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TEXT OF A SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT OLUSEGUN OBASANJO AT A STATE BANQUET ORGANIZED IN HIS HONOUR BY THE GOVERNMENT OF ENUGU STATE AT THE BANQUET HALL, GOVERNOR'S LODGE, ENUGU; FEBRUARY 7, 2005.
 

PROTOCOL:

The Enugu Water project started when I visited here in the year 2000. I was constantly asking the Minister about the progress of work on the project, because I wanted to see that the project was in progress. This visit was meant to be a day journey. I was to come in the morning and leave in the afternoon, now we have taken two days and one night. All things work for good, as they say. I don't want to go too much into the scripture because my lords spiritual are here and I don't want to compete with them.

When I was invited to Zambia to open a Conference, the invitation coincided with your idea to receive me and my delegation. By this development, my Chief of Staff became worried and said to me, how will I pass it on to the Governor of Enugu when I know how much preparation he had made? I said, tell the governor that instead of having me for one day, he will have me for two days and one night! May be he will have too much of me and maybe he would send me packing!

But Governor, on a very serious note, let me just say one thing or two and then we will go out and relax as you have requested. I was very impressed with what I saw today because I know how down you are on the scale of revenue allocation among States and I saw how you are performing, in spite of the level of the amount of money that is made available to you by the constitution and the revenue allocation formula, compared with other States whose population is not bigger than yours and who got, some, two times, some, more than two times, what you get. I know what they are not doing, I'm not saying what they are doing, what they are not doing, because they are not doing much. I know better because I go round and I can assess them.

I just want to commend your efforts once again for what you have done so it goes that not how much, but how well. I can definitely say that you are one of the performing Governors. I'm saying this for the people of Enugu to understand and I am sure they must also appreciate what you are doing. I am saying it so that others that are not performing will also learn to perform because it means that it can be done if you are doing it with the resources you have.

I believe that others who have more resources can do just as well as you are doing. The second thing I want to remark is comparative peace that has descended on Enugu. I was asking you how you did it; you said it was done by God. Then I said well, since you and I are worshipping the same God, when you pray to your God in the morning for His blessings, don't forget to ask that God should give me mercy so that the amount of peace that descended on Enugu should descend on all parts of Nigeria. I want to underline that this can be done. Our people are not really impossible to administer. They want you to give them evidence that you are genuine, that you are performing, that you are honest with them and that you are not taking them for a ride. Others among your colleagues can learn, because since you are truthful to the people as government and as a governor, then we at the federal level can. Since you are the Chief Security Officer of your State, if things go wrong, in terms of peace and security, the lion share of the responsibility will be taken by you and if things go right too, the lion share of the responsibility and commendation must be given to you. I am giving you the lion share of commendation. Of course, I'm happy to share this commendation with you the same way that if it goes wrong, I will still share with you but don't let it go wrong. I don't want to share that one.

I want also to thank your DFID partners. When I asked you how you were able to get so much from them you said that it is 60/40. You didn't want to let me know, but I have now known the secret. I know for a long time that there is a certain amount of goodwill there, from the international community, our friends and partners and the donors. If only we can prove that we are serious, that we mean business, and that whatever resources we have will be prudently and judiciously utilized, they will be willing to continue to assist and in a way that their assistance will act as a catalyst for us to move forward. I want to take this opportunity once again to thank the DFID through you. Please, let the Minister, Hillary Ben, know that we appreciate what you are doing in our midst. Through the Minister, let the Prime Minister Tony Blair know that we appreciate what you are doing in our midst.

Now, I want to thank the leaders of communities in this State, leaders of thoughts and to urge you to continue to join hands with the Governor for the good of the State, for peace and harmony in the State, for the development of the State and for the progress of the State. What I saw in Enugu today; the way things are developing, I said to the Governor, Enugu State and particularly Enugu City will soon be the envy of most other States who will want to come and see how it has been done in Enugu, because these infrastructures, the changes you are making on the landscape of Enugu, are bound to attract a lot of activities to Enugu, activities that will have multiplier effects in terms of job and employment generation, poverty eradication and development.

Once again, I want to say, like you have said, that for all that you are doing with members of your government and the people of Enugu State, all the assistance you are getting from our partners and friends like DFID and others, the progress you are making, TO GOD BE THE GLORY.