Okowa, Okonkwo Task Nigerians on Committed Leadership, Unity

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State and the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) candidate in the November 6, 2021 gubernatorial election in neighboring Anambra State, Dr. Obiora Okonkwo, have stressed the need for Nigerians to eschew all forms of divisiveness but to ensure that leaders are people with proven integrity and who are determined to unite and add great value to people’s lives.

They made the assertion in separate remarks at the 2021 Dr Sam Ekpelle Memorial Gold Paper Lecture, which is organised annually by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), and held in Asaba, Delta State.

Governor Okowa, who had earlier received the President and members of the Governing Council of NIPR at Government House, lamented that the growth of the country has been greatly hampered because Nigerians have often been encouraged to be divided along ethnic and religious sentiments.

“Just about a week ago I was in Lagos at the Ripples Dialogue to talk about the unity of Nigeria,” Okowa noted, adding, “I am glad that your topic today is centred on the unity of Nigeria and it shows that your institute understands the nation.

“Talking about the unity of our country is not only about persons in government, but about Nigerians ourselves. We need a forum to talk about it and I am glad that as an Institute, you have decided to talk about it this year.

“We cannot build trust in the nation when the component parts of the country do not trust themselves, and that is why as an institute you have decided to talk about it this year. We cannot build trust in the nation when the components do not trust themselves.

“So, this communication will definitely help to build more bridges across the nation because we are better off united but we must continue to talk about it. There must be an enabling platform to discuss Nigeria; we must be able to air our voices and we must listen to ourselves and find solutions to our problems.”

Okonkwo, who delivered the lecture titled, ‘Reinventing Nigeria’s Unity for Global Relevance in the 21st Century: Issues of Identity, Governance and Stability’, which also featured the investiture of Okowa as a distinguished patron of the NIPR said that committed leadership was inevitable to positively impact the people’s lives but noted that there were limits to what he could do as a private individual to positively transform lives, adding that as governor a lot of lives would be touched in the federating states to serve as launch-pad for the desired reinvention of Nigeria.

He noted that Africa and the global community recognised the strategic importance of Nigeria, saying that unity remains imperative for the country to live up to expectations.

He said that he was truly committed to the unity of Nigeria which is presently grappling with security, economic and other challenges, but harped on the need for fairness and justice in order for sustainable peace and unity to be engendered.

Okonkwo said that private individuals who have enviable records of success in their chosen fields of endeavour could not afford “to continue to cede the political space to scoundrels who have nothing to offer other than to loot public treasuries.”

“It is because of my unflinching faith in the unity and potential greatness of this country that I named the airline, which I floated in February this year, United Nigeria with the slogan ‘Flying to Unite’.

“Those are not empty phrases but borne out of conviction. It is a sentiment I am convinced most Nigerians share, including the distinguished members of the NIPR.

“If only our leaders can rise up to the challenges of governance and help unleash the enormous potentials of this unique country, and realize that the task to reinvent Nigeria was a collective one, then they would understand that the nation needs prosperity to defeat hunger.

“Moreover, we need security to guarantee a secure future and ensure a meaningful life for our citizens and, perhaps more importantly, we need hope to live and survive for the new day.”

The governorship hopeful and businessman, who is also the Chairman/CEO of United Nigeria Airlines, delivered the annual lecture at the ceremony attended by Chief Judge of Delta, Justice Theresa Diai; President of the state’s Customary Court of Appeal, Justice Patience Elumeze; Ovie of Agbon Kingdom, Ogurimerime Ukori I, among other dignitaries.

Chairman of Delta Chapter of the Institute and Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chief Patrick Ukah, said that the lecture was instituted over a decade ago in honour of late Dr. Sam Epelle, the founding father of the Institute and that it had become a unique platform to drive conversation and set agenda to resolving critical societal issues through promotion of “good virtues, citizenship and igniting a sense of patriotism.”

Earlier, the President and Chairman of NIPR’s Governing Council, Mallam Mukhtar Sirajo, had thanked the governor for hosting the Institute’s annual lecture in Asaba.

While justifying the investiture of Okowa as Patron of the Institute, Sirajo lauded him for the massive dividends of democracy he had bequeathed to the people of Delta in the last six years.

Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Emmanuel Ogidi, in his remarks, said as public relations practitioners, members of the institute were expected to proffer solutions to societal problems and help to rebuild the nation.