Written By Timothy Ifedioarnma
The wonder working governor of Anambra state, Chief Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano, Akpokuedike, is sixty-four years old today. He was born on a beautiful rainy Monday morning of August 8, 1955 in the oil-bearing Aguleri town, in Anambra East local government area to an educationist father and an entrepreneurial mother. A remarkable child, young Willie inherited both genes of his parents; eventually becoming an exemplary scholar and a successful banker, entrepreneur and an administrator.
Following in the footsteps of his Catechist father, young Willie started his early education at Holy Trinity Primary School, Onitsha, a mission school, where he imbibed his early Christian values. He later attended the prestigious Christ the King’s College, Onitsha and passed out as one of the best students in his time.
In fact, he was the 1974 John F. Kennedy Essay Winner at CKC. He studied Accountancy at University of Lagos, graduating with a Second Class (Upper Division). He later obtained Masters Degree in Business Administration in Marketing from the same University.
Chief Obiano is a Fellow and later, Patron of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). He holds a national Merit Certificate for outstanding service during his National Youth Service Corps in Benue State, in the 1979/80 Service Year. He is married to an Amazon, pretty Chief Dr. Ebelechukwu (OSODIEME). They are blessed with a beautiful daughter, a medical doctor, and a son.
Following his impressive academic performance, Willie Obiano quickly got his first job at First Bank and later joined the lucrative oil and gas industry as a staff of Texaco International, where he rapidly rose to become the company’s Chief Internal Auditor, being the first black man to hold such position. After years of functioning at the top level in the oil sector, Willie moved his enormous expertise and exposure to Fidelity Bank Plc.
His arrival in the Bank marked a dramatic turn in its fortunes. As the Executive Director in charge of Business Banking, Chief Obiano managed the bank’s vast human and material resources with the dexterity of grandmaster in the game of chess, deploying talent and resources seamlessly to ensure a calculated expansion of the business and a healthy growth of the bottom line.
As an administrator, Chief Obiano is almost flawless; deploying carrot and stick with great wisdom and tact – showing as much firmness as compassion as the circumstances demand. As a leader, Ebubedike showed tremendous charisma and personal charm at Fidelity, attracting the young Turks and the best brains around him and mentoring them to a point of self-possession. This is partly because he had extensive professional trainings in Harvard Business School and Stanford University, both in the United States of America, among others.
One of the greatest qualities of Chief Willie Obiano is his philanthropic spirit and his willingness to help people in need. Before he became the governor, he is known to have secretly operated a Foundation that offered scholarships to many people and empowered thousands of women and youths. He is also a pillar of the church, having made extensive donations to diverse development projects in the Catholic, the Anglican and some Pentecostal churches in Nigeria. Consequently, he has won many honours from the churches.
Governor Willie is a leader for all. Hence, Anambra is the most gender sensitive state in Nigeria. For instance, the current Chief Judge of Anambra State is a woman. The Attorney-General of Anambra State is a woman. Under Obiano, two out of the three Senators of the state are women, while the state’s Ministerial Nominee is also a woman. Anambra produced the First Female Governor of a state in Nigeria, the state has had several women as Speakers of the State House of Assembly, while there are many women in Obiano’s cabinet as Commissioners, Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants, SAs, heads of institutions of government and other political appointees. For all these, his community, Aguleri, conferred on him and his wife separate chieftaincy titles for distinguished services. Chief Willie Obiano bagged the title, ‘’Akpokuedike Aguleri’’. He and his wife, Dr Eberechukwu, were adopted into the Igwe-in-council of the Idigo dynasty of the ancient kingdom of AGULERI.
They were also conferred as Otunba Atayese and Erelu Atayese by Oba David Ade Obadu of Ilemeso in Ekiti. Similarly, the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Dr Rufus Aladesanmi Adejugbe conferred the title of Aare Amogun of Ado Ekiti on Governor Obiano and his wife, which was the first time such a huge honour would be conferred on a serving governor in Igboland.
Akpokuedike has touched all sectors, affected all the three zones in the state, beautified Anambra, turned the face of Awka, changed the outlook of many communities, made Anambra the safest state, revolutionized agriculture, lighted up all parts of Anambra, improved electricity supply, put smiles on the faces of workers and pensioners and improved both human and material resources. Thus, he has bagged many notable awards, both locally and internationally, such as the SUN Governor of Year and Zik Price for Good Governance Award among many others.
No doubt, Chief Willie Maduaburochukwu Obiano, Akpokuedike, is willingly working and the people are graciously happy. Ebubedike is a hero at 64. Ride on the Wonder Working Willie. May God bless your new age. Congratulations!
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