Abia’s golden era begins in 2015

As expected, many people are warming up to throw their hats into the ring for the gubernatorial race in Abia State in 2015.

The current governor, Theodore Orji, will be ending his tenure, thereby rendering vacant the seat he has been occupying for over seven years now. One of those nursing the ambition to succeed Orji is Mazi Nyerere Anyim.

The era of good leadership in Abia State will hopefully commence in 2015 with the emergence of Nyerere Anyim as the executive governor of Abia State.

Abia, the God’s Own State, is a state where poverty is practically walking the roads and streets, and where many people are currently living below N100 a day.

Anyim is a philanthropist extraordinaire, whose kind gesture to the less-privileged cuts across ethnic, religious and political affiliations.

A native of Agburuike Isiugwu, Mboko Itungwa, in Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia, Anyim was born in the year of Nigeria’s independence to the family of Herbert & Roseline Anyim.

Anyim’s life clearly manifests and depicts liberation which posits his orientation, actions and life endeavors.He had his early education in Jos, Plateau State, with excellent academic records. A graduate of Accounting, a field he has reached the academic peak.  A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Certified Public Accountants;  a Fellow of Institute of Strategic Management Nigeria, a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Management (NIM), Fellow of  African Business School, Fellow of Chartered Institute of Administration, and Fellow of  Institute of Fraud Examiners.

A consultant and financial analyst that is equipped with sound academic and professional knowledge. Anyim has over 20 years experience in both financial and public sectors of the economy by dint of his trust in God, hard work, dedication, honesty, commitment and accountability.

A firm believer in the service of God and humanity, a prolific writer and a philanthropist with over one thousand scholarship beneficiaries that cut across states and ethnic boundaries as well as youth and women empowerment programmes.

As a gospel artiste, Anyim connects souls to God through music.

His pet project, DIVINE AGENDA, has touched many lives in the areas of health, youth/women empowerment, education and community development and has created a bond between him and Abians which has left an indelible mark in people’s mind.

Truly, the vision is for the people, the mission is of the people and with singleness of heart and unity of purpose, collectively, we shall possess our possession and ensure that the golden era of Abia State hopefully will commence in 2015 with the emergence of Nyerere Anyim as the executive governor of the state.

There have been many great leaders in history who strove hard to make the world a better place to live in. Whenever and wherever human beings are gathered together in large numbers, they need leadership. Even children need their school prefects and captains! Armies need Generals. Civilians need governments, captains of industry and intellectual leaders of thought as well. Men, whether of the East or the West, North or South, Yoruba or Igbo, Hausa or Fulani require to be led and each group ‘throws up’ its own leaders in each succeeding generation. Whether in the school-room, or on the battlefield or in governmental deliberations, people who are natural leaders and who are chosen to lead, always have the same qualities of character and of outlook.

Anyim is a man who believes that there is the need for great leaders that see opportunities and not difficulties, possibilities and not obstacles, optimists and not pessimists. A leader should be a natural mediator rather than one that creates conflict, tension, and separation.  A good leader is thirsty for facts. He is more of a collaborator than a competitor. He tries to build bridges rather than destroy them.

An authentic leader does not hide bad news just because it is uncomfortable to the public’s ear.  The late president of Nigeria Yar’dua demonstrated this when he came out publicly to condemn the election that gave him victory as an imperfect election and immediately constituted an electoral reform process. A good political leader leads by example, in most cases; he will be the first to publish his assets for everybody to know what belongs to him before he became a leader.

A good leader helps people understand that they are accountable for their society and its outcome and teaches them to make compromises and responsible choices. A good leader makes a sustainable promise and is a man of his words.

He is focused and does not get distracted. His goals, whether small or large, are reasonable and achievable and are directed towards the long term results not quick and temporary fixes that may backfire. A leader takes interest in recruiting even non-indigenes into the state civil service because he believes in one Nigeria.

He is not men pleaser in a sense that he would say anything to please others even if that means manipulating or misguiding the public. It takes a lot of courage to do this and a good leader has that courage.

A good leader is one that can move above and beyond any egoistic and primitive need for power, attention, or establishing his personal agendas and works with the intention of good-for-all. He stands above any specific religious or political views of his own and is independent of any attachment to a specific agenda.

He uses reliable and unfiltered information to make judgments and to come up with resolutions. In other words, he stands above his own beliefs to observe events objectively while the general public fails to do so. In addition, he does not suffer from a self serving bias.

A leader, in any sphere, must be someone who can be looked up to and respected. His personal judgment must be trusted and he must be able to evoke love and warmth from those he leads. So a leader must have the ability to win  men’s hearts.

He must have intellectual control over his followers and a mind that is capable of assimilation what is true and what is right and then of exerting this over others. It is useless, no matter what personal qualities or what intellectual prowess a man may have, if he lacks the initiative and the will to lead and to rally men around him. He must also, in his search for truth, have great powers of concentration.

Again, he must possess this mysterious thing we call “character” which means strength of will, clarity of mind, tenacity and determination. In other words “character” is knowing what you want to do and being ruthlessly determined to do it.

Men and women will not follow a gloomy person.  Therefore, a kind sense of humour and a sense of optimism are two other essential qualities of a good leader. He must also, not only be a good judge of things and of events, but of people too, so that he can select good subordinates.

Ifeanyi Obasi