By Linus Obogo
About this time exactly four years ago he blazed forth upon
us like a comet. But unlike the comet which appears and never to be seen again,
he has remained ever glued to us with such celestial phenomenon. The Ayade
phenomenon. And with such singularity of purpose and clarity of vision, it was
not long before he quickly morphed into a movement with an infectious and
fanatical amalgam of disciples, apostles and converts.
Imbued with all the bravura and gravitas, he stamped his
presence on Cross River political firmament with so much conviction. Often
extraordinary in his ways, he made no bones or pretensions telling everyone
that he was not your everyday politician.
His mantra of politics with ethics was no rhetoric. He lives
it, exemplifies and practicalizes it. Following on the footfall of his
predecessor of taking government to the people, Governor Ben Ayade set about
taking it a notch further by not only taking government to the people but also
bringing the people into government.
Today, Cross River ranks highest with a pool of political
appointees numbering over five thousand and still counting.
Consciously, Ayade demystified governance by denouncing
exclusivity as well as shunning political prebendalism which he railed, has
characterized governance across the country. He broke the veil of cabalism, an
exclusive clan of a few individuals sharing the spoils of office.
Despite severe austerity and crushing recession, the governor
would not up give on his well-guarded philosophy of providing a shoulder for
“our weaker brothers and sisters” to lean on. He calls it “putting food on the
table”.
While many sneered at the policy and described it as totally
unsustainable, others adopted a wait and see attitude, insisting he would
sooner than later run out of steam. But as more doubt trails his steady
pronouncement on bringing more and more people into government, the more
exponentially the number grew with unremitting drop of alerts very early in
the month. Four years down the line, the tables of his numerous
appointees have not been empty of food.
His consistency in salary payments has earned him several
sobriquets, from Salary Master, Governor-talk-and-do, Alerts Governor to a
governor who will give his right eye to ensure no Cross River child goes to bed
on an empty stomach.
Since his advent, many Cross Riverians who hitherto thought
Government House or the Exco Chamber was a mystery have all woken up today to
the realization that indeed, it is real as times without number, they have had
uncountable sessions with the governor at his official residence as well as the
Exco chamber as appointees. That is the extent to which Ayade has not only
simplified governance but has equally commonized salary payments, while clawing
many from the jaws and labyrinth of despair, despondency and hopelessness.
Consequently, he has been able to quell the likely throwbacks of social
tensions that would have sprouted.
No doubt, his ascension into the governance architecture of
the state was considered by many as messianic. Instructively, he has never
looked like one veering off and cutting short the expectations of those who
hold him in such redemptive awe.
As a solution architect, the governor sees every challenge,
every stricture and obstacle in his way as an opportunity to adroitly prove his
resourcefulness and ingenuity in tackling the many socioeconomic miasmas he
inherited.
A leader with I-can-do spirit, just when you doubt Ayade’s
capacity, he springs forth and astounds you, leaving you captive and speechless.
Call him the Joseph of our time, if you like or the
Nostradamus of our era, you will never be farther from the truth. As a dreamer,
he has envisioned his dreams morphing into reality. For him, it does not matter
how long it takes. But they will for sure,
assume a life of their own.
And as the Nostradamus of our time, Governor Ayade had long
seen our tomorrow while we slumbered and snored, as he continues to hew a
pathway to the state’s economic Eldorado in a bid to put the future in our hands
and wealth in our pockets.
With a near zero allocations from the federal purse and a
lean internally generated revenue, many in his position would have baulked or
thrown in the towel and screamed in helplessness, the governor kept his eyes on
the ball while yet focussing on his lofty dreams.
Obviously bent on punching above his weight and beyond the
carrying capacity of the state, the teacher-turned Senator-cum governor would
soon embark on a number of multibillion naira projects across the state, which
source of funding could only be strange to Cross Riverians but not so to Ayade,
the inventor of “Intellectual Money” and proponent of “Other People’s Money
(OPM).
Ranging from the Calabar Garment Factory, the Rice Seedling
and seeds multiplication Centre, Calabar Pharmaceutical Company (Calapharm),
the 21megawatts power plant all completed under three years, with ongoing
noodles manufacturing factory, chicken processing plant with capacity of
processing 600,000 birds per day, located in the Southern Senatorial Zone of
the state, as well as the recently commissioned toothpick factory in Ekori,
Yakurr council area, the ongoing equipment installation at the 30,000 metric
tons cocoa processing plant in Ikom in the Central Senatorial District and the
vitaminized automated rice milling plant in Ogoja which equipment installation
is nearing completion, the British/Canadian international school, the ongoing
asphalting of the dualized 147 kilometre Mfom-Yala-Bekwarra-Obudu-Obanliku
road, in the Northern Senatorial Zone, the ongoing dualization of
Tinapa/Odukpani federal road, among others, Ayade’s financial wizardry remains
the propelling force in the realization of these economically uplifting
projects.
For Ayade, wishes could never be horses. And so, it was a new
age, a new dawn; a time to ride without let, where every step must morph into a
stride and where every stride must be a conquest over the tides. It was time to
defy the odds.
Shaped by these dialectics, hopes immediately sprang eternal
in the leader that has come to be viewed every passing moment as a sphinx. In
his audacity to dare, Ayade is one leader who easily gets his mojo from
difficulties and daunting challenges. And like a Delphic Oracle, the more of
him you assume you know, the more enigmatic he unravels before you.
That is the stuff the governor is made of. Doubt his capacity
and get the shocking surprise of your life.
For instance, when he made it a cardinal plank of his
administration to ensure an early and an unbroken flow of salaries for the state’s
workforce, coupled with the enlarged political appointments, his critics hissed
and huffed and concluded that he was merely on a flight of fancy. Today, the
over five thousand appointees can only revel in the value addition the governor
has wrenched upon their lives.
When he dared to magnify his dream of a deep seaport and a
superhighway, that would create an elixir for economic emancipation for the
state, same armchair critics insisted he was merely chasing after a wild goose.
But with the spate of work currently going on at the Bakassi deep seaport and
the 276 kilometre six-lane superhighway, the governor has beaten them to a
silent stupor.
In what began like an eerie and mysterious start to the
superhighway and the deep seaport, is gradually showing the way to an epic
adventure that will definitely end in a flourish.
Industrially, he has continued to point the way forward and
raising the bar, quietly challenging leaders at all tiers of government on what
a difference vision, creativity, focus and persistence can make in the life of
a state.
In every direction one turns in the state, the marks of good
governance are all too striking: industries with zonal spread, reengineered
schools, rehabilitated and well equipped hospitals, peace and security, economic
empowerment and agricultural transformation.
Allied to these laudable feats is the enthronement of
inclusive government where his politics with ethics has ensured the appointment
of some opposition elements into his government as well as guaranteeing of
contrary views on matters of state.
He has re-defined the concept of leadership and effective
governance by effectively re-orientating the mindset of the political class to
see politics as a call to service.
As we march to the polls a few days hence, let us
collectively do so, with a retelling of countless stories from his glittering
and robust achievements in the areas of industrialization, socioeconomic uplift
of Cross Riverians, all taking place on a shoestring budget.
As we file out to vote on March 9th, let us be conscious of
the fact that our votes are a poignant statement of validation of Governor
Ayade to return to complete the many industries and allied projects scattered
across the state. Our return to the polls on Saturday places on us not only a
civic but equally a moral responsibility to reinforce the true meaning of
equity, justice and fairness, that what is sauce for the goose is also sauce
for the gander. Let our outing be a mark of appreciation for a man who labours
in the face of nothing to change his state’s ugly past by trying to pen a new
chapter worthy of flipping over.
As he turned 51 a few days ago, on March 2nd, he could hardly
remember it was his birthday. It came and went like every other day. Not
exactly because he forgot, but simply that he was not ready to yield himself to
the needless distractions of a birthday bash amidst pressing demands of office.
Little wonder when he touched down at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport
from Abuja, a day after his anniversary, he could only be reminded of the
august date by well-wishers who came to receive him.
That said, it could as well mean that he did not forget his
birthday but merely postponed it for a double-barrel celebration after his
March 9 divinely ordained victory. Until then, the only spice or ingredients we
can add to make the festivity enduring and joyous is our votes to ensure his
unassailable return to Diamond Hill Government House. But for now, we can only
hold our applause and await the second coronation of Ben Ayade as governor of
Cross River State to be delivered on March 9. For it is only after eight
years of his stewardship that we can truly evaluate and appreciate his essence
as a servant leader who has earned his rightful place among the pantheon of
Cross River State past leaders. As anything short of this is a gross travesty
of justice.
* Obogo is Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ayade