders involved and the public, who felt that this cash limit policy was out to make an already bad situation even worse. It sparked protests and lobbying among institutions that were involved, as they believed that the decision was taken without adequate consideration of the plight of the masses.

    In a recent circular dated December 21, 2022, the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, stated that the CBN had reviewed its pervious stand on the cash limits imposed earlier, with the maximum weekly limit for cash withdrawal across all channels by individuals and corporate organization being N500,000 and N5,000,000 respectively. The CBN stated also that the new development was a byproduct of the feedback it got from the stakeholders and general public.

    Conclusion

    The CBN took a very decisive step in redesigning the naira and the imposing of strict measures cash transactions and gave straightforward reasons as to why it is necessary. This shows their commitment to safeguarding the integrity of the local legal tender, the efficiency of its supply and the credibility it ought to offer.

    This monetary policy, like every other economic policy, can have the opposite of its intended purpose. It is early to judge if it is the right call or not. We can only be optimistic and hope the best intentions of the CBN and Federal government plays out right.

  • Guilt & Grief (Episode 3)

    Guilt & Grief (Episode 3)

    In the sweet tastes of my days at Nsude, the freshman year didn’t really count, merely because the freshman year was a kind of puzzle. You really can’t tell what’s happening next until it starts happening. Information was gathered from all sources, and the brain did the work of retaining these information and producing it at the time required, and none could tell when these information would be needed of you. There were so many information to be gathered from the class, at the chapel, trash”. at the refectory, at the bathroom, at labour, at the sound of the bell, from the whispering voices of two gossips, even in your dreams, and I know the last mentioned may seem funny to you but it’s not, at some point I just had to accept that we were being trained to be very good eavesdroppers.

    Speaking about information, the class had a bucket list of them. We were introduced to a certain kind of educational system that had a slight difference from the one we had before, the kind that makes it seem as if we’ve all played away our time in our former schools. There were subjects in the list that made it look quite funny to me, these were things like Latin, Vatican II Council, Liturgy and Catechism of the Catholic Church.

    At first, I believed so much that these subjects would be easy with the exception of Vatican II Council, probably because I had never heard of it in my life, and the Catechism, just because I hated Mr. Titus who presided over my childhood Catechism in my hometown. Everyone believed Latin would be easier because 95 percent of the class were altar servers before the admission into Nsude. I still remember vividly the words of Ifekandu on seeing the list that day.

    “I have learned how to recite the credo, Gloria, Agnus Dei and a lot more at six, I had joined the altar servers at seven after my first holy communion, learning the sacred linens and vessels and the liturgical calendars at best…these courses are mine to trash”. 

    When the first Latin class came, myself and Ifekandu had had our rehearsal of the Latin responses we knew, including the chants. The bespectacled priest who took the subject had a slightly bow leg, a desert skull that had not grown hair for years, and the balance of a man who kept himself in good working out condition. He had this air of presumption that his students went to Rome with him, so he did his teachings in a manner that could be understood only by advanced students.

    We waited in anticipation for the priest to tell us to recite Credo or Gloria or any other Latin chants but the class came with a disappointed surprise of two hours of intense declension of Latin words: Mensa (table), Nauta (sailor), Agricola (farmer) and long translations of English sentences to Latin. The drill was mind blowing and I remember fighting sleep all through.

    Speaking about the chapel, the chapel had a certain kind of information, one that is spiritual, just like a sponge, soaking us up in goodness. There were four prayers each day: The lauds, the afternoon prayer, the vespers and the nunc dimitimis. All these came with a list of new things you are to learn. I sincerely did not like any of it.

    The lauds starts by 5:00 am in the morning, when half of the world are still asleep, the other half are either awake or consumed in sin. I hated the lauds because it comes at a time when sleep seems to be sweeter than it had been.

    The afternoon prayers were said immediately at the end of class work just before Lunch. It came with a litany of psalms and I really do not know if it was the traditional method to rush this prayer because it came faster than others.

    The vespers is said after the 6pm Angelus. It comes with a calmness of the day, a time the world is ceasing from labour. The vespers however have a greater record of non attendance by many in one way or the other.

    While the Nunc is said after the night erasing our sins and soaking us up in meals and before the start of night prep. The nunc sets in a magna silencia, a wholesome silence that ushered us into the quietness of the night and protected us while we slept.

    The information at the refectory was the worst for me. There were three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. In-between meals were forbidden. So, each meal was looked up to by the students as a promised feast for such fierce hunger. We never complained about quality, all that was desired was quantity.

    I hated in particular the fact that we had to follow the revered ritual of pausing at the middle of the fierce hunger to watch our meals as we listen to the person appointed to read either a passage from the Bible or a novel or a poem or a magazine, and be attentive enough as to not miss the last word of the reader, or the last sentence or the theme or the message the writer had, as that may come as a question to anyone from the moderator.

    All these information kept us loaded with work that I didn’t even have the chance to notice that the bond between Ifekandu and I was gradually fading, new interests were found, new friends were made and we had soon become “Hello” friends. It was this fading of friendship that made it difficult for me not to have any idea of what was happening to my good friend.

    It all happened on the 3rd of December, barely two weeks to the Christmas break. The joy of getting back home had taken the air, the first term examination had come to an end and students had nothing to do if not labour and more labour. Each student in my class had made a list of what he or she would do during the holiday. I was feeling kind of dizzy that morning, that feeling of waking up with a bad mood which you can’t even tell the cause. I had brought out my little calendar book with which I kept track of time and with my reddish ink pen, I shaded across 2nd of December as a day that had finished, a ritual I started since the beginning of November, this I believed made the day pass faster. The thought of Ifekandu flashed to memory, that strong feeling to go check up on someone.

    “I will check on him tomorrow, I’m just too tired”, I mumbled as I dozed off.

    Three hours later, two of my classmates dashed into my corner waking me up from sleep, they were panting audibly.

    “Fr Micheal is calling you, run!”, one of them said and they started running back from the direction they came from. I stood up immediately, not knowing what to do, the information said ‘run’, I started running after them.

    Fr Michael’s car, a reddish Volvo, was packed at the school roundabout. Two senior students were stuffing someone into the back of the car while more than a dozen other students stood, waiting and watching.

    “You’re Arinze right?”, Said Fr Michael. “Yes Fr”

    “Enter the car”

    As I tried entering the front, I pepped into the back to see the person laid in by those students. The thick glasses of Ifekandu was the first thing I saw, and my heart skipped. I sat in the front, turned back again just to get a clearer view. He lay motionless at the back, streams of blood gushing from his head and mouth, his eyes fixed on me, he wore his sky blue shirt, the one he had worn on the day I did my first opera. I whispered his name gently “Ifee” but no response came. I felt cold, my brain was processing a lot of information.

    “Calm down, He fell from the school’s ultra modern site. I called you because your classmates said you are closer to him….I pray your presence brings him back” The priest said while we drove to the hospital.

    A sense of guilt flushed down my throat. ‘We have not spoken in months as we used to, and yet people believed we were still close.’ I fumbled in my pocket for my rosary, I started picking the beads, trying to pray, trying to be hopeful but my mouth only muttered “Godabeg, save him”.

    The parents of Ifekandu were already seated at the hospital waiting when we arrived. The nurses rushed him to the emergency ward. Ifekandu’s mom came with a set of three other women whom I believed were her friends from the Legion of Mary society. They held hands at a corner saying their prayers while Ifekandu’s mom cried.

    Ifekandu’s Dad was everything Ifekandu said of him. He had this look of authority, the type that wouldn’t want his children to associate with others. He was not wailing like the woman, he only tapped his leg incessantly and then touched his bald hair at intervals.

    “Can we all say a little prayer together?” the priest announced. The seven of us held our hands as the priest tuned in the “Memorare” prayer. At the middle of the prayer, the doctor signaled for the priest and the boy’s father. Everybody stood and watched them disappear into an office with the doctor. Minutes later, the priest came out first, his cheeks seemed to be smiling but his eyes weren’t happy.

    Ifekandu’s mother stood from her seat and moved towards the priest.

    “We need to pray more, The doctor said he’s in a very critical condition, He’s in coma and there are slight chances of him making it”, He said out aloud bluntly, adding not even a bit of euphemism to his words.

    Everywhere dropped dead. I remembered immediately how Mr. Okoro, my dad’s best friend, died after two weeks of being in a coma. Immediately I let out a loud shout, it was then that everyone noticed my presence at the hospital.

  • Last Card for HELIU

    Last Card for HELIU

    By M.O Ene 

    Every decent person wants peace, but permanent peace is for the dead! The dead rest in peace, eternally in silence of the cemetery. The living is in constant struggle to survive, live, and thrive in a perceived peaceful and enabling environment that is secure and sustaining.

    (“A Piece on Peace,” 7.14.21)

    In the above piece, I alerted that the acolytes of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (HELIU) who hoisted his legacy on “peace in Enugu State” must also compile what was achieved with the “peace.” I posited that the people needed justice, good governance, and security to sustain the peace.

    I have had my share of suggesting paths of progress to successive governments since 1999. I have also offered constructive criticisms to help when and where things go wrong. The current administration is not exempt. Not all proposals saw the light of day, and they stuck out as sore thumbs. Community policing is outstanding.

    With mere months to the end of this administration, things are no longer holding. The peace has all but evaporated. The crescendo of complaints has reached an unbearable pitch. Amid rising poverty in a depressed economy at the mercy of perennial sit-at-home, crippling kidnappings, constant killings, and heaps of hazardous garbage burning on highways, many have cancelled travels to Enugu for end-of-year activities.

    How did this administration get it so wrong? The excuse that the security situation is nationwide no longer applies. We can secure our state even in the face of a declared war. A permanent and simple solution to these security challenges is that community offices of policing (COP) must be made much more effective within community government setups with benefits and tools. If communities secure their perimeters, where in our human habitation would the bad boys base?

    It is incomprehensible that the efforts of this administration in setting up sundry security outfits have come to near nought. The ideas were sound, but implementation left a lot to be desired. On Friday, February 12, 2021, HELIU inaugurated 272 special constables from 17 LGAs trained at Oji River Police College to facilitate “our rejigged and retooled Enugu State security architecture.” This was the last we heard of the outfit!

    Community policing is not new in Igbo sociocultural setup. Many Enugu communities still have vestiges of the age-grade community policing called “Ogbanaecheagu,” led by a sheriff, sometimes named “Agụnaechemba” or “Ọchịagha.” The name coveys that the assigned agemates protect the neighbourhood by keeping watch over adjourning forests, which is how the concept of “neighbourhood watch” and “forest guards” was derived. Sadly, our fondness for English has blocked the fostering of an Igbo renaissance.

    Policing works well when communities are involved. Enugu State Government (ENSG) must modernize the concept and establish enhanced and empowered community governments. The continued creation of autonomous communities with 1001 “traditional rulers” is a waste of efforts and resources. Our communities are set.

    Enugu State is the cradle of contemporary community policing in Nigeria. ENSG should, in addition to renewing the exhausted executive council, raise a department under the performing rural development ministry to take charge of community governments, all renewed and revitalized this December with ONLY community residents. The principle is simple: grassroots government of the people who live in the community for the people and their communities. Nigeria is probably the only country where the police live in decrepit and dehumanizing barracks, where a Sokoto son polices a Calabar community. We can change this anomaly.

    Those who cite “exclusive list” are dishonest. The security situation has given rise to sundry solutions. On Monday, October 11, 2021, President Buhari reportedly released billions to facilitate community policing. His words: “We have also approved the sum of N13.3 billion for the take-off of the Community Policing initiative across the country, as part of measures adopted to consolidate efforts aimed at enhancing security nationwide.” As with the February 2021 effort in Enugu, this was the last we heard of the project.

    Policing is a collective community pursuit of peace, prosperity, and progress. Policing is projected to produce an enabling environment that is safe, sacred, and secured. Police should be of the communities they police. You cannot live in Abakpa and police Agbāni effectively. No system is perfect, not even in America, where the police are called “cops,” for they are members of the “community office of policing” (COP). It takes time and training to perfect policing. If we had the system set since 2003, we would have perfected it more by now.

    Policing is about keeping the peace. It takes a house rat to bring in a bush rat. If we contain the house rats, we can keep the peace by checkmating the bush rats; hence, the old concept of “Ogbanaecheagu” beckons. That was how our forefathers kept peace, REAL peace. Real peace brings prosperity and progress.

    For the COP to work well, we need functional community governments to manage the setups directly, with budgets, planning, and oversight. We need a minimum of 30% women in the force. We must stop the archaic mentality that policing is about muscles: brains too are power.

    We need police to engage and connect with the people that they police. It takes trust and intelligence more than force to police communities. All the armies in the world cannot protect a community that won’t help itself. Communities must chip in to fund their safety. Money means nothing when there is no life. The protection of lives and properties must be uppermost in the moving parts of good governance. We should no longer read that Fulani herders kidnap and kill locals, or that an unknown armed outfit zoomed into town and shot a traditional ruler!

    Without this permanent solution to our security challenges, whatever is left of HELIU’s legacy of peace will be crushed. Whatever is left will depend on the next administration. Thus, if PDP retains power and delivers, the greatest achievement of HELIU will be the emergence of Peter Mbah.

    ©MOE, 7.12.22

    @aladimma

  • [OPINION] 2023: Dr. Peter Mbah’s Innovative Leadership Model: A Sine Qua Non for Inventing the new Enugu

    [OPINION] 2023: Dr. Peter Mbah’s Innovative Leadership Model: A Sine Qua Non for Inventing the new Enugu

    By Christian Enebe

    According to George Bernard Shaw, “Some see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” Dreaming things that never existed and asking “why not?”, is typically characteristic of people of exceptional intelligence who according to Justin Brown, “tend to be able to think outside the box and come up with unique and original ideas. They’re not afraid to challenge the conventional wisdom and think creatively to solve problems.” Justin Brown’s statement aptly captures Dr. Peter Mbah’s vision of the “new Enugu” which is practically a unique and original idea by which Dr. Peter Mbah has demonstrated exceptional intelligence in what was described as not only ambitious but also Innovative.

    Dr. Peter Mbah’s new Enugu vision follows Justin Brown’s postulation which states that “Intelligence isn’t just about following the rules and sticking to the status quo – it’s also about being able to think creatively and come up with innovative solutions.” It is no longer news that Dr. Peter Mbah developed unique and Innovative solutions on how to advance the development of Enugu state, and give birth to “the new Enugu” – the Enugu of our dreams. The initiative has captured the attention of Ndi Enugu all around the world in a clear demonstration of Dr. Mbah’s extraordinary ability to dream things that never existed, dream big and question the statusquo.

    It is self evident that it takes innovative solutions to construct a desirable future and to chart a pathway to it. It goes to say that the nature of the future largely depends on innovative ideas or lack of it. This premise holds true whether in business, government or other areas. According to Pope Saint John Paul II, the erstwhile head of the Catholic Church and sovereign whose reign of the Vatican City State and the Catholic church spanned close to three decades,1978 to 2005, the year of his transition to glory, “the future starts today, not tomorrow.” This axiom implies that projections to determine future expectations should derive from present realities to which they are connected and upon which they are dependent.

    Invention, innovation, creation, begin when we undertake the right actions or take the right steps such as when one asks “why not?” and when we practically and deliberately become creative and promote a culture of creative dissatisfaction. Someone has to initiate the process and that is what Dr. Peter Mbah has done. And as Walt Disney stated, “you can design, create and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” It takes people who are willing and determined to make a difference and a leader who sees ahead of others that will propel them to action and lead the way.

    Humankind in generality are concerned about the future which they must face whether or not they are prepared. Fear of the future has remained a metaphor for the struggle to evade the bleak and unpropitious circumstances that pervade the socioeconomic space and means within the geographical location we have come to know as our world.

    It does appear, rightly or wrongly, in perspectives that hold arguable indices that some parts of our world appear darker and the foreseeable future, bleak in varying places and for a number of people the world over. The sun seems to have been eclipsed for quite a number of people, eclipsed by the shadow of hopelessness, anticipated cum man-made vagaries, dearth of ideas and opportunities for realizing potentials and expectations in a world progressively dominated by whimsical arbitrariness of actions and inactions that oftentimes derail expectations and blur the brightness of the future. There is no gainsaying the fact that the world needs the light that creative ideas beam to illuminate the dark parts of our world and innovative minds to chart a course into the desired future.

    Considering certain definable indices, one may conclude rightly or wrongly that our country, Nigeria is presently at crossroads. Going by the experiences of some Nigerians, the times are doubtless very challenging. There are indications that economic growth is decelerating and insecurity is on the increase among other challenges. In as much as the situation is being combated, there is a weighty burden on the next generation of leaders to take up the situation from where the current leaders will leave off towards finding a solution to these challenges. Such leaders should essentially be innovative and able to think outside the box.

    Propelled by thoughts that are considered contextually analogous, George Kozmetsky in his article: “the changing economics of the world”, stated: “all the world’s nations have had to learn how to cope with economic dynamics in order to maintain or raise standards of living for their residents. Kozmetsky’s point is indicative of the indispensability of appropriate ideas, if not appropriate leadership models in coping with economic dynamics and in addressing socioeconomic situations which have far-reaching consequences.

    What makes Dr. Peter Mbah tick is the appropriateness cum timeliness of his ideas. Dr. Peter Mbah envisions a state insulated against existential threats, a state with a robust GDP, from the present $4.4B to $30B and moved to the top three position in the country. He aims at sustaining the gains made by the present and past governments in the state and to build on their achievements. He envisions a state with a zero percent rate in poverty headcount index with strategic objectives on how to take the state there and achieve sustainable prosperity for all citizens of Enugu State. He envisions a state that is technologically advanced and ahead with a robust business environment, a state that will become the preferred destination for investors. Besides, he envisions a secure state where sustainable peace pervades.

    He also envisions a state that is private – sector driven and not any longer public- sector driven, a state that will move from consumption to production with high rate of productivity. He has developed strategic economic transformation objectives, poverty eradication initiatives, comprehensive urban renewal plan, rural development agenda. He has designed strategic management systems and above all, he has developed financing models to deliver the new Enugu State (See Dr. Peter Mbah’s Manifesto for details). There is no doubt that these initiatives will propel the economic dynamics and drive the entire state structure into a forward movement.

    The struggle for national emancipation, national rebirth and cohesion, economic resuscitation and revitalization, the increasing need to accelerate national development and economic growth is common place and concurrent the world over but the approach in realizing them is both variable and divergent with dissimilar results across nations. Whereas some have emerged from the doldrums through creative ideas and innovative leadership, others have further sunk into the economic abyss for sheer lack of ideas if not for application of dysfunctional ideas.

    In view of what I have observed and learnt over the course of time, I believe that even though the economic fortunes of a people is largely determined by the viability of resources available to them which may be in both human and material forms, it is essentially dependent on the capability of their leaders to coordinate these resources and their overall activities and channel them along success lines. A competent leader enables these resources to be properly applied, maximally harnessed and gainfully utilized. Such a leader must be able to see ahead of others and essentially Innovative. This is the reason Dr. Peter Mbah is ahead and generally sought after.

    Deriving from the above, the view or acquiescence that “anybody can lead or should lead” is an incautious hypothesis, not in any way correct but flatly wrong and detestable, particularly at a time like this. The practicable thing with potentiality for competent result in this clearly empirical matter, is that it takes quality leadership to take a people in the right direction. Such leadership must of necessity be a competent one, capable of providing needed inspiration, ideas and guidance that will bring together the collective resources and energy of the people into a unified and guided force, launched along the growth trajectory.

    That is to say that it is simply not the case that progress is by chance which proponents of “anybody can or should lead” are consciously or unconsciously advocating. Like a bad driver, an incompetent leader cannot be trusted to drive a people to their future. As a matter of fact, even a relatively good driver can hardly be trusted if the best is determined. Otherwise, it will amount to toying with the future of a people. Dr. Peter Mbah has been adjudged the best and as the saying goes: “let him that the cap fits, wear it.”

    Guided by this principle, nationals, consciously or unconsciously, look up to such resourceful members of the society in their midst to positively influence a change in their world that will set in motion the dynamics of progress. Apparently, any nation’s recovery and restoration is foreseeable with these pathfinders who in most cases lead a people – oriented change based on innovative leadership typology.

    It is now common knowledge that one of such leaders expected to inspire a radical change, as far Enugu state of today is concerned, is Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the Enugu State PDP Governorship Candidate for the 2023 election. He is young, competent, promising. and inspiring. Peter Mbah has the eyes of an eagle. He has looked far into Enugu’s future and has been able to distil the complex journey that leads to the desired future into an implementable strategy that was reduced to what he referred to as “a social contract with Ndi Enugu”.

    Mbah has made revolutionizing Enugu state his priority having first tried out his astonishing ideas in his private firm with remarkable result. According to him, “Enugu state will experience a new level of quality leadership that will benefit all and sundry.” In another ocassion, he stated, “my administration will engender a paradigm shift in the state. Enugu state must act urgently to reposition and insulate itself from the existential threats the country is presently facing.” The existential realities of the present time is such that the human experience craves impacts that are reflective of modern day level of development that can be associated with new regimes of intellectual and contemporaneous currents of ideas.

    The world is changing and the meaning of development has changed with digitalization and globalization, diverse technologies, new levels of technical awareness, new waves of political consciousness and innovations that are in tandem with modern day which is rapidly evolving. This simply refers to the changing of human needs in relation to time, novelty of emerging future and the need for leadership ingenuity.

    The meaning of this is that a young leader in the mould of Mbah, who is a younger version in the mix of todays leaders but an obviously advanced mind, represents a present day leader who is well equipped considering his level of exposure to today’s global need, genius – level of intelligence and creative ability to take Enugu to the next phase of development. There is no doubt that Mbah is the leading candidate for the number one seat of Enugu state and the best candidate for the job. The reason is not farfetched: he has the requisite ingenuity and foresight. He prepared ahead of time. Beyond that, he has demonstrated extraordinary intelligence and the required creative ability necessary to chart a new course and propel accelerated development.

    In a recent editorial, “Indeed”, an American worldwide employment website stated: “innovative leadership, which involves creative thinking is a style of leadership that involves applying innovation and creativity to managing people and projects. According to them, Innovative leaders often inspire productivity in new ways and through different approaches than have typically been used and taken. They concluded that the ability to apply innovation is especially important in times of uncertainty, ambiguity and risk. This explains the basis of Dr. Peter Mbah’s disruptive Innovation which aims at altering the statusquo with a view to move the state to another level..

    According to Justin Brown, “one of the most obvious signs of exceptional intelligence is a knack for solving problems quickly and efficiently. Justin Brown opined that exceptionally intelligent individuals are able to take a seemingly complex problem and break it down into smaller, more manageable pieces, finding creative and innovative solutions along the way.

    Richard Cushing had this in mind when he stated: “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” Preparing for the future is doubtless an essential skill particularly for a leader. A leader’s preparedness for the future determines how beneficial or otherwise the future will be for him and his subjects whose future, to a large extent, are dependent upon the leader’s preparedness for what lies ahead.

    Lack of leaders with the requisite foresight, readiness for eventualities, mobility in the event of the unexpected and clear vision for the unclear future is oftentimes the bane of society where people often end up trying to force preparedness in the midst of chaotic situations rather than diligently preparing ahead of time. Rather than chosing prepared leaders, the society, in sheer ignorance, sometimes end up in a mess with unprepared leaders who may never find their way or help the society navigate through the challenging times. It is usually a case of trying to build the ark when the flood has begun which is more often than not, futile.

    In conclusion, Peter Mbah’s innovative leadership model is the solution Enugu State needs at this critical and challenging time to navigate the tough times and find our way into the Enugu of our dreams.

    Christian Enebe writes from Enugu, Nigeria.

  • [OPINION] Pinnacle Oil and Gas: The Limits of Propaganda

    [OPINION] Pinnacle Oil and Gas: The Limits of Propaganda

    By Uche Anichukwu

    In teaching the mystery of the little beginning of the gospel, Christ gave the parable of the mustard seed, which someone sowed in the field. Although it is the smallest of all the seeds, it ultimately grew into a tree so that birds of the air made nests on its branches. This is only true about the gospel; it is also true about life, generally. Big things start small. And that includes today’s big accomplishments and trillion dollar businesses.

    In the 1950s, many publishers turned down the manuscript of a 28 years old Nigerian. Only Heinemann gave the author and African fiction any chance and published it. But it ultimately became the most widely read book in modern African literature. According to Wylie Agency, it sold over eight million copies in 60 languages, globally. This is the story of the legendary Chinua Achebe and “Things Fall Apart”.

    Apple started off in the garage of Steve Jobs’ adopted parents in Cupertino, California where the Reed College dropout later teamed up with another dropout, Steve Wozniak. Today, Apple is worth $2.65 trillion in market capitalisation. The HP brand started off in a 12-by-18-foot garage with just $538 investment in California, but it worth $26.24 billion. Amazon.com began from a garage in Seattle, USA. Its current market capitalisation is $1.42 trillion. Larry Page and Sergey Brin rented Susan Wojcicki’s 1,900-square-foot home in the course of Google’s journey to being corporate giant. Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company is worth $1.54 trillion. Walt Disney started in 1923 in a garage belonging to Walt’s uncle, Robert Disney. The company’s net worth today is $203.63 billion.

    So, today’s big businesses started small yesterday and on the Nigerian scene, that includes Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd., which was registered by Dr. Peter Mbah in 2004 (not 2007 as some claim), but started operations in 2008 with a N1 million capital base and two staff in a one-room apartment in Lagos. But by dints of radical innovation and unimpeachable integrity, Pinnacle weathered the odds in already saturated petroleum downstream subsector dominated by the oil majors to become the number one in the industry. And this is something the people of Enugu, Nigerians, and the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, are proud of.

    One therefore wonders why the malicious propaganda around Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd. simply because its Founder and CEO, Dr. Peter Mbah, is running for the governorship of his home state, Enugu. If the inspiring stories of Amazon.com, Apple, and Google etc. are possible, why do some desperate politicians want to sell the falsehood that Pinnacle revolution was powered by funds looted from Enugu’s treasury? It is an unfortunate debasement of Enugu people before the world as low-thinking people, who know nothing about how modern businesses are financed or built.

    By the way, how much of Enugu’s money for the short period Mbah spent in government as Chief of Staff and Commissioner could have built just the Pinnacle’s $1 billion offshore, subsea terminal that President Buhari commissioned recently?

    Modern businesses thrive on ideas. Once you have a brilliant idea and the credibility, and pass the due diligence check, financiers are likely to bankroll your project. For instance, it is a fact that a consortium of banks, namely, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, Globus Bank and Coronation Bank, who believed in the pioneer project, financed Pinnacle’s $1 billion terminal. This and the fact that reputable international partners are eager to do business with Mbah and Pinnacle is a testament to his integrity, scrupulousness, and good governance of the company. No bank puts a dime into a project without due diligence.

    Pinnacle is audited by KPMG, a foremost audit firm in the world. Obviously the propaganda peddlers do not know what it means to be audited by KPMG. That firm cannot possibly audit a company without due diligence check on both the company and its promoters let alone sit on any proceeds of crime as an auditor.

    Furthermore, an American is Pinnacle’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) in addition to 12 expatriate staff from US, UK, Netherlands, etc. You can’t attract and retain such without an irreproachable integrity, transparency, and good corporate governance.

    Those who think Mbah just went into business after serving in the Government of Enugu State got it all wrong. He has paid his dues in the business world starting from the late 1980s and early 1990s as a young man. By 1992, he had already set up companies and was importing 18 containers of electronics and spare parts from Europe. He built his first house in Lagos in 1992 and set up FOCUS International School that early in life.

    By 1993, Mbah had already penetrated the petroleum downstream subsector as a representative of the U.S-based International Oil Company (IOC) courtesy of the late Dr. Lazarus Agbowo, who was the Vice President of the IOC. He was earning commissions on every barrel of crude oil lifted. He achieved these as a young man before heading to the University of East London for his Law degree and returned to the country immediately after to manage his businesses.

    His stint in the public sector as Chief of staff and later as Commissioner was by chance because it was offered to him when he came to Enugu for his Law School programme. He was never a subject of any Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigation and neither he nor Pinnacle was ever charged to court let alone enter into any plea bargain with the EFCC. His name was struck out before any matter concerning Enugu went to court. He has publicly challenged anyone with proof to the contrary to come up with it.

    It is noteworthy that Dr Mbah rejected a bribe of $20 million by a syndicate that wanted to defraud the IOC in the 1990s.

    In any case, the malicious propaganda speaks about the character of those behind it. It takes someone, who has never built anything in his or her life, except shady enterprises and living off government patronage as appointees and contractors to think that one just needed a huge sum of money to build Pinnacle into a unicorn as Mbah has done. With all the money in the world, a late entrant like Pinnacle could still not have taken 23 per cent of the market share and topple the major distributors to emerge the number one in the downstream petroleum subsector without dints of sweeping innovation, integrity and industry.

    Dr. Mbah has presented a manifesto that has impressed the people of Enugu as comprehensive and ambitious. He is also marketing it in town hall meetings across the 68 development centres. He has promised to replicate the Pinnacle success story by, among others, growing Enugu’s economy from the present $4.4 billion to a $30 billion economy in eight years. Anyone who thinks he can do better should put his manifesto and pedigree on the table for the electorate to decide because Enugu people are not interested in propaganda.

    Anichukwu is Deputy Director, Mainstream Media, Enugu PDP Campaign Orgnaisation

  • Nsukka’s Academic Advantage will be Leveraged for Economic Growth – Frank Nweke Jr, as Senior Staff Club Hosts Him to a Town Hall Meeting

    Nsukka’s Academic Advantage will be Leveraged for Economic Growth – Frank Nweke Jr, as Senior Staff Club Hosts Him to a Town Hall Meeting

    Frank Nweke Jr, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Enugu State, on Saturday enumerated his plans to leverage the intellectual and research capacity of the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) at a Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Senior Staff Club in the Institution.

    In welcoming Nweke, the president of the club whose members include principal staff, academics and senior staff members of all cadre, Prof Chukwuemeka Ubaka, said that the UNN Senior Staff Club is the biggest university senior staff club in Africa.

    “We pride ourselves here because this is where we conglomerate after work and during weekends to have intellectual discussions while also relaxing. The club offers an avenue for interaction, interrogation and propagation of ideas and we look for ways to move Nigeria forward,” he said.

    In his address, Frank Nweke Jr traced his life journey so far in terms of education and career, his service as a Minister overseeing various portfolios over four years, as Director General of Nigerian Economic Summit Group from 2009 to 2014 and in the private sector as an investor in the Media, Construction and Petrochemical industries.

    He shared his deep concerns about the state of affairs in the country and in Enugu State in particular, noting that the advantages provided by the rich history, the presence of institutions like UNN, the arable lands and natural resources have remained inconsequential due to inept leadership.

    “I am one of those who feels very strongly that we have not fully optimized the reasons for which UNN was created. Our goal is to leverage your rich resources here in intellect and research capacity”

    Nweke said he plans to expand the cooperation between the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the State Government to make it fit for economic purposes as well as encourage collaboration among tech companies and traders and other interest groups.

    “The communities that host our institutions of higher learning need to enjoy the full benefits of their presence. We will encourage the development of the enabling environment and support Nsukka’s emergence as a vibrant commercial hub, with UNN at the center.

    “Our plan is to link the university to other educational institutions in its sphere of influence and to the local economy via the businesses and industries we attract as we improve the ease of doing business across the State.

    “Our research and development departments will be productively engaged to provide solutions for the local economy and attract national and global attention.

    “We will facilitate the presence of technology companies to provide the digital infrastructure needed to support the growing tech hubs and promote innovation amongst our young people. We will also undertake the “Partnership For Jobs In Technology Program” with local and global tech companies for raising a tech talent pool in Enugu State.” He stated.

    Nweke also enumerated the seven core points of his manifesto, restating that providing selfless, visionary and accountable leadership, which is the first core area, will be the driving force of his administration.

  • 2023: Princess Ada Ogbu’s Aspiration and Our Reception 

    2023: Princess Ada Ogbu’s Aspiration and Our Reception 

    Comr Emmanuel Ebuka Chukwu, from Enugu 

    High Princess Ada Ogbu’s Senatorial bid has gone beyond personal ambition. It has become people’s mandate and aspiration.

    Princess Ada Ogbu aside being born in a Royal family and a daughter of the famous late Igwe Nathan Ogbu( Odenigbo) of Nara Unateze, is a fulfilled business woman with over 300 staff on her payroll.

    She left her convenience, sacrificed her resources just to give her people the VOICE in the national assembly.

    The VOICE that will bring forth constituency projects.

    The VOICE that will bring forth youth, men and women empowerments.

    The VOICE that will lobby for grants and soft loans for her people.

    The VOICE that will reduce the pain of her people.

    The VOICE that will get her people every good things that comes from the Red Chamber.

    The VOICE for a better tomorrow.

    To show her preparedness, she’s always on a consultation tours.

    Before the official commencement of the electoral campaign, she has toured all the political wards in her zone, Enugu East Senatorial Zone to feel the pain of her people and to know where her attention will be most needed when she gets to the Red Chamber.

    It wasn’t an easy task, but she took it upon herself.

    Today, she has toured several communities and towns soliciting for their supports, and the receptions have been awesome.

    Her acceptability is second to none.

    Ask anybody within Enugu East Senatorial Zone who he/she will be voting for, the response will be “Princess Ada Ogbu”.

    As far Enugu East Senatorial Zone is concerned, she has no opponent for now. We can’t waste another four years of under- representation.

    We have cleaned our PVCs in readiness for the victory ahead of us.

    Enugu East Senatorial Zone deserves the best, and Princess Ada Ogbu of all candidates is the best.

  • [OPINION] Frank Nweke Jr, walking the talk with Enugu’s Creative Industry

    [OPINION] Frank Nweke Jr, walking the talk with Enugu’s Creative Industry

    By Amanda Dike

    Frank Nweke Jr, the Gubernatorial Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance is showing that his plans for the creative space goes beyond campaign promises.

    In the past few weeks and months, he has been available to celebrate and support the work of young creatives in the State. From the Coal City Art Exhibition, to the Eastern Nigerian International Film Festival, the Food and Fashion Festival, Vote with your Voice (a singing competition to drive political awareness and participation) and the presentation of a Stage Play by the Ijele Renaissance Theatre group, Frank has shown that he is deeply interested in the growth of the industry.

    We can immediately trace his resolute support back to his antecedents in his previous public, private and civic roles.

    As Minister, he was particular about how Nigeria was portrayed to the international community through the film sector, working with the industry and the censors board to craft narratives that show the country in good light.

    As Director-General of the NESG, he introduced emerging leaders forum to engage young Nigerians, the Creative industries forum amongst other stimulating forums for the growth of the Nigerian economy.

    You will also recall that he was the Chairman on the Advisory Board of iCREATE Africa, who travelled across Nigeria to promote the development of vocational skills through competitions and advocacy initiatives.

    He is an acclaimed lover of the arts and a collector as well.

    In several engagements, he has lauded the potential of the creative industry to drive the renaissance of the Igbo culture and values, engender social integration and human capital development and exponentially boost economic growth in the way it connects with other sectors of the economy.

    Currently, the Creative sector contributes 1.45% to the Nigerian GDP, which is below the global average of 4.5%.

    With the unique advantages Enugu has in terms of topography, a teeming young population and a rich culture and history, a man of foresight such as Frank Nweke Jr is the catalysing effect that Enugu needs to become the creative hub of the Southeast and indeed, one to reckon with in Nigeria and Africa.

  • [OPINION] 2023: Why Enugu East Senatorial Zone Needs Princess Ada Ogbu

    By Comr. Ebuka Chukwu

    Enugu East Senatorial Zone arguably is the most under-represented zone in the South East, if not in the entire Nigeria.

    The zone has not been fortunate when it comes to representation in the government, whether in the state or federal.

    The effects of this bad and under representation are mainly felt by those residing in the rural areas as they are denied good roads, electricity, drinkable water, health care, and other basic infrastructures that are included in their representatives’ constituency allowances.

    We have been having it bad in Enugu East Senatorial Zone when it comes to representation, however, we have not had it this bad when compared to the current dispensation.

    We have seen almost 8 years wasted by the current Senator.

    Eight years of denied job opportunities.

    Eight years of denied youths, men and women empowerments.

    Eight years of no visible projects, except pictures.

    Eight years of passing through bad roads.

    Eight years of decayed infrastructures.

    Eight years of poverty and impoverishment.

    Eight years of raining insults to his constituents on Twitter.

    For these reasons, High Princess Ada Ogbu has presented herself as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable by her people to right the wrong.

    She has opened the eyes of her people to see what they have lost for close to 24years.

    She has come to give us the voice that has not been heard for close to 24 years now.

    The voice for a better tomorrow.

    No wonder everyone wants to get close to her. She has what it takes to rewrite that unpleasant history of 24 years of unproductivity and under representation.

    Ndi Enugu East Senatorial Zone are ready to make the best choice by voting in a senator they can be proud of for the first time.

    We are ready to hear and experience the VOICE for a better tomorrow.

  • Enugu 2023: It’s the Economy, Stupid

    Enugu 2023: It’s the Economy, Stupid

    By Uche Anichukwu

    The relationship between democracy and the economy is like the one between the fish and water. After all, according to the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, the state exists “for the sake of life, and continues for the sake of the best life”, hence man is only willing to subject himself to the state to the extent that his rights and welfare are catered for. In that wise, democracy is not an end in itself, but a means to an end – primarily the security and welfare of citizens is aptly captured in Section 14 (2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution.

    Enugu, Peter Mbah
    Dr Peter Mbah

    In a 2005 Democracy Day lecture, “The Political Economy of Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria”, former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and incumbent Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, said, “broad-based prosperity sustains democracy whereas widespread poverty and ignorance undermine it”.

    Also, in their 1996 research article, “What Makes Democracy Endure”, published in the Journal of Democracy, Adam Przeworski, Michael Alvarez, Jose Cheibub, and Fernando Limongi empirically established the relationship between economic prosperity and survival of democracy. According to the scholars, “Once a country has a democratic regime, its level of economic development has very strong effect on the probability that democracy will survive”.

    Going further, they said: “Democracy can be expected to last an average of about 8.5 years in a country with per capita income under $1000 per annum; 16 years in one with income between $1000 $2000; 33 years between $2000 $4000 and 100 years between $4000 $6000…. Above $6000 democracies are impregnable and can be expected to live forever. No democratic system has fallen in country where per capita income exceeds $6055”.

    Whereas their findings may not be cast in iron, they nevertheless underscore the point that democracy does not thrive on an empty stomach. For the sake of the economy, governments have been voted out, while democracies have been entirely upended. We saw it in the 1992 U.S presidential election when Bill Clinton’s campaign adviser, James Carville, capitalised on the economic recession of the time by coining the popular catchphrase, “It’s the economy, stupid!” to trump President George H.W Bush’s re-election bid. Also, virtually every military coup in the developing nations has been predicated on corruption and economic hardship and is often greeted with jubilation by suffering masses, but who ultimately realise that they jumped from frying pan to fire.

    Today, the Nigerian economy is in a state of emergency. The tragedy of it is that unlike other federations like the U.S, which boasts of about $3.36 trillion GDP in California, $2.1 trillion GDP in Texas and $2.0 trillion GDP in New York, all in different states and usually driven by various industries, ours is a mono economy that virtually rises and falls on oil and where states practically depend on the Federation Account for survival. Worse, while the states need innovative and ambitious economic visionaries to turn things around, the economy is seldom the meat of the campaigns, especially at that level.

    It is therefore heart-warming that the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, is redefining electioneering at that level by not only making the economy the crux of the matter, but also unveiling an ambitious economic and development agenda built outside the Abuja monthly allocations. Mbah believes that with the right vision and partnerships, Enugu’s natural and human resources are enough to grow the state’s economy from the present $4.4 billion to $30 billion, make it one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of GDP and have the state enjoy a zero per cent headcount rate in terms of poverty index.

    Those who initially saw a $30 billion economy as a slip of tongue got another shocker when he presented his manifesto in October. He not only put it in black and white, but also committed to building at least 10,000km of urban and rural roads in eight years. Some called his attention to what they believed to be typographical errors. No administration has done a thousand kilometres of roads in Enugu, and hardly any Nigerian president has done 10,000 kilometres. For instance, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has done 8,352.94 kilometres as at October 2022. But here is a governorship hopeful promising 10,000 kilometres.

    The doubts are understandable in a country where people are used to the conventional and states survived on Abuja handouts. But Mbah is a proponent of quantum leap and disruptive innovation, which he has amply demonstrated in the private sector. Although the downstream market was already saturated and distributed as at 2008 when Pinnacle Oil and Gas commenced operations with just two staff in a one-room apartment in Lagos, the Pinnacle Founder/CEO nevertheless, in a few years, took the company to number one in that sector. Only recently, President Buhari inaugurated Pinnacle’s $1 billion and Nigeria’s first offshore, subsea, and largest petroleum products terminal in Lekki.

    Sharing that experience with newsmen in October, Mbah said: “Even from that humble beginning, we envisioned that we were going to play a dominant role in the petroleum products market in Nigeria. I recall, when we brought in some resource people to train us on strategy, we expressed to them how we wanted to grow our revenue then from N29 billion to N600 billion annually. They thought it was mad; that it was only crazy people that could imagine such a thing, because you don’t grow at that rate. However, today, we have beaten that number. We are not even at N600 billion; we are well above that”.

    To achieve the envisioned economic revolution in Enugu, Mbah plans to have agro-allied industrialisation alone contribute $10 billion to Enugu’s GDP to engender that would yield and make the state an agro export hub. Building on the existing agro-allied initiatives of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration such as breeding of local cows (Efi Igbo) and PPP arrangement with Ellah Lakes at Adarice in Uzo Uwani, Mbah plans to create Special Agriculture Processing Zones (SAPZ); Technology for Agriculture Systems Transformation, Enugu (TASTE); E-Wallet that will introduce high-yielding seeds, fertilizers and farm inputs to farmers; M-Farm that will communicate directly to suppliers and off-takers and thereby cutting off middle men; and a rejig of the land tenure system (working with the communities and the Enugu State House of Assembly) to make land accessible to large scale commercial farmers.

    He plans to catalyse energy and mineral resources development by attracting investors to explore and exploit Enugu’s oil and gas fields, coal, glass sand, iron ore, gypsum, limestone, alum, clay stone, kaolin, and other mineral deposits. Good enough, Governor Ugwuanyi has successfully pushed Enugu’s enlistment as an oil-bearing state. Mbah equally plans to have Enugu explore renewable energy and tap into existing finance to setup captive power for industries and homes, and explore solar energy, wind, biomass and hydroelectric energy sources.

    As a businessman, who understands the challenges of starting up businesses in Nigeria, he plans to initiate and implement policies to effect ease of doing business, de-risk investment flow, set up a N100 billion venture capital seed funds to aid small businesses and start-ups with access to funding, upscale the Common Export Facility Centre being developed by the Ugwuanyi administration, create Innovation Incubation Centres for young entrepreneurs, and develop a Program for Apprenticeship System for vocational education.

    To achieve these and other strategic programmes that cover a wide range of other sectors, he has developed various funding models that include blocking revenue leakages, enhancing the state’s IGR, attracting private sector investors, Diaspora Investment Bond and Securitization, expanding the tax net without increasing the tax rate, innovative co-financing with the private sector, and financial institutions and international development banks to attract funds and investments.

    Mbah does not miss any opportunity to market his vision. Most recently, Mbah spoke at the official opening of the Godfrey Okoye University–European Business Park and Centre for Practical Skills (CPS) in Enugu, which had in attendance the Ambassador of Hungary to Nigeria, Mr. Thomas Schlesinger; Minister Counsellor of Germany in Nigeria, Mr. Martin Huth; Country Director of the German Agency for International Cooperation, Mr. Markus Margner; Director-General of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Dr. Michael Spindelegger, among a host of investors. The initiative is a unique collaboration that brings together migration experts, the university, and private sector to create businesses and employments in Nigeria.

    Taking the investment community through his economic masterplan, he explained that the initiative was in sync with his plans to catalyse technical skills and vocational education, de-risk investment inflow, and make Enugu State a preferred destination for investment, business, and for living. He plans to propose to the State House of Assembly legislation for compulsory technical skills and vocational training from age 12 so that at some point, nobody aged 18 would be jobless.

    Mbah’s case shows that when you believe in yourself, when you champion a clear vision with a credible roadmap, you are likely to enjoy the buy-in of the private sector, foreign investors and governments. For instance, an investor from Europe at the Enugu event, Mr. Jens-Christian Moller, who could not hide his captivation with Mbah’s presentation, believes that while extra efforts will be needed to achieve seven times the state’s current GDP, it is attainable nevertheless. He expressed the eagerness of his company to partner with Mbah if elected and once the right policies and legal frameworks were in place.

    Likewise, the Consul General of Denmark in Nigeria, Per Christensen, said that the mission had corporate investments in Lagos State and Northern Nigeria, but none in the South East as yet. He said with such ambitious vision as Mbah’s backed with the right policies and legislations, Denmark would be willing to invest in Enugu State to serve the region.

    To Monsignor Obiora Ike, a highly respected clergy and professor of Ethics and Intercultural Studies at Godfrey Okoye University, Peter Mbah is not a politician, but a technocrat.

    “He has never aspired to be a politician. People are begging him, please come and join in building up our state. Don’t do all the good things there in Lagos. So, he is not a politician. This man is a scholar, a titan, and an entrepreneur. He is what we call a technocrat. At a certain time in the life of a nation, we need technocrats, people who come to salvage and add value”, he reassured the local and community.

    There comes a time when a people must ask themselves, “What shall we do to ignite an economic revolution and build a more prosperous democracy for our children and ourselves?” Luckily for Ndi Enugu, the much desired future is here for the taking – through the ballot box come March 2023.

    Anichukwu is Deputy Director, Mainstream Media, Enugu State PDP Campaign Council

  • [OPINION] 2023: The Calculus of Dr. Peter Mbah’s disruptive innovation and the imperative of accelerating economic growth in a changing and challenging time

    [OPINION] 2023: The Calculus of Dr. Peter Mbah’s disruptive innovation and the imperative of accelerating economic growth in a changing and challenging time

    By Christian Enebe

     

    Dr. Peter Mbah, the Enugu State PDP Governorship Candidate for the 2023 general election, is without an iota of doubt a visionary, keen on revolutionizing the state.

    His ideas, which are considered novel and unprecedented, have been hailed as both ingenious and ambitious. The ideas which are condensed into a phenomenal and historic manifesto, have not only raised the hope for realizing the new Enugu that he has envisioned but have also triggered a consciousness of creative thoughts likely to lead to the birth of more ideas in the future that will complement the culture of innovation as a basis to grow the economy and drive development, which he is bringing on board.

    Going by his manifesto, his primary goal is to deliver quality, people – focused governance by making Enugu State the preferred destination for investment, business, tourism and living. His key objectives are to make Enugu State one of the top three states in Nigeria in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which he plans to move from $4.4B to $30B and achieve a zero percent poverty headcount index in 4 to 8 years when elected the Governor of Enugu State.

    Dr. Mbah believes in innovation and sees it as a critical tool for change. This explains why innovation is the major thrust of his well thought – out blueprint. His disruptive innovation, which appears to be the central idea of his transformative agenda and the fulcrum around which others revolve, has been described by analysts as a masterstroke. According to Dr. Mbah, disruptive innovation is an aggressive approach which can enable one do things in a completely different way as to alter the status quo. He maintains that innovation has the tendency to alter approaches, processes and systems with possibilities of prompting modified and accelerated outcomes.

    Dr. Mbah believes that innovation can serve as a launch pad that can lift off a business and set it in motion for a quantum leap. He also believes that innovation can trigger an exponential growth by altering established conventions and age-long traditions that tend to keep a business or organization going round a circle. He credits his outstanding success in the private sector to the quatum leap his signature investment, Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd. experienced as a result of applying disruptive innovation.

    He was quoted as saying: “Pinnacle commenced operations in 2008 and we started off in a one-bedroom studio apartment somewhere on Ahmed Onibudo Street in Victoria Island, Lagos. I started it off with about two other guys – one was my secretary and the other was my dispatch man.”

    This was clearly a humble beginning. From his success story, it is clear that Mbah knew that he didn’t have a chance in the highly competitive oil and gas business except he interferes with the system and disrupts the statusquo using technology and innovation. That was where his disruptive innovation began. He stated, ”we were in a space that companies had already taken their positions and had captured their various sizes. So, we knew that growing incrementally was not the option. We knew we needed to come up with a disruptive idea that would help us displace some of the dominant players and take that dominant position that we had envisioned.” Apparently, Mbah’s driving force was to meet up with the speed of the industry leaders at the time and he found the leverage he needed in innovation.

    Today, available indices indicate that Pinnacle Oil and Gas Ltd. is a success story. As a matter of fact, the company is believed to occupy a leadership position in the petroleum downstream sector based on volume and market share where it is commanding 23 per cent of the market (share) as against 5 percent controlled by its closest competitor. This open – secret of the company’s success story is attributable to disruptive innovation.

    It is generally agreeable that without innovation, we would all be stuck in the same place or spot. Hence, William Brody, a Scientist, posed a question. He asked: What is the calculus of innovation? According to him, “the calculus of innovation is really quite simple: Knowledge drives innovation, innovation drives productivity, productivity drives economic growth.“ Correspondingly, innovation is also described as a powerful way of securing competitive advantage and a more secure way to defending strategic position and success.

    Dr. Peter Mbah’s disruptive innovation has proven to be an effective business and wealth creation model. The model which was launched towards securing an improved business outcome in his private business, is currently being adapted to accelerate economic growth in Enugu state.

    I subscribe to the view that innovations are oftentimes inspired through internal desires to succeed financially. There cannot be a better time to deploy innovation than the changing and challenging times that we find ourselves. We are at a time when governments at all levels are at a dilemma arising from the damaging impact of COVID -19, the negative effect of Russia/Ukraine war and other globalized and localized challenges which have led to unstable and fluctuating oil prices, high energy cost, instability of exchange rates, high cost of borrowing, rising inflation, high and rising cost of living, poor living conditions of citizens, high and rising unemployment, salaries being either owed or not paid as and when due etc.

    These concerns leave our world both at the global and local levels without an option than to discover and engage competent leaders with powerful ideas that can defy the present day hostile circumstances and chart a course of progress for the struggling world. There is increasing need for government at all levels to be innovative enough to disrupt the status quo and set progress in motion in order to salvage our world and halt further slipping to a bottomless economic chasm. This should guide the thoughts of today’s voters and influencers who should act wisely and timely to help in salvaging the challenged world. Innovators like Dr. Peter Mbah should be given a chance to inspire a new order and chart the course to the Enugu of our dreams.

    As a matter of fact, those who will take over leadership at this time, must be seen to be not only qualified but competent and savvy in dealing with matters of economy. They must be people who have the brain power to salvage the situation. Peter Mbah’s disruptive innovation comes handy at this time to help in accelerating the economic dynamics of the state. There is no gainsaying the fact that Enugu state needs his wealth of knowledge to build on the gains of the past, create and manage wealth, maximize the economic potentials of the state and turn things around in a manner that will launch the state to the top as one of the first three states in the country. This is not only desirable but attainable.

    Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited’s offshore subsea petroleum products terminal at the Lekky Free Trade Zone, Lagos which represents specifically the essence and practicability of Dr. Peter Mbah’s disruptive innovation mantra which has been widely acknowledged and commended.

    The journey of Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited to the zenith of Nigeria’s downstream petroleum subsector aptly fits into Steven Jeffes view that: “Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go.“

    Dr. Peter Mbah’s innovative power and ingenuity can be traced not just to a natural endowment, intellectual prowess and creative ability that are obviously inherent in him but essentially to his training which by all measurements is qualitative with a significant bias on innovation. His brilliant training, further accentuated by a rich entrepreneurial experience, has fully prepared and equiped him to incubate ideas and drive an innovation – based growth.

    In addition to holding a Bachelor of Law Degree from the University of East London, he holds a Master of Law (LLM) Degree in Maritime and Commercial law, a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and also a Graduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation which he acquired from the Oxford University, United Kingdom. He also participated in a number of executive certificate programmes, notably in Harvard Business School and Stanford University in the USA.

    More so, he acquired sufficient digital competences needed by a present day leader. As a result, he demonstrates adequate knowledge and confidence in the critical use of information and communication technology which is a major tool in comprehending and applying digital technology. The understanding of high level computer knowledge is without doubt a sinequanon for appreciating and applying digital technology and innovations in necessary contexts.

    Apparently, his wealth of digital competences is the reason he discusses state of the arts and complex technologies with ease. He has shown demonstrable ability to access and utilize digital media and ICT. It takes such level of development to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of complex subjects, strategies and contents that are ICT based or those that are of influenced contexts.

    Suffice it to say that the man, Dr. Peter Mbah, is an embodiment of ideas. He has both the competence and character to provide the needed leadership. He has been described as a pundit who through rare sagacity, has launched himself into the Nigerian political space and as one who has endeared himself to the people of his state with his powerful ideas and style of politics which is totally devoid of bickering and rancour. Hence, his emergence as the PDP Governorship Candidate for the 2023 general election and front-runner candidate for the number one job in the state, has resonated with the people of the state and warmly welcomed by all.

    Peaceful by nature, tactful in style, Dr. Peter Mbah, is the man of the moment. All eyes are on this maestro who is expected to build on the legacies of peace and progress of Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration to enact a revolutionary change in the socio-economic cum political dynamics of Enugu State.

    He has proven to be a skilled and experienced business and political leader who is out to make a mark and not just a regular politician seeking relevance or a position for survival. He is recognized as one with extraordinary wisdom and knack for great works. His accomplishments are numerous, impressive, and exceeds what could be associated to a fluke or an ordinary man trying his luck or struggling to survive. He is driven purely by a passion to make impact and rewrite history.

    Owing to his great wisdom, his wealth of knowledge and appeal to people, he ends up holding his audience spellbound whenever he is speaking. Everyone listening to him comes to that point where he wonders what manner of man he is. It beats everyone’s imagination how intelligently he responds to every question posed, how he addresses knotty issues and proffers solutions that are both appropriate and generally acceptable.

    Those who do not know him are wondering who he is and what to expect from him but those who know him are eagerly looking forward to a replication of the turn-around he made at Pinnacle Oil in Enugu state when he takes over and pilots the affairs as Governor of the state.

    In the opinion of Vanessa Obioha of Thisdaylive, “Mbah’s story is an affirmation that no matter one’s existential realities or limitations, one can accelerate to stardom and have a handshake with the sky.” This is a view that derives from the trajectory of Mbah’s life and his rise from a humble beginning to becoming not just a key player but essentially, one of the most dominant players in the oil industry in Nigeria within 50 years of age. As a direct consequence of his rare achievements, NewsWatch magazine in a special publication of July 3, 2006, described Mbah as “a man ahead of his time.”

    The times we are demands leaders with Peter Mbah’s experiential knowledge and competence to take over the management of our resources and provide leadership that will impact positively on the society. In his own words, “the demands of our time require a good head; someone whose experience in both public and private life, as well as whose commitment to the general good, cannot be questioned.”

    Barr. Peter Mbah doubtless inspires hope. This is a man that has demonstrated extraordinary competence not only in managing resources but in creating wealth. He is doubtless the right candidate with the capacity to change things for the better and move Enugu State yet to greater heights. The future we desire is wrapped up in his timely candidacy. We must not miss this opportunity.

    According to the sage, Chinua Achebe, “you cannot plant greatness as you plant yams or maize. Who ever planted an Iroko tree – the greatest in the forest? You may collect all the Iroko seeds in the world, open the soil and put them there. it will be in vain. The great tree chooses where to grow and we find it there…so it is with greatness in men.” Barr. Peter Mbah is God’s gift to Ndi Enugu with proven capacity for extraordinary achievements. He is an outstanding man; greatness personified. Besides, he is a man cut out for the unusual, one who is prepared to run the race of life with determination and vigour. Taking Enugu State to an enviable level is the heartbeat of this great man with whom God has blessed the state.

    In his remarkable manifesto, he stated: “my life experiences are the wings that propel me to serve Ndi Enugu, my people, so that together, we may create wealth and prosperity for all.”

  • Peter Ndubuisi Mbah: Acceptance to the Utmost Bounds

    Peter Ndubuisi Mbah: Acceptance to the Utmost Bounds

    By Reuben Onyishi (Ugoachataberu)

    Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, the Enugu State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, has swept through the Enugu political landscape so wildly beyond the utmost bounds of acceptance, thereby ferociously demolishing within a short while every make-believe Satanic stronghold of vile but mischievous castigation.

    The message of hope Peter preaches has percolated into the political consciousness of the people of Enugu State. The people have purged themselves of the infestation of the contrived fictions of the labourers, labouring in vain to cast slur on his candidature.

    Peter has come with the good news of economic exponential growth tied to clear strategic objectives on the productive and social services sectors. It is a message that resonates with the hopes of seamless transition and consolidation of the strong foundation which Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi has laid. It is a message of disruptive transformation that would catapult the state and its people to unprecedented prosperity. The message is a delight to the soul. With Peter Mbah on the throne, Enugu shall continue to sing Hallelujah.

    That which Peter sets out to do is heroic.The narrative of the hero in epic tradition is that divinity has found expression in humanity. It is the anointing of extra-human qualities on a mere mortal whose deeds overawe human comprehension. Peter is a hero with pragmatic antecedents of unexampled turnarounds. These many acts of heroism Peter shall reenact in Enugu State as soon as he assumes office in May 2023 as the governor of Enugu State.

    Peter Ndubuisi Mbah and his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai, (Happy birthday to Ossai) have a call in leadership. They are anointed to lead. They,therefore, preach good tidings to the meek with a view to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to appoint all that mourn in Zion; to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of gladness for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, as we read in Isaiah 61:1-3. Flesh and blood did not reveal to Peter the true knowledge of transformational leadership; the spirit did. Upon this rock, the revelation and understanding of the workings of governance and economy, shall Enugu State be established and the gates of hell shall neither prevail nor obstruct the crystalization of the good Mbah embodies.

    Isaiah 61 is a metaphorical encapsulation of that which Peter has come to do.The message is clear and the people of Enugu State have received it with unreserved acceptance. Paul planted; Apollos watered. Governor Ugwuanyi has done his part which in itself is superlative and has provided Peter a solid foundation to greater achievements. The fact that Ugwuanyi chose Peter over relationship interests shows to what extent Ugwuanyi is convinced about the capacity Peter carries. As a matter of fact, the average Enugu citizen is enamoured of the Mbah candidacy, commends Ugwuanyi for the choice of Peter Mbah and looks forward to his enthronement, the understanding being that Ugwuanyi’s choice of Peter Mbah is in itself a landmark achievement.

    Enugu believes in the message Peter preaches because he had demonstrated that the firstlings of his mind filled with creative and visionary ideas are the firstlings of his hands when he moved a relatively unknown firm in the downstream oil and gas sector from obscurity to limelight, as Pinnacle took the lead in that sector in terms of revenue and market share. In essence, Peter is the real Okaaome, not the travesty such as is being paraded with nothing to show for it. Incidentally, the fog is cleared off the people’s eyes, for the misguided overambition is cast to the dustbin of rueful history and political misadventure.

    Little wonder the people of Enugu State have warmly embraced Peter Mbah, impatiently waiting to elect him the governor of Enugu State come March, 2023. His fame is noised abroad and in all nooks and crannies of the state Peter is on everyone’s lips as they marvel at the so many virtues that have come to crystalize in Peter, a rare breed, filled from top to the toe with knowledge, wisdom, resourcefulness and many uncommon abilities to drive Enugu State to unexplored heights.