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That Amaechi’s Style Of Leadership By Example

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Leadership can be likened to an art. Whoever does a work of art is called an artist. Works of art definitely spring forth from the heart, it is intrinsic. However, when work is elevated to an artistic level for instance through exemplary leadership, the arrowhead of such a feat can be regarded as an artist. Governor Amaechi could be called an artist in this sense.

In Rivers State, the administration of Governor Amaechi has, in unmistakable terms elevated leadership to an artistic height. His creative ingenuity in crafting a change from what used to be, could be termed an escape from the ordinary and an art of sorts.

Before the emergence of Governor Amaechi, the ordinary man in Rivers State had harboured a negative feeling towards governance. To the citizenry, a feeling that change cannot take place was a familiar sentiment. Change from the old order of contract abandonment, carry go, and sharing of the common wealth of the state was a far-fetched possibility. It was unthinkabl. Infrastructure, to say the least, was at the decaying level.

The health industry, hospitals and clinics were elevated to a prescription center where the presiding doctors and health officials only referred patients to their own privately run hospitals. Security of lives and property was as uncertain and dangerously threatened, Cult boys masquerading as ethnic militias held the state by the jugular. The education sector did not fare better as private schools took the shine off public schools with exorbitant fees which the common man could hardly afford. Power generation begged for a touch. Of course, Water Corporation and its responsibility of giving the people good drinking water was non-existence. Road network in the city capital of Port Harcourt was a sorry issue. No wonder, inter – city and intra-city commuting was a horrendous experience.

However, Governor Amaechi happened to be on the driving seat in the State as Governor and not only made change a reality, he made possible a radical drift from the old order. The masses felt a new breeze caress them. This he did by revamping the infrastructural decadence in the State. For the first time after the departure of Alfred Diette Spiff from the Brick House, the oil wealth in the State was turned into the people’s wealth.

Before Governor Amaechi’s rise to power, the Rivers man never believed a contract could be executed to its end. They never believed that the several roads being constructed today or re-furbished could be done not to talk of finishing them.

But before one could step into the Governor’s massive infrastructural turn-around programmes, there is the important need to talk of his battles with the cult boys in the State which culminated in one way or another into both the insecurity in the State and amnesty saga subsequently.

Quite alright, the Governor was not the one that granted amnesty but his initial refusal to negotiate any deal with militants as his predecessors had one, brought the message of his aversion to them to the fore. This approach made the militants realise the enormity of the menace they constitute to the state and to the masses.

And when it was as if there was to be an impasse in the understanding between his administration and the militants who insisted he must regularly settles them, Joint Military Task Force (JTF) was brought into the State to restore order. After this development security gradually began to sip through the state. The militants got cowed to a reasonable extent. Finally, the amnesty came eventually to help stamp out the menace of the cult boys. Today, Rivers State is one of the safest cities in the country.

Coming away from security, the Governor rolled out a massive agenda of road construction and refurbishment. This agenda has seen such roads like Rumuola to Rumuokwuta, Rumuokwuta to Choba through NTA, Rumuomasi to Rumuobiakani, Ohiamini road starting from Psychiatric Road to Rumuola, Rumuola to Elekahia link Road and a host of others scattered all over the state and not only Port Harcourt metropolis. While some of these roads have been competed others are nearing completion. The Eleme fly – over bridge under this scheme have equally been completed while others are on the verge of completion.

Education is another prominent sector where the governor could thumb himself and his administration up for having done well so far.

First of all, in order to ease the financial burden of Primary School Teachers salaries in the State, the governor elected to take over the payment of primary schools teachers’ salaries thereby creating more funds for the Local Government Chairman to plough into other projects. This impacted positively on the primary education system.

Again, Government further saw the need to inject new life into the primary schools sector and so a total of 350 model primary schools went under a new programme of construction. As at today, 70 to 80% of these schools have been completed. The Governor did not stop there. He followed the primary school style by initiating the construction of 24 new model boarding Secondary Schools all over the 23 local government areas of the state. This new determination to turn around the slide and the drift in education compelled the governor to personally supervise the construction works going on in these Secondary Schools. At the tertiary level, he initiated a bill in the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) that gage birth to the establishment of a law elevating the Rivers State College of Education to University status.

Every sector of the economy under Amaechi’s administration has one reason or the other to blossom. Thus, in the health industry, 160 health centers have been constructed around the state. These have also been properly equipped with modern health apparatus to properly handle issues of primary health delivery. In the same vein, the secondary and tertiary health needs of the state got a boost through the upgrading of some existing hospitals, such as Niger Hospital Emenike street Port Harcourt.

Interestingly, in the health sector, the governor being aware that infrastructure alone cannot do the work has made the training and retraining of personnel to man state hospitals a cardinal programme of his administration through the recruitment of qualified medical personnels.

Unemployment which was one  of the reasons why all manner of vices reared their ugly heads in the metropolis and the state generally got a serious consideration with the establishment of the Ministry of Employment and Youth Empowerment. Sustainable development which was  to have a direct impact in the state through series of programmes geared towards emancipating the citizenry from the clutches of hunger and starvation had an agency of its own. Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), an autonomous agency set up as multi-sector intervention agency under the office of the Governor to whom the RSSDA Directors report regularly. This statutory establishment with its enabling laws is empowered to undertake projects in a wide variety of areas including youth development and re-orientation, SMES, Education, health, Skills Acquisition, Employment, Local Government, etc.

Principally, the agency tackle rural poverty, build effective community institutions and viable local economies across the rural areas including urban slums but emphasis however here is on youth development.

Within its short period of existence, RSSDA has established scholarship schemes for indigent students both abroad and internally. Under this scheme, over 1,500 students are already studying aboard in different universities. The countries working in liason with RSSDA include UK, Singapore, Canada and Benin Republic, locally too, students are sponsored under this programme.

In agriculture, the agency has set a record in aquaculture and related sectors in the state. Basically, the agency has rigorously supported the production of catfish and fingerlings in the State where  millions fingerlings are produced every six weeks for fish multiplication. Cassava production is also supported while enhanced poultry primary is encourage with the stocking of over 45,000 layers which produce enormous quantity of eggs regularly.

To make sure that its programmes are sustained, the Rivers State Government works in concert with the World Bank, USAID, DFID, NNPC, SPDC, NDDC and other agencies of the Federal and Rivers State Government. According to the Director of the Agency, ‘sustainable development is holistic socio-economic transformation of the rural areas of Rivers State with a long term horizon which ensures that the needs of the rural dwellers are met. “This, “ he continued “could only be realised through results – oriented and professionally supported programmes and projects”

There is bountiful evidence to believe that the present Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has no hidden agenda other than to beaqueath a profound legacy of enhanced development whenever he leaves office. However with the sustained and determined drive by the opposition to unseal him, one begins to wonder what the Governor is doing wrong. Is it his determination to revolutionise democracy with his open-door policy, grassroots development, Youth Empowerment, Education for all as is being planned, sustainable development, the construction of a greater Port Harcourt City, development, emancipation of the poor and the needy or what?

Whatever be his sins, the masses in the state are prepared to do any thing to have the hard working Governor come back, if not for any thing for the continuity of the numerous projects that dot the land most of which he either has completed or are between 60-70% in completion. He remains a pace setter.

We at the Center for Good Governance will believe that the people of Rivers State, having suffered so much deprivation should therefore have the best in terms of good leadership which Governor Amaechi exemplifies. Nevertheless should they allow partisan opposition intimidate his administration into capitulation we collectively have ourselves to blame. Continuity is essential in this time.

Nnamdiwrote in from Port Harcourt.

 

Engr. Chukwu Nnamdi

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Proposed States Creation: Youth Leader Lauds Nass Over Obolo State Inclusion

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The immediate past President of Obolo Youth Coalition( OYC), Mr Ijong Ama Nkpon Amon, has commended the National Assembly committee on constitutional review for the inclusion of Obolo State as one of the states proposed to be created in the country.
Mr Amon also urged the NASS Committee to give priority to Obolo as the proposed state is viable in terms of human and material resources.
It would be recalled that the proposed Obolo State compromises eight local government areas, one from Rivers State and seven from Akwa Ibom State.
The OYC former National President who briefed newsmen on the issue described the proposed Obolo State as the most viable among the 31 proposed new states in the country.
He also described the inclusion of Obolo State among the list as a dream come true for sons and daughters of Obolo nation who have for years yearned for a political entity that will bring the Obolo people who are scattered in various states across the country together.
According to him, the proposed Obolo State is even more viable than some existing states in the country as it has both human and material resources to survive, adding that the proposed state is not only rich in oil and gas but has enough marine and forest resources to generate revenue.
Mr Amon who recounted how the agitation for the proposed state started said Obolo State agitators were the first to submit a memorandum to both chambers of the National Assembly for the creation of Obolo State.
According to him, the agitation started way back in 2022 when, as the president of Obolo youth coalition, he submitted a memorandum to the National Assembly, adding that he was happy that his efforts were yielding results.
The youth leader also said that there is no impediment to the creation of Obolo State as population wise and natural resources the state is fully qualified
“Obolo is over qualified in terms of geographical spread and resources.
Also population wise and land mass, Obolo is richer than some states in Nigeria. Obolo is the most viable, it has oil and gas,fishes and forest resources”, he said.
Mr Amon, who is also a one time Speaker of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Youth Parliament and president, Andoni Youth Coalition, further said the creation of Obolo State will not only help to improve the conditions of life of the Ijaw nation but also Niger Delta at large.
He argued that even if the creation of the state does not come to pass, history will record that Obolo people once agitated for their own state but expressed the hope that the agitation will yield positive results this time around.
Mr Amon urged Obolo people to be resilient and continue to pray for the actualization of the Obolo State.
Meanwhile Mr Amon has said that the creation of more states in the country will pave the way for the practice of true federalism in the country.
He told newsmen that it would enable states in the country to depend less on federal allocation as they will be made to source for revenues to survive.
According to him: “creation of more states will give more powers to the states to source for revenues and pay taxes to the federal government and this will bring true federalism”, he said.

By: John Bibor

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Bode George Kicks Against State Creation, Opts For True Federalism

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A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has faulted calls for the creation of 31 additional states in the country .
Speaking during an interview yesterday, the PDP chieftain said creating additional states would not solve the country’s challenges or promote its development.
Recall that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, last Thursday said the House had received proposals for the creation of 31 new states.
Hon. Kalu, who is also Chairman of the House Constitution Review Committee, said that six new states were proposed in the North-Central, four in the North-East, five in the North-West, five in the South- South, five in the South-East and seven in the South-West.
According to him, the proposed states include Okun, Okura and Confluence from Kogi; Benue Ala and Apa from Benue; FCT State; Amana from Adamawa; Katagum from Bauchi; Savannah from Borno; Muri from Taraba; New Kaduna and Gujarat from Kaduna State; Tiga and Ari from Kano; Kainji from Kebbi; Etiti and Orashi as the sixth states in the South-East; Adada from Enugu; and Orlu and Aba.
Others are Ogoja from Cross River, Warri from Delta, Ori and Obolo from Rivers, Torumbe from Ondo, Ibadan from Oyo, Lagoon from Lagos and Ogun, Ijebu from Ogun, and Oke Ogun/Ijesha from Oyo/Ogun/Osun states.
Some political stakeholders have, however, vehemently opposed the idea, describing it as unnecessary.
Reacting, Chief George said what was needed in the country at this time was not creation of additional states.
He argued that the fact that some existing states were not viable clearly showed that state creation would not solve the country’s deep structural problems.
Instead, Chief George called on the National Assembly to make efforts to ensure the country achieves true federalism, saying that it was a sure way to achieve accelerated development .
He stated, “Don”t tell me we should create more states. Forget about more states. We want to create more states and then everybody will be rushing to Abuja. This is not sustainable. Let us look at our federal structure first, the same federal system we run with America. Why are we not running it as they run their own?
“Go to New York City, the Mayor of New York controls the airport, the John Kennedy Airport, he controls the ports, the sea ports, the Mayor of New York, not the governor.
“Go to New Orleans, the Mayor there controls the ports. The same in Texas, all oil companies are not controlled by the President. That is federalism. Those people don’t run to Washington every hour to meet the President.
“In America, they have state police and even county police. Why can’t we have such here? Creation of more states is not sustainable. What we need now is to address the problems in our federal structure.”
Calling for devolution of power, Chief George said power devolution would catalyse the development of the country.
He, however, said the present constitution was not working and there was a need to have a new constitution to drive the country’s development.
The PDP chieftain said the current constitution put too much power in the centre, leaving the states and local governments helpless and incapacitated.
He noted: “There is no state in this country that the Almighty has not endowed. It is either agriculture or minerals or human resources. But the constitution of this country is not right. We need to revisit it and now allow all those states to manage themselves, manage their resources. That is the beginning of the cleansing of this country. Nothing is working because the foundation is faulty”.
Chief George called for the adoption of the recommendations of the 2014 Confab to achieve true federalism and address the country’s numerous challenges.

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PDP Stalwart Canvases Support For PHALGA Mayor

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A former Organising Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, Elder Blessing Tiko, has urged the people of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area support the administration of Hon. Ezebunwo Ichemati.
Elder Tiko made this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The former party organising secretary, who is also the coordinator of Port Harcourt Environmental Sanitation Initiative, said Hon Ichemati has raised the bar as far as the administration of the capital city is concerned.
He particularly praised the Mayor for embarking on some people-oriented projects within his first one hundred days in office.
According to him, the Mayor has bought vehicles for all the councilors and principal aides of the council including the Deputy Mayor.
He also praised him for the construction of a two bedroom flat for 93 years old widow at Elekahia and purchase of land for Ogbunabali community as its play ground.
Elder Tiko also commended the Mayor the for construction of a road in Elekahia and installation of street lights and the ongoing reconstruction of a road and drainage system at Ekwe Street in Diobu.
According to him the ongoing construction of international educational centre at the council premises also deserves commendation.
He further said that the Mayor, during the end of year festivities, also visited the Port Harcourt Correctional Center and some homes for the less privileged to celebrate with them.
Elder Tiko urged the people to appreciate the gestures of the Mayor by supporting him to ensure that he succeeds, stressing that, if possible, the Mayor should be endorsed for a second term in office.
In addition, the elder statesman also commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his purposeful leadership in the state.

By: John Bibor

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