By DAN NWOMEH
I have taken time to peruse the avalanche of comments that have trailed the Enugu Government and Sujimoto saga. They range from those who genuinely mean well, to those who think they have finally found the soft underbelly of Governor Peter Mbah’s administration to viciously attack, sometimes for unrelated grudges, to the habitual armchair critics who neither understand nor care to understand the concept of the Smart Green School, nor even what it even looks like. I noticed some private school entrepreneurs and their beneficiaries who are threatened by the very idea of tuition-free, free-uniforms, free-learning-materials, and free-meals-per-day Smart Schools. There are also those who persist in asking why the government should construct new schools rather than renovate the existing dilapidated ones, most of them relics of the colonial era, eyesores that stand shamefully beside magnificent churches in many of our villages.
But let us pause and ask: Who among these outspoken critics would renovate a crumbling family house left by their grandfather when they have the resources and desire to build a new home designed for modern living? Who among them would patch up cracked walls, replace leaking roofs and broken windows, instead of constructing a brand new house with electricity, ensuite rooms, screeded walls and tiled floors, POP ceilings, conduit wiring and plumbing, solar lights, internet connectivity, smart security doors, and CCTV camera surveillance? Who does that? If no one in their right senses does that for their family, why do we want such treatment visited on our children, especially those who cannot afford expensive private schools? Why should we condemn them to learning in depressing classrooms that belong to the past, while their age mates elsewhere enjoy environments tailored for today’s realities and tomorrow’s opportunities? And would those who advocate for renovation alone send their own children to those schools? If not, what does that say of their wish for other people’s children, so long as nobody asks them to pay taxes?
The Smart Schools initiative is not about erecting just another set of classrooms; it is about redefining the very idea of education in Enugu State. The brick and mortar, 260 expansive pentagon-shaped buildings across all wards, are only the beginning. Within those walls lie the foundations of an entirely new model of learning, a complete shift from rote memorisation to experiential, hands-on education. A space where tech and innovation are embedded into daily learning – coding and robotics, digital labs and libraries, innovation hubs, and multimedia studios. These schools are designed to prepare our children not only to pass exams, but to create tools, solve problems, and compete with their peers across the world. The children of Enugu deserve better. For too long they have been cheated, their today and tomorrow denied and mortgaged, forced to endure outdated structures and outmoded methods, while their counterparts in organised societies moved ahead.
Governor Mbah has left no one in doubt as to the depth of his commitment. He has said repeatedly that his dream is for his grandchildren, if not his children, to be educated in the Smart Schools right here in Enugu. He is not allocating 33% of the state budget to education, back-to-back in two years, if he did not consider this the most consequential paradigm shift in the life of our state. Investment and spending are always a statement of priority, and in Mbah’s case, he is literally putting our money where our mouths are.
It is therefore astonishing that some would question the integrity of the governor, who has shown uncommon transparency in this entire matter. When questions arose over Sujimoto, owned by Olasijibomi Ogundele, it was the governor himself who invited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, opened the books, and placed every transaction on the table for scrutiny. Who does that if he has anything to hide? Which leader engaged in shady deals has so openly embraced accountability, welcoming investigators to track the financial trails? If anything, this is the clearest sign that the governor has nothing to conceal, only a determination to deliver a bold vision for our children.
Some have even raised the disappointing argument of why 22 Smart Schools were awarded to a Yoruba contractor in the first place. But this is petty tribalism at its worst, however it is dressed. Let’s face it: should an Enugu boy who conquered the downstream oil sector in Lekki, Lagos, thanks to the accommodation and support he enjoyed there, end his story by erecting walls of ethnic suspicion at home? Do Igbo contractors not get contracts in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and elsewhere? Why then should 22 schools out of 260, a mere 8.4 percent, be turned into an ethnic slur? What matters is whether the job is delivered, not where the contractor comes from. A Yoruba contractor may have failed Ndi Enugu, but his failure lies squarely with him.
Sujimoto tried to rationalise his failure by citing price increases. Yet other contractors delivered the same Smart Schools within the same cost framework. He also argued that N523 million per school (buildings only, it must be added) was insufficient, but that claim only further demolishes the falsehoods of government critics. If indeed the amount was not enough, then it proves there was no contract padding, and no excess slush funds to siphon. This is a case of a contractor defaulting on a contractual agreement, not of a government conniving in fraud.
Our people love to speak of Lee Kwan Yew of Singapore, the man who transformed a small island into a global economic powerhouse.
Yet very few care to understand the painful side of reforms, the sacrifices the people endured for the tomorrow they now enjoy. Smart Schools are that kind of reform. They may disrupt the old order, they may demand more investment and patience, but they are the road to a future where Enugu’s children are no longer left behind. Greatness is never built on convenience; it is built on vision, sacrifice, and perseverance.
The Smart Schools are far too advanced to be derailed. Beyond the hoopla, the construction and equipping of these schools are ongoing across the state, with many already completed and equipped. The vision is undimmed and the pace undeterred, whatever the minor challenges. The governor remains focused on giving our children a new learning experience, one that rivals the best private schools and outclasses anything public education in this state has ever known. It is not about optics; it is about outcomes. It is about ensuring that the child in my village of Ozalla, or in Umuida, or Nkwe, has the same chance at a 21st-century education as the child in advanced societies.
In the end, the voices of destructive criticisms and sponsored attacks will fade. Those attacking the government today will tomorrow return to praise it because results will speak louder than rhetoric. When the Smart Schools open their doors, when children in uniform sit behind computers, design robots, create gadgets, act on modern stages, learn in well-lit classrooms cooled by solar power, use digital boards and android tablets with internet access, and are inspired by teachers trained in modern pedagogy, the truth will be undeniable that Enugu State has raised a new standard in public education and produced new generations of tech-savvy children equipped to take on the world.
Again and again, Governor Mbah will not be deterred by detractors. He is not in the business of appeasing cynics or seeking public applause or cheap popularity. He is in the business of preparing our children for a tomorrow that is already here.
•Nwomeh, a public affairs commentator, wrote from Enugu
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