Taking Mentorship A Notch Higher: Peter Obi Counsels Ihedioha On Things To Avoid In Office
The Oasis Reporters
May 30, 2019
Nigeria’s most celebrated former governor Peter Obi who took a decrepit debt ridden and depressed Anambra State economy to superlative highs in financial surplus and buoyancy has been in huge demand by rookie governors for advice.
He has been on hand to promptly mentor the newly sworn in governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha.
Peter Obi, who was promptly picked by Atiku Abubakar as vice presidential candidate on the ticket of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP in the disputed March 2019 elections heard Gov. Ihedioha as he slammed his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha who’s administration was said to have degraded most institutions in Imo State.
Ihedioha stated this in his inaugural speech shortly after being sworn in by Imo State Chief Judge, Justice Paschal Nnadi, at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, on Wednesday.
The governor who sympathised with the people of the state over what he described as “debased and desecrated governance,” promised to remedy the damages done by the immediate past administration.
Peter Obi rushed in early to present him with 4 charters on page one of his mentorship slate:
1. Don’t fly chartered jets. Don’t waste Imo State funds on chartered Jets. Why pay in millions when you can pay N40,000 only and get to your destination ?
2. Office of the First Lady costs millions to maintain and you can not afford it. Imo State economy is in a mess. Your wife is the first lady of your house and heart, let her continue with her career.
3. Don’t turn Government House into a party house, those that want to drink should go to the bar.
4. Listen to those that criticise you, they are your best advisers. Always find out why they were criticising you.
Your predecessor has left a verified debt of N100 billion . But for free advice on debt management, I will recommend former governor of Cross River State Liyel Imoke”.
An Imo State Transition Committee member, Dr. Jekwu Ozoemene who was one time Access Bank of Zambia Managing Director had earlier in May turned in a gloomy report on the state of Imo State financial situation and it reads in paraphrase:
Industry specialists and experts (enough Professors and Phds in that room to set up a University), some of Imo’s best and brightest, beautiful recommendation after recommendation gathered for an overview of the situation in the state.
The Finance and Funding Sub-Committee made its presentation, urging that brilliant ideas with clear and sustainable funding modalities should be postulated.
The State’s incoming administration has its work cut out for it.
Today, if Imo State were to be a bank, the CBN and NDIC would have long moved in to protect depositors’ funds.
If it was a company, then it’s going concern-ability would have been in doubt, its auditors would have qualified its accounts or it will have become insolvent and declared bankrupt.
If it wasn’t already technically insolvent, its non existent corporate governance structures and absolute lack of transparency meant an inevitable outcome.
However, it will take extreme creativity and innovation to first restore a semblance of normalcy before we can even begin to talk about transformation.
Unless he is superhuman, if Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha is to achieve success, he has to assemble an army of like-minded Imo people who have both the energy, intellect, doggedness to see this through, for it looks dire right now, but it can surely be done”.
Political analysts say that Nigeria keeps on recycling aged politicians who have been around for over seven decades with century old ideas because they deliberately refused to mentor the younger generation. A task Peter Gregory Obi, affectionately referred to as ‘Okwute’, the rock, by his adoring fans in Igbo land and beyond for raising the bar of governance for all Nigerians to see.
