From Lagos to Enugu, Abuja to Port Harcourt and in many other Nigerian cities, the story is the same! Almost all the street traders or hawkers are from Ebonyi state! It is a story of failure! Failure of governance and leadership amidst abundant human and natural resources of Ebonyi state, the Salt of the Nation. It is a sad and lamentable situation where basic opportunities are not provided and utilised to effectively harness the immense and invaluable resources of Ebonyi State especially the youths. With several interviews I have had with the Ebonyi hawkers and petty traders in different Nigerian cities and towns, the lamentations and cries for help are similar. They crave for direction, opportunities and freedoms through the provision of effective and functioning educational system! As such direction, opportunities and freedoms are presently not provided or inadequate, a sub-culture of frustration and violence is emerging which will do no one any good.
Like many states in Nigeria, the present approach to human capital/skills development of Ebonyi state can be described as a process of “accomplishment of natural growth” with little or no strategic plan, vision and guidance. It is similar to Jamaica’s then education system to which Professor William M. MacMillian described as ‘narrow and insecure’ in his work ‘Warning from the West Indies’. He warned that the education system in Jamaica was a major contributory factor to worsening inequality, poverty, unemployment and social divisions. He beckoned on the government to act urgently to avoid social crisis and violence. Remarkably as he warned, wide spread violence and social unrest ravaged the Caribbean with many killed and injured a year after his book was published.
To avoid a similar riot or the emergence of another Boko Haram of Ebonyi extraction, I deeply beckon and implore on Gov. Umahi to act now! What is needed in Ebonyi state is an education system that can be described and developed from the concept of concerted cultivation and development. This approach will give direction and focus, imbue confidence and trust, create a sense of ownership and belonging to Ebonyi children and youths. Failure to do this is an inevitable invitation and preparation for the exponential escalation of social crisis possibly similar and higher than Boko Haram.
Your Excellency, Gov. Umahi, I have heard different versions and factors that led to your emergence and victory as the Governor of Ebonyi State. Irrespective of which one is correct, I deeply pray and implore you to adopt the version which will translate and mean an equitable (with a pro-poor inclination) sharing of the dividends of democracy through a strategy of committed and effective good governance of Ebonyi state. This is what majority of Ebonyi citizens who are poor and marginalised want from you. I am fully aware that the task to which you have been overwhelmingly elected to perform is very tedious and challenging but very achievable if you truly belief and committed to serving humanity. Directly or indirectly allowing street trading to be the most prominent brand of Ebonyi youths is sad and a disservice to anything good and noble. Moreover, this negative brand will not change with either the wastefull allocation of brand new jeeps to Ebonyi traditional rulers or the building of a brand new governor’s lodge after spending over N250 million to renovate the existing lodge.
Your Excellency Gov. Umahi, your dear state, Ebonyi is very backward in every aspect of human development and this requires very urgent attention through effective and committed good governance. Of the five South East states, Ebonyi is the only state classified as educationally less developed. While Ebonyi is marginally represented in the public sector, it is almost absent in the private sector. In my close interaction with the Banking sector, I have never met or heard of an Assistant General Manager (AGM) from Ebonyi state. A check of board of directors of firms quoted in Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) seems to suggest that board membership might be a taboo for Ebonyians. I do not think that it is the case!
With the millions of Abakaliki youths hawking and roaming all major cities in Nigeria, it is clear that a critical and fulcrum factor absent in your governance agenda is Effective Human Capital/Skills Development (Education). While I appreciate that it might be included in the social services, it demands more and priority prominence given the lamentable level of human capital development of Ebonyi State. It is the fulcrum upon which any kind of development can be meaningful and sustainable but which is sadly attended with levity in Ebonyi state. For people to be employed, they have to be properly educated and skilled which will enhance the appreciation and better utilisation of the social services to be provided by your government. It will also support the development of the rural areas. Security will be improved with good governance and justice better understood and protected. In the absence of a properly educated and skilled Ebonyi state, your development agenda might be ineffective and unsustainable.
Creating a high level of human capital and skill development in Ebonyi state does not start and end with building new class rooms in different parts of the state or promotion of Ebonyi state university staff. Either is part of it but a very little or insignificant part of what is needed. It will require a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the kind of state, Ebonyi people want in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 years. This will help in understanding the kind of skills required in the short, medium and long term. Expectedly, this will require a robust involvement of all the relevant stakeholders to carry out a comprehensive re-examination and re-packaging of the curriculum and value system from nursery to university. It will also need effective training of competent teachers and then their continuous and rigorous supervision to ensure that they are meeting agreed expectations and targets. I profoundly implore you to allocate at least 30% of Ebonyi budget to the Education sector even though UNESCO recommends 26% for Nigeria. This is a better way to change the negative perception or brand of Ebonyi state.
To achieve the above will require excellent thinking and foresight that expectedly should come from a strategic think-tank and cabinet. I passionately implore you to deeply reflect on Ebonyi state level of underdevelopment (especially Human Capital/Skill Development) so that you can appreciate the enormity of the development and governance expectations they have of you. In Proverbs 29, verse 2, it is stated that “When just men are multiplied, the common people shall rejoice. When the impious take up leadership, the people shall mourn. And in verse 16, “When the impious are multiplied, crimes will be multiplied. But the just shall see their ruin”. I wish you the best and please be assured of my prayers!
Franklin Nnaemeka Ngwu
