Governor Umahi, the exceptional leadership prowess and Ebonyi today

Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State.

...Who dare to be David is he who dared to kill Goliath and achieve the feat no one has ever achieved. Today, the David of our time is building a state of the art College of Medicine and world class International airport which will put a stop to the economic challenge of capital flight touted as the bane of  sociology-political and economic development of not just Nigeria but the sub-Saharan Africa.  Donald Matt-Udeh writes on the exceptional leadership prowess of the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. Chief David Nweze Umahi.  

Leadership is the essence of service. Leadership is synonymous with service. It's the conscious cultivation of the Spirit of  humility, passion and hard work.

 Great leaders are those who have served themselves to the top. Jesus Christ was the greatest leader of all time. He exuded the virtue of SERVICE LEADERSHIP. He says he who must be a leader among you must first be the SERVANT OF ALL." Leadership therefore, begins with service and never with power or authority. 

Furthermore, leadership is the courage to champion the cause of others. When His Excellency, Governor David Nweze Umahi took the mantle of leadership to serve Ebonyi State, he came with a DIVINE MANDATE to transform the critical infrastructural and human capital development needs of Ebonyi State. Thus, in his 5 fold service oriented visions, Umahi outlined what was going to be his leadership operational manual. And that gave him the direction for the success story of Ebonyi State today. 

According to Myles Munroe, "some of the unique qualities and attitudes of leaders  include: passion, initiative, team work, innovation, persistence, discipline, focus, time management, confidence, positive disposition, peace and compassion."

 A cursory look into the  trajectory of success of  Governor Umahi's administration shows that the above mentioned qualities which are intrinsically enshrined in his leadership prowess have continued to play out in the invigorating rise of a state once derided and touted as the 'dust of the nation '  to the one now prided as the 'Dubai of Africa.' 

The truth and myth behind the Governor Umahi's success story in doing what was NEVER envisaged because it was deemed impossible has now turned attention to  the leadership question' of whether the greatest need of  Nigeria is good leadership or more money? Because, even with a meagre resources, Umahi has been able to achieve far more than what other Governors with bigger allocations couldn't dream of. 

In essence, the passion driven leadership administration of Governor David Umahi is manifested in the transformation of Ebonyi State into a construction site. Hence, there's no part of Ebonyi State where there is no ongoing project. Almost all the 13 LGAS have flyovers, 9 inches concrete-paved networks with street lights and equipped hospitals and health care centres. 

However, the premise and foundation of good leadership is that which is  born and predicated on the fear of God because it was born in the presence of God. This is the  reason one of Governor Umahi's five-fold vision and mission statements is 'to serve Ebonyi State with the fear of God' and another which is 'to prosper Ebonyi with the words of God.'

 Ebonyi today is no doubt, the most prosperous state in the  country. This justifies that, "when the righteous is in authority the people rejoice."

Who dare to be David is he who dared to kill Goliath and achieve the feat no one has ever achieved. Today, the David of our time is building a state of the art College of Medicine and world class International airport which will put a stop to the economic challenge of capital flight touted as the bane of  sociology-political and economic development of not just Nigeria but the sub-Saharan Africa. 

Donald Matt-Udeh is the Technical Assistant to the Governor on Media.