From Enugu Prisons, 53 Garlands for Ugwuanyi
Laurence Ani
The steel band performed a number of ballads and religious tunes to which the members sang and danced enthusiastically in the intense heat. It was an unusual sight in a prison's courtyard. Indeed, shorn of the traditional prisoners' garb the band members looked like just any other live band at a music circuit. For that fleeting moment, there was an air of freedom and even camaraderie between prisoners and warders.
An unusual sight it was but understandably so, for it was no typical day as inmates of the Enugu Maximum Prison prepped for the visit of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who had elected to spend his 53rd birthday at the facility.
It was the first such by a serving governor in the prison's history, a truly humbling act that left the warders and their charges swooning. "Isn't it remarkable? He could have celebrated his birthday at the classiest location. But he chose to spend it here," the master of ceremonies remarked to a resounding applause.
There were even more cheers as the governor rose and swayed as the lead singer, Sam, performed a couple of songs with a reggae twang. "We all have sinned and are pleading for one more chance.We're pleading with the world to give us one more chance," he sang, animating his fellow members, one of whom later shared the stage with him and rendered a rap reprise of his performance.
The performance by female inmates was no less compelling, particularly their "special number" for the governor which drew generous plaudits. But the male inmates were itching to return to the stage. And what a moment in the sun (literally and figuratively) it was for them as two energetic dancers with rippling and glistening muscles danced to the band's pulsating beats that drew dignitaries once more to their feet, offering a fitting prelude to the cutting of the birthday cake.
Amid the singing of the birthday song, a sculpted miniature lion was presented to Governor Ugwuanyi as a memento commemorating his birthday and visit on behalf of the prison's 1,918 inmates.
Besides the many gifts he presented on his birthday, staff and inmates of the prison have ample reasons to be grateful to the governor. Established on August 8, 1937, the Enugu Prison has had a storied history from the familiar problem of overcrowding to broken sewage system and attempted jailbreak. No one understands this better than Mrs. Ukwuori Ndukwe Kalu, the Enugu State Commands' Controller of Prisons. "Your choice of the prison yard to celebrate at this point in time is a manifestation of your humility and preparedness to serve the rich, the poor and downtrodden. I have been following with keen interest your assistance to the prison inmates since my arrival in the state," she said.
She goes on to cite examples of the governor's assistance to the command: prompt intervention during the Nsukka jailbreak in 2016; renovation and tiling of cells at Enugu Prison; ongoing construction of sewage system at Enugu Prison; granting of pardon to seven deserving inmates; release of funds for the procurement of drugs to prison inmates in Enugu State Command; and installation of industrial fans in the cells at Enugu Prison.
Although a federal government-owned institution the interventions by Ugwuanyi flows on regardless. But "like Oliver Twist" the controller believes the command could do with some more help. "Our prisons are never empty but increase on daily basis," she explained, noting that the growing sophistication of inmates requires certain proactive measures to checkmate ugly incidences like jailbreaks and riots in prisons.
There is also the outrageous fact that the Enugu Prison including those in Oji River and Nsukka sometimes convey awaiting trial inmates and even suspects with capital offences to courts across the state in personnel's cars. Just as unflattering was Mrs. Kalu's revelation that inmates at Nsukka Prison still defecate in buckets and physically dispose same, a practice long abolished across Nigeria.
For the governor, these are familiar demands to which he has grown accustomed and, in fact, often feels obligated. "It is indeed cardinal responsibility of the government to cater for the well-being of everybody and every segment, group or class in the society. We have in this respect taken full notice of the sewage and allied challenges confronting this prison and have resolved to take necessary measures to address them adequately and satisfactorily," said the governor, who had personally visited and proffered a solution late last year when the Enugu Prison's central sewage system collapsed and its solid waste seeped into public drains.
Of particular interest to the inmates is the issue of clemency which was clearly underlined in the lyrics of their songs pleading for one more chance. It's no surprise then why they gave such a huge cheer when the governor disclosed that his administration had set aside sufficient funds and the necessary logistics to enable lawyers and other stakeholders to facilitate their release from jail. Indeed, it was towards this goal that the Enugu State Executive Council on March 15 approved the release of N10m for the payment of honorarium to lawyers who would be engaged in that regards.
But, by and large, the inmates' enthusiasm was by no means fueled by hopes of an executive pardon as it could not realistically be granted to even a tenth of the prison's population. They were just pleased to celebrate with a dignitary with such disarming simplicity and in whose presence they felt no hint of condescension.