Obiano @57: Finally a New Star Rises from the East

"A Special Tribute by James Eze"

It may be difficult to accept but it just might be true that after only 130 days in office, Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State has given Nigerians a new paradigm in modern leadership. In a country where high performance is more deviation than the norm among leaders, Chief Obiano may have set himself apart as a beacon of hope for his people and proof that Nigeria could be a better place if we had more leaders than politicians.

There is a niggling feeling that many people who seem surprised by Obiano’s impressive performance in his four months in office may not have read his inaugural address at all or may have forgotten what they read. The truth is, in his inaugural address, Chief Obiano successfully set up a pedestal for himself as a leader and regally mounted it all by himself. True, most Nigerians may not pay much mind to it but inaugural addresses have always served as the philosophical scroll for visionary leaders in modern governance. In advanced democracies, inaugural addresses come out as brilliant pieces of art that carry a distinctive timeless feel, providing a fresh meaning at each read.

The tendency in Nigeria is to look at the economic blueprint which is at best an operational manual of elected officials. But the actual philosophical promise which dovetails into the operational memo is usually embedded in the inaugural speech.

Following the high-minded tradition of purposeful leadership, Chief Obiano defined the reality confronting his administration succinctly in his inaugural address. For him, the trouble with Anambra was simply a question of the people deciding who they ought to be from who they are. And he captured it quite clearly in the following lines - “Fellow citizens, under my administration, we have no choice than to decide whether we are truly the sons and daughters of our fathers and true heirs to their long history of pioneering excellence!” For a state with Anambra’s peculiar lineage of illustrious ancestors, nothing could have been more apt, perhaps. It is in evidence that in the last 130 days, Obiano has tested this hypothesis and the result is there for all to see. Ndi Anambra have proven to be true heirs of their ancestors. But Obiano is not done yet.

In further distillation of his vision, Chief Obiano isolated the twin challenges of security and electricity supply as crucial to the success of his economic blueprint. “It has always been clear to me that the realization of my dreams for Anambra State depends on how well we tackle these challenges. In the area of security, Anambra will be different under my watch. Not only shall we redraft the operational manual of the entire security apparatchik of Anambra State to ensure a lightning-quick response, we shall also re-orient our people to see that every citizen has a role to play in the security of our communities,” Chief Obiano had declared that sunny Monday afternoon in March this year. But he has since gone beyond the threshold of this promise in the area of security. The arrest of a kidnap kingpin, Okechukwu Nnaegbo from an overseas-bound aircraft in Lagos and the Obama-like hunt down of kidnappers to rescue Pius Maduka,  Chief Cosmas Maduka’s brother in Orlu, Imo State has given crime-fighting a Hollywood feel in Nigeria. The widely reported deployment of drones to track down violent criminals in the state has opened a new line of thinking for the entire security establishment in the country.

It is fascinating indeed that since he took the oath of office on March 17 this year, there is hardly a week that Willie Obiano did not give Ndi Anambra something to be happy about. From the inauguration of the Joint Security Task Force (Operation Kpochapu) through the First Security Summit that brought Moshe Keinan, the Israeli Security expert to town, down to the rescue of kidnap victims, the launch of agricultural revolution in the state, the flag off of numerous visionary projects and the recent launch of drones into Anambra skies to uncover the hiding holes of kidnappers, Governor Obiano has walked his talk. He has also kept the campaign promise of the 4Cs – to continue existing projects, complete them, commission them and commence a new set of projects. He has kept the contractors handling various inherited projects in the state on their toes with regular inspection to ensure continuity and has also completed and commissioned the Raw Materials Testing laboratory that his predecessor built. His visits to the prestigious Agulu Lake Hotel Resort and the three shopping malls in Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi were the tonic the project handlers needed to be jolted to action. He has also commenced a rash of new projects that will leave him in the memory of Ndi Anambra for quite a long time, flagging off the construction of three flyovers and 22 new road projects as well as the Three-Arms Zone housing the three arms of government, all in 130 days. A staggering performance if ever there was one!

In his all-time classic, Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe observed that “looking at a King’s mouth one will never think that he ever sucked his mother’s breasts.” Looking at Governor Willie Obiano’s achievements in the last 130 days, one cannot help but recall that this is someone that the opposition had whimsically dismissed as a stooge and a political neophyte who had nothing of value to offer Ndi Anambra. In the run up to the elections that made him governor, Obiano had strained against the echo to assure Ndi Anambra that he had answers to some of their questions but the loud noise of the opposition had drowned much of his effort. It is however gratifying that the people are beginning to listen to him now that he has arrested their attention with a resounding performance. And may be now is the appropriate time to play up the second important fragment of his inaugural speech which addresses the imperatives of unity and brotherhood.

In a quavering voice that evoked the memories of Martin Luther King Jnr, Chief Obiano had observed that “over the years, we have allowed narrow interests to put a knife on the things that held us together and today, we can no longer act as one.  Ndi Anambra, where is the love that once led our people through the extreme adversities of war? Foremost French philosopher, Victor Hugo reminds us that, “to love another person is to see the face of God,” he chimed. Again walking his talk, Governor Obiano had made repeated appeals to all his opponents to sheath their swords pointing out that in civilized societies, the bitter recriminations of elections usually give way to stronger consensus and a united approach to nation-building once a winner emerges. He followed it up with the convening of a highly successful Stakeholders Forum which was intended to forge stronger walls of unity and instill a sense of community.

Hopefully, the lines have started falling in pleasant places for Governor Obiano. It is instructive that on the day that he marked his first 100 days in office, the American Ambassador to Nigeria felt safe enough to have dinner with him at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia. Nothing, perhaps, is more indicative of the roaring success of Operation Kpochapu in Anambra State. It was also instructive to see highly distinguished Anambra indigenes turn up in their numbers in Abuja the other night to donate generously to the efforts to rid the state of crime. Obiano’s acceptance grew further with the decision of the maverick oil billionaire and frontline politician, Prince Arthur Eze, to throw his enormous weight behind him. In an unprecedented show of goodwill towards a sitting governor, Prince Eze who is also a financial pillar of the opposition PDP doled out the sum of $1m in support of Obiano’s campaign against criminals in the state and famously assured him of his full support. Another historical incident took place on Monday this week when the State House of Assembly unanimously adopted a motion commending governor Obiano for his purposeful leadership. Before then, the members of the Anambra State Association worldwide had conferred the “Peoples’ Choice Award” on him. And just last week, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), a highly regarded professional body, laid a bold claim on him when it held a special session in his honour in the Amawbia Governor’s Lodge and made him its Grand Patron.

What never ceases to amaze many people is that all these are happening in just about 130 days of Obiano administration in Anambra State. In a congratulatory message to Governor Obiano on the day of his inauguration, my friend and colleague, Uzuegbuna Okagbue had described him as the rising star of the East.

While many people might argue that it is rather too early for such a loud applause, it is certainly not in doubt that in Governor Willie Obiano, every discerning onye Anambra can at least see the beginnings of a true and purposeful leader.

And as he turns 57 today (Friday August 8), this is wishing him an amazing day!

James Eze can be reached with eziokwubundu@gmail.com