As the tortuous search for who succeeds Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the next governor of Enugu state continues, there have been chain of questions running in quick succession as to who amongst the aspirants can be trusted with the people’s mandate. Who can consolidate on the achievements of Governor Ugwuanyi’s administration? Who has the antecedent of uncommon entrepreneurial track records? Who can manage the state’s economy and turn things around in the face of national economic challenges? Who amongst the over 19 gubernatorial aspirants is known for flexibility, pro-masses and strategic leadership? The questions seem endless.
A lot of factors are and will continue to play out in the build up to the 2023 general elections. First and most fundamental among these factors is governor Ugwuanyi’s strategic political steps as all eyes are fixated on him both by those within the People’s Democratic Party, the opposition parties and even those with the faintest political orientation. Once the Lion roars, the coast will clear for analysts to predict who will be the likely next governor.
It’s expected that the people of Enugu state who are watching with keen interest the spiraling political atmosphere and the campaign activities of the major aspirants could have had background checks on those jostling to become their next governor. It’s trite that all the aspirants cannot be elected governor at the same time. While this is borne in mind, 2023 elections represent another opportunity for the people to make a wise choice and choose the best.
It’s time to choose a candidate with a strong entrepreneurial drive, self-motivation, willing to serve the people selflessly instead of serving the interest of a few cartel bent at calling the shots from the comfort of their bedroom. It’s time to choose a pro-people candidate rather than a candidate with a shadow syndicate setting elitist agenda for the state. It’s time to choose a candidate revealed by God to Governor Ugwuanyi as having the fear of God to serve humanity by toeing the good foundation he has laid down.
From feelers, Captain Evarest Nnaji Odengene possesses some rare qualities of visionary leadership and can give the state the kind of leadership they have been yearning for. The Captain has been able to build his business conglomerates from the scratch, nurtured them with discipline, dedication, sincerity and unity of purpose. He has grown from just a world renowned pilot to a legendary entrepreneur. Odengene is known for his austere life even in the midst of plenty. He prefers to use that which he could have spent in acquiring a super yacht, or private jets, or even a multi-million dollars castle to establishing new business spheres in order to employ our youths and graduates.
In all sincerity, Captain Nnaji appears to be the only or one of the few aspirants who have never sustained with public funds or attach himself parasitically to public coffers. Yet the Captain has excelled in the private sector, employing over fifty thousand staff working in his different companies. In his usual taciturnity, Captain Nnaji has placed thousands of students on scholarships, constructed durable roads, sent many youths abroad for training in engineering and other fields of technology, and defrayed bills of hundreds of people in different hospitals without trumpeting it. He would always avoid the media frenzy whenever he sets out to do these great works.
It’s a known fact that the Captain not only understands but also has the solutions to the state’s economy at his fingertips. His verse knowledge in the private sector couple with years of administrative and managerial experiences have placed him at a point where one can comfortably say that Captain Nnaji is the most qualified and competent of all in the political race. Will governor Ugwuanyi consider sustaining his administrative legacies? Then Odengene is the answer. His manifesto has shown flexibility, workability, feasibility and dynamism in the face of stiffed and rigid policies in our country. This is a testimony that competence is never achieved in the media or arrogated to oneself. It’s a product of conscious efforts through persistent positive results. Parading certificates and spending decades in power are far from the reality of competence. Every aspirant has records of what they had achieved or failed to achieve in the past when trusted with responsibilities. The facts are already speaking for themselves.
In my recent visit to some friends, the question frequenting their lips is; who’s Odengene. They called him “an enigmatic cheerful giver; friend to the needy; a parent to the motherless children; a comfort to the widows and a friend of the Church.” His Christian life is a display of a mission with a purpose to offer his services to the people of Enugu state. If Governor Ugwuanyi is looking for competence; definitely he has found one in Odengene. He should listen to the soft, stealth and calm voice of God and give the good people of Enugu state Odengene to continue where he will stop in 2023.
It is now a matter of fact that Odengene will always remain that man whose loyalty to the people of Enugu state and to the governor himself will never be in question. The only godfather Odengene has is God himself. Enugu state needs someone that will not be distracted by the plague of vicious godfather all littering around like holocausts. It’s time for the governor to see through the lenses of spiritual realm to avoid the imminent fear many have already been entertaining in the state. Even though Odengene is loved by the majority of the electorate, he has always placed his trust in the Lord and not in any human being standing akimbo as godfather.
It’s time for the governor to think about the interest of Enugu state first and foremost, and think about his own interests and make a wise reconciliation. The only man who can be loyalty to the Ugwuanyi’s policies and principles is Odengene. The governor should not allow forces from outside to prevail over him into making a decision that could haunt him in the future. This is the time for the people of Enugu state to seek the face of God and pray for his divine intervention. It’s a fact that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Since Enugu state is in the hands of God, the people of Enugu state must support our dear Governor with prayer for the right choice to be made. The choice that will give him peace long after leaving office. The choice that will sustain his legacies. The choice that will always have unalloyed loyalty to him. From all reasonable indications, Captain Evarest Nnaji Odengene should be the answer.
