“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!”

As 60 canon shots rip through the blue skies of Aguleri in deep respect to a great personage, friends and associates of Governor Willie Obiano have continued to reflect on his life and the peculiar spark he has carried in the past 60 years.

Sticking out like a shiny fragment out of the deluge of reflections, tributes and praise songs swirling around him is the puzzle of how Willie Obiano has surprised even his closest friends with his performance as governor of Anambra State. The unanimous belief is that Obiano, like Gilgamesh, the historic personage in literature’s first great work, has travelled a long route to discover the secret of purposeful leadership. Naturally, discussions will swing through his humble beginnings, his coming of age in the University of Lagos, his stint in the oil industry and finally, his long years in Fidelity Bank. His siblings will sit back and reflect on their earliest memories of him and how, as a child, he had once predicted that he would become a political leader. It will probably never cross many people’s mind that from March 2013 to as long as he lives, Obiano’s birthdays will be looked at from the point of view of his legacies. That is the burden of leadership!

It is indeed fascinating to recall that Governor Obiano swore his commitment to NdiAnambra in a widely acclaimed inaugural address titled “Expanding the Frontiers of Excellence.” In this speech, Obiano attempted to frame what would become the sacred vows of his administration to Ndi Anambra. At the heart of Obiano’s inaugural speech is an appeal for the pursuit of excellence which would authenticate the people’s claim to an illustrious ancestry. It is fascinating to see that in nearly one and a half years; Obiano’s action-packed administration has restored the people’s confidence in their self-hood, their heritage and their ancestry.

Indeed, the question as to whether we are truly the sons and daughters of our fathers and true heirs to their long history of pioneering excellence has been fully answered in less than one year. Obiano answered that with a total repossession of the freedom of Ndi Anambra from violent criminals, kidnappers and drug dealers who had carved Anambra up into distinct underworld territories. His all-out war against kidnappers, leading to the destruction of their warehouses and places of confinement for kidnap victims hit an all-time high when in May last year, kidnap kingpin, Okechukwu Nnaegbo was picked up aboard a South African bound aircraft in Lagos. Nnaegbo’s arrest inside an aircraft marked a symbolic turning point in Obiano’s war against kidnappers. It struck terror into the heart of the underworld and announced a cold resolve to cleanse the state of criminals.

Obiano’s First 100 Days were tough. Very tough! After taking the historic oath of office, it soon dawned on the former banker that he had metaphorically swallowed a pestle and must sleep standing on his feet. Consequently, he took the drive to leave a strong and immediate impression on the people very personal and worked himself to the bones. In quick succession, he launched Operation Kpochapu and Operation Zero Porthole and swung his attention in the direction of capital projects, flagging off roads and bridges in key areas. He lit the fire of agricultural revolution in the state with a powerful speech at Nteje when he launched the 2014 farming Season. “From time immemorial, our ancestors judged a man by the strength of his arm. A man who could not feed his family was regarded as an efulefu! A failure!” he thundered, to announce a new agricultural order in the state. He effectively ignited the passion of the people and made farming and all its drudgery seems almost aspirational.

His impact was so phenomenal that barely one month after assuming power, Governor Obiano gave Ndi Anambra their first crime-free Easter in several decades. In so doing, he made the people to realise that what had seemed almost impossible could be done. In so doing too, he compelled self-belief as well as belief in the capacity of an elected government to act in absolute public interest.

Mindful of the importance of leaving a legacy, Governor Obiano who rode to power on the crest of popular votes knew that he must set forth at dawn with projects that would announce his name to generations yet unborn. He chose to do this in style. The three flyovers rising in concrete splendour in Awka are eternal monuments to the Obiano years. The proposed Umueri Airport will forever speak to the vision of a man whose dream would not be stunted by the restrictions of his environment. The Anambra Coat of Arms and the lovely fragments of the Anambra Anthem are timeless pieces of endearment that will continue to echo through the walls of schools and colleges long after the dust of public opinion has settled on the Obiano administration.

Rising from phenomenal first 100-Days in Office, Obiano effectively set the stage for a paradigm shift. He set his sight on fulfilling his Vision and Mission Statements of making Anambra State the 1st Choice Investment Destination and a hub for industrialisation and commercial activities and a socially stable, business friendly environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities. There has been a torrent of investments into the state from May 2014 when Coched Farms blazed the trail with its modernised farm settlement in Anaku to the signing of anMoU with Lynden Integrated Farms Limited in April this year for the establishment of a modern poultry farm. Obiano has perfectly placed Anambra State on the regional investment map, grossing about $2.4 billion so far. There’s probably no better way to exemplify excellence.

Similarly, in keeping with his leadership philosophy that “while we fix things, we should also fix lives” (“ana alu olu ana alu mmadu”), Obiano turned attention to the workers in the state. In January this year, he made a moving New Year speech and assured Ndi Anambra that their dreams and aspirations would not fall with crashing oil prices. Reasoning that “the future of any society lies in its capacity to look beyond the darkness and doubts of today and see a glimmer of hope in the shadows of tomorrow,” Obiano announced 15% increase in workers’ salaries, promising to do more when the state’s Internally Generated Revenue increases. He did this at a time when the world seemed shell-shocked by tumbling oil prices and the beckoning uncertainty. He liquidated the N1.8bn local government pension arrears and cleared the three years arrears of salaries owed Water Corporation staff. Beyond this, he made the workers feel special with the bags of rice he distributed to every one of them; a gesture they lauded for being very humane, the little acts that touch the people where it matters most.

Beyond Obiano’s Midas touch is his uncanny grasp of the rubric of leadership, his understanding that beyond the brick and mortar of governance lies the software of leadership; the philosophical framework for the mooring of society. Obiano was directly involved in the creation of the Anambra crest; going through the various elements and making valid suggestions on how they should align to form a gripping symmetry in the entire design. His involvement was the game-changer that the concept unit needed to tease out an iconic symbol that would reflect the awesome energy and capacity of onye Anambra.

Interestingly, Obiano has also had to fend off enormous challenges to stamp his imprint on the state. For instance, unlike his predecessor who had local government allocations to play with, Obiano is condemned to dream big dreams with lean resources. He also had to keep a calm composure in the face of a slew of vicious attacks against him on social media, funded by his political enemies. However, the most provocative of all the challenges Obiano has had so far has been the nocturnal arrival of 47 Boko Haram detainees in Ekwulobia Prisons in Aguata Local Government Area. The tide of emotions and strident outcry against the unwanted guests could have snowballed into violent protests had Obiano not handled the matter with a great deal of maturity; calming frayed nerves and re-assuring the people that a peaceful resolution is a wiser route to travel.

Indeed, beyond the frontiers of excellence, Willie Obiano has stunned even his most ardent critic with a great performance and made a compelling case for more technocrats of his ilk to mount the saddle of leadership in Nigeria.

As he turns 60, Governor Obiano deserves our prayers, but more importantly our respect. Happy Birthday to a great man and a compassionate leader!

•Eze, Senior Special Assistant on media to Governor Obiano, sent this piece from Awka in honour of the Governor, who turned 60 yesterday. Eze can be reached via eziokwubundu@gmail.com. Photo shows Governor Obiano.

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