By Chidi Onyemaizu
He is 51 today (March 2, 2019), and looking back,the birthday
boy has indeed lived an impactful and salutary life. His life journey, the
philosophies he espouses and the whole gamut of his intellect are case studies
in humanism, welfarism and scientific exposé.
The year was 1968 and Nigeria was in the middle of a civil
war. As bombs and shells rained on the then Eastern Region, families lived in
morbid fear of their safety, but in Takum in today’s Obudu Local Government Area
of Cross River State, an event that would mitigate the pangs of the
bloody combat was about to happen to a family.
On March 2 that year while arsenals of war rained down,
unspeakable joy rained and reigned supreme in the Ayade family with the arrival
of baby Benedict.
Fifty-one years
later, the March baby has a compendium of inspiring feats in his kitty. In the
51 years of his life, he has marched from one greatness into another, leaving
on his trail, many firsts. The icing on the cake came on May 29, 2015 when he
was sworn-in as the fourth democratically elected governor of Cross River
State. He is the first person from Northern Cross River to occupy that exalted
position. And come March 9, 2019, he will record another milestone as he
marches back to that office for a second term.
Esteemed readers, the subject of this piece is His
Excellency, Professor (Senator) Ben Bengioushuye Ayade, the Governor of Cross
River State. He is 51 today, Mracgh 2 and therefore, a birthday boy! This is a
reflection on his thought-provoking life. Ayade’s rustic but humble beginning
shaped his approach to life and relation with fellow citizens. Born without any
spoon at all in his mouth -whether golden, silver, bronze or even wooden – by
sheer doggedness, hard work and abiding faith in God, Ayade overcame the
vagaries of life. His philanthropic bend therefore has its locale from this. He
is a giver who asks for nothing in return. His greatest passion is serving God
and humanity.
Ayade is a humanist with welfarist leaning who believes
that one’s life story should be written not with pen but with actions – impactful
actions. According to an American philosopher, “the true measure of a person is
in his height of ideas, the breadth of his sympathy, the depth of his
convictions and the length of his patience.” Ayade encapsulates all these. He
is the only governor in Nigeria who has not sacked any appointee since assuming
office. Rather than sack, he expanded the frontier of government with the
appointment of more aides.
Not that he needs such burgeoning number of aides, but Ayade
is a modulator between two classical economic theorists; Adam Smith and Thomas
Keyness. He believes that expanding and retaining the frontiers of government
is a way of helping to put food on the table of indigent families. Like
Keyness, the governor believes that when an economy shrinks, it is the duty of
government to spend in order to reflate the economy by engaging more people and
encouraging them to spend; and by so doing the economy makes a rebound.
This March baby does not play to the gallery. His pro-people
orientation is ingrained in his character trait. For example, as a senator of
the 7th Senate, Ayade set up a “Food Bank” where indigent members of his
constituency, that is, Cross River North, came to eat three square meals every
day. An erudite scholar himself, hundreds of students across the State are on
Professor Ayade’s personal scholarship. His rise as governor in 2015 has
brought about magical re-invention of Cross River with the erection of solid
signature projects, including industrialization drive –establishing more than
13 industries in less than four years-, an uncommon achievement that has firmly
established the state an industry hub.
Here is man who has power and wealth but does not wield them.
Rather than do so, he chooses to be unassuming. He has no airs around him and
is accessible. Even as governor, Ayade holds his phones; refuses to change his
old phone number and personally answers his calls and replies text message. His
simplicity and sterling performance in his first term have cooperated to
greatly endear Ayade to the people so much so that wherever he goes the chant
of “governor pass governor” rents the air.
Odey Oyama, an environmentalist, is a trenchant Ayade critic,
especially as regard the 274km super Highway, but in spite of his criticisms,
Mr Oyama concedes that the governor has performed better than all his
predecessors in their first terms. Such testimonies pour in daily.
A Professor of Environmental Microbiology, Ayade perfectly
fits into the kind of personality the Igbo would describe as “Ochinanwata” (he
who achieves leadership or greatness at a young age). At 20 in 1988, Ayade
became a graduate of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma. Six years later in 1994,
then aged 26, he obtained a Ph.D from the University of Ibadan, winning the
best Doctorial Dissertation Award in Environmental Microbiology.
At 43 in 2011, Ayade became a Senator of the Federal Republic
and four years later in 2015, he ascended a higher political ladder when he
became the number one citizen of Cross River State. He was 47.
Though a young scholar, Ayade carries with him the wisdom of
a 70-year-old. Every session with him is like going back to the classroom for
the lecturer in him readily comes calling. His fecundity of ideas, academic and
scientific prowesses are intimidating. For example, from his work in
groundwater remediation in Nigeria, Professor Ayade invented a sewage treatment
plant powered with solar energy. This Ayade-made technology is currently being
used off-shore by oil companies in Nigeria.
Surly, this icon deserves 51 beautiful bouquets! Happy birthday, Your Excellency, the Digital one!
* Onyemaizu is SA Media to Governor Ayade