The Labours of our Heroes Past and Present....
The last one week has been busy. Like it always is for me. But the past three days have been interesting. On Monday we learnt that the first British female Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher took her finaly bow. On Tuesday I had to successfully brave an onslaught of engineering gurus who took my design considerations for using historical Synthetic Aperture Radar data to explore for Oil Sands apart. Some how God had me prevail and today I dwell on Governor Rotimi Amaechi's sterling remarks on recieving the Vanguard Man of the year.
It is customary to honour the dead so I begin with Mrs Thatcher. I grew up in London while she held sway as UK's Prime Minister. I was too little to understand the Miners Strike or her relentless privatisation drive. Nor can I recall when she abolished the General London Assembly or the Falklands War. What made this woman my mentor was her rags to riches tale. A grocers daughter that earned her place in the World stage becoming Englands first and since then only female Prime Minister. One thing that Thatcherism held for me was the unswavering adoption of principle over profit. In the current politically correct age, she chose to stick to her convictions because she believed in them. This has always been a lesson for me as I tried to come out from my own fathers imposing shadow and pursue a life that has seen me express my individualism far greater than the shackles of country and career and circumstances could allow. She shattered the glass ceiling so that millions of people like me can aspire to freedom and the pursuit of happiness whether you were peering through the Iron curtain from Eastern Europe or 6000 miles away in the Falklands. It is one life and we can achieve our dreams.
The reviewers for my engineering design took me to task thoroughly. I thank God for His wisdom and guidance. My hope is that when my designs are rigorously proven and patented, a new technology venture will be established with the three proud words, "Made In Nigeria". Till then? I need to keep working hard, keep praying, keep letting God inspire my spirit and intellect. Still i am sooooo glad my first few faltering steps have been successful. Three more words? "Watch This Space".
And now for Governor Rotimi Amaechi. I first heard of this gentleman when i bumped in to a young man on a business in Guildford, Surrey who said the state governor had set up a scholarship to train young indigenes of Rivers State in 2008 when he was barely a year in office. His tough stance towards Amnesty for Niger-Delta militants was borne of conviction or else how can you explain that while a Northern President was trying to push for Amnesty, a governor who would most benefit was still pushing for capture of the militants? That is Thatcher style conviction that ought to be lauded. His recent acceptance speech for Vanguard Man of the Year was both humble and charitable. In it he acknowledges all the unsung Nigerian heroes that we typically ignore. The transporter at Iddo Motor Park that ferries people and cargo irrespective of their faith and also the brave soldiers and policemen that risk their lives 24 hours a day in hot spots like Maiduguri and Yobe so that the rest of us can go to sleep at night. It is vital that we remember the labour of our heroes both past and present as the Scriptures invite us to "pray for those in prison as if bound with them" (Hebrews 13 vs 3).
I reckon it is best to let Governor Amaechi speak for himself.
It is customary to honour the dead so I begin with Mrs Thatcher. I grew up in London while she held sway as UK's Prime Minister. I was too little to understand the Miners Strike or her relentless privatisation drive. Nor can I recall when she abolished the General London Assembly or the Falklands War. What made this woman my mentor was her rags to riches tale. A grocers daughter that earned her place in the World stage becoming Englands first and since then only female Prime Minister. One thing that Thatcherism held for me was the unswavering adoption of principle over profit. In the current politically correct age, she chose to stick to her convictions because she believed in them. This has always been a lesson for me as I tried to come out from my own fathers imposing shadow and pursue a life that has seen me express my individualism far greater than the shackles of country and career and circumstances could allow. She shattered the glass ceiling so that millions of people like me can aspire to freedom and the pursuit of happiness whether you were peering through the Iron curtain from Eastern Europe or 6000 miles away in the Falklands. It is one life and we can achieve our dreams.
The reviewers for my engineering design took me to task thoroughly. I thank God for His wisdom and guidance. My hope is that when my designs are rigorously proven and patented, a new technology venture will be established with the three proud words, "Made In Nigeria". Till then? I need to keep working hard, keep praying, keep letting God inspire my spirit and intellect. Still i am sooooo glad my first few faltering steps have been successful. Three more words? "Watch This Space".
And now for Governor Rotimi Amaechi. I first heard of this gentleman when i bumped in to a young man on a business in Guildford, Surrey who said the state governor had set up a scholarship to train young indigenes of Rivers State in 2008 when he was barely a year in office. His tough stance towards Amnesty for Niger-Delta militants was borne of conviction or else how can you explain that while a Northern President was trying to push for Amnesty, a governor who would most benefit was still pushing for capture of the militants? That is Thatcher style conviction that ought to be lauded. His recent acceptance speech for Vanguard Man of the Year was both humble and charitable. In it he acknowledges all the unsung Nigerian heroes that we typically ignore. The transporter at Iddo Motor Park that ferries people and cargo irrespective of their faith and also the brave soldiers and policemen that risk their lives 24 hours a day in hot spots like Maiduguri and Yobe so that the rest of us can go to sleep at night. It is vital that we remember the labour of our heroes both past and present as the Scriptures invite us to "pray for those in prison as if bound with them" (Hebrews 13 vs 3).
I reckon it is best to let Governor Amaechi speak for himself.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
Whatever may have happened to our institutions in recent years, the
Nigerian media remains one of the avenues of hope in a troubled land.
Our media may not be totally insulated from the moral and ideological
crisis that wracks our society. But it has a history and heritage of
being compulsively adversarial to negative authority. That is its
redeeming feature. More importantly, our media culture has an inbuilt
self -cleansing mechanism. All media that have been established to
champion specific individual, partisan or divisive causes have died a
natural death. So, I believe that our media is inherently nationalistic.
While thanking the Vanguard Media group for the generosity of this
award as "The Person of the Year", I want to ask their permission to
pass on this plaque to the people of Rivers State to whom it rightfully
belongs. As an individual, I could not possibly have made the
contributions that have been catalogued in the citation for the award.
Our actions are only a response to the yearnings of our people. I am an
errand boy on a mission designed by my people and the burdens they have
borne for decades. My team and I are their servants and their mandate
remains for us a sacred trust.
Our understanding of the responsibility of government is that the
people who voted for us to exercise power and authority on their behalf
are entitled to certain basic inalienable rights. The Fundamental
Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in our constitution
clearly spell out the minimal obligations of government to the people.
These include the right to education, to the protection of their lives
and property, to health and to decent and respectful treatment without
any form of discrimination. For everyone in political leadership, this
ought to be the definitive job description.
Ideologically, I remain skeptical about the growing tradition of awards and recognitions in our society. This system singles
out individuals and consecrates them into mini deities as “Man of the
Year”, ‘Woman of the Year” etc. When we adopt this stance, we tend to
ignore the truism that the ordinary people are the real driving force of
history. Let us amend that to say that the real engine of history and
development is the combined energy of the people and an enlightened
leadership. Let us never fail to recognize the heroic import of the
small roles of our everyday people.
It is the small transporter at Iddo Motor Park who for more than two
decades has moved goods and persons from one location to the other in
our country not caring about the religious faith of his passengers. It
is the market woman in Diobu who toils everyday to keep the flow of
small essential goods in the market in return for a chance to send her
kids to a local school. It is the village teacher
in a bare classroom in Degema who is dedicated to ensuring that the
next generation of Nigerians acquire knowledge and build a better
society.
It is the doctor in the rural health centre in Ahoada whose primary dedication is to serve humanity by saving
lives, one life at a time. It is the soldier in Maiduguri who has to
brave the wrath of an enemy without a face in order that Nigeria remains
united and peaceful. The list of uncelebrated heroes and patriots is
long. But their contributions are immense. I dedicate this evening to
them as well.
This is not to exclude the upper echelons of our society who are contributing their quota in creating jobs,
running viable honest businesses or even the clergy of all faiths who
face the daunting task of convincing the many that God still deserves to
be worshipped in a trying time.
Each time I read or hear commendations of our work in Rivers State, I
look out also for the dissenting voices of criticism. Both are
complementary. I am grateful to those who acknowledge the difference we
have made in our brief encounter with power and authority. I am even
more encouraged by the voices of those who draw attention to our
imperfections.
I never envisaged that after a little over five years in the service of
our people, we would have built all the roads that require to be built,
We were never deceived into thinking we would have provided all the
schools and hospitals or empowered all our people economically. The
idealism in my education sometimes drives me to dream of banishing all
our problems overnight. But I now realize that the end of development
challenges would be the end of history as well!
In Rivers State, we have narrowed our gaze to what we consider the
strategic sectors of development. We are driving education through the
raising of standards, modernization of infrastructure and curricular in
order to provide the well educated work force and responsible citizens
to drive tomorrow’s economy. We are driving health through an integrated
three-tier approach (primary, secondary and tertiary) that brings
quality health care to the doorstep of all our citizens so that they can
actualize themselves. We believe that power needs to be available 24/7
to drive existing enterprises, attract new investors and encourage
innovation.
We may not have achieved all that we aimed for. But there is tangible
evidence that we have embarked on the right course. I believe the
foundations that we have laid today will guide those who come after us
towards the realization of the genuine entitlement of our people to a
good life in a free society.
The challenges that we have been grappling with in Rivers State are
similar with what the rest of my colleagues and the Federal Government
face. I realize that Nigeria is very much work in progress. There is
still so much to do to make up for lost time, for wasted years and
lavished opportunities. Our highways remain unsafe. Some of our urban
neighbourhoods are dangerous. Our schools and colleges rank among the
worst in the world in terms of standards.
Our physical environment remains unhealthy. Our army of unemployed
youth grows by the day. Our institutions of governance continue to
degrade incrementally. These and other challenges are the defining
signposts of our present and clear indicators of our future. These are
also some of the defining tests of our democracy and the context for
each of us to defend the mandate that our people have entrusted us with.
I am glad that with the help of our media, there is an increasing
awareness of these challenges. At Federal and State levels, efforts are
being made to address these challenges. But the enormity of it is
overwhelming and more daunting than our best efforts. And available
resources.
As a federation, our union remains imperfect. The drive for fiscal
federalism should not abate if we are to fully realize our economic
potentials. The present situation in which we governors troop to Abuja
every month to pick oil royalty cheques cannot endure. We need to
challenge our people to tap the diverse resources with which we are
richly endowed to deliver development to our people. Accordingly, the
greater resources of the federation should devolve to the states because
they are the direct and immediate level at which Nigeria makes sense to
the majority of Nigerians. In the areas that touch the people directly
and affect their daily life such as security, infrastructure, education,
health care, affordable housing, transportation etc., I believe the
federal government should excuse itself. The Federal center is too far
from Nigerians to be held directly accountable for lapses in the
provision of things that touch the daily lives of Nigerians.
The Nigerian Governors Forum, the trans partisan platform of all our
governors, which I still lead, has taken definite positions on most of
these issues as well as other urgent constitutional matters. These
positions are based on patriotic commitment to the principles of true
federalism. They have nothing to do with personal projects or the
politics of immediate convenience. And so, we remain resolute in
upholding the underlying principles of our convictions within the ambit
of legality and constitutionality.
The NGF remains a forum for the exchange of ideas on governance, for
effective peer review, for mutual assistance and capacity enhancement
among governors irrespective of party or region. As governors, what
binds us is the common interest of our peoples for rapid development,
not competition for political supremacy or space. The NGF was founded on
the principle that in a federation, the states cannot be vassals of the
center but centres for the articulation of reciprocal obligations.
In the course of running the errands defined by the condition of the
Rivers people, I have also come to realize that it is not just enough to
aim at building shiny new structures. We need to urgently address the
scandalous inequality that is tearing our society apart. We must also
aim at building a fair society. A fair society is in my view one in
which access to opportunity is not limited by class, position or wealth.
Our people need a society in which the son or daughter of the janitor
who excels in college has as fair a chance to access available
opportunities as the daughter of a senator.
Those of us who make the laws today are mostly children of the poor
farmers and artisans of yesterday. But regrettably in most cases, we are
using our elevated positions to shut the doors of opportunity on the
rest of our compatriots. In the process, we make our families and
ourselves the targets of desperate inequality and scandalous deprivation
and create the insecurity and instability that haunts us. Those of us
who lead today have a duty to engineer the national society away from
this path of conflict and crisis.
The above are Excerpts from Governor Amaechi’s Acceptance Speech on
the Occasion of his Conferment of Vanguard ‘Person of the Year’ Award
at the Weekend in Lagos.
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