By Bonaventure Phillips Melah

Since the founding of the present, united nation called Nigeria through amalgamation, down to independence up to today, the country has been plagued by lack of quality leadership as those entrusted with power by the people have ended up as huge disappointments, leaving the people with only the taste of ash in their mouths.

From the military to civilian administration, many leaders have been colossal failures and disappointments with most politicians making empty promises during elections and supervising the citizens eating the bread of sorrow after their inauguration. This is the major reason why roads in the country are impassable death traps, hospitals are mortuaries, and electricity suffers epilepsy, keeping the people hungry in the midst of abundance.

In spite of this ugly reality, there are a few leaders in Nigeria at the local, state and federal levels who have made positive deviations and distinguished themselves by using state resources to positively impact the lives of the people, providing basic needs, infrastructure and human capital development.

Of these few ‘beautiful ones,’ Barrister Nyesom Wike, the current Minister for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stands out.

After serving as Chairman of Obiakpor Local Government Council in River state, Wike was Chief of Staff to the state governor for eight years and was in Abuja as Minister of State, Education before becoming River State Governor.

In the eight years he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the State, Wike transformed Rivers, providing state of the art infrastructure, bridges, solid roads, some of the best schools in Nigeria’s history, building hospitals and equipping them with needed laboratory and other equipments, building shopping malls, among others while raising workers pay and paying them at when due.

According to Wike, one of the strategies he deployed to achieve success as Governors was to discard bureaucratic and administrative bottlenecks that have held the nation at the jugular at the federal level and many states in the country.

In order words, Wike said his administration decided to adjust the State’s procurement law, adding that it helped his government to conceptualise, initiate and complete projects on record time.

For example Wike said that the Nabo Graham Douglas Campus of the Nigerian Law School which was constructed by his administration within eight months would have ordinarily been completed between four to five years if the country’s existing procurement life cycle was followed.

He said- “The procurement life cycle here in Nigeria is very long. If you follow the procurement life cycle religiously before you give birth to a project and commence construction, it will take like three, four, or five months.

“If you follow Procurement Act 2000, which recommends for about 15 per cent mobilisation fees, and then you budget 15 percent in your yearly budget, just like the federal government budget is being done.

“If you take it to the National Assembly they will put 15 per cent of the cost of the project in the budget. When you put 15 per cent of the cost of the project in the budget, what are we saying? We are saying that this project should be completed in six years or more.

“When you look at your contract completion period, if your contract completion period of the project is one year and you budget fully for that project in that particular year, then you are sure of completing that project in that particular year.”

The governor advised every Bureau of Public Procurement in the country to have a functional price intelligence unit.

With such ingenuity, Wike was able to launch several ambitious infrastructure projects like constructing a whooping thirteen flyover bridges, expansion and reconstruction of hundreds of roads and bridges as well as creating innovative public transportation systems.

Governor Wike gave right of first of refusal to education and worked tirelessly to improve the state’s education system. He increased funding for all the tertiary institutions in the states, introduced innovative programmes, and implemented policies that ensured every child in the go to school. He championed healthcare initiatives that aimed to provide better access to affordable and quality healthcare for Rivers people and invested in healthcare infrastructure by building new hospitals, employed hundreds of doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who were all provided with working tools and residential quarters.

On environment, Wike implemented policies to reduce carbon emissions, promote renewable energy sources and conserve natural resources while he multinational oil companies to pay needed taxes and compensate host communities.

He implemented measures to reduce wasteful spending, streamline government operations, and improve financial accountability while his prudent fiscal management ensured that taxpayers’ monies were utilized efficiently and effectively

Before he left office, Wike constructed 1000km of roads in eight years and while responding to questions from reporters, revealed how he was able to make such unprecedented achievement.

He said that by adopting a realistic procurement law and budgetary system, his administration was able to do whatever it considered best for Rivers people.

Other major feats his administration achieved in the construction sub-sector include construction of drainages of over 493 Km, flyovers and overpasses of over 11km which was done in four years; several rivers crossing bridges of three kilometers of 300 and 400 metres long.

There is no space here to put down the numerous projects, human development policies and programmes, including empowerment of women, young people and people with disabilities.

During his days as state governor, Wike ensured that in every given year, over 70 percent of the State budget was dedicated to capital expenditure and 30 or less to recurrent expenditure. This is a positive deviation from what obtains in many other states where annual budgets are spent mainly on consumption, leaving little or nothing to infrastructure and other developmental projects.

The aim of this article is to highlight the fact that if all the governors of the 36 states that have served Nigeria in the past have achieved what Wike has done in River State for eight year, Nigeria would have by now be shoulder to shoulder with the Asian Tigers.

It is therefore a call on leaders at all levels to rise up and contribute to national development by replicating or attempt to replicate what Wike did in Rivers State, through the deployment of resources accruing or allocated to them to impact meaningfully on the lives of the people within their geographical areas or jurisdiction. That way, Nigeria would sooner than later, become the nation of or dream.

Footnote: It is a waste of time threatening Wike on the basis primordial sentiments. Truth is that this FCT Minister is not your everyday kind of leader. You can take it to the bank that Wike would not backtrack from his noble vision and mission once he is convinced he is working for the good of the people. Forgerrit.

This article is featured the Book THE BEAUTIES OF NIGERIA  written by Bonaventure Melah which is billed for Public Presentation on November 28, 2023 at the National Press Centre, Abuja.

Bonaventure Phillips Melah, an Abuja based journalist and author, is the Publisher of Nationwide Reports. Bonamelah123@gmail.com 08036062975