By Reuben Onyishi
(Ugoachataberu)

Watching the young and smart Enugu governor participate in the first Enugu City International Marathon that attracted elite runners from all over Africa, running the 10- kilometres Marathon road race in 45 minutes, gives one a sense of his youth, fitness and mental disposition. And Mbah is 52 and still as fit as a fiddle. He has the physical and mental agility to run the race, as it points to the wealth of his mental ability, which, of course, is the reason for the preponderance of ideas to which he is disposed with ease and perspicuity.

There is no man who can think and thinks what Mbah does who does not have mental alertness, which, of course, is honed by his physical abilities. The fact is that the Enugu governor has a sharp thought process to be able to access a large retinue of ideas at the speed of lightening, which he brings to bear on the governance of Enugu State. Tell me how to churn out ideas translated to disruptive innovations and projects, and I shall tell you of a man who is physically fit.

But beyond the recreational values and physical fitness the Marathon affords is the strategic objective of making Enugu the first choice of investment and tourism destination. And when this happens, the mills that grind the economy of the state grind so fast as they are oiled.What Mbah does with the race is in the hope of attracting three million visitors in the state every year and you and I know the implication. It is a mathematical calculation of bringing onboard three million visitors in Enugu in one felt swoop.Three million visitors on Enugu are a whole lot of economic activities. The hospitality and tourism industry would boom; eatries would thrive, businesses would boom, and the trickle-down effects on small businesses are incalculable.

Mbah is strategically doing with sports the unheard-of thing. It is not just for the purpose of recreation. Sport is business and a good one at that. It takes extraordinary intelligence to lift the veil this way and count the economic benefits of the Marathon, such as Mbah has wrought. This is how to push the economy to that humongous level of &30 billion GDP. It is no rocket science as it is the intelligence to see beyond the ordinary. It is complex-seeing, the ability to see more sides of the issue than any other person of your own experience. It is what is called thinking. Mbah thinks, even beyond the reach of the ordinary. That is what it is.

Someone did ask the question as to what was it about Marathon that too many noises were being made about it. And I simply pointed to him the fact that he has eyes and does not see with them. Many are blind though they have eyes. It takes a complex-seeing capacity to understand what the Enugu Governor is doing. I am sure that he can now see the power of sports; that sports is good business.

Leveraging the power of sports, the Mbah Administration would breed talents, get dreams birthed, goals achieved, and talents blossom. The opportunity is created in the sporting area for the Enugu youths to thrive as they now have vistas of opportunities to grow their talents and have their dreams realized. The reward mechanism in the Marathon is in itself a beit that would lure the youths into participation, especially now that it is going International as next year’s would be the attraction of elite runners from all over the world. Enugu will be the cynosure of all eyes even as the world watches.

Enugu is exceptionally lucky to have Mbah as its governor. He is highly cerebral. Mbah can sell ice to Eskimos. He has the third eye and sees where others are absolutely blind. He has showcased the power of sports as a business even beyond physical fitness and recreational activity.