By John Agbo
Governance, most times, is like an art. In all the fields of art, the artist hardly knows which of his creations will make the greatest impact among the rest. He is often in the dark on whether his work will be applauded by the target audience or not.
Take for instance, a writer has no clue of ascertaining if a particular write-up of his will trend or not. On many occasions, he writes with a great passion, commitment, and intelligence, anticipating that his readers will enjoy his work in quantum.
But no matter the depth of knowledge, style, and even his expectations from a particular work, he cannot tell for certain that his work will be a success when published. At times the anticipated success comes from the write-up least expected to trend.
A musician composing songs for recording has no way of knowing which particular song in the album will be a hit. Sometimes, he pays better commitment and attention to a particular song in the album with the hope that it will be the hit song.
But quite often, the song that will trend the album is usually the one that his mind never expected would.
A performing artist who climbs up the stage with the utmost aim that he will be the center of attention in a show may not meet his target in that particular show.
On many occasions he becomes the talk of the town among the audience on a day he made a lesser preparation, had no anticipation of success, and maybe on a show he almost cancelled or never wanted to be part of.
This pattern of unpredictability of success is familiar to anyone who is a writer, a musician, or a comedian, etc. In governance, the story is not different. It may be shocking to you if I tell you that no one who gets into a position of authority knows exactly all the policies, programs, projects, and agendas that will work out perfectly when implemented.
What many may not accept easily is the reality that, in governance, leaders some times learn on the job. This is partly because time and seasons differ, thereby buffering any comparative advantage previous experience may offer.
When the current government came on board in Enugu State, it did so with great zeal to succeed. And we must give kudos to Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah that the majority of his policies fit in properly with the yearnings of the Enugu People.
It is instructive and equally advantageous that we got a governor with a high threshold of policy successes with just a minimal number of areas of disapproval from the public. That minimal area included the tax policy.
But today, having heard the cries of the public against certain aspects of the taxation policy of the state government, the governor has decided to relieve the lower cadre of the society of the tax burden.
This is quite commendable. And a show of commitment to policy adjustment needed to address public concern. No matter the angle anyone views this from, Governor Mbah has, by so doing, appropriated to himself the tag of a compassionate governor who listens to the complaints of his people.
Recall that the governor had earlier in November 2025 ” _inaugurated a committee to comprehensively review state-controlled taxes, levies, and fees to enhance fairness and efficiency”._ A Thisday newspaper report at the time states that ” __the committee, which has been tasked with identifying multiple tax cases and reviewing existing tax laws, is mandated to deliver a report ensuring the tax system supports residents while optimizing revenue_ “.
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It is therefore important to state that, unlike what some opposition politicians want to portray in public regarding this recent development, Governor Mbah’s abolishment of taxation for the lower cadre of the society is far from being a cosmetic approach with a political undertone.
It is in fact, a product of a genuine intention to address the public concern against the state tax regime. And we must commend this positive gesture
