Recently, Dr Ifeanyi Uba hosted some traditional rulers and president-generals of town unions in Anambra State to a grand reception at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Lagos.
Transported all the way from the state to Lagos, it was a rare opportunity for the natural leaders to join other Anambriarians in Lagos to relate closely with Uba, whose governorship ambition is no longer a secret.
The occasion afforded Uba the opportunity to discuss one on one with the stakeholders in Anambra State. In the process, he was apprised of the problems in the state and the aspirations of the people of the state.
He asked questions. He received answers. The people also asked him questions and his answers were informed and candid. It was a pretty long town hall meeting of sorts which lasted from 8pm till 7am the following day.
This shows that Uba is a man who listens and likes to receive ideas from the people. This cross fertilization of ideas is what drives democracy and leads to good governance.
As would be expected, in the course of the visit, Uba also took his guests, made up of a wide spectrum of Anambrarians from all walks of life, including the traditional rulers, presidents-generals of town unions, opinion molders and ordinary people, on a facility tour of his companies and business offices. The aim, it seems, was for the people, who he is planning to lead, to see his investments and achievements in Lagos.
The facilities included ships, jetties, depots, filling stations, tankers, and a host of other high-tech facilities on ground. It became apparent from findings from the tour that Uba’s Capital and Gas Oil Limited is one of the biggest distributors of petroleum products in Nigeria.
Of great importance is the fact that Capital Oil and Gas has been a major player in the downstream sector ever before the subsidy regime. The company has tankers which supply fuel all over the country. In fact, the activities of the company in the area of supply of petroleum products is one of the reasons why fuel is available everywhere today. This is because while other companies horde fuel in order to make huge profit, Dr. Uba’s companies are only interested in making the products available to all and sundry. Profit is not the driving force for the company.
At the end of it all, most of the guests agreed that Uba knows his onions in his chosen field of endeavour and is therefore a good candidate for the governorship seat of Anambra State.
This concenssus, according to the guests, was because Uba, through that unique visit, “allowed his people to have a holistic eye-view and make a total appraisal of him as a businessman and a major player in the downstream sector of the oil economy. He was not afraid to let his people know him inside out. He has nothing to hide. He proved to us that he has no skeleton in his cup board. He laid all the cards on the table. After the visit, we can attest he is not a pretender. He showed us and the good people of Anambra State, who we represent, what he is doing in Lagos and his means of livelihood.”
It should be mentioned here that this is the first time a business mogul from Anambra State who is interested in the governorship of the state has conducted his people round his business facilities, investments and activities, to prove that he has the capacity to govern a state like Anambra. He proved that he does clean business.
This effort, to me, is commendable of an aspirant that wants to serve his people. I believe that Nigeria will be a great nation the day those who aspire to control the reins of power have the confidence and grace to take their constituents to their places of business and offices for an on-the-spot assessment of who and what they are.
The Nigeria political landscape is littered with jobless, unemployed and hungry men and women who are in politics simply as a means of livelihood. Some politicians engage in politics not because they love their people and seek to advance their welfare. On the contrary, these politicians are only seeking the means to ek out a living, to survive and to make ends meet.
No wonder, then, that as soon as such people secure power, they embark on monumental looting and plundering of the coffers as government allocation, meant for the provision of dividends of democracy are pocketed and embezzled with impunity. White elephant projects are kick-started here and there as a ploy to siphon public funds. To a large extent, the crippling corruption, fraud, embezzlement and widespread pilfering prevalent in Nigeria today is from hungry men who suffered great poverty, want and deprivation and who view public office as an opportunity to recoup what had been eaten by the locust.
There are politicians who cannot fight elections on their own either because of lack of influence or resources or absolute poverty of ideas. This, they rely on godless godfathers who help and assist them to grab power on the understanding that they will use public funds to settle them back. This is the bane of Nigerian politics.
We need a statesman, outspoken, confident, able and ready men who have no psychological problems and other inadequacies to join the political train so as to turn around the economy of this country. For such leadership offices, we do not need people who are merely looking for employment. We need men and women of reason who have made it in their chosen fields of endeavor and who cannot be swayed by financial considerations if they find themselves in the corridors of power.
We need men like Uba, who are rich and will thereore not likely to misappropriate public funds but will augment the same with their own resources. We need patriots in power. We need statesmen. We need goodmen.
The eve of godfatherism should be over. The godsons have ruined many states and governments. A distinguished personality and wealthy businessman like Uba will not likely dip hands into the coffers of government to help himself. Uba is not coming to government to make money. He is not seeking political office to acquire wealth or buy private jet which he already has. From what we have seen so far, it is certain that Uba is coming to create wealth in Anambra State, to reinvigorate the economy, resuscitate ailing infrastructures, provide employment and give hope to the people.
The leaders in Anambra State have seen it all. They are in a position to assess Uba and his pedigree. For long, Anambra State has been held by the jugular by a group of never-do-wells and political tin-gods. Anambra State has been in neo-colonial bondage of sorts. The state has been in ruins. It has been unable to rise above mediocrity. The state lies comatose. This is a state where godfathers arrested a sitting governor and detained him. It is the state where ascendancy to governorship has been a function of who you know and how connected you are and not what you know and what you can offer.
So, Dr. Uba, to progressive minded people of Anambra State, is a Daniel come to judgment. He is coming to wipe out the tears of helpless and hapless Anambrarians who have been suffering in silence and praying that a Messiah will come to save them from their bondage and incapacitation.
The tour of his facilities in Lagos has opened the eyes of many. It is a testimony to Uba’s capacity and willingness to liberate Anambra from the shackles of poverty, penury and deprivation, once he becomes governor.
In fact, the good people of Anambra State, the leaders and the common people like, are now convinced that Uba is a fit and proper person to be the Governor of Anambra State.
This style, adopted by Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Uba, to say the least, is revolutionary, it is the first time a public office seeker has arranged to meet the people at close quarters to interact with them and share ideas on how to move the state forward. After the interaction, the people were not only impressed but they were of the firm view that Uba is the man whom God has prepared and positioned to save Anambra State from the ruin and maladministration of yester-years.
* Okpala, a political analyst, wrote in from Awka, Anambra State
