Samuel Ogbuku: administrator per excellence
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them… by William Shakespeare in Twelfth Night.
I sarcely could resist the lure of lending my voice to the festival of celebrations put up in honour of the man of the moment, Dr
Samuel Ogbuku. Indeed, Dr. Ogbuku rarely needs any introduction, his reputation as an apostle of development precedes his name. This explains why the⁸ social media was agog with feasts of , brass and platitudes as Samuel Ogbuku marked his birthday. Men and women from different political enclaves and persuasions brazenly withrew their jingoistic flags, to celebrate the avatar of change and transformative leadership. They rolled out drums and red carpets in honour of the new kid on the block. And for good reasons too. This is not unexpected given the strategic position Sammy as he is wont to be called by friends and associates is occuping in the region. Our poster boy is the current chief executive officer overseeing the multi billion naira interventionist empire, the Niger Delta Development Commission. As a matter of fact, Sammy is said to be the de facto ‘governor’ of the entire Niger Delta region. Come to think of it, he presides over the development of the entire region.
But much more to his credit, the gentle man has been at the top of his game- working assidously hard to change the narrative of the region. Need I say that this has endeared him to a critical majority of the people especially the youths. Until his arrival at the centre stage, the development of the region was kept at abayance, albeit inadvertently due in part to the morass of conflicting interests of past midwives of the programme.
Sammy seems to understand the yearnings and aspirations of the people-vis avis -the dynamics of development agenda of government. He has clearly contextualised the agenda of this government for the greater good of the region.
There’s a general consensus that the emergence of Sammy has helped to re-create, revamp and re-engineer the fortunes of NDDC, hitherto known as the household of malfeasance; a cesspool of satanic corruption, if you will.
The image, at the time Sammy took over the leadership of the organization was at its nadir; it sank so low that no one trusted it. The trust deficit was quite obvious.
Nigerians are not in a hurry to forget all the inglorious “put off the microphone” saga. And it’s attendant drama that became a national spectacle at the National Assembly. Remember, all the contrived faintings and the altercations in front of national television and all the disjunctive controversies that attended the inquiries at the dome. It was a shameful and sad testimony of NigerDeltaregion, I dare say. That era belong to history. Now.
However,⁸ Sammy came to reverse that trajectory with the introduction of innovative ideas to fast track the development of the region. He was inordinately smart and savvy because he understands the tenor of the struggle and the binary of resource control.
As a grassroots politician and public intellectual, it was not hard for him to reappraise the unvailing attempts at developing the region. His radical approach at redefining the socio-economic responsibilities of commission is gradually paying off. He held seminars and conferences brainstorming with stakeholders as well as constantly interfacing with locals on the way forward. The result is rapid but steady transformation of the region.
Dr. Samuel Ogbuku is not exactly new kid on the block per se, he has been around thr corridors of power for a pretty long while. First, as the chief of staff to governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State in the early 2000. From there, he had a stint at the prisons. He then moved on to be an aid to the former deputy senate president. And the rest is history. Sammy is a true test of Shakespeare’s example of a man who achieve greatness through hard work and the grace of God.
Wliam Blake in his poem, Auguries of Innocence penned the immortal words: “some are born in sweet delight and soe are in the endless night.” Our dear beloved birthday boy has, without doubt traversed the endless night of agony, pain and despair. But now he is in the season of sweet delight. Let’s indulge him the honour and the pleasure of sweet delight. Happy birthday our dear Sammy. The poster boy with a midas touch. Co graduations.
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