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Sunday, November 20, 2016

THE BIOGRAPHY OF PETER OBI AND HIS LEADERSHIP LESSONS FOR THE YOUTH



[Being a Presentation by Valentine Obienyem at the unveiling of Mr. Peter Obi’s  Biography by Agulu Youth Empowerment Committee, on Saturday, November 19, 2016].

 

Protocols

 

I am delighted to be part of this assembly to give honour to an exemplary entrepreneur, administrator, patriot, statesman, who happens to be our brother. In spite of the antics of a few misguided elements, what you are doing today compels one to say that a prophet can after all have honour among his people. 

 

When I got the invitation to this forum, my initial impression of “biography to the event” was that a book on Mr. Peter Gregory Obi was to be presented today. However, the organizers handed me the task to share what I know about this man of vision and mission, which could inspire the youth.

 

This is a commendable initiative because a society without heroes [and heroines] remains in the doldrums. I have always contended that if we stand reverent before waterfalls, mountain peaks, Ogbunike cave, the grooves of Haba or arresting assemblage of architectural wonders, why should we not stand reverent before the highest miracle of all – men who are both great and good?  

 

Such men are the very life-blood of history, to which politics and industry are but frame and bones. Mr. Peter “Okwute” Obi is one of such men.

 

Peter Gregory Obi was born in Onitsha on July 19, 1961, and grew up to become a man of strong will, gentle speech, imposing purpose and simple sentiments. His character and politics have continued to please the discerning people, while confounding those of dishonourable intentions. He is genial, witty, unassuming, and endowed with a charm that atones for his errors.  Simple and unpretentious in appearance and attire, he has steadily established a reputation for political sanctity and love for our country and her people. 

 

A look at the maturity of Peter Obi’s character through growth, responsibility and circumstances as well as his positive impact on humanity and society, is revealing. Born with a silver spoon, his attainments have come mostly through hard work and commitment.

 

He commenced his formal education at Sancta Maria Primary School, Onitsha. By the time he entered secondary school -- Christ the King College [CKC], Onitsha -- he was already engaged in different trades through which he made money. In an experience from which we coined the term ‘Peter Obi’s Egg Principle’, he informed us how he meticulously guarded the eggs he put up for sale on the sound logic that the loss of even one meant the loss of his profit in that venture.

 

The business grew because at this stage, he had taxis/cabs operating in Onitsha- for a secondary school chap, this would sound incredible to some of us gathered here today. That experience helped define his future punctuated by prudence and financial discipline.

 

As a student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka [UNN], where he read philosophy, Peter Obi was travelling abroad on business. Among other contacts, there is a Mr. Fonzy with whom he maintained a strong business relationship until the older man’s recent retirement. Their partnership lasted long because they kept to their agreements; indeed, their word was their bond and so are so many relationships, business and otherwise, he is into. We can, therefore, say of Peter Obi that he is faithful to his words and fair to his partners and friends. When they pull, he loosens and if they loosen, he pulls. 

 

While a student of the UNN, he lived in his own house in Nsukka and was already travelling abroad weekly for his business. It was at that time that he built the Savannah Bank branch at Nsukka and Omor. His taxis plied the campus and those that sort political powers went to him for sponsorship.

 

Graduating with a second class degree, Peter Obi concentrated on his businesses which grew like a watered rose to make him an influential player in the corporate world. Thus, we saw him serving as Chairman of Fidelity Bank PLC; Chairman, Guardian Express Mortgage Bank; Chairman, Future Views Securities; Chairman, Paymaster PLC; Chairman, Next International; Director, Guardian Express Bank PLC; Director, Chams Nigeria PLC; Director, Emerging Capital; and  Director, Card Centre PLC, among others.

 

In the meantime, he also sharpened his entrepreneurial and managerial competencies at some of the world’s best professional institutions. These include: Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School, London School of Economics, Columbia Business School in New York, Switzerland Institute for Management Development, Kellogg [USA] Graduate School of Management, Said Business School of Oxford University, and George Business School of Cambridge University.

 

Exploring a wider platform to serve society and humanity, Peter Obi contested the governorship of Anambra State, but was denied victory. Being a vessel nature has preserved for a special purpose, he went to court, shunned all manner of ‘settlements’ and intimidation -- and thus became the first Nigerian politician to regain his electoral mandate through the courts and due process. Dogged by the predators, he was also the first elected State Governor to return from impeachment. The travails of his tenure in Government House altered the structure of elections in Nigeria.

 

Easily, Peter Obi has become a model on what good governance is all about; and for justifiable reasons. Barely 6 months in office, he was impeached by the Hon. Mike Balonwu-led House of Assembly. The first charge was that he contravened the ‘Constitution’ and single-handedly renovated the destroyed Government House with less than N50 million against the over-NN200 million appropriated in the budget.

 

While the leeches agonized over their lost-grip on the treasury, many of his friends were disappointed he did not make them millionaires at public expense. Or, at least, he could have offered them appointments like his counterparts elsewhere did for their cronies. For Peter Obi, public appointments should be derived from genuine needs and necessities and not as political settlement.

 

Prior to the tenures of Dr. Chris Ngige and Peter Obi, road travel in Anambra State was a nightmare in several ramifications. Building on the foundations laid by Ngige, Governor Obi gave the State the best road network in Nigeria – as established by the Federal Government. Tremendous impact was also made in other sectors and sub-sectors with the novel, widely-acclaimed Anambra State Integrated Development Strategy [ANIDS].

 

Peter Obi’s return of schools to their initial proprietors – particularly the Churches – rates among his most critical achievements as Governor. Though some persons now claim to be involved in the momentous decision, they were among the vociferous opposition massed against the move. It was Peter Obi’s resolve, courage and decisiveness that ushered in what is internationally-acknowledged as re-birth of education in Anambra State and a model for the rest of Nigeria.

 

As the Governor, the sheer force of his character engendered responsible developments in the State. Due to this positive disposition, at times in the bid to avoid mistakes, he fled from action into thought, from rash certainties to cautious doubts. He reminds us of the Latin maxim, in dubio, noli agere [In doubt, do not act]. He knew well enough to discern that not all the truth or error is on one side; but on both. Often, he placed his actions on the scale of ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’. Regrettably, what some people told him which he doubted and did not act upon for not being sure, turned out to be the truth.

 

From the privilege of having not suffered any major ill-health since he was born, he sees health "Pythagoreanly" as a harmony of the parts of the body and character. He has often observed that what people suffer are direct consequences of seeking what they do not need and what are not in sync with their constitution.  He goes the extra mile in trying to maintain this harmony in the firm belief that once one allows excess of import over export, it will disturb the internal economy. Thus, he exercises routinely to burn fats and keep his body athletically trimmed -- no extra ounce of flesh to burden him.

 

He was able to keep Anambra State one and united through many ways, excluding force.  Those that wanted to fight him, he disarmed by joining them at dinner in their homes; for some he went to their houses uninvited and even passed the night. What this teaches us is that governance is not by raw force or by going on long convoys; but an intellectual business.  We can actually achieve much by intelligently analyzing situations and applying informed solutions. An example is a story that Plutarch, the father of biography, told of how an epidemic of suicide among the women of Miletus was suddenly and completely ended by an ordinance decreeing that self-slain women should be carried naked through the market to their burial. If the decree was for their property to be seized, would it have achieved the same result?

 

From his tenure as Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi recognized the need for the States in the East to work together. He recognizes that no society can survive if it treats its members to behave towards one another in the same way in which it encourages them to behave as a group towards other groups; internal cooperation is the first law of external competition. This is why he held the people of the State together, putting up with their foibles. His tenure as Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum was easily the glorious era of the platform. Then, the Governors of the South-East spoke with one voice and shared their joys and concerns. 

 

Let us look at his achievements through the responsibility entrusted on him by his resourcefulness.

 

Peter Obi is skilled in negotiation and bridge-building. Most people are amazed how he does this, but if you stay close to him, you will see a certain comeliness and magnetism, especially if you do not consider friendship in terms of material acquisitions. With this unique character, he was about the most active State Governor during his time. The evidence is glaring to be contested, because seamlessly, he was a member of many Federal Government Committees as probably none of his colleagues was. Among others, he served on varied FG Committees on Minimum Wage, Negotiation with Labour on Subsidy, Mass Transit, Natural Resources, Power Sector Reform, Sharing of MDG Funds, Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import & Export, Agricultural Transformation Implementation, and Needs Analyses of Public Universities.

 

One of the sterling qualities of Mr. Peter Obi, is his ability to remain himself -- indeed, cool, calm and collected – at all times. Inauthentic existence has become a bane of our society as we witness even elders allowing the society to define their values for them; allowing their lives to be subsumed in the anonymity of collectivism. Today, burials and other events that ordinarily should compel introspection have become orgies. But here we have one man who has refused to join in the madness. Though he got married as a wealthy man, it was not Epicurean. Her mother’s burial was just shocking to the people due to its modesty – the money he would have spent in organizing a lavish burial was used to offer scholarship to 100 people, which he noted would be more pleasing to his mother.  In Nigeria, people do things as status symbol without a moment’s reflection, but here we have a former Bank Chairman, one of the leaders of the stock market and a former Governor who does not own a house in the village. In Lagos and Abuja, he lives in rented apartments. This is not about the ability to build houses all over the world, but applying the dictates of reason in doing so.

 

As Governor, Peter Obi shunned titles and granting of dignities. It is not out of hatred for that gesture but a subtle protest about their abuse. In Nigeria, if a criminal sees himself in a position of authority, Nigerians will try to stifle him with all manner of awards, some writers, for a few wads, will immediately confirm sanctity on him by forgetting his past and creating an utopian future for him. When he rejected such, except manifestly credible ones, he was rebelling against a society that has turned the placement of values topsy-turvy.

 

A glance at some of the awards he was conferred will reveal their justification:

•    2015: Golden Jubilee Award from the Catholic Diocese of Onitsha for outstanding contribution to quality healthcare delivery in St. Charles Borromeo Hospital in particular and Anambra State in general at the Golden Jubilee celebration of the hospital. 

•    2014: Nigerian Library Association Gold Merit Award for remarkable improvement of libraries in Anambra State, exemplified by his administration’s construction of the Kenneth Dike Digital State Library, remarkable upgrade of the Onitsha Divisional Library, and provision of library facilities in secondary schools across the State.  

•    2014: Champion Newspaper Most Outstanding Igbo Man of the Decade. 

•    2014: The Voice Newspaper (The Netherlands) Achiever’s Award for Outstanding Example in Leadership and Governance. 

•    2013: Silverbird Man of the Year (with Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State). 

•    2012: Business Hallmark Newspaper Man of the Year. 

•    2012: The Golden Award on Prudence by the Methodist Church of Nigeria as the Most Financially-Prudent Governor in Nigeria. 

•    2012: Leadership and Good Governance Award by The Ezeife Leadership Foundation for restoring peace and harmony to Anambra State. 

•    2012: Best-Performing Governor on Immunization in South-East Nigeria by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

•    2012: Outstanding Financial Planner and Manager by the Church of Nigeria [Anglican Communion] for resourcefulness and creativity in governance. 

•    2011: Zik Leadership Prize. 

•    2010: ICT Governor of the Year by the West Africa ICT Development Award. 

•    2009: Champion Newspaper Nigeria’s Most Trustworthy Governor Award. 

•    2009: Thisday Newspaper Most Prudent Governor in Nigeria. 

•    2007: Sun Newspaper Man of the Year Award. 

•    The Nigerian MDGs Office/UNDP Best Governor in the Implementation of the MDGs in Nigeria. 

 

Going through the entire gamut of what he did as Governor of Anambra State from 2006 to 2014, it is agreed that he remains one of the best Governors Nigeria has had. This is not platitude, but a fact that can be verified through his work. Permit us to mention some of those attainments:

 

•    He was the first State Governorship candidate in Nigeria to legally pursue to its logical conclusion, his governorship electoral victory that was denied him. He won in the Courts and reclaimed his mandate. 

•    He was the first State Governor in Nigeria to legally challenge his wrongful impeachment and was reinstated by the Courts. 

•    He was the first State Governor in Nigeria to seek the interpretation of tenures of Governors when INEC allowed elections to take place in Anambra State even as his tenure had not expired. The said election already concluded was cancelled and Peter Obi was able to complete his tenure. 

•    He was the first & only Governor of the new & old Anambra State – to date -- to serve a second term. 

•    He was the first incumbent State Governor to be appointed a Special Adviser to the President. 

•    He was the first serving State Governor to be appointed into the Presidential Economic Management Team. 

•    He was among the first set of incumbent State Governors to be honoured with a National Award of Commander of the Order of the Niger [CON] -- in 2011 

•    Though the only Governor whose political party was in government in only one State, he was twice-elected Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum. 

•    Though the only non-PDP Governor in the South-East (made up of 5 States), he was elected by the other 4 PDP Governors as their Chairman for 8 years rather than the usual one year.

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During his tenure as Governor:

•    Anambra was the first State to commence Sub-Sovereign Wealth savings – indeed, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. At a time many other Governors were leaving huge debts, Peter Obi left the equivalent of US$500 million in investments as well as local and foreign currency, including US$156 million in Dollar-denominated bonds. Going by the exchange rate, the money he left is now over 180 Billion Naira.

•    For the first time in the history of the State, Ambassadors and High Commissioners of notable countries such as the United States, Britain, Russia, European Union, South Africa, Belgium, Israel, The Netherlands, Canada, among others, visited Anambra State. Before his tenure, Anambra was practically a pariah State blacklisted by the Diplomatic Corps and international development partners. 

•    Development Partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DfID and European Union, which hitherto were not represented in Anambra State, started working with the State. Anambra was consistently adjudged one of the best States in development partnership and commitment to reforms for good governance. 

•    He was recognized as Best Governor by the Millennium Development Goals Office (OSSAP-MDGs) and the UNDP in the implementation of their programmes in Nigeria. 

•    The Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO) rated Anambra as the least indebted state in Nigeria. In spite of visible and measurable achievements recorded in various sectors, the State did not borrow or raise bonds for its various projects. 

•    The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria rated Anambra the most financially-stable State in the country. 

•    The momentous return of erstwhile private schools to their original owners on January 1, 2009 and subsequent partnership with the voluntary agencies, saw the State move from 24th position [among the 36 States] to Number One in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) examinations for three consecutive years. This informed the World Bank’s commissioning of a study, led by the renowned Prof. Paul Collier of Oxford University, on this revolutionary partnership and phenomenal achievement. 

•    The State entered into strategic partnership with the Churches in the Health sector. This symbiotic relationship resulted in a tremendous boost to healthcare as the Obi administration restored grants to the agencies and made available to them more than US$50 million in various other forms of support. 

•    Through partnership with the Churches, his administration funded the transformation of Iyienu Hospital, Ogidi; Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Ihiala; St. Charles Borromeo Hospital, Onitsha; Holy Rosary Hospital, Waterside, Onitsha; and St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu. It also established the Joseph Nwilo Heart Centre in St. Joseph Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu, where heart operations are now being performed. 

•    His administration won the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Prize of US$1 million as the best-performing State in immunization in the South-East. With complementary funding from his administration, the funds were utilized to build 10 Maternal and Child Care Centres across the State, particularly in rural communities – also in partnership with the Churches. 

•    Anambra State was the first to procure and distribute over 30,000 DeskTop Computers to secondary schools -- 22,500 of them from Hewlett-Packard [HP]. The Managing Director for Personal Systems Group HP Inc., Mr. Fabrice Campoy had revealed that the deployment was the biggest such project in the Middle-East and Africa. 

•    Microsoft Academies were set up in more than 500 secondary schools – a gesture the Head of Microsoft in Nigeria, Mr. Ken Span described as the largest in Africa. 

•    The State provided Internet access to over 500 secondary schools, which the CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe characterized as incomparable to any other in Nigeria. 

•    More than 700 buses were provided to secondary schools in the State.

•    Boreholes were provided in schools across the State. 

•    Several classroom blocks were constructed in all the 177 autonomous communities of the State. 

•    Quite a number of companies were attracted to establish in the Anambra State. These include SABMiller -- the world’s 2nd largest brewing company – which set up its first Green Field facility in the State. Today, that is one of the most successful facilities they operate globally. 

•    Several enterprises received the active support and encouragement of the administration. A case in point is INNOSON Motor Manufacturing Company, from which the Obi administration purchased over 1,000 vehicles. 

•    Anambra State for the first time started close collaboration with recognized government security agencies -- offering them various types of support, including over 500 security vehicles and other logistics. The improvement in security was phenomenal, such that the then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar lauded the State for not witnessing any bank robbery in the last three years of the Obi tenure. 

•    To further enhance security, the Obi administration provided at least one security vehicle to each of all the 177 autonomous communities of the State as well as such other organizations such as markets and Churches. 

•    The administration conceived and built the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Awka – named after Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

•    The administration commenced the planned development of the Igbariam Campus of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu University, including fencing, internal roads, electrification, Auditorium, Administrative Block, Faculties of Management, Law and Agriculture, among others. 

•    Support of the World Bank was attracted to implement the State’s the State’s component of the National Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP). 

•    Anambra was the first State in Nigeria to undertake a Poverty Mapping -- as a guide for the effective implementation of the administration’s poverty-alleviation strategies. 

•    Anambra State, for the first time, undertook the aerial mapping of Awka as well as the production of Structure Plans for Awka Capital Territory, Onitsha and Nnewi. 

•    With his administration’s efforts, Anambra has become an oil producing State. 

•    The Obi administration built the first Secretariat Complex to house State Government Ministries, Departments & Agencies [MDAs] that were hitherto scattered around the State, mostly in rented apartments.  

•    The Obi administration commenced the development of the 'Three Arms Zone' comprising Government House/Governor’s Lodge, Legislative Building/Speaker’s Residence, and Judiciary Building with Chief Judge’s Residence. 

•    By the end of his tenure in 2014, over 12 health institutions, including two hospitals, had secured accreditation. At his assumption of office in 2006, no health institution in Anambra State was duly accredited. 

•    Anambra State was the first to undergo national peer review, which scrutinized State Governments for good governance, through the State Peer Review Mechanism (SPRM), an initiative of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum in collaboration with the DfID.

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Peter Obi's gubernatorial experience brought honour and pride to Agulu. I know most of those that worked with him who got elevated to higher responsibilities. For instance, his Commissioner for Housing, Dr. Patrick Obi was a lecturer in a State University. At an interview in a Federal University, the panel told him that the mere knowledge that he worked with Mr. Peter Obi had made him qualified. He is widely known within and outside Nigeria, and they acknowledge he works with the best!

 

Today, I am engaged in some small businesses. In my transactions, I met the foremost goods importer in Igboland who told me that having worked with Mr. Peter Obi made me qualified for limitless credit. Rather than the totality of Agulu celebrating such a man, some nibble at his integrity; displaying crude jealousy that will lead them to nowhere. 

 

Like the period following the Dark Ages was known as the "Renaissance," Peter Obi’s governance of Anambra was "The Age of Re-Birth." Out of office, his prayer and that of people of goodwill is that his successor should perform better than him. Now, after over two years, what do we say of his successor? Is he governing the realm with dour integrity and devoted incompetence, too suspicious to be happy, too cruel to be loved, too vain to be great? Or is he following the footsteps of his predecessor, allocating the resources of the State the best way it should -- not borrowing to burden generations unborn and growing the savings of the State?

 

Shortly before he bowed down in a blaze of glory, he did his best towards sustaining the gains of his administration by his successor, that was why he set money aside for the completion of Agulu Lake Hotel, all the ongoing projects in Agulu, Onitsha Hotel, Nnewi and Awka Malls, critical roads in the State such as the Amansea-Amawbia dual carriage road, Ndiukwuenu road, Awgwu road, Old Awka-Amansea road, among others. He also set money aside for the Three Arms Zone -Government House, Legislative House and Judiciary headquarters as well as the National Youth Service Corps Permanent Site at Umuawulu/mbaukwu, among other critical projects. 

 

Since leaving Government House, appreciation of what the Obi administration did for the State has come into marked focus. There is hardly anywhere he goes in the State that he is not acknowledged in ecstasy – with ‘Okwute!  Okwute!’ [The Rock]. Attempts to silence him and restrict his movement within the State have further heightened his popularity and esteem. 

 

On social media, the predators and their agents try to use him for target practice – clamouring to outdo one other in polemic vitriol.  They satirize him with hilarious caricature, some depicting him as a vampire. We need no prophets to tell us that war has been declared upon him, but he has waxed stronger.

 

What is annoying at this juncture is that some of our sons and daughters are among those fighting him. Why would Chief Ben Obi (Mbuze Agulu) at over 60 allow himself to be used against his brother? Recently, they wrote a release for him, which he signed saying unprintable things one would not even say of his enemy. He claimed that as a result of bad things Obi did through his sister, her congregation sacked her from sisterhood and she fled to Congo. As we speak, Sister has not been to Congo before. We see some Okwuotos, Silases and Ejeabaochas joining forces to fight their own brother even when the entire country eulogizes him as a Nigerian star in the midst of which other stars lose their scintillating brilliance. 

 

Peter Obi is successful in every sense of the word. But despite all forethought and foresight, he made (to our hindsight) an ample variety of mistakes, both in judging men and in calculating results. Clearly, he did not know that those he trusted in APGA were only out to trade with the State, but he has played his role in giving Anambra State a pride of place in the Nigerian Federation. 

 

Finally, may I take this opportunity to let you know the major secret of the success of Mr. Peter Obi  is  – spirituality. We hear the tale of some leaders usually under inexplicable spell. Recently we even added the ridiculous to the tale- a governor was reported to have been slapped by unseen hands! During the time of Peter Obi, we did not hear of such tales because he was close to God. He attended morning masses every day before going to office. At the close of work, his last act was to visit the chapel at the Government Lodge to commune with his creator. By this art, he is beckoning on us all to have trust and faith in God.  

 

LEADERSHIP LESSONS

In the course of this work, I brought out some leadership lessons that we can learn from him. These include:

•    Humility

•    Perseverance

•    Prudence

•    Malleability

•    Truthfulness

•    Authenticity

•    Love

•    Kindness

•    Firmness

 

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