Much of the significant critical issues in the Cross River State 2015 governorship contest would most likely be centred on the pedigrees of the contestants. This is much so as it is glaring that a precedent has already been set in the quality of materials the State has indubitably thrown up as governors since the beginning of the current political dispensation in 1999.
*Ochiglegor Idagbo (Legor)
Two personalities who have governed the agrarian state since then, Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke, represent a bold testimony to the emerging trend of enthroning young and brilliant people at the apogee of political leadership across the world. Talking about young , good-looking, brilliant and adequately educated people in leadership positions in government?
There is no doubt that brains and looks appear to be the unassailable clinchers these days as far as elections are concerned. In fact, the advanced democracies of the world discovered this mystery at the dusk of the twentieth century. In the United States of America, for instance, brains and looks did earn the Democratic Party a rare two-term spell under the youthful personage of the ever-voluble, hand-pumping and telegenic Oxford-trained lawyer, Bill Clinton. Even in Great Britain, the electorate, in May 1997, demonstrated a certain unabashed bias for yapper, dapper looks with all the histrionic gestures and dramatic turns of phrases, when they elected Tony Blair of the New Labour, another Oxford-trained lawyer , then 43, as Prime Minister. He was the youngest in 187 years.
*Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State
(pix:crossriverwatch)
Consequently, the dourness of the British political landscape was dramatically but pleasurably transformed. To be candid, Blair did not only puncture, he also destroyed the veneer of cerebral vacuity and humourlessness his predecessor, John Major unrepentantly imposed on the British public all through his dull and trepidated reign. The all-rounded cerebral assiduity and political dazzles of Bill Clinton on the American political scene during his two-term presidency is well-known to all and sundry. Also, Barack Obama's audacious political savvy as the first Black American President of the United States, is a pointer to what age and brain can do in modern political leadership.
It is against this sparkling backdrop that Cross River State professionals and intellectuals in Abuja see the emergence of Hon. Ochiglegor Idagbo as one of the aspirants to the Cross River 2015 governorship diadem as an act of providence. Given his brilliant pedigree and age-bracket, it is not a surprise that the gallantry displayed by the ebullient and hardworking immediate past commissioner for Works in the state has marked him out as the Beautiful Bride in the 2015 governorship debacle.
Coming from the effeteness of a polity cast rather in fossilized mould, the wily young man has assiduously and tenaciously worked his way around his mission since becoming chairman of the Bekwarra Local Government Council of Cross River State in 2007 and re-elected in 2010. Because Hon. Idagbo cares so much about the man in the street as a focal point of his political philosophy; because he cares less about personal material gains, his tenure as Chairman of Council recorded a stunning success. In 2010, Legor's zeal and untiring effort catapulted Bekwarra Local Government to the global map of medical excellence when the Council recorded a zero infant maternal mortality rate, the first Local Government in Cross River State, and indeed Nigeria, thus attracting a recognition by the United Nations , earning Cross River State an award for meeting the MDG's 4 and 5.
Donald Duke, former Cross River State Governor
(pix: elombah)
Even as Legor combined his role as Chairman of Bekwarra Local Government Council with his activities as Chairman of Cross River State Local Government Chairmen's Forum, his performance in office shorn forth in solitary star-like splendor. This superlative performance was what earned him the Senate award as one of the best Local Government Chairmen in Nigeria in 2010. But his achievements could not have come in a sudden flight; he had enough preparation. His political career began with his appointment as Secretary to the Caretaker Committee of Bekwarra Local Government Council between 2003 and 2004; and a member of Bekwarra Local Government Area Education Authority Board from 2005 to 2007 . He also had other responsibilities like membership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Congress Review Committee from 2005 to 2006 as well as membership of the PDP Caucus of Bekwarra Local Government Area and Cross River State Local Government Pensions Board.
Idagbo's Spartan performance in Bekwarra Local Government did not go unnoticed. In 2012, Governor Liyel Imoke appointed him to serve in the State Executive Council as Honourable Commissioner for Works. Some of his achievements as Commissioner include the formulation of policies, one of which is the reward-and-sanction scheme that has resulted in putting an end to contractors abandoning projects. He supervised the partnership between the African Development Bank and the Cross River State Government (CRRAMP) which has led to the construction of 474 kilometres of rural roads across the length and breadth of the state and has transformed the economies of these rural areas. It was he that supervised the expansion of street lights from 33 kilometres to 134 kilometres; the construction of the Margaret Ekpo International Airport Bypass which has the first ever flyover in Calabar.
Legor and his family
Idagbo's tenure as Commissioner saw to the construction of the Channel 2 Underground Drainage, a major underground channel that conveys over 16,000 cubic metres of water from the city to the Calabar River thereby reducing flood in the Calabar City. When I read through the bio data of those who are aspiring to become governor of my dear state, I could not help wondering at the tenacity with which Legor has pushed himself and employed his gifts to make the most of his talent. In the eyes of the world, Legor may not qualify for the company of geniuses. He may just at best be in the league of men of moderate means. But what makes him the beautiful bride amongst the lot is the way he seems to coast along on the wings of his simple faith.
First, he believes that something ought to be done to alleviate the pains of the suffering masses of his state. Then, he sets about doing it. As a dove in government, too often, he would draw the scorning guffaws of the hawks and skeptical onlookers until he achieves the ultimate and goes about without guile. He is hardly schooled in the duplicitous saloons of Nigerian politics. But the 43 year old lawyer remains the quintessential unknown with the Midas touch who achieves the impossible. His grasp of issues and his insights are simply astounding. If the insights he proffers are penetrating, his quest for excellence is unrelenting. But it is his vision and determination to provide comfort for humanity that has made many people feel safe with him. With Honourable Ochiglegor Idagbo, the people of Cross River State might not bother searching any longer for any other political icon as far as 2015 is concerned. He is the irresistible bride.
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Mr. Amor, an Abuja-based journalist, is a contributor to SCRUPLES.
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