As I was ushered in to meet with him, though I had known a bit about him through several articles on him that I had read, still, I was somehow uncomfortable. Not because I wasn’t bold enough (those who are very close to me would attest to the fast that I am always very bold when meeting people, maybe because I had mingled a lot somehow) but majorly because of the position he is occupying.
The position of a second in command of a state is in no small measure, a small position at all, being that they meet a lot of people who, sometimes are usually patronizers rather than true friends and loyalists, so, his request to see me, was for me very humbling and I felt honoured to have been invited to meet the man, whose name, truthfully because of the humility attached to his personality, strikes hard on me, more than that of even the state governor himself, without sounding immodest.
And finally, the door was opened and I was welcomed by the protocol officer, who told me ‘’His Excellency’’ had been waiting for me (ordinary me you might say, but that was how the guy put it) and at that point, my courage came back and I walked straight to where he sat and lo’, he stood to welcome Precious Eze, the small me, whose write-ups (the very bad ones oooo) he had read severally.
And finally, I met with Prince Eze Madumere, the AMIABLE (my own way of describing him) deputy Governor of my home state, Imo and the lifter of the hand of my Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha. The man who is represented in Exodus 17:12 as the Aaron holding the hand of Moses in Imo State.
At first, I was shocked to have seen the table where he sat very untidy, but this shock was demystified when we started gisting about virtually everything. Personal life, his long stay and partnership with the Governor, his life as the Deputy Governor of Imo State and then the big one, the tag on him as the most ‘’HUMBLE’’ Deputy Governor of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to Prince Eze Madumere, he had been with Owelle Rochas Okorocha well over 20years and this seem to be the reason or reasons that could be attributed to their unrivaled good relationship which dates back from when they were working together as partners in one of the business concerns of the Governor. This afforded him the honour and privilege to have traveled to all the 774 local government areas in the country, marketing and distributing the best of typhoid drugs in Africa.
This relationship culminated in him becoming the Chief of Staff to the Governor in 2011 when Rochas Okorocha won the elections to become Governor of Imo State. He subsequently became the substantive Deputy Governor with the clearance of the House of Assembly when the former Deputy Governor was impeached and his name was submitted to the house by the Governor to be his deputy.
Like the popular saying, a delicious soup is not known by its aroma, but by its taste and truly so, Prince Eze Madumere has proven his worth on the saddle, making him the best back bone any governor would ever ask for, with a lot of discipline, commitment to duty and above all, his humility.
Now, back to why his table was untidy (I know a lot of people are eager to know). I saw a lot of building materials littered all over the table with people showing him this and that and I was quick to ask him, Your Excellency sir, do you trade in building materials too? And he responded by laughing profusely. He laughed and laughed till I even was wondering if he had gotten angry with my question but no, he turned and said to me, Precious, I don’t have a house of my own yet and that’s why I’m trying to build one now. Having been Deputy Governor for over two years, I still don’t have my personal house because, I don’t have such luxury.
That statement was surprising to me and he saw the expression of surprise on my face and was sharp enough to know exactly what my next ‘‘polite’’ question was going to be and he said, my security votes and that of my principal, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, are all channeled towards ensuring that every child in Imo State gets good and free education, which is the best any right thinking government can give to her citizens in our present day Nigeria.
I probed further to know how it had worked for them because, I couldn’t believe the fact that any governor, would be able to deny himself and his deputy, the privilege of being comfortable atleast, while it lasts and he responded thus. I am sacrificing for the Children of Imo State, in a bid to give them free and quality education because these monies are channeled to all in Imo State owned educational institutions.
WOW!! You would say to these responses but wait, more is yet to come.
Asking the deputy governor, Eze Madumere questions, became more comfortable for me, as the environment was made more comforting by the manner he answered me. And I asked, ‘‘Your Excellency’’ sir, what does ‘‘Humility’’ (having been acknowledged as the most humble D. Governor) mean to you and he goes.
Humility to me means, being myself completely in all I do, both in government and out of government. I had always been this way and I will continue to be this way, it doesn’t matter the position I attain at any point in life, I am determined to remain as I am made for as long as possible.
In conclusion, I decided to ask him to take me through some of the projects embarked upon in the last three and half years of the administration of Rochas Okorocha and he says, well Precious, I may not be able to remember all of them right now, but I will mention the few I can remember.
The vision of the Rochas Okorocha lead administration tagged, RESCUE MISSION, is aimed at rescuing Imo State completely from the deep roots of poverty and this can only be achieved through the provision of basic social amenities, all embedded in the free education policy of the State Government. This vision is designed to give Imo children the best of education, with the promise that with good education made available through to all levels, we would be able to empower comprehensively, every child towards a better and brighter future ahead.
On the area of infrastructure, the Owelle Rochas Okorocha lead administration, has been able to do the following projects, 27 General hospitals, one in each local government, 322 Primary and Secondary Schools built in the State, the film academy, Imo College of Advanced Professional Studies, ICAPS, Imo college of health sciences and nursing, Imo palm plantation in Ohaji- Egbema, a min of 20kilometer roads in every local government, Owerri city school, akwakuma girls secondary school, Emmanuel college is under renovation, dualization of oweri-orlu road through to akaokpa to Anambra, building materials market, okporo-orlu, three inland bridges connecting old owerri to new owerri imo international convention centre, renovation of Imo concord hotel, Heroes square events centre, Imo freedom square( where people gather to speak their minds and aired on either IBC or Radio). Dee Sam Road, Children's park, Concord luxury apartments, 25,000 Youths employed under You Must Work Programme (YMWP), renovation of Imo House of Assembly complex, 2 campuses of Imo Polytechnics in Orlu and Ehime Mbano commissioned and operational, 1,800 km of roads constructed in Urban and Rural areas, Security guaranteed through Imo Security Network, Imo community Watch, Imo civil guardian, Imo Dialysis center commissioned, establishment of Imo State micro finance bank and so many other projects I can’t remember now.
We are gradually moving Imo State forward with developmental strides, aimed at making sure that government is felt by all in Imo he says.
As in my usual self, I took the Deputy Governor by surprise when in his presence, I put a call across to one of my relatives in Imo State to confirm, most importantly, the construction of one hospital each, in all the 27 local governments and the answer I got was shockingly true. One of my cousin’s said, yes Owelle really tried for us here ooo, if you had visited us in recent times, you would have seen it yourself but I am worried. My worry and fear is that, these projects may not be maintained when Owelle finally leaves office in 2019.
Prince Madumere was quick to dispel his fears on the phone, telling him how things will only get better by the day, as the present administration is poised to deliver and sustain all the projects embarked upon by the present administration, as they are tailored to last even after Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
You guys can’t but imagine what would have happened to my cousin when he learnt later that the man who responded to him on the phone was actually the Deputy Governor himself.
I learnt through reports that a tricycle rider had an accident somewhere around Owerri and it was at the same time the Deputy Governor was on his way for a function. On seeing the accident, Prince Eze Madumere stopped and attended to this rider and his passengers who were involved in the accident with him, and the news seemingly went viral but what Prince Madumere didn’t or maybe would find out through this small piece is that, the owner of the tricycle is someone who used to pick me sometimes from my hotel in Douglas road, to mainly, Orient TV when I have things to do in Imo State.
When I called my rider friend to find out if actually such a thing happened, the guy was quick to tell me that, he was actually the person involved and was rescued, treated free of charge and given medications all by the Deputy Governor, who made sure that his medical team carried out his instructions by ensuring that the man was properly taken care of.
This is truly refreshing and somehow, elating, knowing that power belongs completely to God, who may decide to take same power from people who are no longer deserving of them and in their very presence, give same to unknown individuals, thereby making mockery of the wisdom of man.
Prince Eze Madumere, is truly, the new-face of what political office holders should be, displaying dignity, integrity, service to the people, sacrifice, humility, kindness and love towards the people on whose mandate the privileges attached to the office he is occupying today came from and with the synergy between him and Owelle Rochas Okorocha in Imo State, things can only get better.
As you celebrate 51 years Your Excellency, I will only wish you well in all ramifications.
You shall do well in your new year and in your next 80 years to come
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