Patrick Ugbe, one-time Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Liyel Imoke and later Information Commissioner is currently the Cross River State Commissioner for Youths and Sports. In this interview with some reporters, Ugbe speaks on the leadership style of the governor, the forthcoming National Sports Festival and sundry issues. Excerpts:
You started off as Chief Press Secretary to the governor and later morphed into Commissioner for Information and then Commissioner for Youths and Sports. How were these transformations like?
Basically, there are more or less, one and the same because they all entail building the image of the state, that of His Excellency. It is also about communication with the publics – internal and external public. It is about taking the activities of the government, the programmes and achievements of the government to the people. And for that, I think there is a very thin line that divides that. The only difference is that you sit as a head of the policy maker in the ministry whereas the other one you are always there with His Excellency. But I must say that the experience has been quite humbling. There is nothing that gives greater joy than to be in the service of your people and to be of service to people. For someone like me, I don’t think I can derive greater joy from any services than the service to the people. I have enjoyed every beat of it even as challenging as it has been. I give God the glory. I thank most especially His Excellency who gave me the opportunity. It is a rare privilege. He gave me that opportunity to serve the people and believe that whenever this tour of duty ends, the people themselves would look back and say here is the man who served his people diligently.
How did you take it, as you said, before you became a commissioner, you were not involved in policy formulations. From Chief Press Secretary, you were on the rise: what where the expectations?
The expectation for me, in any assignment, is always to ensure that I give my best and to ensure that I succeed. We all read Things Fall Apart and we know the major problem Okonkwo had: Fear of failure. And I think some of us had that fear of failure. We don’t want to be seen to fail in any assignment we are given. So, I will burn the night, work for 24 hours to ensure that I achieve success. That is my driving principle in life. So, when that step up came for me, I don’t think it was that which I should find difficult to manage. It was still within my area of focus. Besides, it is all about administration. It is all about management. I came from the private sector where I have gone through several experiences and had to run a private business from the scratch and built it to a reputable level in the industry. So, I was coming from that background and experience and did not think the management of human and material resources would pose any problem to me. Again, the way we function in Cross Rivers State, you would know that we work as a team. Nobody works as an island in Cross River State. Even as Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, I was involved in the overall information management of the state.
Coming from the private sector where things are done to strict specifications and all that, do you feel like fish inside the water suddenly finding yourself again, in the public service because the two are far apart from each other?
In a way, they are not far from each other. It is the experiences you have had that you bring to bear in whatever assignment you are given. In this case, I ran my affairs in a very professional manner. And everyone who had had an encounter with me, who had had to deal with me, will tell you that I deal with them in a very professional manner. Yes you would say there is bureaucracy in government, but there is a way you can walk around that bureaucracy and make things work.
Moving from information to sports, you cannot say that things are still the same – different programmes, policies, ideas, personnel. And it came at a time when the state was bidding to host the national sports festival. What were the fears? What did you find strange or different?
I would not say that I found anything strange or different. Let me say that they are both equally challenging, with different types of challenges. However, it is paramount to note that the principles of management are the same. So, what stands you out is your passion to perform. And in this case, it is all about the passion for success. I have always been very passionate about sports. As a broadcaster, I did virtually everything. I reported business, entertainment, sports. Somewhere along the line, I knew I had to specialize and I focused on one – sports. So, I knew virtually everything about sports. And like I said, the principles of management are the same, it is how you apply it that matters. So, moving from information to sports was not that strange to me. The state had already won the hosting right for the 19th National Sports Festival before I was appointed the commissioner for sports. All I had to do was to prepare the blue prints for the successful hosting of the festival. The state already had a comprehensive sports development plan before I came. All I had to do was to build on that programme and ensure its success. So, it was not really strange to me.
What would you be remembered for as commissioner for Youths and Sports?
What I think I would want to be remembered for is the fact that we tried to make Cross River State a destination for sport in Nigeria. Before I came onboard, not so many people in the country would refer to Cross River State as a destination for sports. But when I assumed responsibility as the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, I keyed into the overall vision of the State Government, its tourism vision. I have always said that sports is the number one tourism drive in the world. The most recent examples are there. Look at what happened in Brazil with the hosting of the World Cup. Millions of visitors were in Brazil and left with lasting memories of that visit and would return there again. Look at what happened at the Common Wealth Game in Glasgow. A great number of people visited and would return because of the great memory they had. If you look at these, you would see that sports is the number one driver of tourism in the world. And I built on that to see how I could bring to the state so many sporting events. We have been able to do that. We had swimming, it is known all over that the home of the Super Eagles is Calabar. They are relaxed when they are in Calabar and so they don’t play with tension. We have had athletics here also. And now, we are preparing for the National Sports Festival which is like the mother of all. So, at the end of it all, we would have achieved in making Cross River State a destination for sporting excellence. And I would be happy if am remembered for that.
Would the National Sports Festival be considered as the high point of your tenure as Commissioner for Sports?
Yes, because the festival, as I do tell people, is our own Olympic Games. There is no other event bigger than the Olympic Games in the world. And being privileged to be the one at the saddle here in the state when we are hosting it, I think that would be the highpoint for me and God willing, I would ensure that with all the resources available, we would ensure a successful event.
I recall sometimes ago, His Excellency spoke well of you when you were moved to be the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, despite some people’s initial doubt about your ability to perform, how did that go down with you?
I was really touched and humbled. It is humbling when such comments come from your boss. I give God the glory because I have never failed in any assignment given to me. I give His Excellency the credit for his foresight and his ability to spot talents. He can see through and know that this man would be able to deliver. And that was why he decided to move me to the Ministry of Youths and Sports. He might have moved me knowing well that there is a job to be done and needed that job to be done. And I am very happy that I did not disappoint him.
I remember quite well when we were before the House of Assembly, before confirmation, a day before the swearing in, someone made a comment and called me Patrick Ugbe the Commissioner for Information, I said no, am not going to be the commissioner for information but a commissioner in a different environment this time. The person doubted me, wondering where else a commissioner for information can function. I told him that His Excellency would shock them all. It was as if I already had fore knowledge of where I was going but deep in my mine, I wanted to go to Sports because I felt that something needed to be done there and that I had the capacity to do it. And I thank God it went according to the will of His Excellency. For youths, I had this feeling when I stepped in, because my father was the first Director of Sports in the modern Cross River. He worked in Youths all his life and retired there. So, me being sent back there, was the Hand of God.
A lot of people have said that His Excellency is one man that retained all his commissioners and political appointees so far, how would you assess such a consistent leader. Was it because of continuity? What can you say on this?
What I can say is that, he is a great leader. He is a statesman. There are very few people like him who see leadership the way he sees it, who see governance the way he sees it. One thing we should understand is that there is government, whether it is Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke or anyone else. And there is Cross River State. The actors can come and go but the government is government which means that a man who came before you, would lay his own blocks, the man who comes after would build on those blocks, because we are all building, serving the people. We are not serving ourselves. And in doing that, you must understand that the people you have appointed to serve go through processes – the processes of orientation, getting to understand what service is all about – before work begins. A sensible leader is one who allows that because we gain from experience. You might have had a background in management but the practical is through experience. A great leader should not change the experienced and winning team for a new team, that would have to learn all over again in service delivery to the people. But that does not mean that if you find the ones that are not performing, you won’t pull them out and bring in fresh hands that would add value to what you are doing. So, for me, he is a great leader who understands the art of governance, leadership. He has seen it all. He is one man who has been in the legislature, in the executive and in the private sector. He understands administrations, he understands leadership, he understands governance perfectly well. Whatever he is doing, he is doing it in the best interest of the administration and the people.
If you look at Imoke’s cabinet, it is made up of future generation. Is this in accordance with what he has always espoused, his new generation philosophy?
Let me start by saying that he has never overlooked the older generation. He believed in the admixture of all ages. The experiences of our older colleagues matter a lot and when the old and young come together, you would have a perfect mix that brings success and progress to the state and the nation as a whole. Nevertheless, he is one person who believes in generational change. And if you notice what he is doing with his foundation, he is developing leaders for tomorrow. He believes that the young people he has in his cabinet are developing so that when his own generation leaves the stage, the state, and which is the model that should be copied for the country, would be left in good hands to ensure continuity. So, yes, it is his philosophy to generate future leaders for the state and the country.
People have always described Governor Loyel Imoke as calm, cool and collected. What is your assertion?
Just as he is, he is always cool, calm and collected. I have never seen him ruffled, which is why I describe him as cool, calm and collected. There are several instances to buttress this description. I would mention one: In working with him, with all the travels, you find yourself in several instances of turbulence in the air, when you see people disturbed, he is never ruffled or disturbed.
