Wednesday, April 21, 2010
THE BIG STORY
AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY SENATOR CLEMENT ODAH, SENATE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,NSUKKA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE PAYMENT OF A COURTESY CALL TO RT. HON. AUGUSTINE NWANKWEGU, HON SPEAKER, EBONYYI STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, ON THE 13TH DAY OF NOVEMBER 2009.
“No man has ever learnt to live until he
can rise above the narrow confines of
his individual concern to the broader
concern of society”
The above quotation which is credited to Martin Luther King Jr. defines the distinguishing element in leaders all over the world. It is true of leaders from the Biblical Moses to George Washington of America, Mahatma Ghandi of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, our own beloved Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and of course our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of all time who in order to secure the eternal destiny of his subjects undertook the tortuous journey to Calvary and endured the ordeal of the cross.
Fortunately today, we do not have to go to India, or America, or South Africa to find a true leader, nor do we need to conduct a research into the political history of Nigeria to find the profiles of true leadership for in your person is a leader in the truest and finest sense.
Hon. Speaker Sir, time will fail us if we should go into the details of your leadership antecedents, but suffice it to say that your immense roles both prior to and as Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly has contributed in no small measure to re-shaping and improving the destiny of our dear state and by implication our country Nigeria. This is evident in your tract record beginning from your undergraduate days at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Apart from being a fulfilled legal practitioner, you have distinguished yourself in politics and statesmanship and have proved Abraham Lincoln right that “… for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader”. In the murky waters of Nigerian politics you remain a shinning example of humility, transparency and dedication to service, virtues which have otherwise acquired the rarity of gold. Your passion for development and service came to the fore during your tenure as Chairman of Ebyia Local Government Area. During that period, your patronage to your constituents, especially students and farmers was unrivalled in the entire state.
The world thought they had seen the best of you but realized their mistake when you were elected the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly. In this capacity, you have done so much that cannot be crammed into a brief address of this nature. But suffice it to say that you have elevated the State House of Assembly to an enviable pedestal. This is evident in the areas of legislative activism, infrastructural development and staff morale. Through sheer legislative ingenuity, you have entrenched in the government of Ebonyi State, harmony and stability equalled only by systems of advanced democracies thus deepening our own nascent democracy.
The masses are not left out, for you have doubled as a philanthropist and father of the masses in whose Obi there seem to lay the panacea for the infinite maladies of mankind.
All these robes are indeed too much for any one man to wear. But an answer to the question “how does he do all these alone?” is found in the twin words “God’s grace”. God’s grace indeed! For how else could one man be saddled with such responsibilities as ought to be reserved for a multitude of men. Our sincere prayer is that you should never lack in the all sufficient grace of the Almighty who alone is your strength and patron.
You remain a role model to upcoming future leaders like ourselves; a source of inspiration to the younger generation who aspire to service to humanity. This courtesy call is borne out of the recognition of your invaluable contributions to the evolution of a progressive and democratic society for posterity.
Rt. Hon. Speaker sir, it is obvious that time will not permit us to fully explore the richness of your person as one of the formidable pillars on which Ebonyi State comfortably rests. Moreover, it is clear that an attempt to document everything you stand for will amount to writing a biography.
This being the case, we wish, in one paragraph to bring to your knowledge that we have a pet project which has dominated the greater part of our tenure: that is the procurement of a civilian coaster bus to enhance Senate activities between the different campuses of the University of Nigeria. Your kind assistance in this regard will be immensely appreciated.
On behalf of my team, I want to say we are fulfilled. Our fulfillment derives from the satisfaction of our long-sustained aspiration: The aspiration to meet with and interact with the icon of our time; one whose life ought to be read like a book. And it is our conviction that this courtesy call is divinely ordained. For happening towards the tail end of our tenure, we strongly believe it is meant to be a crown to the present administration of the senate. What we believe about you is so infinite and fathomless that we may be tempted, against our will, to encroach too deep into your tight schedule if we insist on the exhaustion of the content of our heart.
The above being the case we wish to conclude with the prayer that God Almighty should guide and lead you, provide you with grace and fortify you with the finest of Solomonic wisdom. For the benefit of mankind, we also pray that God should always bless the world with your like, even if it be one in every generation.
Thanks and God bless.
SENATOR CLEMENT ODAH,
SUG SENATE PRESIDENT,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.
(08033236346)
“No man has ever learnt to live until he
can rise above the narrow confines of
his individual concern to the broader
concern of society”
The above quotation which is credited to Martin Luther King Jr. defines the distinguishing element in leaders all over the world. It is true of leaders from the Biblical Moses to George Washington of America, Mahatma Ghandi of India, Nelson Mandela of South Africa, our own beloved Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and of course our Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest leader of all time who in order to secure the eternal destiny of his subjects undertook the tortuous journey to Calvary and endured the ordeal of the cross.
Fortunately today, we do not have to go to India, or America, or South Africa to find a true leader, nor do we need to conduct a research into the political history of Nigeria to find the profiles of true leadership for in your person is a leader in the truest and finest sense.
Hon. Speaker Sir, time will fail us if we should go into the details of your leadership antecedents, but suffice it to say that your immense roles both prior to and as Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly has contributed in no small measure to re-shaping and improving the destiny of our dear state and by implication our country Nigeria. This is evident in your tract record beginning from your undergraduate days at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. Apart from being a fulfilled legal practitioner, you have distinguished yourself in politics and statesmanship and have proved Abraham Lincoln right that “… for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader”. In the murky waters of Nigerian politics you remain a shinning example of humility, transparency and dedication to service, virtues which have otherwise acquired the rarity of gold. Your passion for development and service came to the fore during your tenure as Chairman of Ebyia Local Government Area. During that period, your patronage to your constituents, especially students and farmers was unrivalled in the entire state.
The world thought they had seen the best of you but realized their mistake when you were elected the Speaker of Ebonyi State House of Assembly. In this capacity, you have done so much that cannot be crammed into a brief address of this nature. But suffice it to say that you have elevated the State House of Assembly to an enviable pedestal. This is evident in the areas of legislative activism, infrastructural development and staff morale. Through sheer legislative ingenuity, you have entrenched in the government of Ebonyi State, harmony and stability equalled only by systems of advanced democracies thus deepening our own nascent democracy.
The masses are not left out, for you have doubled as a philanthropist and father of the masses in whose Obi there seem to lay the panacea for the infinite maladies of mankind.
All these robes are indeed too much for any one man to wear. But an answer to the question “how does he do all these alone?” is found in the twin words “God’s grace”. God’s grace indeed! For how else could one man be saddled with such responsibilities as ought to be reserved for a multitude of men. Our sincere prayer is that you should never lack in the all sufficient grace of the Almighty who alone is your strength and patron.
You remain a role model to upcoming future leaders like ourselves; a source of inspiration to the younger generation who aspire to service to humanity. This courtesy call is borne out of the recognition of your invaluable contributions to the evolution of a progressive and democratic society for posterity.
Rt. Hon. Speaker sir, it is obvious that time will not permit us to fully explore the richness of your person as one of the formidable pillars on which Ebonyi State comfortably rests. Moreover, it is clear that an attempt to document everything you stand for will amount to writing a biography.
This being the case, we wish, in one paragraph to bring to your knowledge that we have a pet project which has dominated the greater part of our tenure: that is the procurement of a civilian coaster bus to enhance Senate activities between the different campuses of the University of Nigeria. Your kind assistance in this regard will be immensely appreciated.
On behalf of my team, I want to say we are fulfilled. Our fulfillment derives from the satisfaction of our long-sustained aspiration: The aspiration to meet with and interact with the icon of our time; one whose life ought to be read like a book. And it is our conviction that this courtesy call is divinely ordained. For happening towards the tail end of our tenure, we strongly believe it is meant to be a crown to the present administration of the senate. What we believe about you is so infinite and fathomless that we may be tempted, against our will, to encroach too deep into your tight schedule if we insist on the exhaustion of the content of our heart.
The above being the case we wish to conclude with the prayer that God Almighty should guide and lead you, provide you with grace and fortify you with the finest of Solomonic wisdom. For the benefit of mankind, we also pray that God should always bless the world with your like, even if it be one in every generation.
Thanks and God bless.
SENATOR CLEMENT ODAH,
SUG SENATE PRESIDENT,
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.
(08033236346)
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