First the caution… I am not talking about the jewelry-loving Nnamani, but the highly cerebral, blue Guinea-brocade loving governor of Enugu State.

Chimaroke Nnamani, since he dealt a decisive blow on the godfather syndrome in his state, has emerged on the national political scene as a force to be reckoned with, especially as he garnished his job with exceptional lecture delivery on various topics around the country. Fortunately, some of his lectures positioned him as a man of ideas who has got the wherewithal to tackle the problems afflicting the country.

One could have gotten away with the impression that he is just a man of words. But Nnamani has made Enugu to work again. To a very large extent, he has brought to bear on his people why this democracy must be the voter’s world and why the Igbo must confront the challenges of nation building.

But this is not really to highlight the many significant projects which he started from the scratch and completed. The President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on July 13, 2005 even acknowledged this when he said, “I will tell you of a state which is doing what no Region could do at the same time. This state is building a university, a teaching hospital, two housing estates which I visited and a judiciary complex which is probably one of the best in the country. At the same time the state is building dual carriage roads all over the state capital, including a tunnel under the railway line. Tell me which region of old could do that, at the same time? This state is not one of those that get the highest amount from the Federation Account. It is not even among the first ten or among the first fifteen states and yet, the governor of the state was able to do all these. Well, it is Enugu State.”

This is just to ask the governor why he is not one of those who are being touted as a presidential hopeful. Is he scared of being a President? It is even more worrisome that Nnamani has not given any hint about his ambition more so that his party, the PDP, has de-zoned the presidential seat; a move which would suit him as he had once argued that zoning would not guarantee quality leadership, but would engender a divisive Nigeria.

Chimaroke certainly will represent freshness in a presidential race that is peopled by some pretenders and charlatans, people who have no pedigree and record of performance. He will elevate the status of the presidential race and bring out the best in the others. He will sustain the Igboness of the Ndigbo, which said it won’t play second fiddle to any state. This is not an assured victory song for Chimaroke Nnamani though. Far from it. As he himself once explained, “the deciding factors of political relevance ought to be anchored on the desires, aims and preferences of the index voter”. This is just to tell Chimaroke that, “Taa bu gboo, echi di ime” {Let the future begin now}.