Fellow citizens of our beloved Enugu State, and our dear country Nigeria, this short treatise is directed at you, to add to your
knowledge, as well as enrich your experience, Silence, as we all know,
is the absence of noise, and silence is said to be golden.The allusion made in the above aphorism, equating silence with gold, a very valuable mineral, shows the very high value placed on one who is able to do great things in a very quiet and low-key manner.
Now, who is a revolutionary, and why is Governor Chime, the amiable and dynamic peoples’ Governor of Enugu State, being ranked as one? Well, a revolutionary is one who starts or supports a revolution that is a drastic change, in the way things are done.
Anyone who had been to Enugu State before 2007, when Governor Chime assumed office, and re-visits the Enugu today would be absolutely astonished at the high proportion and quality of infrastructural and other development put in place by his administration within so short a period of time. This no doubt, informed Governor Chime’s re-election, by a landslide, in 2011, for a second term.
In fact, such a person, a silent revolutionary, is Governor Sullivan Chime, going by his massive, people-oriented projects and programmes, some of which have been accomplished, and many others on-going.. By this time, in Governor Chime’s second tenure, it has become obvious that doing great things quietly has become the hallmark of this administration and stems from the personal style of His Excellency, the Governor of Enugu State.
Those who knew him from the early days have attested to his quiet and unassuming manner and style of doing things. Mr. Chime brought this unique style into play, in governance and administration, when he became The Governor, and this has resulted in the total transformation or revolution if you like, that is now on-going in different sectors of the economy in parts of the state.
You will never hear that Governor Chime wants to construct this road, what you will see is that he is working on the road. You will never hear that he wants to embark on this or that project. What you will see is that the project is either ongoing or completed. His joy, his payment, his reward, is that people are making use of these facilities. He is not the talking type or among the group that enjoy praise singers.
Governor Chime is not the type that roll out the red carpet and drum to commission roads and other projects and is not known for excessive media hype. He has toed this same line, even when he was on the receiving end of the stick, on several recent occasions.
It is not part of the aim of this write-up to revisit episodes which had been overhauled by the revelation of the true facts. But suffice it to say that, in the recent times, Governor Sullivan Chime, against the well-meaning advice of his aides, who wished he responded to several rumours being peddled about his where about merely laughed at the entire baseless lie.
Governor Chime, it would appear, seems to agree with a statement by the late great Eze Igbo Gburu Gburu, Dim Emeka Odumewu Ojukwu, which goes like this, “I cannot dignify a lie by answering it.”
Now, in answer to current tales by some individuals and ‘groups”, in line with Governor Chime’s style, he is doing his thing quietly. As a legal practitioner very vast in law with many years of experience, Governor Chime complied with every provision that the Nigerian Constitution stipulated that a sitting Governor should do before proceeding on a leave of such duration, in this case, accumulated leave for that matter.
This situation, you must know, came about only because Governor Sullivan Chime has not enjoyed his annual leave since he assumed office in 2007, all in an effort to ensure that the necessary things are done within the state for the peoples’ benefit.
On the other hand, one would understand and indeed, truly appreciate the concern of residents and good people of Enugu State, not having seen their Governor for some time, and we thank the entire people most sincerely for this show of solidarity and goodwill. But, we know that Governor Chime will be back very soon.
The unfortunate thing is that some politicians and people who have decided to oppose Governor Chime’s administration, are beginning to use his absence as an opportunity to make some unnecessary statements which are not supposed to even come up for any reason at all. “You cannot change Governor Chime’s silent and quiet approach. Not now.”
In reaction to the most recent rumour that Governor Chime was located in a London Hospital, let it be on record that independent check revealed that there is no hospital bearing such a name in London. Only God knows what the faceless SEG are trying to achieve by giving people the impression that Enugu is under political tension.
My investigation also revealed that most of these publications were hand works of lieutenants of the failed previous administrations that never offered the citizens any meaningful dividend of democracy.
I give the people this assurance, that His Excellency, Governor Sullivan Chime, is okay, he is hail and hearty and will very soon join us in Enugu State to continue his good works to his good people of the State. I understand the peoples’ concern, he is missing everybody too but his absence should not be used as an opportunity to run the state down.
Finally, there is no cause for alarm. We are at peace in Enugu State. And as a last word, work is going on, quietly.
Hon. Afam Okereke writes in from Enugu, where he is the Senior Special Assistant to the Enugu State Governor on Media Matters.
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