At
every point in a nation's trajectory, a leader would be thrust forward
who will look conventional wisdom in the face and through the force of his or
her personality rouse the people from their comfort zones and
inspire them to see the endless possibilities that nature so generously wired
us to appropriate . These are usually transcendental and transformative leaders
and they don’t materialize often.
Key
characteristic of this unique leader include: a deep sense of love and
belief in the people and the infinite capacity for them to fulfil their purpose
in life if nudged gently and in the right direction, a moral disposition that
puts service above self, an abiding faith in his or her capacity to effect and
affect change; humility that pleasantly shocks and confounds, a spiritual
grounding that appears transparent and inviting, and above all, a sense
of confidence that is not in your face and a youthfulness that is both
appealing and engaging.
Certain
elements conspire to facilitate the emergence of this leader and they include:
a downturn in the socio-political fortunes of the given state or entity,
a loss of faith or apathy on the part of the people in the capacity of the
government to meet their needs, a ferment or fertile ground for change, the
honesty and transparency displayed by the intrepid candidate and a set of
governance ideals and platform that connects with the electorate.
Leaders
shaped and furnace with these qualities have helped reinvent the wheels of
development and mobility when the wheels had almost fallen off; they usually
restore hope and faith when the people were sized by a paroxysm of fear and
uncertainty, they often work to bring back the shine and sheen- a winning
disposition in the people when a grim and forlorn cloud hovered around their
psychological space.
In
the United States, the bastion of democracy and the custodian of a political
system that has been copied extensively all over the world- democracy and the
presidential system, notable leaders who changed the contours and tenor of
governance have emerged at every junction. When the American enterprise was in
serious jeopardy, Abraham Lincoln defied the dire warning of the south and
ended slavery, plunging the nation into a civil war and the south declaring a
confederacy Lincoln stood ramrod tall and fought for the unification of the
nation. Today, he is celebrated as one of the most consequential presidents in
the pantheon of the United States history.
Theodore
Roosevelt, though a child of privilege and wealth, fought the agents of the
Gilded Age who had seen the common people as mere pawns in the laboratories of
big business and helped usher in the Progressive Era in American politics. The reforms
of the Theodore Roosevelt administration- from breaking down the monopoly of
big business, to conservation, to fair labour practices, today still shape how
domestic policies are formulated in the United States.
Franklin
Delano Roosevelt, restored faith in the American people and its twin
ideological ideals founded on democracy and capitalism when the
people had lost faith and had started romanticizing socialism as a result of
the collapse of the Stock market that brought about the Great Depression in
1929.
Historians
have unanimously concluded that were America not blessed with a leader in the
mould of FDR, probably the history of American would have taken a different
trajectory and a unipolar world based on the hegimonistic hold of the world that
America currently exerts would not have happened. John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan
and most recently, Barack Obama are other American presidents who came in at
critical moments and left strong and enduring legacies.
The
emergence of Governor Udom Emmanuel as Governor of Akwa Ibom State has all the
imprimatur and signature of the great leaders I have mentioned above. In late
2012, the nation had started experiencing some contraction in economic growth
due to the steep fall in oil prices. Akwa Ibom state had been lucky to have a
leader who had greatly transformed the once idyllic landscape into a rich
network of great and world class road network.
The
then Governor, and now Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpbaio had
worked to transform the state with a sense of anger. He had run a good race and
needed to hand over the baton to another leader who would take the state to
another layer of development and growth. Given the economic downturn the nation
had been experiencing, it was almost divine that a proven financial services
expert in the person of Deacon Udom Emmanuel, then an Executive Director with a
leading financial institution in Nigeria- Zenith bank be brought in first as
the Secretary to the State Government and later as the overwhelmingly elected
Governor of the State.
Since
May 29th 2015 when Governor Udom Emmanuel was sworn in as Governor of Akwa Ibom
State, he has worked tirelessly to implement his vision encapsulated in his
Five -Point Agenda of: Job Creation, Poverty Alleviation, Wealth Creation,
Economic and Political Inclusion and Infrastructural Consolidation and
Expansion.
A
man of proven Christian masculinity, the first set of things he did upon being
sworn in, was to pay a backlog of pensions and gratuities to workers, and the
labour leaders were so stunned by this gesture that they wrote letters of
appreciation, effusively praising him for his magnanimity. While other states
were struggling to pay salaries of workers, through a prudent application of
scarce resources, Governor Emmanuel has endeavoured to pay the salary of
workers promptly. The Governor has sustained the free and compulsory
education from primary to secondary and free medical services to the
aged and children between the ages 1-5 and pregnant mothers remains
sacrosanct.
Last
year, he paid over 600 million WAEC fees to indigent students because of his
avowed belief that no child should be left behind in their determined effort to
pursue knowledge and education that would stand them in good stead to pursue
the jobs of the 21 First Century.
As
a way of fulfilling his campaign promise of infrastructural consolidation, over
200 kilometres of roads have either been commissioned or are on-going and in
various stages of completion. He has been able to achieve this giant feat,
again through judicious application of the lean resources at his disposal.
Governor Emmanuel, determined to wean the state off of her dependence on oil,
has made huge investments in agriculture.
Through
Akwa Ibom Enterprise and Employment Scheme (AKEES) great things are happening
in the agriculture sector. The state is well on its way to becoming a major
producer of tomatoes and onions- two produce items that were once though not
suitable for growing in these parts of the country. Some decades ago, Akwa Ibom
State was the fourth largest prouder of cocoa in the country, we lost that
position and cocoa all but disappeared from our economic radar.
Today,
through training in pruning and shedding that the Governor had introduced and
personally supervised, we are well on our way to returning to our premier
position as a major cocoa producer in the country. The Coco -nut refinery
is on course. The biggest joy in all of this is that our youths have embraced
agriculture wholeheartedly.
The
central plank of Governor Emmanuel’s campaign was based solely on the need to
rapidly industrialize the state and create jobs for our teeming youths. The
administration is on course in this direction. Sometime last year, scandalized
by the knowledge that we import even such items as pencils and toothpick, the
Governor directed that we must have a toothpick and pencil making
factory ready before the end of the year. Today, that factory is almost ready
for commissioning. Work is also on-going in the metering factory the Governor
had promised to build during our campaign. Other industries are coming up the
pike.
Youths
as the future leaders of the state have been variously empowered and trained in
various vocational skills, they have been imbued with a new mind-set predicated
on the ‘dakkada’ philosophy to see the joy in having an ownership society, to
strive to build things, to own things, and to utilize the talents and skills
that God has embedded in us all. Through this moral re-awakening and
rebirth or the ‘dakkada’ philosophy, the youths are filled with a new sense of
hope and optimism and no longer believe in the cradle to grave entitlement
mind-set.
Governor
Emmanuel has brought a touch or culture of corporatism into governance,
civil servants and office holders now show up to work on time, same
at public events, because Governor Emmanuel – a keen believer in Christian time
management shows up to functions on the dot of time. He has introduced a tone
and tenor in governance based on Christ-like humility and forbearance and the
people have followed suit.
As
Leadership newspaper confers on him the publication’s “Governor of the Year,
2016,” I can only say with pride that I am honoured to have been given a little
space to be a part of what in 2023, at the end of this intrepid journey would
be defined as a transcendental administration that turned Akwa Ibom
State on the trajectory of economic growth and opportunity and a sense of pride
and identity in the people that no clock can ever turn back. Congratulations my
Boss and my Brother! May your tribe multiply.
Ekerete
Udoh is the Chief Press Secretary and Senior Special Assistant, Media to
Governor Udom Emmanuel
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