By Valentine Obienyem
Today, the 19th day of July, 2017, the man regarded as one of the
best in governance, at any tier, in the annals of our country turns 56. As
usual, drums would be rolled out by some of his admirers who believe excellence
ought to be celebrated. They contend that if for nothing else, it is a means of
promoting merit as role models in name and indeed. In a country where even
imbeciles garbed in purple fall over one another seeking attention, it is about
time the society set up a clear template for granting honour to whom it is due.
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| *Peter Obi |
In another vein, beyond panegyrics by his enthusiasts, most people
will just wish him a perfunctory ‘Happy Birthday’.
In this piece, I set out to re-examine, through the memories of his
tenure, what good governance is all about and to encourage Nigerians to look up
to him as the man who came into governance through entirely different route,
with an entirely different mentality and left it as nobody has done in the
history of governance in Nigeria. For me, this is decent birthday present that
would also instruct those in governance on the right way to go.
Born on July 19, 1961, Peter Gregory Obi started his life in the
rustic city of Onitsha, and obtained his initial
formal education in Onitsha
and Nsukka. He has since attended some of the best tertiary institutions in the
world in his thirst for intellectual insemination to boost his competences.
How shall we rank him? Which of us possesses so varied the Knowledge
to understand him adequately? As an experiment in perspective, let us see him
through his dramatic entrance into government and what he did while there as
distinct from business as usual.
Before him, news emanating from the State was not palatable at all.
It was always stories of intrigues, squander mania, rape and rapine. Visions
and memories of the State tormented all persons of goodwill; an involuntary
gloom penetrated our souls, chilling their imaginations. The Bakassi group and
their co-predators worsened the situation as they turned our dear State into a
vast Golgotha of carnage, an arena for horror,
where her children tore and destroyed one another with the clear conscience of
nature. Concerned like other decent people, Peter Obi developed an urge to turn
these barbarisms into civilization and this was what compelled him to seek
election into public office.
