When the African literary titan was about to withdraw his instrument of protest, in his unassailable gospel, “The Trouble with Nigeria”, he summatively quipped thus,” The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely on a failure of leadership”.
That unassailable truth of gross somersaults in the leadership strata of the nation have largely brought this nation to her knees till date.
This pariah situation informed part of the grudges harboured against Nigeria by the Turkish people, as they have always entertained beliefs in the buried potentials of our dear county to pull back African continent from her continued drift to the irretrievable brink.
On that history making day, at the Kumkapi City of Istanbul Turkey, events of dramatic effect transpired. I had long meticulously documented them for prompt perusal and to relish the memories when strains of the world knock against my mental sky. It was more than memorable and hardly did I envisaged such epochal rally from Nigerians in diaspora together with Turkish government.
Infact, I thought that I have seen it all as regard to rallies engineered to booster the leadership morale of governor Ugwuanyi. Certainly, much recognition, acceptance and accolades have trailed Ugwuanyi’s visionary leadership national and international since his deserved sojourn in the Lion Building, little did I envisage another wave of adulation that brewed heavily such as the one which shaked the foundation of Istanbul Turkey. Gburu-Gburu is truly a global phenomenon! I was literally swept off my feet by another torrential pour of uncommon love on His Excellency by the Turkish people.
They dashed into the amphitheater in droves, my brain staggered in capturing their locust figures, the high and the mighty who call the shots in the state, famed business magnates, high power investors and the ordinary man of Turkish nativity. On their lips were all sweet adjectives for the governor as they could remember, if any escaped my mind, definitely it’s nowhere traceable to English lexicon. They equally scripted a panegyric in their mother tongue, all that I could recall was the intermittent refrain of governor Ugwuanyi’s names.
It was an unprecedented outpouring of love.
I stood up nearly for donkey hours to receive the seven(7) deserving awards for most peaceful governor in Nigeria, for the enamored governor. The blistering lights of cameras and smart phones drooped my stamina, they came left and right, back and forth until I declined to exercise discretion on posture. Capturing their governor mattered significantly too. I wonder what would have happened if the governor was himself in attendance. He would have been crammed out and drained, probably he might need a day or two to make it to home. They were practically obsessed with Gov.Ugwuanyi and what he represents, tons of take home messages of peace to Gov. Ugwuanyi from each Turkish man deluged my handbag.
At a point, tears welled up profusely in my eyes, but why cry for good gestures? I kept floundering at what other definition can love connote than the opened hearts of Nigerians resident in Turkey and the host country. At dusk same day, I lost the battle to tears, having formed a tick cloud and the urge became irresistible, there was no reason to dredge it any longer.
I also thought the world has no place for peace nor appreciates leaders who have shown considerable measures to entrench peace and tranquility in their home countries. Again, how erroneous my calculations were on the world view of leaders whose mandate were judiciously put into use to lift the governed rather than run them further aground in penury and perennial want.
More surprising is how Gov Ugwuanyi’s track records of peace pierce through the borders down to some faraway nations of the world who obliged themselves a duty to pay tribute to a general like Ugwuanyi.
In the hit of the moment, my mind flipped through the lines of now trending jam artistically weaved by the Abakiliki born musician, Patoranking (stage name) reeling out who features in his imagination of “big names”. I was moved to sauce those lines that Gburu-Gburu is the Biggest Name.
The reserved governor professionally plys his God given mandate here in Nigeria, and the dividends ring true with the inhabitants situated offshore of the country.Gburu-Gburu has become a global brand courtesy of his goodness that inadvertently attracts robust rev.
Written by;
Hon.Mrs. Bibian Anekwe
SSA to the Governor of Enugu State on Mobilization and Empowerment
Enugu Di N’akachukwu Movement (DG)
