Owelle Rochas Okorocha and a New Igbo Order
By Chinedu I Ikegwoha

That the Igbo nation is in dire need of a leader is not in doubt. What is in doubt now is who that leader will be. To make this point graphically clear, the last time the Igbo people were able to rally behind ONE leader was during the 1960s when they rallied behind first Nnamdi Azikiwe and later Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. But we find that in the intervening period since then the Igbo nation has been in disarray. It has been a case of many chiefs and not enough Indians. Take for instance the various presidential elections since 1999 and though the Igbo have not produced a President of Igbo extraction for the Nigerian nation, she has actually produced more Presidential candidates per capita than any other ethnic nationality in Nigeria. This act of shooting without aiming is the fall out of a lack of leadership. That is the problem. What is the solution?




Leadership according to John Maxwell the world's foremost leadership exponent is all about influence and influence comes about when one takes upon himself a responsibility and fulfills the challenges of that responsibilty. And we see this in modern Nigeria with say a gentleman like Raji Fashola. Here is a man that was unknown to the Nigerian nation and the Yoruba ethnic nationality before 2007. He rode on the back of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to become governor and immediately took on the responsibilities that come with the office of the Governor of Lagos state to heart. In every area, be it infrastructure, revenue generation, beautification of the environment and dealings with the Federal Government, he lived up to his responsibilities and won over the affections of friends and foe alike and became the embodiment of the scripture that "when a man's ways pleases the Lord He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him". Fashola used his responsibilities to demonstrate his abilities and today the word on every Nigerian's lips irrespective of ethnicity and religion is why can't this man be President?

It is to Fashola's credit that even a man who is as overbearing as Baba Obasanjo has till date not found any opportunity to find fault with Governor Fashola. And just like a ripple created by a stone thrown in a river, his influence continues to grow. And grow. And grow.

And today I ask Ndi'Igbo, where are our own leaders in the mould of Fashola? I ask this because in 2015, the race is not going to be to those championing power shift or zoning because as was demonstrated by first the victory of President Goodluck Jonathan at both the PDP primaries and the General Election and the rise of Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, zoning and power shift are a relic of the past. They are no longer relevant.

2015 will be an all comers affair and competence and accomplishments are likely to count more than party and god fathers. So bearing this in mind, what is Ndi'Igbo doing?

As Fashola has proven, you do not need a second term to show the world that you can perform and in so doing explode your influence. Any leader that wants to perform would have performed in his first term. So Ndi'Igbo can appreciate the good that has been done by the governors of Anambra, Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi, but it is clear that they are no Fashola's and are not likely to inspire the sort of nationwide excitement Fashola is likely to inspire if he decides to seek the office of the Presidency in 2015.

That leaves Owele Rochas Okorocha. And the fortunate thing about Owelle Rochas is that even before he became governor, he had already built a platform through his philanthropic activities whereby he projected to the Ndi'Igbo and to the Nigerian nation that he had the altruism and charisma needed to inspire the type of mass following that first Nnamdi Azikiwe and later Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu inspired.

But that was a beginning. Now how do we progress from there. How do we help Owelle to become a success as governor in Imo. and then project himself to the rest of Nigeria as one who can be President because of his competence and ability and not because he is Igbo. One word will suffice. Owelle needs to deliver.

He needs to take the Raji Fashola template and replicate it in Imo state and even do better because unlike Fashola, he does not have a snoopervising god father like Tinubu looking over his shoulders.

Owelle, you can do it. No need to re-invent the wheel. How has Lagos under Fashola gone from a monthly allocation of under 2 billion a month to almost 20 billion every month? How has Lagos managed to increases capital expenditure to the point where it spends more on capital expenditure than the Ghanaian government as well as attract private and venture capital finds to infrastructural growth? How has Lagos been able to clear up densely populated areas and beautify its environment? Owelle can get the answers to these and many more questions by getting Imo indigenes who are entrenched in the Lagos geo political economic structure to come on board. And this is where he needs to display leadership and forego any personal animosity he may or may not have or any party affiliations and work with the likes of Leo Stan Ekeh, Festus Odimegwu and Tony Ezenna to bring what they know about the transformation of Lagos under Fashola to bear in his administration. There is no shame in it. Success is worth copying.

If Owelle can do this and make Imo a kind of Lagos, that is a home for all where anybody of Igbo and eventually Nigerian origin can come in to the state and access social services without the need of presenting indigene certificates and such like he will find that his ability and responsibility coupled with his innate charisma and generosity will begin to be projected far beyond the borders of Imo and that is the the time when first the Igbo nation and then Nigeria will believe, I mean really believe and buy into the idea that the Project for a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction is desirable because of what Owelle Rochas would have done by 2015.

It is doable. It is desirable. And it is Owelle Rochas's for the taking. His fellow Southeastern governors have been tried and tested and have been found to be, well you know the verdict as well as I do. So if four out of five have already been known, he has the opportunity to stand out. I for one believe he can do it if he will start now to replicate the Fashola template.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/guest/owelle-rochas-okorocha-and-a-new-igbo-order.html

Even though the author is looking for exemplary leadership like Fashola that the Igbo so desperately need, I think we Igbos should look to our past leaders like Sam Mbakwe or Michael Okpara.

That the Igbo nation is in dire need of a leader is not in doubt.

I thought they were not in need of a leader, that only the Yoruba people are led

Talk about a nation of confused lots.

Ileke-IdI:

I thought they were not in need of a leader, that only the Yoruba people are led

Talk about a nation of confused lots.

Was this really needed? And why is this your concern? It is true, only Yorubas like to stick their nose in other people's affairs.

Does everybody deserve a reply?

ezeagu:

Does everybody deserve a reply?

You are right. I need to learn to ignore mosquitoes.

I suggest he start a trade experiment with the people home from Maiduguri. Incent them to abandon the Maiduguri market and open trade at home.

. . .Afteral the much touted Rochas is a product of the NORTHERN political class, how hard it is for them to admit that they are politically 'barren'?!

My Igbo brothers and sisters, how do you feel about Owelle Rochas Okorocha?

EzeUche:

My Igbo brothers and sisters, how do you feel about Owelle Rochas Okorocha?

it does not matter how we feel about him, imo state is doing fine , i have told you to stop posting igbo issues on nairaland. your surrounded by badbelle people who will turn even the best of news from igboland to tribal bashing, its not woorth it.

Delusional thread by OP as before

seanet02:

Delusional thread by OP as before

Monkey, you hardly start any thread, but enjoys making fun of what others posts here. Get a life, idiott.

Okorocha is doing well so far. He needs to keep up the momentum. It's still a bit too early in the day to heap praise on him. But so far so good.   

Ileke-IdI:

I thought they were not in need of a leader, that only the Yoruba people are led

Talk about a nation of confused lots.

Tomboy, there is a difference between a leader and dictator.
Dont confuse Rochas with Tinubu. Rochas is a class act, compare to the thug and certificate forger you worship

So when will his scorecard be available for our review and give feedback on his performance?

God help Rochas! The expectations and task ahead is challenging. But the head can not be too heavy for the cow that bears it.

Dum.b people. the same clowns didn't give a dam about this man, odechukwu was their alpha and omega, now they are all over this man wey never even build one hen cage, the man never even gradutae from Fashola school of governance, the man pay state workers and pension people and den label am philantropist.


This is sadly pathetic.


Still suxs to.be ibo sha