By Wordshot Amaechi Ugwele
In today’s interconnected Nigeria, no state can afford to operate as an island. This is precisely why I have continued to maintain that Governor Peter Mbah’s policy of inclusivity, in awarding contracts and extending opportunities beyond only indigenous Enugu people, reflects both wisdom and foresight.
At present, local contractors still handle about 80 percent of government projects within the state. However, Mbah has deliberately resisted the temptation to turn public opportunities into an ethnic entitlement. Why? Because Enugu people themselves have benefited from open-door policies in other states. It would be both hypocritical and self-defeating to slam shut the same doors that were once, and in many cases, still are open to us.
Several prominent Enugu based firms and individuals have built their fortunes outside the state, thanks to inclusive policies elsewhere. Companies like COMAG, FEROTEX, and ANBEEZ have executed significant contracts across Nigeria. Why did other states engage them? Because competence, not origin, was the basis for partnership, and because development thrives when merit is given room to flourish.
A personal example illustrates this point. During Governor Amaechi’s first term in Rivers State, I was initially passed over for a major microcredit project aimed at supporting widows, simply because I wasn’t from Rivers, despite my professional records and competencies. Amaechi insisted that “Rivers money is for Rivers people.” Unfortunately, those initially entrusted with the project mismanaged it, squandering millions. Eventually, he turned to my team. We delivered, managing ₦3 billion efficiently and transparently. So impressed was Amaechi with our work that he personally invited me to lunch and served me food himself. For those who need confirmation, the then Rivers State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Vivian Breid, can attest to this.
Further examples abound. FEROTEX built its business in Port Harcourt, winning supply jobs from both government and the private sector as a Caterpillar spare parts dealer. Ideke became a billionaire in the same city as a shipping tycoon, leveraging the economic infrastructure and opportunities created by a government that didn’t discriminate against non-indigenes.
Cosmos Agu from Umuoka in Udi local government area of Enugu State went to Imo State for menial jobs as a young man. The man he was doing a digging job in his compound came back from Port Harcourt, loved his dedication to his work as a labourer and took him in as an apprentice iron monger. COMAG would later grow to become one of the biggest dealerships in iron in Port Harcourt from where he branched out into construction. The Enugu State government was not among his initial patrons as he was doing road works in Ebonyi, Abia, etc before he would later be patronised by his own state. Today he is doing one of the most important roads to our people for the state government.
These are not isolated stories. They are reminders that Nigerian states benefit from a culture of openness and economic integration. By insisting that Enugu should only patronize its own, we would be denying our people the moral high ground to continue thriving elsewhere. We would also risk isolating the state from beneficial partnerships and outside expertise that could help accelerate its development. The Igbo states and their people are already wrongly being profiled as selfish and closed to outsiders in economic prospects and opportunities. How do you want such false narratives to be corrected?
Some critics may not fully grasp how this open model benefits the state in the long run, but that doesn’t make their skepticism valid. The truth is, opportunities, when guided by merit, build bridges between communities, improve standards, and promote unity.
Governor Mbah’s refusal to limit Enugu’s economic space to only indigenes is a principled, pragmatic policy we would like to be seen replicated across the country. It ensures that Enugu remains a welcoming, competitive, and progressive player in the Nigerian federation, just as we would want other states to be for our people. Meanwhile, how many reading this are in Enugu with everything about their lives confined within the state?
Rivers State gave me my solid foundation. In the cradle of it all, I met my respected brothers like Ibuchukwu Ezike, Hippolytus Onah and Chris Ezugwu there as students. The question is, why did we all leave UNN in Nsukka to suffer to go all the way to Uniport in Rivers State?
