Diaspora Leaders voice of reason – Alex Otti an incredible leader
By Christian Kalu Mba Agbai
Welcome to the first instalment of Diaspora leaders voice of reason. My name is Chris Kalu Mba Agbai and I am one of the prominent UK Nigerian Diaspora leaders, a senior teacher who has worked successfully as a vice chair of the prestigious Nigeria CANUK group and the Nigerian UK high commission. CANUK (Central association of Nigerians in the UK is an umbrella body charged with informing, caring and communicating with the numerous Nigerian associations in the UK.
The key comment of this article is Governor Alex Otti OFR an incredible leader with capacity for greatness. As keen observers and students of our dear country Nigeria we cannot help but spot when any of our leaders is clearly on the right trajectory and when one has the clear capacity for senior leadership. A key skill for senior leadership is the ability to manage vertically and horizontally. This means manage the expectations and gain respect of those vertically above you and drive and motivate those vertically below you. The way Alex has quickly gained the respect of the presidency of Nigeria even though he is from a different political party is impressive.
The way he has clearly set targets and expectation for the commissioners and his state ministers is also impressive. Horizontally the way he communicates well with state head of police and other security agencies heads as well as his smooth communication style with members of the state house of assembly and the speaker has again led to a relatively calm working relationship in comparison with the recent debacle in Rivers state . Some lesser unskilled Governors complain that they cannot give orders to police chiefs who wait for orders from Abuja, they fail to understand that the state Governor represent the authority of the president in every state and if you can skilfully enjoy the confidence of the presidency then “persuading” a police chief or security chief to do the needful would be straight forward.
Alex Otti has set a shining example for Nigeria as a template for the would be governors of the future. Abia state teachers now enjoy regular salaries and pensions, nurses, government workers speak to us about him with pride. The markets are filled with food, the price of rice and other grain is faling fast. There is no real hunger in Abia state .
So what are the areas that must be critically and holistically looked at.
Firstly, his government must look at how to implement the new tax laws. There are many workers in Abia state and Nigeria simply not paying any taxes, when we interview them, they feel there has not been direct investment into their personal business and therefore they cannot pay taxes on meaneal work to make ends meet. Although we explain that the road and bridge building is a direct investment. We may demand a government tax clearance certificate for all road users. Indeed a small government load fianance could increase employment and gain more taxes. Paying taxes is part of being a proud citizen of the state and country.
Increasing the internally generated revenue of the state will in turn lead to maintaining the high standards set for roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.
Secondly a well funded and expanded state secondary school system perhaps modelled along the Cambridge college systems to educate the brightest pupils in the state and set high standards. Thirdly an expanded university funding mechanism with loans and scholarships . Again these last two measures will shift the centre of gravity towards excellence.
