As Umahi Assumes Office…

Barring any unforeseen circumstance, Senator David Nweze Umahi will resume today as the Minister of Works of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Ebonyi state born civil engineer will no doubt be assuming office with a lot of goodwill nay positive expectations from a cross section of Nigerians who knows or have taken time to read about him. He is a practical engineer who goes for tangible and empirical results. He is a man whose penchant for hard work and hands-on supervision are legendary. He could start his day by 7am inspecting projects and keep a steady pace till midnight. Its often those working with him that get tired, not him.

Every detail of a project’s engineering design are always engraved in his mind, including the minutest details. No artisan can cut corners with Umahi just as distance or the magnitude of a project will not deter him from having a firm grip on it. In him, intelligence meets brilliance where the drive for excellence is the denominator.

True, Umahi’s Ebonyi odyssey is achievement laden, especially in terms of infrastructure but it came with a price. Workers must be ready to work, contractors must execute their jobs to the letter, suppliers must come clean with their terms of engagement, in a nutshell, every part of the equation must balance. Umahi has zero tolerance for lousiness or laziness, he is always on the move and expects anyone working with him to act in like manner. That is why all of his personal staff now has one engineering skill or the other, you must flow with him or drop off.

Umahi’s passion for excellence does not recognize protocol. If a bridge needs to be fixed, it will be fixed whether it’s a Friday or Sunday, whether he is wearing a suit or agbada, in any case, you are most likely to find the minister in jean, shirt, cap and trainers. He engages at any time engagement calls. He will squat if that is what is needed at that point or go on his knees if the situation demands.

With the new minister of works, inflated contracts are over. He is prudent, and has zero tolerance for corruption. You must do the right thing or end up on the wrong side of law enforcement officers. He believes in solving problems to end it not to ameliorate it. For instance, he believes channels should be built to contain floods instead of distributing relief materials to victims every year. He looks for solutions of problems well beyond a limited scope, he rather aims at the extinction of the problem.

That is David Umahi for you. Large-hearted, generous, completely detribalized, Umahi will traverse every construction site in the country. He is unlikely to depend on delegation of supervision roles, he will try to instill standards in all he does. The country will be the beneficiary of his uncanny undertakings in the works ministry.

Umahi does not believe in abandoning projects. Timelines must not only be adhered to, but a conscious effort to surpass it must be aptly demonstrated. He does not believe in paucity of funds for projects but tries to make the projects drive the process of funding itself. He is a great manager of men and materials. He is a maestro of managing meagre resources to achieve superlative results.