More Laurels For Wike

Less than four months to the end of his administration, the Rivers State governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, was
yet again honoured with a prestigious award last Saturday at the Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos by the Independent Newspapers Limited (INL), publishers of Daily Independent, Saturday Independent, and Sunday Independent titles. The event was a gathering of who-is-who among eminent Nigerians.
The national stable also bestowed awards and honours on some illustrious Nigerians and corporate organisations who have used their positions to serve humanity. According to sources from the newspaper, the distinguished individuals and organisations were cautiously picked by the Awards Committee of INL and were affirmed to have used their positions and privileges to serve the people and demonstrated true character as genuine servants of the public.
Bearing the theme, “Celebrating Nigeria’s Best”, the 2022 edition was unique and further hollowed the successes recorded in the previous awards as the recipients were selected purely on merit as they ranked among the very best in their different endeavours in their courses of service to humanity. Leading at the award ceremony was Wike who was deservedly revered as Independent’s Man Of The Year.
This award did not come as a jolt as Wike has demonstrated his love and desire to see the good of the ordinary man in both his immediate Rivers State and Nigeria in general. The governor has developed Rivers to the extent that President Muhammadu Buhari honoured him with the ‘Infrastructure’ Award. He has been very vocal in championing the course of Nigerians, especially with the effects of the current economic crunch induced by the redesigning of the naira and fuel scarcity, where he has remained relentless in pursuit of succour for ordinary Nigerians.
As early as 2017, barely a couple of years into his administration, Wike had already carved his indelible niche in the annals of infrastructure delivery in the country. No wonder Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, christened him “Mr. Projects” in recognition of his tremendous achievements in such a short period when most of his first-term colleagues were still trying to find their feet and settle down to the nitty-gritty of their new mandate.
Needless to say that in the more than five years that have elapsed since the Vice President’s uncommon acknowledgement of Wike’s pragmatic leadership, the Rivers governor has accomplished an outstanding galore of breathtaking, fabulous, gigantic infrastructural projects across the length and breadth of Rivers State. This has not only transformed Port Harcourt and its environs into a befitting capital city but also provided comfortable access and passage into many ancient kingdoms, hitherto accessible only by sea.
The 12 flyovers (some already completed and in use while others are nearing completion and will all be completed before his tenure is over), criss-crossing the milieu of Port Harcourt and its environs, the massive state-of-the-art Nabo Graham Douglas Campus of the Nigeria Law School complex, Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Diagnosis Treatment Centre, the impressive Mother and Child Hospital, the iconic Real Madrid Football Academy are some projects.
Others include Sakpenwa-Kono dual carriage expressway, Opobo Unity Road, the reconstructed jetties, the renovated schools, and the rehabilitated internal roads across the state are some projects on the list that are just too comprehensive to reel out. Indeed, the governor’s generosity and humanitarian acts both within and across the country have now become legendary. Wike has done all these, despite the poor state of infrastructure he inherited from his predecessor and the setback caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which ravaged the entire country.
We recall similar recognitions and awards to the amiable Rivers governor. Apart from the honours from some national newspapers, he has in his kitty awards, including Human Rights Award by National Human Rights Commission; 3G Ambassadors Award; Bayelsa Media Network Award, and the ‘Best Governor’ by Nigerian Social Media Awards. The Nigerian Social Media Awards, the brainchild of Francis Amirize, was created to recognise personalities, brands, and services having the most impact on the social media space in Nigeria.
More than seven years, Governor Wike’s regional importance and growing national status as a political titan, a visionary game changer, and a developmental leader has grown in leaps and bounds. He has also transformed Port Harcourt and Rivers State into a buzzing matrix and solid base for the resolution of political conflicts and a bastion for results-oriented, functional leadership. This is against the backdrop of a progressively dysfunctional and administratively dystopian national leadership.
Recognising Wike’s onliest attributes, Diversity Bridge Builders Collective (DBBC), a coalition of advocates for true inclusion, zero prejudice, and peaceful coexistence recently declared that the Rivers State governor was an assertive leader with a strong character and virtues of firm and effective leadership. DBBC said it all. Rather than vilify the man with such attributes, he should be applauded for being a leader, who does not give oxygen to laxity, indolence, and underwhelming performance in public office.
The current day Nigeria, with all its self-inflicted multi-faceted challenges, decadence, hopelessness, and widespread disillusionment requires a decisive, vibrant, fire-brand, assertive, and result-oriented leader like the Rivers Chief Executive. This is in contradistinction to the incumbent, underwhelming, indecisive leadership characterised by uninspiring lethargy, evasiveness, and nonchalance at the federal level. Wike’s attributes present him with a remarkable edge over other leaders in the country.
Most veritably, Governor Wike cannot be compared with his counterparts. There is no state in Nigeria where projects have been inaugurated like Rivers. The governor has turned it into a project commissioning state. Almost all notable political, traditional, and economic leaders commissioned projects in the state. From roads to hospitals to schools, to courts, and special projects, dignitaries from other parts of the country inaugurated projects that enriched the lives of Rivers people. Wike has candidly raised the bar of governance.