UNDERSCORING IHEDIOHA’S INCREASING PREFERENCE AND CAPACITY FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING.

By Ogu Bundu Nwadike

His most recent speaking assignment was on Saturday, May 12, 2018 at the 3rd Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) of Ecclesiastical Province of Aba held at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Owerrinta, in the Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South. Earlier in March 2018, he spoke at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) during the inauguration ceremony of the then newly constituted Student Union Government (SUG) executive council of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Zone B, comprising tertiary institutions in the South East and South South geo-political zones.

Prior to the speaking tasks he had handled since this year, 2018, he has over the years developed a knack and carved a niche in articulating and delivering keynote addresses and speeches at different reputable and relevant fora. Gradually, he has secured reputation as a highly cerebral resource person that has established unarguable pedagogic capacity for professionally handling discourse topics and themes to the visible admiration and appreciation of his always captivated audience.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are introducing His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, CON, KSC; the immediate past Speaker, House of Representatives.

It flabbergasts not a few of his continually increasing teeming admirers, how, with ease of a highly skilled career teacher cum lecturer and preacher and pastor researches, writes and delivers the specific message he is assigned to deliver.

His ability to effortlessly run tasks bothering on use of English Language in communicating targeted messages and views through the instrumentality of well-researched and structured keynote addresses and extemporaneous speeches at church synods and events, school students events, political party events and other social interactive for a.

Of course, any educated person can deliver a keynote address. Is it not just to read what is already written, typed and printed pages? That is the majority idea of what public speaking and delivery of keynote addresses and speeches is all about. But any well-trained speech/ communication expert knows that there is more to public speaking than merely reading what is written, typed and printed pages.

That is where Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha stands out head taller than many public speakers we see around. He does many things to speaking tasks that probably nobody else within his social calibration has proved capacity to do.

The first thing that strikes a note of positive difference in the addresses and speeches made by Omenkeahuruanya is that he meticulously studies and researches his topics, taking notes and eventually actually developing the paper, all by himself. That is amazing for a science major at university! But when we recall that shortly after his National Youth Service in 1989 he secured a job at the National Assembly, precisely the Senate, his first job title was “Press Officer”. Yes, as 27 years old, Rt. Hon. Ihedioha was Press Officer to the then Senate President, Dr. Iyochia Ayu. That was in 1992.

From his first job of a Press Officer, Ihedioha was appointed Chief Press Officer to the Senate Deputy President, Albert Legogie before he was appointed Special Assistant on Media Matters to Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, to yet another Senate President. The point being situated here is that right from early ages, Ihedioha has shown a knack for doing well in tasks, pertaining to research and communication. This has been corroborated with his capacity for running a very successful media communication corporation.

The whole of his gift for utilitarian communication arts, manifests in his prowess in delivering powerful speeches whenever he is called up to do so.

From the foregoing, it may no longer surprise many, why he ended up the Chief Whip, Deputy Speaker and later Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is unarguably a man of high repute. And in and out of the House of Representatives, he not only speaks, but communicates effectively. He frequently suspends the flow of the written message and, with unique display of erudite proficiency, elaborates and clarifies his message to the level that every member of the audience is expected to comprehend.

That goes a long way to establish that truly, Ihedioha researches and indeed owns his speech materials. In fact, he often publicly declares that he does not require speechwriters to prepare his resource materials.
Appropriate and vivid description here of the continually rising capacity of Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha to effectively and comprehensibly communicate his messages may be cumbersome, but certainly helpful will be excerpts from his recent keynote address at the aforementioned 3rd Synod of the of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) of Ecclesiastical Province of Aba held at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Owerrinta, in the Diocese of Isiala Ngwa South. He spoke on “The Church and Nation Building”. From the texture and tone of the address, it is much obvious that he was on top of his assignment at that august event.
While determining whether Nigeria was a nation or not and whether it has attained nationhood or not, Ihedioha inter alia stated thus: “In the course of conducting research in preparation for this assignment, (indeed, you sent me back to school and I wish to thank you for that opportunity), I discovered an interesting story of Malaysia, one of the most prosperous countries in the world, which shares the same historical circumstances with Nigeria.

“Dear people of God, Malaysia is a country of an estimated 30 million people, per capita income estimate in 2018 is $30,430, estimated export in 2017 was $175.7 billion and economic growth in 2017 was 5.9%. The country is only 3 years older than Nigeria and was equally a British territory. Malaysia has the same ethnic configuration like Nigeria. It is made up 60 ethnic groups, constituting of 54% Malays, 25% Chinese, 8% Indians and 12% indigenous groups. There are equally diverse religions practiced. Muslims constitute 61.3%, Buddhists 19.8%, Christians 9.2%, Hunduists 6.3% and traditional Chinese religions 1.3%.

Now despite all these configurations, why has Malaysia become a model of democracy, stability and economic success story? This is presumably the crux of our discourse.”

In the same synod keynote address, when Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha took up discussion of the church and nation building, he stated thus: “Please permit me the liberty to share some information I stumbled upon in the course of my research. It is interesting and I think it is helpful for the church to appreciate their unique position in the process of nation building.
“In 2014, President Benigno Aquino III, 15th President of the Philippines, wanted desperately to extend his tenure and weaken the country’s Supreme Court. He defied every advice from well-meaning persons around the globe to jettison such reprehensible adventure that had the potentials of plunging the fragile country into unimaginable political crises.
However, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, the CBCP President wrote a letter, I quote, “That the CBCP was against amending the constitution if its reasons are derived from wrong premise. I cannot lend support to constitutional amendment that will only benefit those who are in position or a “one office holder” or “a class of persons."

“That statement from the revered gentleman sealed the fate of the president’s constitutional amendment adventure and saved the country from avoidable crisis.

“My dear people of God, is the church playing that scared role in Nigeria towards building nationhood or have we compromised or acquiesced with our traducers? Has the church significantly played its part? Our conversation therefore should not centre around the role of the church in nation building. That is already cut out. But should interrogate to what extent the church has performed this role.”

The keynote address in reference ran into 14 pages on 14 font size. A careful reading of it established one fact; and that is that Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha has truly acquired the intellectual capacity for standing among reputable public speakers, academic readers, and certified orators.

The Bible teaches that, "the gift of a man makes a way for him." Still in his 53 years of age, it is an added advantage for Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha. Surely, his gift of great public speaking and oratory will keep opening doors of leadership opportunities for him in service to our nation, Nigeria, Imo State, LGAs, wards and grassroots politics that he has chosen as his life career.

It's very silly and dishonest to assert that "Malaysia has the same ethnic configuration like Nigeria".

That's a pure error that's clearly contracdicted by your own data.

1) In your data for Malaysia, over half of the entire population are Malays (one ethnic group)

2) In Nigeria, even if you combine two of the largest ethnic groups they are not up to half of the entire population. But mind you, the thing is that Nigeria has 3 huge ethnic nations that are closely the same in size, hence the term tripod. (Spoiler: There is absolutely NO OTHER country like this on earth today - everyone of them has disintegrated into smaller units).

3) Your data shows that Malaysia is over 61% Muslim whilst the next religious group was less than 20% ( So, much more than half of the entire population belong to one religious group)

4) In Nigeria, Muslims and Christians have virtually equal population ( thereby constituting two huge opposing ideologies, unlike in Malaysia).

So, the data show that Malaysia is way more homogenious than Nigeria. Thus it is plainly mischeivous to assert that the two countries have "the same ethnic configurations".

Dear people of God, Malaysia is a country of an estimated 30 million people, per capita income estimate in 2018 is $30,430, estimated export in 2017 was $175.7 billion and economic growth in 2017 was 5.9%. The country is only 3 years older than Nigeria and was equally a British territory. Malaysia has the same ethnic configuration like Nigeria. It is made up 60 ethnic groups, constituting of 54% Malays, 25% Chinese, 8% Indians and 12% indigenous groups. There are equally diverse religions practiced. Muslims constitute 61.3%, Buddhists 19.8%, Christians 9.2%, Hunduists 6.3% and traditional Chinese religions 1.3%.