Gburugburu a humanitarian indeed!

*Gburugburu: A Humanitarian Indeed!*

By Clifford Okinyi

Ever seen a humanitarian? There is one being flaunted by the image makers of disgraced former governor of Enugu State Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi. According to the propagandists, he exemplified "compassionate leadership" following the "ongoing success" of the "Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi Gburugburu Free Surgery Programme" in Enugu.

Few people heard about the supposed "free surgery" programme until the "success stories" hit the media. Three of four patients that benefited from the humanitarian gesture came from towns totally neglected by Ugwuanyi during his eight-year reign: Enugu-Ezike, Edem and Lejja. The town of the fourth patient, Blessing Ugwuanyi, is not stated, apparently because she shares a surname with the former PDP senatorial candidate from Orba. Perhaps he will win the votes of the four patients in 2027, but the hatred for him in Edem, Lejja or Etteh of Enugu-Ezike will not abate anytime soon.

Even if the story of "free surgery" is true, it doesn't qualify Ugwuanyi as a humanitarian. His nrashi programme while he was governor was even more appealing: cash piled up in a large room in Government House, from floor to ceiling, was regularly doled out to "solidarity" visitors!

After losing a senatorial election while he was a governor and after failing to clinch a ministerial appointment in the Bola Tinubu-led federal government, Ugwuanyi (widely known as "Gburugburu") is now being propped up by paid spin doctors, most of them from the Nsukka area. I've gathered that the image makers, including journalists, have billions of naira to play with. Their brief is to cleanse Ugwuanyi of his bad image and prepare him for another senatorial election in 2027.

The task has been herculean. How would they launder the image of a man who lost his polling booth five times at last year's polls? The winner of the senatorial election, Labour Party's Barrister Okey Ezea, beat Gburugburu with over 54,000 votes, an unprecedented margin. The sitting governor lost, not due to the "bandwagon" effect of the OBIdient movement, as his sidekicks preach, but because of his poor performance in office. He lost because an overwhelming number of Nsukka voters ensured that their votes counted this time; in the previous election seasons, election results were compiled in advance of polling day.

Presenting Ugwuanyi as a humanitarian will inevitably do greater damage to his image. Why? The people know better. "What a scam!" shouted a diasporan Nsukka man on reading the story online. "Publish the educational/professional certificates of the purported 'professionals' behind this scam. At least, let's show some degree of self-respect, please." He's right. The story teller doesn't state where (the hospital) the free surgeries were performed or the name(s) of the doctor(s).

Many private individuals and politicians from Nsukka zone have offered or paid for treatments of the underprivileged in Nsukka without making a noise. Suddenly, a man who failed to improve hospitals or train doctors as governor has become "a beacon of hope". If there will be happier and healthier people in Enugu North senatorial district, Gburugburu will not share in the credit. No, not after his monumental failure as a member of the House of Representatives for 12years and as governor for eight years.

Perhaps he is still gunning for a ministerial position. Tinubu has indicated he will reshuffle his cabinet soon. Likely, the minister of humanitarian affairs will be changed, since suspended minister Betta Edu and the ministry are being probed. It will be interesting to have Gburugburu as humanitarian affairs minister!

* _Okinyi writes from Edem in Nsukka LGA_ .