Emmanuel Jime: Thunders Of Accolades To An Uncommon Leader

Sponsored By Akande Emmanuel...

THUNDERS OF ACCOLADES TO AN UNCOMMON LEADER.
(celebrating a true Democrat on Nigeria's 2017 democracy Celebration).


The debate over whether great leaders are born or made has raged for ages. However, there is a man who fits either side of the spectrum and gives meaning to the assertion through his track record and leadership credentials . He is an intellectual par excellence cum philanthropist extraordinaire--a man in whose personage lies the symbol of what a true leader should be.

Rt. Hon.Bar.Emmanuel Liambee Jime, the recently appointed Director General of Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA)- Nigeria's investment promotion agency for investment into the Free Zone areas in the country is  a former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant who was adjudged to be the lawful winner of the botched APC primary elections in Benue State that held in 2014.
The man Jime can best be described as a cultivated gentleman whose record speaks more for him than any praise-singer would, both as a highly schooled fellow and a true leader. This explains why even though he was short-changed during the primaries, he exhibited the highest sense of maturity and rather opted to let go in as much as everyone knew he was the legitimate guber flag bearer of the party. That he opted for an out-of-court settlement was apt, because,  unlike other states in Nigeria which became victims of retrogression due to endless court litigations occasioned by political injustices at the time, Benue State was saved the awkward menace. It takes only a progressive mind to have made such a decision.

Hon. Jime not only exhibits the innate capacity required of a leader, an exceptional profile trails him as an achiever and a humble humanitarian and philanthropist. He is a legal luminary in the best sense of the word who believes in due process and the rule of law, having started his early life in the 1960s during the heydays of African nationalism. He is one of those who holds the view that 'a worker is deserving of his wages'. 
The impunity and rot in our polity among other tendencies that we see today in the state have no place in Jime's leadership agenda. This is validated by a stirling political career where he started as a member, Benue State House of Assembly in 1992. The young Jime would later be be elected speaker of the House by his colleagues at the age of 30, becoming one of the youngest in the country at the time. Although that political dispensation was short-lived, Hon. Jime among other things was instrumental to the establishment of the Benue State University, Makurdi, a citadel of learning which undoubtedly continues to impact positively on the academic lives of teeming Benue youths and Nigeria at large.
Furthermore, his two-term stint at the National Assembly representing Makurdi/Guma federal constituency between 2007-2014 projected Jime not just as a shining patriot but as an outstanding legislator who was made speaker protem when the House was rocked in crises.
He sponsored and co-sponsored numerous bills,  impacted in no small measure on the lives of his constituents through the Jime-Tsav Scholarship Scheme-a bursary where all Benue undergraduates were beneficiaries. He also built and renovated many schools, sank boreholes in his immediate constituency as well as empowered the  youth and women via an array of empowerment schemes.

Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime is indeed a national asset and ostensibly the best governor Benue never had. As  though we are crying over spilt milk, the fact that Benue State was deprived a true democrat who was quite promising as a renewal of our hopes and aspirations;  who would have fixed a dysfunctional Benue and replaced it on the path of rapid socio-political and economic transformation, we however continue to work and crave for a spring of new hope that will move the state forward.  

Notwithstanding, now that the federal government of Nigeria has sighted an eagle eye on Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Jime as the Director General of NEPZA, we repose further confidence in him based on his well-proven leadership prowess and excellent stewardship. With Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Liambee Jime at the helm of affairs at NEPZA, we are convinced that NEPZA has already witnessed an invincible transformation and a new level of change.

As an uncommon leader who is  always interested in  all people who genuinely and intelligently seek new and better ways of making life more worth living, we call on all well meaning sons and daughters of Benue State to reciprocate Hon. Emmanuel Jime's good will by supporting him as an ambassador of the state for a better Nigeria.

Despite the confidence we have in the man Hon. Jime, we still wish to use this opportunity to remind him of who he is; not to relent in proving to Nigerians and  the entire world his humility, diligence and integrity that   his people so much believe in. 

As  we anticipate his bulk of achievement, we also urge him to facilitate and ensure that, among his numerous good plans, NEPZA commissions at least one Free Trade  Zone in Benue State before his tenure runs out. 

Congratulations and happy democracy celebration, sir.

Long live Benue State!
Long live the Federal republic of Nigeria!

Article Sponsored by COMRADE AKADE, EMANUEL.
Makurdi, Benue State.