Dear Father,<\/p>\n
I bring you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
However, I write in respect to your public outburst against Governor
\nIfeanyi Ugwuanyi over the collective decision by the State Executive
\nCouncil to restore the original masterplan of Enugu Capital City.<\/p>\n
You will agree with me that Enugu State used to be in the league of 100
\nResilient Cities Network, a programme of the Rockefeller Foundation
\nbased in New York City, United States.<\/p>\n
What that status means for the state is that, it qualifies it for many
\nbenefits like funding, international assistance in engineering urban
\nresilience which focuses on infrastructural developments of the state
\namong many other things\u00a0 from the foundation.<\/p>\n
But because of the existence of some illegal structures in the capital
\ncity which were in total disregard to the state’s master plan, the state
\nlost that status which the foundation attributed to ‘Inaction.’<\/p>\n
The economic and infrastructural cost of that lost was much on the state
\nbecause it had lost a stable funding source for the expansive
\ndevelopmental needs of the city.<\/p>\n
Now, raising tax to generate additional revenue source for the
\ndevelopment of the state was never contemplated because of the pains it
\nwould have inflicted on the masses.<\/p>\n
The governor, being a friend of the poor decided to embark on massive
\nrural developments with the aim of opening-up rural access and economy
\nso that some of the residents of the city whose services and skills are
\nno longer marketable in the capital city can now move to those areas to
\ncontribute to the economic growth and development of the area.<\/p>\n
You will also agree with me that Enugu is not an oil producing state
\nthat has additional 13 percent derivation formula needed for
\ninfrastructural development, so there is the need for the state to
\nharness the tourism potentials of the state since it is a first choice
\ndestination for tourists and holiday makers.<\/p>\n
In this regard, it has become very necessary to make the city serene,
\nhospitable and eco-friendly so that it will not only be playing host to
\ndomestic tourists but also to foreign tourists who will now be making
\nactive use of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport currently undergoing
\nupgradement.<\/p>\n
The vision is to leverage on the state’s comparative advantage so as to
\nincrease it’s internally generated revenue profile without putting the
\ntax burden on the poor masses of the state.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, just recently, the global community celebrated World Cities
\nDay on October 31st this year. World Cities Day is a day designated by
\nthe United Nations General Assembly by it’s resolution 68\/239 to promote
\nthe international community’s interest\u00a0 in addressing the challenges of
\nurbanization as well as contributing to sustainable urban developments
\naround the world.<\/p>\n
Because there is a general consensus that urbanization poses
\nsustainability challenges like housing problems, environmental
\nchallenges, climate change, infrastructural, health, education, descent
\njobs, basic services and food security challenges, there is this
\nunderstanding that sustainable development of urban areas should now be
\ntailored to how cities are planned, designed, financed, developed,
\nmanaged and governed by relevant authorities.<\/p>\n
This is because, cities are now the drivers and incubators of
\ninnovation, industry, technology, entrepreneurship and creativity for
\ncreating prosperity and social developments for the people.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the move to restore the masterplan of Enugu Capital City is a
\npainful but necessary sacrifice which must be made for the sustainable
\ndevelopment of the city.<\/p>\n
It is also in line with the demands of the United Nations Sustainable
\nDevelopment Goal 11 (SDG11) which talks about Sustainable Cities and
\nCommunities.<\/p>\n
Dear Father, I believe the decision by the state government to restore
\nthe lost masterplan of the capital city should be commended instead of
\ncondemnation!<\/p>\n
This is because, development cannot come without some level of pains. Or
\nshould we because a drug is bitter refuse to administer it to a sick
\npatient? Certainly, refusing to do that will definitely lead to the
\nuntimely death of the patient which is not what we pray for in our
\nstate.<\/p>\n
Finally, I will advise that you give a second thought to your hard-line
\nposition on the restoration of the state’s masterplan because if Enugu
\nState fails, it is not Gburugburu that failed but all the sons and
\ndaughters of Enugu State. In the end, posterity will not be kind to us.<\/p>\n
THANK YOU AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY BLESS YOU AS YOU CARRY OUT YOUR
\n'GREAT COMMISSION.'<\/p>\n
YOUR'S SON IN THE LORD,
\nMR. BROWN JUSTICE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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