The Strategic Media Advisor to the All Progressives Congress governorship hopeful in Abia State, Chief Eric Opah, Chief Paddy Anyatonwu, has dismissed insinuations that his principal will be bereft of ideas and lacking in the experience required to take difficult decisions if elected governor.
Anyatonwu, who spoke during the Flo FM radio programme, The Platform, said Opah possesses the administrative depth and leadership discipline required to govern a state as complex as Abia.
According to him, governance is not a one-man enterprise but a collective effort that demands the aggregation of energies.
He likened administration to the task of moving a huge stone which one person cannot move alone. The stone, he explained, can only be moved when more hands are brought together to push it, yet such collective action still requires a coordinator who gives the command for a synchronized effort.
Anyatonwu noted that it does not matter where the stone is located, whether in China or elsewhere, what matters is the imperative to move it and the ability to aggregate the required energy for the task. He said there is an Igbo philosophical concept embedded in that understanding of leadership, where the leader provides direction for coordinated action.
He observed that the administrative system is not a loose assemblage of people without defined functions. What Eric Opah would do, he said, is to put in place a clear strategy board, as visible as a television screen, where performance and progress can be tracked. He stressed that delegation remains central to effective administration.
Anyatonwu explained that Opah would adopt head-hunting as a recruitment philosophy, engaging people he knows can deliver results. He argued that human needs are universal, noting that hunger is the same everywhere and that a hungry man, whether in Umuahia or Aba, remains a hungry man until his need is met. He likened human behaviour to that of a snake which, after swallowing its prey, goes to rest, implying that people become more productive when their basic needs are addressed.
He said Opah has managed human resources across various spheres and is not dealing with a small group of about 150 people but with people globally. He added that delegation demands a thorough knowledge of the assignment because subordinates may derail, and it is within the leader’s prerogative to call them to order.
Anyatonwu further stated that government already has a defined structure with Directors of Administration across ministries, and that once a leader has his blueprint and manifesto, his primary responsibility is to communicate that vision to those who will implement it, from the Permanent Secretary to the cleaner.
He said Opah would not come into government without a plan, as he has studied the needs of the people. He disclosed that during his own visit to Arochukwu, he saw plantain in abundance and reasoned that establishing a plantain flour processing plant in the area would be commercially viable.
He expressed confidence that if Opah assumes leadership, his immediate concern would be how the plantains are evacuated and processed, having observed that trailers line up every morning to convey plantains out of Abia.
Anyatonwu said he was not speaking about the manifesto per se but about the character of the man he knows, describing Opah as a man of integrity and a manager of men and resources who has a proven capacity for bringing people together to create legitimate wealth.
Abia 2027: Governance Is Collective Effort, Opah Knows How to Aggregate Energies — Anyatonwu
