Will Nnamani Vie For Presidency?
By Olawale Resheed, Tribune, June 15, 2006

Reading the Enugu state governor, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani in the media may not give the exact picture and personality of the Mona Lisa trained medical doctor. His erudition is clearly not the handiwork of speech writers. Okpara House in coal city is presently occupied by a nationally-minded intellectual who, while fighting entrenched opposition, still record tremendous success in multiple project design execution.

With a digital carriage, Nnamani is indeed a governor that has succeeded in bridging the digital divide by taming the old warlords and by connecting his new political family, Ebeano, with the grassroots. Chimaroke is a study in intellectual passion, a surging trait that put him a step ahead of his critics. Getting round the many projects and calculating mere 600 million naira monthly left over after salaries raise questions about doing the impossible in an impossible environment.

Beyond the recognition bestowed on him by the European Union and his consistent high rating by President Olusegun Obasanjo, Governor Nnamani has proved that ruling a state or a country in this digital age should not be a question of tribe or religion; it should not be about emotionalism or sentimentalist. The focus he repeated should be on competence and global excellence and merit-based governance, Nnamani affirmed, insisting that Nigeria, as the heartbeat of Africa, deserves the best in rulership.

“What is Africa? Africa is Nigeria and South Africa. And in the real sense of it, Nigeria is Africa. A leader of a country like Nigeria cannot and should not be elected based on accident of geography. Nigeria is too important to be led by just anybody,” the governor said.

Nnamani, who described Nigeria as a complex society deserving a true patriot as a leader, said Enugu State is like a microcosm of Nigeria especially in the areas of antagonism and desperation of old socio-political forces. Handling and tackling Enugu, the medical doctor said, is a lesson in him and philosophy; an experience he said equipped and encouraged him in public service.

“Our experience in Enugu is a lesson in human philosophy; a battle with an aggressive, frustrated elite, pushed to the wall and fighting for survival. They see us as young men daring the political lords of the land. They wondered where we were when they were making and unmaking military governors. These are men who are purveyors of curriculum vitae now fighting for somewhere to act and out of relevance for the future.

The future is not clear for them; for the Ebeano family has come here to stay. This elite could be described as men in the summer of their life. But in this struggle, people are with us.

“We defeated them by providing world class facilities not comparable to anyone in Nigeria. All our facilities are designed to bring out the best. We are after legacies of 50 or so years to come. In 50 years, the facilities will still be world class. Late Premier Okpara built this place, look round, what is there to add again? We are building for the future, we are in pursuit of excellence,” the Enugu chief executive noted.

Nnamani compared the transformation of Enugu state under his leadership to that of what President Olusegun Obasanjo has done to Nigeria. According to him, Mr. President had defined all odds to bring Nigeria out of the woods. “We are not worried about succession. The administration has instituted institutional reforms. These institutions are already in place. Our successor will have no option than to forge ahead with these laudable policies. This is true of Nigeria as is true of Enugu,” he asserted.

While refusing to categorically state his next line of service post-2007, Nnamani offered a philosophical angle to his political life, especially as to loyalty of a successor: “Mine has been a lesson in political loyalty, loyalty to God, to the state, to the monarchy.

Certain offices demand loyalty to the state. Blood relation, ethnicity and materials do not guarantee loyalty. Loyalty is subject to human frailty. We survive by staying ahead of the opponents, avoiding certain luxuries and coping with the contradictory of human philosophy.

“I hope for a successor loyalty to me. A successor from our structure will do our legacy better. We are not worried about a successor but we hope our successor will be more digital, more younger, more hardworking. I belong to Ebeano political family. I am Chimaroke Nnamani. That structure will outlive me. So whoever emerge from the structure will follow our philosophy of global excellence,” the chief executive noted.

Commending the president for reposing confidence in the governors over the question of successor, Nnamani noted that the search by the search committee was a measure among others: “What we are operating is a constitutional framework. Of course, there will still be a convention and a primary is going to hold.

“Ndigbo are still interested in the presidency. There is no apathy and if it looks like apathy, it was a calculated attempt to embed such reasoning in the consciousness of South Easterners. The talk of North South is a distortion, an attempt by historical revisionists to re-write Nigerian history.

“In those days of regions, there was even a time we had separate diplomatic representatives. Each of these three old regions could have become a country before independence; we could have gone our different ways. Several decades after, somebody wants to deny this historical fact, it won’t work.

“I am not used to divisive preachment but we must set the record straight. I have been reminding Ndigbos that they occupy a major position in the making of Nigeria. We run the engine of this nation. I don’t belong to the camp of those who feel they are defeated or that they have apology to offer. We all must rise to the challenge of leadership,” the governor argued.

“I disputed reports that Ndigbos are not interested. It is a pure conspiracy. The 2007 presidency is not a North_South South affairs. There is a deliberate blackout of Ndigbos. Igbo aspirants showed interest, yet, they are not mentioned. The struggle is not just for South South but for both South East and our brothers in the South South,” he affirmed.

The coal city boss, however, repeated his position that national leadership should not be determined by geography: “I am not for any shift, either age wise or regional wise. What I am for is merit and global excellence in the choice of the next president of this country.”

One issue that was hanging throughout the encounter with the governor is the question of his ambition after leaving office in 2007. Very evasive but yet dropping hint as to his next move. First, he said his experience has equipped him to further contribute to development, to achieve global excellence. Yet he was not categorical.

He has this to say on the question of who succeeds Mr. President: “it is not over until it is over. The variables are so wide and it is premature to draw any conclusions now.”