As residents of Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria, roll out the drums to celebrate 27 years since its creation by the late military junta of General Sani Abacha, the people and government are looking back at the journey, so far.
Though faced with strong challenges of human capital development and low GDP, the authorities believe a lot of progress has been made especially in physical infrastructure development.
Created on October 1, 1996 by the General Sani Abacha military administration, Ebonyi State in South East Nigeria is a combination of areas from the present Enugu and Abia States.
Apart from the initial military administrators, Ebonyi State has had three elected civilian governments and now on the fourth.
Successive civilian administrations have made marks in different sectors, beginning with the Sam Egwu tenure which highpoint was on free education; then came the Martin Elechi administration reputed for building over 30 unity bridges cross the State and the economic empowerment of citizens; before the immediate past regime of Dave Umahi, credited with massive road infrastructure development.
Now, the 125 days old administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru seem to be changing the narrative in human capital development and a rural/urban socio-economic infrastructure revolution.
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Already, the recruitment of health personnel, increments in worker’s salaries and a substantial investment in the Ebonyi State University, are clear pointers to the administration’s focus on the social welfare of the people.
Also, the initiative to empower 500 indigenes of Ebonyi State involved in street hawking across the country with 2 million Naira each, may have signalled a proactive approach to addressing the protracted human capital development challenges of the State.
However, locals are worried of the social consequences of the increasing numbers of out-of-school children, early girl-child marriages, and the rising levels of poverty especially in overlooked rural communities.
Benjamin Obaji and Happiness Agbom underscore the need for those in authorities to address the current societal problems in order to secure the future of the Ebonyi child.
Beyond the surface, the challenges in Ebonyi State reflect the deeper societal issues, which observers believe that for Ebonyi State to truly thrive, focus must shift from mere physical infrastructural development to genuine investment in the human capital sector.
(Editor: Nkoli Omhoudu)
