I call
him a man, who came far ahead of his generation. Many didn't appreciate why I
used that coinage to describe him about six years ago. But I wasn't using that
very extreme description because I wanted to be noticed.
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I was
privileged to be at the NIIA auditorium in Victoria Island, Lagos sometime in
2011 to witness him make a public speech, and that was the first time I watched
him speak to an audience as governor. He dwelt on prudence and cutting costs of
governance. The audience in the capacity-filled space were standing in ovation
long after he concluded. That was the first day I met Valentine Obienyem. I was in company of my great friend, Kasvid. I approached Val and after
introduction, I begged for either hard or soft copy of the governor's speech.
Val
laughed and told me His Excellency spoke extempore. I didn't believe him but I
later did, much later. But having exchanged numbers with Val, I kept in touch.
And through him, Kasvid and I got to know that the former governor usually made
such speeches whenever commissioning any project.
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It
sounds weird really but Kasvid and I made sure we were always going home from
Lagos any time the former governor was commissioning a project and he really
commissioned many, particularly road projects. As much as the projects were
important, I personally was after what the man was saying. It was based on
those speeches at commission sites that people started calling and echoing
Okwuteee which later became his titled name.
By
following him all over Anambra, hearing him talk, I realised he was far ahead
of our present time in areas of planning, execution, projections - all centred
on love for humanity. And for the first time in my life, I regretted that we
have a constitution which limits an executive to only two terms in office.
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For
all those years until he handed over, I kept following, enjoying it and
reporting it. I didn't have a country to be proud of but Okwute had given me a
state to die for. My profession was suffering dangerously but a writer follows
his mind, not his heart. Money is important to him but never to be taken as
everything. What this great man was giving to my state was unbelievable. And I
found out I was not alone. To my greatest joy, Okwute had brought back our
values as a people. Teachers became valued again in our society. Education
became interesting and supreme. Civil servants truly went to work and were
dutifully productive for the state.
I knew
what was in this man and followed him with everything in me. The fact he never
knew I existed didn't bother me. All I was interested in was his performance,
not his face. Trust Nigerians, many reading me started saying I was obsessed.
My Nollywood clients and colleagues wondered what this man was giving me that I
was no longer writing movie scripts as prolific as I was doing. But they
wouldn't understand a writer's mind, so I left them with their imaginations.
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I was
ready to equally follow his successor and report likewise but it was a huge
somersault. What I may refer to as total contrast from the off. And worse, a
clear machinery was set in motion to rubbish this man who many call the father
of Anambra. You guessed accurately where my loyalty was and I didn't think
twice. Those with my mindset became instant enemies of the new government. Some
of us switched sides. Every man to his call. And a full blown war came on.
It was
from that moment Okwute went to the Platform that a lot of people who didn't
know this man I had been preaching about started believing. And from that
performance, he started going from podium to podium, preaching good governance
and service to humanity. But as much as he garnered followers, haters were
growing on trees. When he calls for prudence, those being reckless with public
funds will believe he is talking to them. When he calls that we cut costs of
governance at all levels, those squandering taxpayers' money take offense. When
he emphasised that any executive owing workers salaries does not deserve to be
called His Excellency, those caught in the act call him a hypocrite. When he
gives example with his stewardship as governor to show what he is preaching is
no rocket science, the guilty jump out to call him a chameleon. When he called
for dear country to develop a saving culture they called him stingy.
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From
following this great man, I've learned plenty about human nature. I've seen how
far politicians can go to lie against one just because he wants a better
society and a country to be proud of.
When
COVID-19 arrived, most people in his shoes would have just gone into his house
and allowed us to stew in our own juice. He warned every level of government to
save for the rainy day but they all ignored him. The one he saved before
handing over were inexplicably squandered. So why shouldn't he just go inside
and rest in this sit-at-home season?
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Well,
I know him. What makes him happy more than anything else is to see that the
society is living well. The pandemic came with all manners of discomfort and
hardship. And Okwute can't sleep. He will even be pacing around in huge worry
while many sleep because of the doom ahead. He had sent palliatives all over
the place in a most effective style. But it is not the present that ever
worries him. It is our tomorrow because he knows perfectly that our today is
the result of our actions, or lack of it, of yesterday. And our today is in
shambles. The prospect of tomorrow will fill anyone interested with
trepidation.
In his
last celebrated interview on AIT, he said that it is in moments of crisis that
nations sit down to effectively rebuild. Characteristically, he projected the
ways forward.They didn't listen to the prophet before. Will they listen to him
now? On Monday, we take a deeper look at the concluding part of that interview.
Keep following.
And
please keep staying safe.
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