Okowa Leads The Way

Faced with crisis, the man of character falls back on himself. He imposes his own stamp of action, takes responsibility for it, and makes it his own.

• Charles de Gaulle

A leader’s true depth is made known in a moment of crisis. This is when the people are offered a glimpse into the definite character and workings of the leader’s mind. The COVID-19 pandemic has more than any other thing given us a fuller picture of the quality of leaders we have in Abuja and across the various states in the country. While some have demonstrated that they have a full grasp of issues and taken smart measures to insulate the people from what is arguably the worst crises facing mankind since World War II, we have also seen dozens of federal and state leaders who clearly do not care about the people they purport to lead, have next-to-zero understanding of the nature of the pandemic and have left millions of Nigerians vulnerable to the ravaging health, economic and psychological effects of the coronavirus.

Empathy in leadership

One of the few leaders who have demonstrated great compassion towards the people and taken proactive measures to protect residents of his state from the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic is the Delta State governor, Dr Ifeanyi Patrick Okowa. While others were still dithering on how to react to the crisis, Okowa, a medical doctor knew instinctively that the first thing to do is to take precautionary measures to keep the people safe. He announced an effective lockdown of the state and taking a cue from the World Health Organisation (WHO), he mandated residents to “stay home” to stay safe.

He equally directed the state’s information dissemination agencies, especially the state’s radio and TV stations to mount intensive sensitization campaign to enlighten the public on the importance of regular hand washing, covering their faces with masks when going outside their homes and what to do if they notice certain symptoms in their bodies.

The governor being a caring leader knew earlier in the day that you do not tell a hungry, vulnerable man to lock himself inside a room. While admitting that the government cannot do everything, Dr Okowa’s philosophy is that there are a whole lot the government can do to insulate the people from the onslaughts of hunger and lack of basic necessities. His Excellency commissioned an effective palliative programme to cushion the effects of the hardship the lockdown order brought on the vulnerable population in the state.  Trailer loads of food, beverages, toiletries and hand sanitizers were ordered for and delivered to the state government within days.

An end-to-end approach

To ensure effective and sincere distribution of palliative packages and reduce allegations of partisan or religious bias, Governor Okowa brought in political, religious and opinion leaders across the 270 wards in the state and charged them with the distribution of the materials with emphasis that the items were strictly for the vulnerable, those mostly affected by the lockdown. The governor threatened to bring the full weight of the law on anyone found diverting the palliative materials or using the distribution of the items to advance selfish interests. A monitoring was set up immediately to follow up on the distribution and report sharp practices to the government in real time. Governor Okowa in his meticulous nature left nothing to chance as he set up an end-to-to end mechanism to ensure that the good people of Delta would not be exposed to the humiliation of hunger while seeking to avoid coronavirus.

As a proactive thinker and leader, the governor knew for certain that the people cannot remain indoors forever. With adequate sensitization exercise ongoing and the people sufficiently enlightened through radio jingles and publicity campaigns limiting the spread of the virus, His Excellency is now preparing the ground for the next logical step which is opening up the state’s economy gradually so the people can return to the business of fending for and supporting their families.  He has avoided taking rash measures that would only be counter-productive. What we are seeing are series of well-laid out plans to return to state back to its feet without leaving the people vulnerable.

First things first

To ensure the safety of all, the state government through the information commissioner, Charles Aniagwu announced at the end of this week’s state’s executive council meeting held virtually and presided over by Governor Okowa that plans have been concluded to send an executive bill to the state house of assembly mandating the compulsory use of face masks at all public gatherings in the state. This, according to the commissioner is structured to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and improve respiratory hygiene going forward.

It is commendable to note that the state has taken measures to supply the residents with face masks at no costs. Millions of units of the product have been procured and are ready for distribution across all parts of the state over the next few days.  This decision is very timely coming at a time when many are worried about their safety in public places. It is also a smart move to keep the media sensitization exercises running while new information are made available to the people as soon as they are released from authorised public health authorities.

The birth of a new paradigm

From an individual perspective, one is excited to point out that the committed campaign for social safety and empathy for the poor mounted by Roots TV led by Dumebi Kachikwu is beginning to yield fruits across board.

Only recently, a private sector-led collation headed by billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote announced plans to distribute palliatives to an estimated 2 million homes. This was exactly what the CEO of Roots TV advocated weeks ago in one of his viral video broadcasts detailing practical steps that must be taken by industry leaders and entrepreneurs who apparently have better organisational and management skills that the officials in Abuja.

The present move of the Delta State government to initiate a legislative framework making the use of face masks compulsory in public places is also an idea the Roots TV team has consistently harped on for long before many in Nigeria began to appreciate the magnitude of the health crisis we now face. The management of Roots TV knew as early as January that we would be headed for doom unless we took active steps to insulate our people from the tragic effects of the virus, protect the vulnerable in our midst and think strategically to keep structure of governance afloat.

The social chaos, tension and anxiety being witnessed in several parts of the country presently were all scenarios Roots TV presented in its outlook in the weeks preceding the discovery of the first index case in February. Perhaps things could have been better if the appeal for social empathy and unity of purpose long recommended by Kachikwu and his team were heeded to by all relevant arms of government and people of means across the country.

Thankfully, it is not all doom and chaos. The recent commitment by the leaders of the organised private sector and impressive efforts of the Delta state government to support the public and strengthen the critical institutions in charge of health and public welfare must be seen as a great spark of light that can birth a new crisis management template in the country.

A few more things

Governor Okowa deserves all the commendations for his proactive leadership and commitment to the welfare of the Delta public at a time of unprecedented crises.  He must now be encouraged to go ahead and begin the gradual easing of the lockdown in the state. It would be great to introduce a three day work week while actively enforcing the order banning social gathering for the time being. The residents of the state are sufficiently enlightened to know what to do to avoid an escalation of the crisis.

One other critical thing the state must do is to continue its collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to check the spread of the virus. Other relevant partnerships with national, regional and multinational bodies especially those dealing with public health emergencies, capacity development and finances must be explored on an ongoing basis as the state begins to adjust to the realities and restrictions imposed on our way of life by a seemingly intractable virus.

A leader you can count on

If there is any lesson we have learned in Delta over the past few weeks, it is the re-confirmation that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is an effective “war” time leader who has the skills and foresight to navigate his troops through crisis and difficult moments. The best the residents of the Big Heart State can do right now is to continually support the governor and his team. Everyone is also encouraged make use of the available channels of communication to reach out to the government to share relevant information and ideas that can keep the state one step ahead of the pandemic.