By Agba Jalingo
Since the unveiling of the Senator John Owan Enoh-JOE MSME Support Program by the Minister of State for Industries in Calabar, the Cross River State capital in August, there are some persons in the State who have been having sleepless nights and gasping for their breathe in utter disbelief.
It appears to me that the sheer sum of the grant (N500million), is mesmerizing the faculties of these persons who would truly wish the funds were expended on other routine frivolities which have not had any meaningful impact on the fortunes of struggling people in our State. The thought of having such huge funds funneled to the ordinary people in our State to grow their small businesses, by bypassing the regular corrupt channels who will embezzle all but little, is unimaginable in some quarters and the only response is to spew half truths in a bid to discredit a move that has no precedent in the State.
I don’t know who Chief Enu C.O. is, but the person described himself as a ‘concerned citizen of Cross River State’, in an article he wrote to attempt to throw mud at the Owan Enoh MSME Support Grant. I have tasked myself with responding to him because I am leading the charge in screening and dispensing the grant to prospective beneficiaries.
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1. Chief Enu C.O. in his article questioned: Is this initiative truly a federal government program, or is it a personalized project branded for political visibility? Does it align with Nigeria’s national MSME policies, or is it a selective empowerment drive meant to project one man’s image?
I want to State clearly that, to the best of my knowledge, the grant is not a Federal Government program as some persons including Chief Enu, have been trying hard to misconstrue. It is the personal initiative of the Minister to support small businesses in our State with a view to creating an alternative economy. It is a marked departure from the regular ‘copy and paste’ political empowerments that haven’t yielded desired results vis-a-vis, changing the fortunes of our people.
I also thought that Chief Enu will tell his readers what is Nigeria’s national MSME policies before asking whether this intervention aligns with the policies or rather point out which of the policies the intervention contravenes. But it is typical with people who spew half truths to ask vague rhetorical questions to create doubts and confusion in the minds of their uninformed readers.
And to lace his question with the contemplation that it is a ‘selective empowerment’ to project one man’s image is the worst form of perfidy emanating from a pained heart that is clearly on a vested political errand. This intervention opened its doors for two weeks, to all Cross Riverians living in and out of the State and even non-Cross Riverians who live in Cross River State, to apply. Forms were also dispatched to rural areas in all the 18 LGAs of our State for the informal sector to apply for the grant. How do you describe that as selective if not that you are pained and deliberately trying to lie?
And why won’t a person’s image not be projected if he is doing good? When did projecting one’s image by doing good become a crime, Chief Enu? It is a natural consequence of doing good for one’s image to be projected. It is only those who try to discredit the good that others do, that have their images tainted. Those who do good will always have their image projected because of the good they do and by the beneficiaries of the good they do.
2. Chief Enu also tried to mislead his readers by throwing another half truth into the mix. ‘Nigeria’s code of conduct for public office holders is unambiguous: no minister or elected officer should use state resources, platforms, or apparatus for personal glorification.”
Oh really? So supporting your people with grants to build their small businesses is personal glorification? What dictionary is Chief Enu using? The Chief must really be in severe pains because 1000 beneficiaries have a chance to escape poverty and employ labor in our State. And if that is the new definition of personal glorification, then we should all begin to glorify ourselves in like manner beginning from Chief Enu. And by the way, this is not the first time the Minister is doing this. There are records of him doing this throughout his political career and I remember attending one of his programs in Ikom LGA, while he was representing Cross River Central as Senator, where N100million was given out to constituents as education intervention fund. I don’t know where Chief Enu was then, or maybe he wasn’t a Chief yet and couldn’t comment.
3. The Chief also attempted to throw a jab at the media. “Equally concerning is the role of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River State Chapter, in amplifying the program without raising tough questions. The media is supposed to be the watchdog of democracy, holding leaders accountable, interrogating the source of funds, and demanding transparency in implementation.”
Someone should tell Chief Enu that, it is a dangerous thing to say things you do not know. Everyone who was at the unveiling like I was, will attest to the fact that there was a question and answer session after the unveiling. The venue was packed full with press men and women and they were given ample time to ask all manner of questions that received adequate answers and clarifications. Maybe because the journalists were not on a political errand like you, their questions weren’t as tough as you would want. And talking about interrogating the source of funds, it is not too late, you can approach the EFCC to help out with that. And for transparency of the process, wait till we are done and you will see that no other process has been more transparent.
4. In another paragraph, Chief Enu also quipped: “Nigeria already has multiple institutional frameworks designed to support MSMEs: the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Bank of Industry (BoI), and the Central Bank’s intervention funds. The key problem has always been poor implementation, weak monitoring, and lack of access for ordinary citizens. If Owan Enoh’s ₦500 million grant is not anchored within these existing structures, then its impact will be temporary and uneven.”
This intervention, I repeat, is not a Nigeria program. It is not a Federal government program. It is a personal initiative of the Minister and does not fall into the crocodile concern of the Chief. Chief Enu himself alluded to poor implementation, weak monitoring and lack of access to ordinary citizens as factors that have been key problems in MSME dispensation. This personal initiative is actually fashioned to mitigate those factors and create direct access for ordinary people with a very robust monitoring program that has been designed, devoid of the usual bureaucracy and red-tapism.
It should also be made clear that, this personal intervention has not stopped nor detracted from the roles or responsibilities of statutory bodies ladened with the management of MSME support programs in Nigeria or Cross River State. Rather, it is being done under the guidance and active watch of these organs as was evident in the presence of some of their heads in the unveiling of the program in Calabar.
Out of the three interventionist agencies mentioned by Chief Enu, namely, SMEDAN, BOI and CBN, the first two are incidentally under the Minister’s mandate as Minister in charge of Industries and initiating this intervention hasn’t stopped him from pushing those agencies to continue executing programs to the benefit of all Nigerians, including Cross Riverians.This program doesn’t replace their responsibility. In fact, the Minister has travelled to Cross River State more than once in company of heads of these agencies pushing for this, especially under the President’s N200billion intervention for Manufacturers/MSMEs and NANO businesses.
Those who are struggling in vain to blur the benefits of this commendable initiative are actually the problem that needs to be solved and Cross Riverians should be mindful of their antics. If politics is to be played, it should be played to the benefit of the people like this program portends and not otherwise. Senator John Owan Enoh has made history by taking a bold step to support small businesses in our State with half a billion Naira, something that does not have a precedent, what he deserves is accolades and emulation.
