The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, has decorated the governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, as a Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) champion, describing his leadership as the model that Nigeria, the UN, and Africa need.
Fall said Africa was tired of wars and other depressing stories, hence the need to celebrate and support leadership models anywhere on the continent that show the vision, drive, discipline, rigorous planning, and improved efficiency to change the narratives and inspire hope.
The UN chief, who was on a working visit to the Government House, Enugu, on Friday, where he met with the state’s Executive Council and had an interactive session with the media, acknowledged the difficulty faced by the international communities in meeting up with their commitments to the people, regretted that with only six years left to attain the SDGs by 2030, many nations, including Nigeria, still struggle with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“We are fed up with having states that keep having problems in conflicts and fighting. That is why every success recorded here (in Enugu) will come to change the narrative about Nigeria and Africa, and we will all be proud of it.
“That is why this (Mbah’s) leadership galvanised me. I have found exactly what we need in the African Continent and in the United Nations,” he said.
He further expressed happiness that several of the present set of state governors gives cause for hope and should be supported.
The UN chief commended in particular Governor Mbah’s strides in education, healthcare, water and other critical sectors, noting the governor’s ability to block leakages and waste to improve efficiency in a very short time. Fall explained that Nigeria remained an important example for the rest of Africa, hence the need to support any good example emanating from the country.
Meanwhile, Mbah, while appreciating the UN chief for the honour and visit, reiterated his administration’s commitment to better the lives of the people of the state through the SDGs and disruptive thinking.
“In the buildup to the election, we took the view of Enugu State that we have to work towards in order to join the rest of the world in being measured by the SDGs. If you look at the manifesto, a lot of the promises were inspired and influenced by the SDGs.
“We knew that if we go by the operating method practised over the years, we won’t be able to meet up. We felt that we needed to innovatively disrupt the status quo by doing things differently. And this is just the beginning, as we are poised to do more,” he said.
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