THE POLITICS OF LAST-MINUTE PROMISES: A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES IN ENUGU NORTH

By 

Martins Chiedozie Ugwu 

Johnmartinsworldonline@gmail.com 

“To term this anything less than the pre-eminent scam of the year would be a failure of civic vocabulary.”

In politics, timin often reveals more than intention. When major infrastructure promises resurface only at the twilight of a first term, citizens are right to ask: why now?

During his campaign, The governor Enugu State, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah laid out an ambitious vision, over 10,000 kilometers of roads, sweeping urban upgrades, rural connectivity, and economic revitalization. This was not presented as a "second-term aspiration" but as an immediate intervention to "open up all areas of the state." Yet, as we approach the twilight of this administration, the rural corridors remain largely untouched, choked by the dust of neglect. And being classified as Urban areas for the sole reason tax exploitation.

With the electoral cycle's horizon drawing near, we are suddenly presented with a "flag-off" ceremony for road networks that were, by the Governor’s own *Statement of Purpose*, meant to be the hallmark of his first-term mandate. Yet, as the first term winds down, the lived reality especially across Nsukka Zone demands urgent scrutiny

Where are the rural feeder roads promised to "reduce farm produce losses"? Where is the connectivity that was supposed to link all 17 Local Government Headquarters? To wait until the eleventh hour, mere days before the official campaign season commences, to "flag off" projects like the Nsukka-Lejja-Aku-Ukehe road is a transparent exercise in optical illusion and deception. It is a tactical maneuver designed to purchase hope with the currency of delay.

Instead, what emerges now is a sudden rush: announcements of flag-offs, ceremonial project launches, and high-profile engagements just days before campaign season formally begins.

The letter addressed to the "Leaders of Igbo-Nsukka" is particularly galling. It attempts to present the standard duties of governance as an "epoch-making milestone." For a people known for their intellectual pedigree and academic rigor, it would be the height of myopia to swallow this bait. In context, it again raises harder questions.

 

To Peter Okonkwo: One must ask, as an enlightened stakeholder, where has the Governor been for the last three and a half years? Why is there not a single significant, completed road project or bridge in the Nsukka zone to serve as a validation to these promises? Is this sudden interest in "Adada State" and "Standardization" a genuine developmental shift, or a cynical carrot dangled to secure a second tenure?

Even more troubling is the case of the Ogige market. A project described as “reconstruction” follows the displacement of tens of thousands of traders, people whose livelihoods depended on that ecosystem. If redevelopment results in exclusion, where former occupants cannot afford access, then it ceases to be renewal and begins to look like economic displacement dressed as progress. 

To the People of Enugu North: To attend this event is to validate a narrative that treats our needs as seasonal commodities. We must demand an audit of the "Statement of Purpose" against the reality on the ground.

Governor Peter Mbah should be candid with the people: he is not coming to Nsukka to bring development; he is coming to Inaugurate his Zonal Campaign Office at No. 212 Enugu Road. The road flag-offs are merely the ceremonial confetti for a political re-entry.

Enugu State, nd specifically the Nsukka zone, must transcend the "Village Boy" simplicity of believing every promise etched on a glossy manifesto. From north to west to east, this administration must be rejected for its anti people's policy and hatred for the poor masses. And If the 10,000km goal was a sincere priority, we would be cutting ribbons everywhere on completed highways today, not watching tractors being revved up just as the ballot boxes are being dusted off.

Be warned, Ndi Enugu. A flag-off is not a road, and a promise made at the 59th minute of the 11th hour is rarely a promise intended for the people. This is the biggest scam of the century. Believe Kenneth Okonkwo or the governor at your own peril.