Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State is a clinical biochemists by training, a teacher, an administrator, a witty humourist and a refuse evacuator. He was a worker in the dunghills of Aba, sweeping the streets and evacuating refuse. These were the simple elements of his profile until the twist of fate.
But, on Sunday, April 24, 2016, in the mighty Gothic cathedral of the Catholic Church popularly known as CKC, Aba, the Catholic Clergy of the Diocese of Aba, speaking through the Very Reverend Father Innocent Okechi Ajuonu, declared Governor Ikpeazu a “Philosopher- King”.
“You are a brilliant intellectual, a wise man, a philosopher-king, and above all, a man who is dedicated to God,” declared the cleric with ecclesiastical affirmation. The occasion was a thanksgiving mass organized by the Aba Landlords Protection And Development Association (ALPADA) in conjunction with the Catholic Diocese of Aba.
The cleric continued: A philosopher is a “wisdom-lover”. A Philosopher-King has access to knowledge and he is a lava of useful ideas. The people wouldn’t perish for want of knowledge. …… Our dear Governor, you are a “victor rex”, the victorious King. Only a true philosopher like you can safely pilot the ship of Abia State.” The clergy, by that pulpit pronouncements, added to Governor Ikpeazu’s simple profile and, by so doing, opened a new chapter in the yet-to-be written memoirs of the servant leader.
But, why did the Catholic clergy call Ikpeazu a Philosopher- King? How does he fit into Plato’s archetypal Philosopher-King? Plato proposed in The Republic, that philosophers are the best rulers to fashion the ship of state, that the best form of government is that in which philosophers rule because they are both morally and intellectually suited to rule. “A true pilot must of necessity pay attention to the seasons, the heavens, the stars, the winds and everything proper to the craft if he is really to rule a ship,” – (The Republic, 6.488 d).
Is Governor Ikpeazu paying attention to the seasons? Connotatively, Plato’s “seasons” refers to the times, the circumstances and the realities of the day. The realities of his political birth are that Ikpeazu came to power at a very straitened time when the national and state economy were hanging on a dangerous precipice.
With backlogs of salary, pensions and gratuity arrears pursuing Governor Ikpeazu at the outset of his regime, he needed more than a transcendental knowledge to wade through the maze of troubles. Plato said the philosopher-king must be a “seeker of knowledge and ideas”.
The wisdom exhibited by Ikpeazu in his public finance restructuring exercise and in sorting out the backlog of workers’ wages has been vindicated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other offences Commission (ICPC). The ICPC singled out Abia and two other states as having judiciously managed the bailout fund.
Is Ikpeazu paying attention to the seasons? The reality of the seasons was that Aba needed government attention in the area of roads and infrastructure development. Thus, a day after his inauguration, Ikpeazu landed on the roads of Aba and flagged off the construction of seven roads.
He followed sooth with the establishment of the Aba Urban Renewal Committee with the mandate to drive the government intended urban renewal drive. A year after, Abia is counting sixty-five roads dully constructed with twenty-seven commissioned. The Governor has attended to other environmental and infrastructure deficits.
He has waged a successful war against illegal structures and street trading and has also conducted a successful market review exercise with many markets relocated to new sites.
For the first time, the Aba River has seen the dredger wading through its coastlines; the Aba artisan and craftmen have also received attention and the Aba Made Goods are being given a new status.
The Catholic Clergy would observe: “Your responsibilities are frightening because before you took over the mantle of leadership, our state had been plunged into deep waters. The Enyimba City, the “Japan of Africa” had decayed as a result of neglect for over sixteen years – the glories of the past were lost”.
Today, is the Catholic clergy impressed with Ikpeazu’s strides? “ We must not fail to give kudo to you for you began immediately at assumption of office to address aggressively the biting problems of the state,” affirmed Father Ajuonu.
Plato further identified that the Philosopher-King is dedicated to what is good for the city rather than for himself and stressed that as a guardian he must be virtuous and selfless, “living simply and communally as do soldiers in their camp”.
I would situate this to the new political culture introduced by Governor Ikpeazu which has engendered a new paradigm shift in the way and manner government business is conducted in Abia. He removed all the pomp and ceremonies that create the power mystique.
He demystified the office, communized his person and simplified the age-long image of the man of power. He continued to live both in his mind and outwardly in the real world of the maddening crowd. The real world of his existence, not in the idealistic realm of power and opulence.
Unlike Shakespeare’s lowly ambitious ladder climber who “upwards turns his face until he reaches the utmost height”, Ikpeazu did not and has not “shun the base degrees from which he did ascend”. He has played a very delicate balancing art, managing every emotion and sentiment, yet remained focused on where he is headed. He has displayed a very rare wisdom and knowledge that only the Philosopher-King can flaunt.
The Catholic Clergy would further observe: “A true philosopher rises above all mundane allurements, all the trappings of self-seeking materialism. He is a man of integrity, vision and insight. A man of courage and fortitude …. A man who refuses to be deceived by the self-seeking and greedy sycophants.”
This is Governor Ikpeazu, for right from the outset, he banned praise-singers and Award and Title racketeers and told sycophants to hold their peace. He made that bold declaration that endeared him to the world: Don’t Call Me His Excellency.
He followed sooth and announced that his portrait be removed from all signages and posters. He would simply want to remain the common Governor for the common man and he has remained dedicated to that covenant.
Why did the Catholic Clergy call Ikpeazu the Philosopher-King? Now, we know.
Adindu is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
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