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Last weekend a longtime friend and I had a rendezvous to share drinks, discuss about business, life and most certainly banter.Topic after topic, we eventually got to discuss the Nigerianpolitical sphere and the 2023 elections – with emphasis on who and who are the most ‘qualified’ to lead this nation of ours. My friend holds the view that for justice and equity, the next president of Nigeria should emerge from the Southern part of the country, since the current President is of Northern origin. He further stated that political parties should give priority to those from the South East since they remain the only region in Southern Nigeria that hasn’t produced a President in this current democratic dispensation.
Despite rooting for the South East, my friend expressedreservation about the ability of the South East to maintain a united front in producing a candidate that possesses the political clout and pedigree that is of national appeal – in view of the constitutional requirement of certain percentage of national votes across states needed in order to win a presidential election. This observation made me to reflect on the possible personsfrom the South East whose presidential candidacy can allay the fear of my friend and others in his school of thought. I carefully began to access the profiles of the various Presidential hopefuls from the zone and their acceptance outside the region and went ahead to ask my friend what he thought about Senator AnyimPius Anyim’s chances.
Born in Ishiagu, Ivo LGA of Ebonyi State, on February 19, 1961to a modest family, Senator Anyim obtained his Bachelor of Laws Degree from Imo State University and was subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar in 1989. The need for continuous personal development spurred the young lawyer to embark on a post graduate study at the University of Jos, thereby obtaining a Master of Laws Degree in 1996. He has also had a stint in private legal practice.
Although Anyim had held several public leadership positions prior to 1999, these were not in elective capacity. His first shot at elective political office was his election as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the age of 37. While representing Ebonyi South Senatorial District, the distinguished senator did not allow his youthfulness to serve as a hindrance to his political advancement, as he would later by unanimous decision of his colleagues, emerge as the Senate President on August, 10, 2000.The unanimous support of the Senate, which is representative of the various constituencies that make up the Nigerian federation, is a testament of the national appeal and acceptance which the distinguished senator possesses even as an individual who was fairly new to the political space.
The hallmark of leadership sagacity of the senator was evident from his ability to manage a highly polarized Senate that saw three leaderships emerge within a single dispensation. The distinguished Senator Anyim was able to bring his leadership skill to bear by galvanizing the divers interest in the Senate thusallying the fears of perceived marginalized groups. Despite spending less than three years at the helm of affairs as Senate President, the Senate was still able to create landmark legislations such as: Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC) Establishment Act; Onshore/Offshore Dichotomy Act;Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act; Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, etc.
Although, the distinguished senator did not seek elective political office after he left the senate, he still remained a party faithful of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Even when the party’s decision to settle for a consensus arrangement for PDP Chairmanship in 2007 wasn’t in his favour, he remained a commited party man in an era where it is fashionable for politicians to defect from one party to another – depicting him as a statesman who is politically stable. Perhaps, this may be one of the factors which influenced his consideration and appointment as the first non-career civil servant to be appointed as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) by the President Goodluck Jonathan in May 2011.
Apart from his dutiful performance of the functions of his office as SGF, Senator Anyim gave stellar administrative support and was instrumental to most of the landmark achievements of the Jonathan administration. He was the administrative coordinator of the Justice Belgore chaired National Constitutional Conference in 2014. Sen. Anyim was in charge of the Presidential Committee of the national centenary celebration that same year. The Transformation Agenda of the administration was coordinated by the office of the SGF. In recognition of the need for transparency and self-appraisal in government, the Senator formulated and implemented the trailblazing mid-term report which highlighted the activities of the administration.
Outside political positions, Senator Anyim has also demonstrated his selfless and humanitarian disposition through the establishment of the Senator Anyim Pius Anyim Service Library Ltd/Gte, a testament of the Senator’s desire for educational advancements, youth mentorship and human capital development. As a trustee of the Chioma Anyim Foundationfounded in 2008, Senator Anyim has been able to make funds available for young persons who are in need of scholarship,personal needs, health needs, housing needs and capital support for business start-ups. They also provide welfare support for elderly people aa well as other vulnerable categories of persons.There is no doubt that this social welfare disposition of the distinguished Senator would get even better replication at theNational level upon his emergence as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria is in dire need of this form of leadership, given the rising rate of vices and decadence amongst Nigerian youths of late and the growing need for better living conditions in the country.
Having considered the rich profile of Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, the conclusion of the matter to me (and certainly a lot of other Nigerias), is that the cap fits Senator Anyim Pius Anyim.
Sixtus Abbah, a Public Affair Analyst, writes from Lagos.