Most of the times, Nigerians have with nostalgia remembered the somewhat articulate and focused leadership that was provided by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello. Ever since the end of their era, the hue and cry has been loud over complaints of a country devoid of focused leadership. But then what is leadership?
There is a consensus that what Nigeria needs most to be more competitive is visionary leadership.
This notion has been with us even before independence in 1960. Yet we are finding it difficult to fathom whether we are progressing or retrogressing. There have been reference to the likes of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, Nelson Mandela of South Africa and Fidel Castro of Cuba among others have been extolled for providing leadership that helped steer the development ships of their countries. In the same vein, George Washington several years ago pioneered and provided qualitative leadership direction for the American government.
“Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” –Bill Bradley
The above interpretation of leadership makes great meaning to Val Ozigbo who has just thrown his hat into the ring to vie for the Governorship position in Anambra State under the umbrella of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP).
Immediate past President and Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), Mr. Valentine Chineto “Val” Ozigbo, has said that Anambra State needs a more focused and visionary leadership that would pursue the path of collaboration so as to achieve her short and long term developmental goals.
Almost the most decorated black man in the hospitality industry in the world, Ozigbo who resigned from his plum job and left his comfort zone at Transcorp Hotels to wade into the murky waters of politics said he hungers for a better Anambra State; a better Nigeria and a better place for the black man.
Describing the Anambra State experience as that of one with blessed and missed opportunities, the widely travelled man whose wealth of experience traverses banking, business, administration and other endeavours said he possesses the quality mix and experience to pool together all the varied resources of the state and launch it to where it belongs, in addition to making it competitive.
According to him, Anambra state needs to play a bigger role in the lives of not only Igbos in Nigeria and the African Diaspora but also as part of the march towards restoring the dignity of the black man anywhere in the world.
He maintains that a lot more needs to be done in the area of making the state more “investment friendly” in order to attract both local and foreign investors.
‘’What we need in Anambra is efficiency and to make it more competitive. It is when you have made it investor-friendly that you can attract all sorts of investors’’,
