We have raised our hopes and our cities high
We have followed fragile dreams
But only One could take the measure of our goals
And we’ve stumbled over the trials of life
And we’ve wrestled the unseen
But only One can calm the storm inside our souls
In the hands of God we will fall
Rest for the restless, and the weary
Hope for the sinner
In the hands of God we stand tall
Hands that are mighty to deliver
Giving us freedom
When our strength gave way to the weight of guilt
’Til we strained for every breath
Only One could lift our shame and make us well
And when all is finished and we face
The fearsome power of death
Only One has overcome the gates of hell
You’re amazing
You’re amazing, You are
And we praise You, Lord
For what Your hands have done

– In The Hands Of God – The Newboys

After being declared winner of the Governorship election in Enugu State, Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi must have had his thoughts filled with great amazement, fear or apprehension over the enormity of the task at hand. He probably had asked God if He actually meant him or someone else. He also probably had reasons to ask God if he wasn’t making a mistake by electing him for the leadership of Enugu State. God must have answered him in the affirmative: “I have chosen you”; yet he felt it would be beyond him to do alone. He needed God to go with him! “The truth is, we all fall short of the glory of God, and we walk humbly by his grace, for God does not call those who feel equipped, he equips those He calls.” Everything God does is according to the “gratuity of God”. What did the young man, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, do after all? He put it all in God’s hands! He was to publicly declare this on the day of his inauguration as Governor, Enugu State, May 29, 2015. Not many people at the Okpara Square, including my honorable self, could feel the import of the speech made by His Excellency at that moment. It seemed just a slogan or pay-off line for one great communication campaign. However, neither his eloquence nor the applause could dim the import of the declaration that he was handing Enugu State over to God.

Governor Ugwuanyi knew, from the beginning of his reign as Governor that “the pieces of fish available to him” would not be enough to meet the expectations and yearnings of the people of Enugu State. However, he didn’t want to dissipate energies seeking solutions where none existed. He simply handed it over to God and left the rest up to God. When the Federal Allocation to states is not sufficient to impact on the lives of the people, Governor Ugwuanyi placed it all in God’s hands and earnestly worked in the direction set by God to get results. The former Senate President and Chairman of the Constitution and Electoral Reform Committee, Senator Ken Nnamani, echoes this when he said that “Enugu State is lucky to now have a governor who has respect for everybody irrespective of political differences and has equally transformed the state with the meager resources at his disposal occasioned by the prevailing economic crunch in the country”.

Ultimately, the story of Five loaves and two fish illustrate for us the miracles that happen when place our lives in the hands of God. This applies to all aspects of our lives as well as in leadership. God wants us to place our gifts, resources, energies and talent in His hands; not forgetting our challenges and pains. “Many times we cling to our challenges, grief; we cling to our bitterness and we cling to our anger in such a way that we cripple ourselves.” By placing Enugu State in the hands of God, Governor Ugwuanyi has not only sowed for bountiful harvests but have also handed all our troubles, those things eating away at our souls, robbing us of the joy in our lives….

When the Fulani Herdsmen attacked Nimbo in Enugu State, stories made rounds of a Governor that would rather shed tears and call for prayers than call for reprisal attacks on everything and everyone Fulani. Governor Ugwuanyi, ended up offering a way out of chaos and war. While still working to strengthen security, peaceful co-existence in the state, he handed the state over to God, the All-powerful God. David Washburn in his beautiful piece, “In The Hands of God” captures the beauty of handing it over to God:

When I hold a basketball in my hands, it’s merely a basketball, but when you place that same basketball in the hands of Michael Jordan, it turns into collegiate and professional championships. Put a golf club in any of our hands, and it’s merely a golf club, but when you place that same golf club in the hands of Tiger Woods, it turns him into the best golfer in the world. A paintbrush in my hands might result in a pretty good picture if it’s paint by numbers, but when a paintbrush was placed in the hands of Renoir, it turned into incredible works of art. A gun placed in the hands of a hunter is a tool used for sport or obtaining food, but when placed in the hands of a terrorist, that same gun becomes a weapon of destruction. How is it that the same instruments and the same tools can bring about such differing degrees of results? Quite simply, it depends upon who is holding them and how they’re being used.”

It is very true that Governor Ugwuanyi has excelled, performed creditably well in less than two years in office. He has maintained unwavering focus and determination to get it right, ensured equity and justice in his developmental projects, ensured character, integrity, all-inclusiveness, accountability, transparency and prudent management of the state’s lean resources. The Governor is not, and should not be unmindful of those (within and without) who come at night to sow weeds amidst the seeds. Enugu State is blessed and is in the hands of God…indeed!

•Ike Ezugwu is a Lagos-based Advertising Practitioner and public affairs commentator. He is from Enugu State, Nigeria.

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