The story of Sir Nsima Ekere,
KJW, former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State and the present MD/CEO of
the NDDC, easily reminds one of the indelible words of the famous
English poet and author of old, Williams Shakespeare:"Some are born
great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them"
A reflection on the odysseys of Sir Nsima Ekere, KJW, clearly shows a
man who, through the dint of hard work, conscientiouness and diligence,
has attained greatness within remarkable space and time, under the
divine guidance of providence.
The man, Nsima Ekere, means
different things to different people, depending on the particular prism
from which one is looking at him.
To some, Nsima Ekere comes across as a
self-assertive andconfident political leader whose mission and vision in
politics and public affairs is essentially driven by the overriding
need to serve the public good.
For others, he is a devoted Methodist who
is passionately committed to promote the cause of the church within
God's vineyard.
Yet, his adversaries perceive him as intemperate and
ruthless.Interestingly, a closer relationship with him will reveal the
meekness, humility and amiabiityof Obong Nsima Ekere.
Whatever
perception is held of him, what can't be taken away from him is his
abiding commitment to serving the public good at all times.
As a
practical student of power, who has been tried and tested in public
leadership, he sees his participation in politics as a natural call and
vocation to serve the best interests of the greatest majority in the
society.
For him, politics should not be an avenue to serve
parochial and primordial interests. Rather, it is a veritable forum for
civic engagement aimed at promoting the welfare and security of the
people.
He seriously believes that the primary purpose of government is
the protection and promotion of the welfare of the people.
In his various
political engagements, either as the Chairman AKIPOC, MD of Ibom Power
Company or as Deputy Governor of the state and as the MD of NDDC, his
present political engagement, Nsima Ekere has remained consistent in his
belief in the efficacy of politics as a potent instrument for rendering
selfless public service and lifting the masses from the morass of
poverty and benign existence.
No doubt, Nsima Ekere is a brilliant
bandwagon and well refined soapbox politician who would easily sway
supporters to his side? He is always clear on his objectives and has an
undisputed patriotic zeal.
This patriotic desire to serve the
public good has been the propelling force behind Nsima Ekere's continual
engagementsin the public space.
He is not in politics for self
aggrandizement.He demonstrated that in 2006 when he vied for the
gubernatorial ticket of his former party, the PDP.He came forth in the
party primaries.
It's on records that he helped the winner of the party
primaries who went ahead to win the gubernatorial election proper, Chief
Godswill Akpabio, to stabilize the ticket.
A deal was struck to make him
the deputy governorship candidate of the party in the 2007
gubernatorial election but he was made the sacrificial lamb to resolve
the face-off between the then governor of the state, Obong Victor Attah
and Godswill Akpabio, the gubernatorial candidate of the party.As a
gentleman, he toed the party line and worked assiduously for the
victoryof the party at the polls.
In 2011, he was nominated to deputize
the immediate past governor of the state, Godswill Akpabio.
Less than two
years into his four year tenure some political vambires ganged up to
impeach him with a view to truncating his bid for the governorship of
the state in the 2015 elections.But as a smart, smooth and smart
politician, he quietly resigned from the government, thus, beating the
impeachment plotters to their game.
While they were busy signing his
impeachment notice, he was perfectinghis resignation from the
government. By that action, he had shown that he is not in politics for
self aggrandizement.
He had option and capacity to wage a fight against
his adversaries but he opted to quit in other not to create unnecessary
crisis and bloodshed in the state.
When in 2015 he vied for the
gubernatorial ticket of the PDP again, he ran a well tailored
issue-based campaign.
He had and has the most robust and organized
political machinery in the state.In pursuit of his well articulated
blueprint for the growth and development of the state, Nsima Ekere ran
an all-inclusive campaign that took him to all the nooks and grannies of
the state.
Sadly and regretabbly, the national leadership of the party
connived with the immediate past governor of the state and shut him and
twenty two other gubernatorial aspirants out of the charade they called
gubernatorial primaries and foisted the present governor, DeaconUdom
Emmanuel as the gubernatorial candidate of the party and went ahead and
deployed the federal might and brazenly rigged him to power.
As dogged
political fighter, he rallied the twenty one other aggrieved
gubernatorial aspirants to protest and resist the injustice done to them
by the party leadership.
Unfortunately, they could not get the party
leadership to address their case.As a man of honour, he refused to bow
to the vampires in PDP.
He quit the party and joined forces with the APC
to dislodge the PDP from power.He lost out in the race for the PDP
ticket in very controversial circumstances but he made a lasting
impression on the Akwa Ibom people as a focused and well meaning leader
with the potential and capacity to make the desired difference
In
the light of the misgovernance and leadership deficit that has been the
lot of the state in the past twenty two months, many people are still
yearning for Nsima Ekere's return in 2019.As to whether he would heed
this clarion call or not is a matter that is in the womb of time.
ObongNsima Ekere has so many factors going for him and these have
accounted for his success as a political leader of note.He is
principled, courageous and strong-willed.He is a man of unimpeachable
integrity and probity whose word is his bond.
Most importantly, he is a
team player who inspires confidence among his peers and
subordinates.Nsima Ekere is also very thorough who doesn't believe in
half measures.
He is cosmopolitan and pan Nigerian in outlook? These good
qualities have stood in good stead but in politics and the wider
society.It will to repeating the obvious to state that these values have
continued to define the man and his essence.
Within the short
period he has been at the helm of affairs at the NDDC, he has
demonstrated these values and qualities.
He is working assiduously to
restore the original vision and core mandate of the agency which had
been bastardized and abandoned by previous administrations.
He has
ordered contractors who abandoned the agency's jobs across the sub
region to return to sites or face prosecution.With him as the M.D. of
the agency, no contractor will mess with the agency.
He has released
about four hundred jobs across the sub region.He is engaging
relevant stakeholders in the sub region, including the ex agitators and
youth leaders with a view to stemming militancy in the sub region.
He has
launched a probe into allegations of corruption in the agency.There's no
doubt that he is going to reform, reinvigorate the agency to achieve
its core mandate and he would leave the place better than he met it.
It's these sterling qualities and values of his that inform the
positions of a school of thought in the state that he is the best
governor the state is yet to have.
OBONG INIOBONG JOHN,
EDUEK OFFOT UKWA CLAN,
DIRECTOR GENERAL,
ONE frontiers
EDUEK OFFOT UKWA CLAN,
DIRECTOR GENERAL,
ONE frontiers
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