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THE CONCEPT OF POWER BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE: A REALITY IN ENUGU STATE UNDER GOV.IFEANYI UGWUANYI

Published

6 years ago

September 8, 2020

Ifeanyi Ogenyi

Democracy has long been defined as the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

True democracy is premised on the immutable principle that power belongs to the people. It is also having the understanding that power is held on trust by the public office holders for the ultimate benefit of the people who are the owners and beneficiaries of such power.

In a truly democratic setting, the consent and/or approval of the people must always be sought before any major decision affecting the people is taken.

Many leaders especially in the developing countries have neglected, refused, and/or failed in the practical application of this principle.

Most leaders, once they assume office neglect or treat those that gave them power with utter disdain and they began to dish out executive orders; and further acts with impunity.

In Africa and all most in all the developing countries, there is a profound sense of disconnect from the halls of power. The distance between the people and the government is as wide and deep as the ocean separating Boston from London.

Understanding this sense of disconnect, Gov.Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi on the assumption of office in 2015 decided to bridge this gap between the governed and the governor with his Midas touch.

His innovative approaches to governance premised on mutual respect, consultation, collaboration, and bipartisanship seamlessly returned power to the people of Enugu State.

His administrative and managerial characters have established principles guaranteeing the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Gov.Ugwuanyi’s message and ideology from the onset were sound and clear.

And his message and ideology are: “This is our government; Enugu belongs to all of us; and let everyone enjoy democracy dividend-‘ The Nrashi Concept”.

He has demonstrated in many ways that power has been returned to the people of Enugu State.

In the annals of history in Enugu State, no Governor before Ugwuanyi made a clear-cut policy of consulting the people before they took critical decision that would affect the people but Gov.Ugwuanyi makes consultation of the people as his cardinal administrative policy and rarely takes any critical decision without having recourse to the people.

He evolved and sustained the culture of consulting the people on issues affecting them before a final decision is taken.

Today in Enugu State, virtually everyone in the State is a Stakeholder and people have unrestricted access to the government house which has never been the case.

Constitutionally appointment of the members of the Executive Council is a prerogative right of the governor in the State as enshrined in Sec.192 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) but Gov.Ugwuanyi never exercised this power without having recourse to the people. Before he formed his cabinet upon his re-election in 2019, he reached out to the Stakeholders in the 17 LGAs and requested them to nominate for him a candidate to be appointed into his cabinet. This singular gesture endeared the Governor more to Ndi Enugu.

The same thing happened during the last LGA election in Enugu, every LGA was asked to agree on a consensus candidate to be filed by the ruling party in the State and it worked as a magic.

One thing in a democracy, is that it is a government by the majority. Of course, there is always dissenting opinions and voices on any issue but Ugwuanyi’s concern at every point in time is to ensure that the views of the majority prevail and this is the hallmark of a true democracy.

The truth is that people tend to withdraw when they feel powerless and also tend to live outside the political process when they stop believing that power belongs to them.

Gov.Ugwuanyi has practically changed the narrative and restored people’s confidence in the government.

Gov. Ugwuanyi has put in place collaborative governance which is often as a solution to the principal-agent dilemma and local knowledge problem.

By including a full range of stakeholders, collaborative arrangement brings stability, peace, and progress in the polity.

And today Enugu people are witnessing and enjoying enduring peace.

Gov. Ugwuanyi’s leadership styles have brought to bear an alternative to adversarial and interest group-driven approaches to governance which follows a more consensus-oriented mode of making decisions.

Though as earlier posited, consensus most time is difficult to achieve in practice, one good thing about Ugwuanyi’s approach is that the people are involved in taking decisions on issues affecting them.

Freedom of expression which is also another essential ingredient of democracy is not only guaranteed in Enugu State under Gov.Ugwuanyi but it is also inimically abused by some Enugu people especially the uninformed social media urchins.

Indeed, Gov. Ugwuanyi has given democracy its true meaning in Enugu State.

Our nation will be peaceful and a better place to live if all leaders in the country realize like Ugwuanyi that they hold power on trust for the people.

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Strategic Partnerships, Diaspora Investment and Improved Workforce Critical to Industrialization-DG RMRDC

Published

13 hours ago

November 12, 2026

The Gleamer

By: Stella Azi and Adaora Adibe

The Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso, has called for a strategic shift from the exportation of raw commodities to domestic processing, manufacturing and value addition, declaring that Nigeria possesses enormous untapped raw material resources capable of driving industrialisation, creating jobs and strengthening the country’s economic competitiveness.

Prof. Ike-Muonso made this submission in a lecture titled Unlocking Nigeria’s Raw Material Value Chain for Industrialization, Manufacturing and Competitiveness, where he presented an extensive assessment of Nigeria’s resource endowments, industrial challenges and emerging investment opportunities across agricultural commodities, solid minerals and waste-based raw materials.

The lecture highlighted a combined US$2.65 trillion global market opportunity across 30 major raw material value chains, comprising 12 agricultural value chains valued at US$932 billion, 11 mineral value chains worth US$1.352 trillion and seven circular-economy value chains estimated at US$366 billion.

According to the RMRDC Boss, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional approach of extracting and exporting raw materials to building competitive domestic industries that transform these resources into intermediate products, industrial inputs and finished goods for local consumption and international markets.

He observed that the country’s manufacturing sector has struggled to sustain its 2014 peak, with its contribution to real Gross Domestic Product declining from 9.64 per cent in 2014 to 8.05 per cent in 2025, representing a 16.5 per cent decline. He also drew attention to the increasing cost of raw material imports, which rose to US$20.5 billion in 2025, approximately six times the 2020 level.

He explained that the growing dependence on imported industrial inputs exposes Nigerian manufacturers to foreign exchange volatility, increases production costs and weakens the competitiveness of locally manufactured products.

Prof. ke-Muonso stressed that the solution lies in developing domestic raw material value chains through deliberate investment in processing facilities, research and development, technology, infrastructure and stronger linkages between producers, processors and manufacturers.

He identified agriculture, solid minerals and industrial waste as three major resource platforms for Nigeria’s industrial transformation, stating the country’s significant production capacity and the enormous opportunities available for downstream processing.

Ike-Muonso noted that Nigeria produces over 63 million metric tonnes of cassava annually, making it the world’s largest producer, while also maintaining strong positions in cocoa, cashew, sesame, palm oil and cotton. However, more than 80 per cent of agricultural output leaves farms without adequate processing, resulting in the loss of significant economic value and industrial opportunities.

In the solid minerals sector, he identified more than 44 commercially viable minerals across over 500 locations, including lithium, gold, barite, bitumen, iron ore and high-grade limestone, describing them as strategic resources capable of supporting steel production, energy storage, electrification and advanced manufacturing.

The DG further drew attention to Nigeria’s industrial and agro-waste resources, noting that the country generates over 32 million tonnes of solid waste annually. He explained that agricultural residues, cassava peels, scrap metals, plastics and electronic waste could serve as important feedstock for bio-fertilisers, industrial chemicals, recycled polymers, energy production and other manufacturing applications.

In the agricultural sector, the DG identified cassava and industrial starch, cotton and natural textiles, natural rubber and elastomers, oil palm and oleochemicals, maize derivatives and cocoa processing as priority areas requiring increased investment.

He explained that processing agricultural commodities into industrial starch, sweeteners, textiles, technical rubber, specialty fats and other intermediate products would enable Nigeria to capture more value from its agricultural resources while reducing dependence on imported industrial inputs.

For the minerals sector, he highlighted crude oil-to-olefins and petrochemicals, lithium and energy storage, iron ore and steel, rare earth elements, bauxite and aluminium, and copper and electrification as strategic investment opportunities.

He particularly emphasised the importance of moving beyond mineral extraction into beneficiation, refining, battery precursors, industrial chemicals, metal fabrication and advanced materials production.

On the circular economy, Prof. Ike-Muonso identified electronic waste recovery, scrap metal recycling, plastic waste processing, agro-waste valorisation and battery recycling as emerging industrial opportunities.

He explained that transforming waste into productive industrial feedstock would not only reduce environmental pollution but also create new manufacturing industries, generate employment and reduce the importation of valuable industrial materials.

He noted that to address the structural challenges confronting raw material-based industrialisation, the DG highlighted the strategic interventions of the RMRDC, particularly the proposed 30% Value Addition Bill and the Nigeria Integrated Information Statistical System for Raw Materials and Products (NISSRAMP).

He described the 30% Value Addition Bill as an important policy instrument designed to encourage domestic processing of raw materials before export, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and guarantee access to essential raw materials for Nigerian industries, and NISSRAMP as a critical data infrastructure that would improve access to verified information on the availability, location and quality of raw materials.

According to him, the combination of appropriate policy instruments and reliable resource data would help de-risk investments, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He emphasised the importance of collaboration among government, academia and industry in developing bankable projects, sharing investment risks and accelerating the establishment of processing and manufacturing facilities.

Professor Ike-Muonso called on Nigerians in the diaspora and other local and international investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in Nigeria’s raw material sector.

He identified industrial processing parks, mineral beneficiation and refining, agro-industrial platforms, circular-material processing, industrial input manufacturing and enabling infrastructure as viable investment platforms.

He noted that diaspora investors could contribute beyond financial capital by bringing technology, international business networks, governance standards, technical expertise and access to global markets.

He maintained that Nigeria’s industrial transformation requires coordinated investment across the entire value chain, from raw material sourcing and aggregation to processing, manufacturing, certification and export development.

Professor Ike-Muonso stressed that the country’s industrial future would depend not merely on the volume of raw materials extracted but on the capacity to transform them into competitive products that meet domestic and international market requirements.

He maintained that developing local value chains would stimulate industrial growth, create employment opportunities, diversify exports, conserve foreign exchange and deepen Nigeria’s technological capabilities.

Through its strategic interventions, the RMRDC is positioning itself as a critical bridge between resource availability, investment opportunities and industrial competitiveness, with the ultimate objective of transforming Nigeria from a predominantly raw material exporting economy into a strong manufacturing and value-adding nation.

Ike-Muonso has demonstrated this since assumption of office as the Director General/ CEO RMRDC in the area of capacity building, improved working conditions, promotion of merit, and maintaining a conducive environment that rewards excellence, innovation and dedication. This is evident in his institution of RMRDC training school, reward for winners of the RMRDC innovation challenge among others.

His commitment has brought recognition both nationally and internationally: Al-Jazirah double honour awards as Public Servant /Government Agency of the year 2024-2025 and the recent election as the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Representative on the Board of the World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisations (WAITRO) is a attestation to his commitment.

Concluding the lecture, the DG charged staff, researchers, manufacturers and investors to see themselves as nation builders in the new era of raw materials-led industrialization.

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