I must say, as of truth, that though I am gifted with the discerning spirit, I am not a seer. I do not see visions. But, by mere intuition and critical thinking, I am able to scan my environment, discern the movement of time and make projections. Few months ago, I was inspired to begin to set the agenda for Governor Theodore Orji’s leadership of the South East geo-political zone. I came to the agenda with empirical argument and pointing at the new progressive climate that came with the liberation of Abia.
After challenging the popular belief that the Igbo, by their peculiar republican nature, are incapable of creating a central leadership or coming under one horizontal form of power control like the North and the West, I hit the nail on the head: that by the evidence of his trajectory in the corridors of power, the Ochendo Abia remains the quintessential symbol of the South East regional leadership. Today, the governors, in their own independent wisdom, have corroborated my position and vindicated my agenda. Last weekend, they unanimously elected Governor Orji as the new chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum. Kudos to Ochendo!
This, indeed, is a happy development. Reason is that the forum is now a good pressure instrument and a credible platform for agitation. It has become a strong force for regional representation at the centre. There is no gainsaying the fact that the ethics of the game of power revolves around interest. Thus, the onus now lies on Governor Orji to tactically negotiate the stake of the zone in the Jonathan presidency. He must be able to weigh the options critically in the unfolding politics of 2015 and proceed to the negotiation table with a well-articulated demand.
Indeed, by sheer dint of hard work and achievement, Governor Orji has emerged as the new credible face of the South East and a symbol of true leadership. The headship of the governors’ forum is both an honour and a vindication to diligent work. Governor Orji is now standing on a pedestal where he must look beyond Umuahia to see the entire region as his constituency and as one territory and then seek to replicate his pragmatic work in the entire zone or at least lead the action that will culminate in a complete climate change for the zone.
Before now, Governor Orji had been setting the agenda for the regional re-integration of the entire South East. He had long moved beyond Abia to invest energy on a programme of regional integration, with the argument of harnessing the regional abundances which were the glories of those regions in the past. He had been thinking in the direction of a long-term development agenda for the entire South East. This agenda and vision had formed part of his global picture of leadership for a people in search of a unifying identity. Now, he has the pulpit to preach this message and the collective mandate to lead this revolution of the mind.
More than ever before, Orji must understand the dynamics of strategy and apply this useful tool in his permutations for the development of the region. The issues are: what are the expectations of the South East in the current Nigeria project? What are the critical issues of development that will bring about a spiral chain of improvement in people’s lives?
The general movement towards a bloc support for Jonathan’s candidacy by the South East clearly amounts to a temporary suspension of the time-honoured demand for the Nigerian president of Igbo extraction. Should this be the case given the present circumstances, the governors should be able to trade that ambition for a handsome and befitting reward. For the governors, the negotiation must go beyond a return of their mandate to an altruistic demand for the greatest good for a greatest number of Ndigbo. There is still the need to balance the post-war, orchestrated marginalisation of the South East in the distribution and allocation of national resources and in political appointments.
This new agenda for the South East has, indeed, set Orji high on the pedestal as the new quintessential Igbo spokesperson and leader. Before now, many self-styled volunteers had been filling the gap. But, today, that lacuna in the people’s political existence has been filled. There is a testimonial for Orji’s new political mandate. The evidence is the new society of peace, law and order which he has built in Abia and which are the necessary condition for all other socio-economic activities of man. With this new social order, coupled with the legion of outstanding legacy projects and the developmental programmes that have added value to the lives of Abian, it is self-evident that the Abia governor is the most credible personality to hold the South East mantle.
Thus, it is the fullness of time for the South East. With a unifying figure like Governor Orji, there is need for a new collective culture of fellowship under one political banner. There is the need for the South East to forge a pattern of group association under the leadership of the dynamic governor of God’s Own State. Apart from being a veritable platform for our political engagements and negotiations come 2015, the Orji leadership of the South East will provide the much needed roadmap that the Igbo desire for the sustainable development of the area.
There is a new global trend in symbolic leadership epitomised by the revolution of Orji in cleansing the Augean stable in Abia. The South East must break off from the past when leaders emerged out of the exigencies of the times. By virtue of his achievements and the loud echo that resonates with his personhood, Orji fits perfectly into the global outlook of modern leadership. As a seasoned administrator, he has a clean record and a credible pedigree. His trajectory through the corridors of power has been exemplary. He has proven that the problem with Nigeria is not in our stars but with the men who have stridden through the seat of power.
The new chairman is a veteran of wars. He has led a successful revolution that has changed the face of Abia State through his infrastructural renewal project. He has proven to be a true patriot and therefore, a very credible candidate for leadership in the emerging community called the nation. Well-read, well-groomed, he is a comfortable bridge that could intersect for the sophistication of the emerging world. He has demonstrated good appreciation of the dynamics of the Igbo spirit and this is a milestone for a group with a history of individualism.
By the new office, Governor Orji is now the burden-bearer of the lot of the Igbo. His testimonial of good governance seems to proclaim: Here is a man who has come to conquer!
Godwin Adindu
