OPINION: ENGR. CHRIS OGIEMWONYI TESTED WISDOM .


The first time I saw President Obama on television was when he addressed National Democratic Party convention in 2004. And this was before he became the president of US. Then Obama was campaigning for United States senate and he was chosen by then Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry to deliver the keynote address at the convention.

After Obama finished his remarkable speech at the convention, I needed nobody to tell me that Obama would become the first Black man to live in the White House not as a slave or servant but as the president of United States of America. But the interesting thing, I was not the only person that saw it coming, most political observers, pundits and American people also saw it.

Now this takes me to the speech delivered by Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi ,the former Honourable Minister of State for works at the 42nd Founder's Day Lecture at the University of Benin. Before I could call friends to ask them to see and listen to the speech on the youtube, it was already trending on the web. It was splendidly brilliant, intellectually reawakening and energetically captivating.

Before I continue with my commentary and analysis, if you have not seen the Ogiemwonyi's speech please do so immediately and clicked at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cizq9ejCYuc .

For those who have not seen it, it was centered on austere management of our collective resources in the public square. Ogiemwonyi put a spotlight on past administration as a study to elucidate the fine arts of management resources at an optimum and zenith level.

But why was the speech such a hit and attracting the attention of jaded Nigerian citizens? For the first time since the emergence of democracy, we have not seen a Nigerian politician that understands the trenches and contours of austere managerial ability; the acumen to grasp the fundamentals of governance and its application for the amelioration of the downtrodden.
Engr. Ogiemwonyi is probably among the rare breed of Nigeria politicians that loses sleep thinking on how to manage resources for betterment of his constituency. The words that came out of his mouth, together with passion, buttress a gifted, austere and disciplined individual that gets his priorities straight. Engr Ogiemwonyi is an embodiment of seriousness and commitment that have eluded most of the contemporary Nigerian politicians.

When Engr. Ogiemwonyi spoke on the management of resources, he delved into numbers and statistics of the economy and made the vivid point of correlation between keeping good records, transparency and welfare of the society. Most Nigerian politicians speaking on wealth of a nation are devoid of the perspective due to lack of the rudimentary concepts of macroeconomics. Engr. Ogiemwonyi was able in his speech to speak on nuts and bolts of the economy with great emphasis on plucking the leaking holes of waste. He is a sound and prudent money manager with emphasis on savings for rainy day and investments on public capital for additional wealth creation.

Is Engr Ogiemwonyi going to work with president Buhari someday? Only God knows. Nobody else knows including himself. But like Obama after his speech at Democratic Party convention, many people including his party leaders encourage him to go for a higher calling . And the rest -as they say, is history now . Will a higher calling apply here ?

One thing i want to make clear, for Nigeria to make headway in this 21st century; Nigeria needs men and women who understand that emerging 21st century’s fabulosity belongs to those who are willing to work hard and set a higher standard. Engr Chris Ogiemwonyi definitely meets and surpasses the threshold and he is the caliber of politicians that Nigeria desperately need for 21st century government.

- Jeffrey Igbinigie
A public Affairs Analyst
Write from Benin .

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