Power of Vision: Celebrating our uncommon achievements

When the Board of Editors of Vanguard Newspapers  got together in December 2013 to elect the paper’s Man-of-the-Year, it was unanimously resolved that recognition must be given to Nigerians who have recorded uncommon feats in their respective areas of endeavour.

Focus was on the economic and political fields for the simple reason that those making things happen in these areas were proving the growing impact of indigenous enterprise and improvement in the standard of democratic governance in Nigeria.

Dangote, Uduaghan and Innoson

Our raison détre was, and remains simple: The systematic mobilization of knowledge to meet a specific objective is at the core of development. Many men and women who over time improved on what they met in the world did it unconsciously, and sometimes, accidentally. The Scottish Nobel laureate, Alexander Fleming who discovered Penicillin in 1928 made the remarkable discovery by happenstance.

Despite Nigeria’s relatively uninspiring pace towards democratic and economic maturity, the country is not lacking in such men and women. Whether in the political, economic, sporting or industrial realms, Nigeria continues to churn out charming characters fit for consideration as worthy innovators.

In the area of democratic governance, His Excellency, Dr Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan, CON, the Executive Governor of Delta State, is our PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR 2013. The vote among the editors was unanimous, which is rare since we started recognising the most outstanding people every year in our society. Uduaghan grew up under his grandmother in Mosogar, near Warri in Delta State.

Vanguard Newspapers wants the young people in this country….to know that greatness awaits anyone who is ready to work hard and deal honestly

There was nothing in his circumstances that presaged a future in which a boy who grew up on the farms, fishing creeks and rubber plantations would become a governor. We want to let the young people of today understand, through the Uduaghan story, that the circumstances of a person’s birth should not be a barrier to greatness.

Uduaghan’s legendary calm disposition and determination to succeed in spite of raging storms in a complex political battleground is a story we want to recommend to both the youth and the elderly. Above all, his economic policies of preparing Delta State to emerge as solid base of high quality human capital and an economic theatre thriving with industry in the nearest future, even when oil will no longer be the mainstay of the state’s economy, is a model not only for the Niger Delta states but the nation at large. In business and industry.

In business and industry, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has written the name of Nigeria on the map of the world, not for owning oil blocks and skimming off the cream through the usual renteering, which is common among our many idle multi-billionaires. He has never held any government post and could, therefore, not have emerged as the richest in Africa and currently the 25th richest man in the whole world by helping himself to public funds. Through the aggressive efforts of the Dangote Group, Nigeria has, in a space of four years, changed from a massive importer of cement to a net exporter; an emerging industrial force across the world.

Dangote took a chance on Nigeria and capitalised on favourable terms made available to him by the system to create a Nigerian industrial empire that currently employs the largest number of people both directly and indirectly in the private sector. This, in an atmosphere where many opportunistic multinationals were closing down due to “unfavourable climate” and moving their businesses to “greener pastures”. Dangote changed the game for Nigeria and is helping make Nigeria proud again.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, MFR, GCON, winner of Nigeria’s Centenary Award, has proved that there is such a thing as “The Nigerian Dream”, which is a prime reason that foreign investors have reversed the tide of divestment in Nigeria and are coming in such droves that Nigeria has now been designated the most attractive investors’ destination in Africa. He is Vanguard’s AFRICAN OF THE YEAR 2013, and this Newspaper is honoured and privileged to celebrate this industrial icon today.

Like Dangote, Mr. Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma, OFR, Okpuzu Ndi Igbo did not need public funds to translate his own visions to reality. He indeed did not need doctorate degrees. Chukwuma through ingenious business wizardry and hard work transformed the limitations around him to advantage and along the way, put himself at the forefront of what could become Nigeria’s real industrialization. It turned out that trading was actually the talent God cut out for him, because he caused sensation everywhere he went, with his combination of quick intelligence, honesty and commitment to minimal profit. The untiring quest by Innocent to keep the cost of goods at affordable levels led him to where he is today as Nigeria’s first indigenous automotive manufacturer. His factory situated in his home town, Uru Nnewi in Anambra State, produces the Innoson Vehicle (IVM) brands which are gradually becoming a common sight on Nigerian roads. To top it all, Innoson also owns the largest plastics manufacturing plant in Africa and employs about 7,200 persons.

Chukwuma’s contributions to the birth of the Nigerian indigenous motor vehicle is chiefly responsible for the new Automotive Policy , which President Goodluck Jonathan recently unfolded to bring local and multinational vehicle factories alive and running in Nigeria, rather than this country continuing to be a dumping ground for all sorts of junk autos from all corners of the world. Vanguard Newspapers wants the young people in this country, particularly those born without the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths and those who are not highly educated, to know that greatness awaits anyone who is ready to work hard and deal honestly. Nigeria does have so much in its favour to celebrate, and tonight, we invite the world to join us as we, literally, pop champagne and put the spotlights on our iconic troika; at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos!