What’s Obaze up to?

In this piece, Esin Suji highlights the chances of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Osekola Obaze in the Anambra State election.

In every assemblage of human beings – as a family unit, kindred, organisation or geo-political entity – the pursuit and fulfillment of their collective interests and aspirations are derived principally from the quality of their leadership or management. Resource endowments are one thing, but effective leadership remains the critical success factor for the development and progress of any entity. The alternative is a nightmare of sorts, which members of the entity are compelled to live with at great costs.

In November this year, the electorate of Anambra State will go to the polls to elect a Governor that would steer their affairs for a term of four years. It is not enough for the people to look forward to better days ahead, but they should exercise their right to make an informed choice of who of the candidates is equipped, competent and willing to make positive impact on their socio-economic and political well-being. Take the sterling example of Oseloka Henry Obaze.

Comprehensively educated and groomed in Nigeria and abroad, he has over the years acquired competencies and exposure that have established him as an asset to people and organizations he has worked for and interacted with. He was a member of the Nigerian Diplomatic Corps for some ten years under three Heads of State; and garnered varied experiences in policy, administration, management and politics. In the United Nations system for over two decades, Oseloka Obaze interacted closely with some of the best technocrats in the world. He served under four Secretaries-General during which period he widened his horizon on best practices in the management of human and resources.

Many people are unaware of the significant roles Oseloka Obaze played in the celebrated administration of Mr. Peter Obi. While in the United Nations system, he was in the advisory team that helped generate the master blue-print, Anambra Integrated Development Strategy [ANIDS], which made simultaneous progress possible in all major sectors – in line with the then Millennium Development Goals [MDGs]. In a similar vein, Oseloka Obaze has articulated a comparable programme of action within the framework of the current Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. He has thus demonstrated his firm grasps of the realities of modern management and corporate governance. It will bear repetition to that the SDGs are at the core of meaningful and regenerative development of both the people and society at large.

Joining the Obi administration as Secretary to the State Government [SSG], Oseloka Obaze steadily added value to governance. Aside from energizing the Office to become the engine room of the administration for policy coherence and co-ordination, he is also acknowledged for his active involvement in several strategic task teams, including rescue missions across the State. These included membership of the State Economic Think-Tank and headship of the State Flood Disaster Emergency Fund and Flood Disaster Relief Co-ordination Committee. Though the incumbent Governor Willie Obiano duly retained him as SSG, their relationship was short-lived because the people’s welfare was not on the priority list of that administration.

 

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