David Nweze Umahi who currently serves as Nigeria's Minister of Works, never impressed me one day throughout his tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State from 2015 to 2023. I was however not unaware of several development projects reportedly executed by him as governor which would ordinarily have painted him to me as one of the very few proactive political officeholders in Nigeria.
My grouse which I believe was shared by many analysts was that as governor, he seemed to have loathed any form of criticism thereby playing in the league of leaders who cherish several traits of a typical dictator. Most prominent of what I remember of his governorship tenure was his criminalization of political dissent which included an unjustifiable harassment of media professionals.
During his tenure, Umahi banned for life, the Correspondent of The Sun Newspaper, Chijioke Agwu, and that of the Vanguard Newspaper, Peter Okutu, from entering Government house and Government facilities in Ebonyi State. He also ordered the arrest and detention of another journalist, Godfrey Chikwere over some of his Facebook posts- offences he attempted to punish using a new version of the old colonial law of Sedition described as the Ebonyi Cybercrimes Law No 12 of 2021. Fortunately, the judiciary later declared the law unconstitutional. I could never have been a fan of former Governors Ben Ayade and Dave Umahi of Cross River and Ebonyi States respectively who embraced the undemocratic act of decamping from the party that sponsored them to become governors thereby appropriating the votes of citizens of their respective states.
Luckily for Umahi, he didn't share in Ayade's hobby of the annual presentation of budgets of grammar. Instead, visitors to Ebonyi State returned with narratives of how Governor Umahi completed over 20 roads within the capital city of Abakaliki in addition to the rebuilding of some federal roads, especially the Afikpo-Abakaliki and the Nkalagu Roads. There were other stories of how Umahi reportedly transformed the state with projects in Agriculture, Education and Health sectors. As a result of my subsisting dislike for leaders who harass journalists, the reports of Umahi's works in Ebonyi made no impression on me not necessarily because I am myself a journalist but more because such leaders abhor accountability which is one of the hallmarks of democracy.
Now that Umahi has become Nigeria's Minister of Works and is visibly performing, I am getting swayed to taking some interest in his performance. It is possible that some of the previous narratives of his commendable work ethos were probably not fabricated. From his thesis on concrete pavements through his visibility at several road junctions across the country inspecting projects to his display of knowledge of the terrain especially his ability to persuasively quote huge figures, it is perhaps time to take a look atUmahi from another prism with a view to determining whether it is encouragement and not attacks he deserves. If there is this other side to the man, the ethical value of balance and objectivity of the media suggests a shift from the old perspective and that is precisely what this piece is doing.
Minister Umahi has been all over Nigeria inspecting road projects. The other day, he was in Ekiti State to, assess the level of work done on some ongoing road projects in the state particularly Ado, Ijan Road and Ado - Ikere - Akure road and to also assess the state of federal roads in the state.It is precisely what he is doing in virtually every other state, In Abia State, he has inspected the on-going Bende Ohafia Arochukwu road, just as he has done concerning the Lokoja-Okene road in Kogi State.As if to show that payment for the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Roadwas virtually guaranteed Minister Umahi went on inspection of the road with his counterpart - Olawale Edun Minister of finance and co-ordinating Minister of the Economy.
In all of this, the innovation our new Works Minister is holding-on to is his preference for concrete pavement over asphalt because concrete according to Umahi is most suited for the terrain of Nigerian roads. He insists that"you cannot put asphalt in water but you can put concrete in water," adding that the cost of materials for concrete pavement is significantly cheaper when compared to the cost of materials for asphalt pavement. Whereas his call for prudence and value for money, makes ample sense especially during this period of Nigeria's vanishing economy, there is no proof that the money he needs to do all the works he is propagating will be available. Umahi probably needs to be cautious because as history tells us, roads development policy in Nigeria has over the years been that of earmarking several roads to be executed with funds for only one or two roads.
Adeseye Ogunlewe who was Minister of Works during the Obasanjo administration told us many years ago that all the noise about plans to build several roads is all politics and playing to the gallery. Now that the federal government is reportedly working on 2,097 road projects nationwide has anyone assured Minister Umahi that unlike before there would be enough funding for our roads or will the Lokoja-Benin road which iconic writer Sonala Olumhense called the orphan be sacrificed again?This question draws attention to the politics of roads construction in Nigeria where government says so much about roads and ends up doing little or nothing about some specific roads that have been left unattended to for years. Umahi needs to prove that he understands the politics.
Those who think, he may not have fully understood the game are the ones raising issues with the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. In response, Umahi has reeled out huge figures which show him to be in charge but his response on how the contract was conceived paints a different picture. While not agreeing that the PDP's criticisms are necessarily in good faith, on-lookers cannot quickly agree that proven competence is all that justifies awarding the job to a particular contractor. Nigerian politicians must learn to follow all the processes prescribed for any public project especially those which involve tax-payers' money. PDP leaders who are querying the project have cognate experience in how government officials smartly circumvent rules to arrive at a predetermined end. We look forward to their proving their point sooner than later.
But the issue of balanced treatment of all sides of Nigeria is a more important dimension. If we follow history, those who are apprehensive about the Coastal Highway project have a point. Why is the job not Calabar-Lagos? Must every public project start from Lagos?Suppose government abandons the project after completing the Lagos end, what do we do?
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These are not petty questions because in Nigeria, some areas always get far more attention. If any Nigerian state can get just a bit of the attention on 3rd Mainland bridge in Lagos, some people would have been feeling more Nigerian than they are today. If it is not 3rd Mainland bridge, where maintenance work is permanently on schedule,it is Lagos Ibadan Express Way where work goes on ad infinitum.Of recent, the Abuja-Kaduna route is steadily moving into that priority corridor.
At a recent seminar in one part of the country, I learnt much about some views of the conventionally silent citizens. While they admire and commend the new 3rd Mainland bridge for its beauty and elegance, they are unable to appreciate why government thinks some other parts of the country cannot do with a 1st Mainland whatever!If it is air transportation Nigerians have to first travel to Lagos and may be two other cities before they can have contact with the outside world? Why are some Nigerian internationalairports strategically restricted to local government flights?
As for Ports, those in Lagos were developed over the years by the federal government to lay a solid foundation for the prosperity of Lagos. If so, why are Ports in other parts of the country not developed to make such areas also prosper while relieving Lagos of its notorious congestion?Why are development projects not deliberately moved to other parts of the countryto stop urban migration? If all Nigerians are equal, why can't the marginalized make some gains from roads and bridges now that we have an outstanding builder in Engr David Umahi?
