Essential Ndubuisi
By Chief Dr Kelvin Obiegbunam (Oba Ochendo)
As the race for who becomes the next governor of Anambra State hits top gear, it has become pertinent to analyse the opportunities and the challenges cum expectations of Ndi Anambra on who becomes the next Chief Executive Officer of the state.
While many Aspirants had declared interest to contest for the number one seat in the state, one politician stands out for me and many well meaning Anambrarians. My rationale for placing this politician ahead of the pack is based on my belief that the highly coveted governorship seat should be reserved for a candidate who is most prepared to serve the people – by this, I mean a candidate whose antecedents and track record leave no one in doubt of her ability to handle the hydra-headed challenges of governing a state like Anambra.
As the title of the article already suggest, the politician whom I have come to believe that is the most capable to lead our state at this material time, is Senator Uche Ekwunife, a woman popularly known as Iyom. My reasons of course, is not far-farfetched. I belong to the school of thought, where leadership is believed to be the most critical component of societal change, such that amongst the various excellent definitions of leadership, the most striking to me is the definition by Donald McGannon, which states that, LEADERSHIP IS ACTION NOT A POSITION. It is difficult even for the biased mind to think of Senator Uche Ekwunife and not associate her with ACTION or better put ACTIVENESS. Words such as Performing, Delivering and competent are appropriately used when describing Ekwunife’s personality and works.
The argument by some quarters that her gender is a hindrance can best be described as weak and baseless. While Ekwunife is not seeking to become the first female governor as we already had one in Dame Virgy Etiaba, she will however become the first woman to emerge governor through the ballot. Happenstances around the world and even in Nigeria have shown that women are capable of occupying critical political leadership positions. When Franca Afegbua became the first elected female senator in Nigeria in 1983 she broke a jinx, that today women occupy the senate seats with many of them heading critical committees and even performing better than some of their male colleagues. Ekwunife’s courage to vie for the governorship seat is a blessing to Ndi Anambra as it gives the state the opportunity of experiencing the motherly leadership, which the senator has exemplified through out her political career.
The five-star federal lawmaker has shown that political leaders can be vessels of transformation when they are sincere and conscious of their responsibilities. Her discharge of her duties both in the federal house of representatives and currently in the senate is nothing short of sterling, encouraging the need for Anambrarians to give her the mandate to take over the realm of affairs of the state.
Discussing Ekwunife’s achievements in detail will be akin to writing a book, it is however important to note that, the consistency, energy, drive and passion embedded in her representation of the people show that she is prepared for greater responsibilities. In virtually all fields of science, unknown solutions are derived by applying a combination of known methods. Senator Ekwunife is not only known to Ndi Anambra, her achievement, capacity, fecundity and ability to deliver are glaring. If elected as the next governor of Anambra state, Ekwunife will surely place the state on a new economic pedestal by applying the same principles which she use to attract meaningful development to her constituency to develop Anambra state. I therefore implore all Anambrarians to give her the necessary support, as we decide the future of our dear state for the next four years.
— Chief Dr Kelvin Obiegbunam is a distinguished fellow, DFCILRM – Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management, a Doctoral fellow ICRMP – International Certified Risk Management Professionals, United Kingdom (Uk), and the President General of Nri Kingdom.
