There are only a handful of leaders of the President Olusegun Obasanjo era who have remained purposefully consistent in their pursuit of meaningful and transformational leadership for Nigeria. Frank Nweke Jnr stands firm in their midst. He shone like a thousand stars in Obasanjo’s second term and was ‘stubbornly’ committed to a brand of leadership that delivers positive results. If we recall, he was, at various times, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Special Duties and Minister of Youth Development, Minister of Information and then Minister of Information and Communications and pushed for effective positive imaging and reputation management for the government and country. He excelled in those though he was neither a journalist, public relations manager nor a brand and reputation management expert. He was simply a young man who went to bed thinking excellence and woke breaking ceilings to achieve it.
His academic pursuits took him to the Federal University of Technology, Yola, where he obtained a Bachelor of Technology degree in Zoology and, later, to the University of Maiduguri, where he bagged a master’s degree in Public Administration. But he excelled as minister managing Nigeria’s reputation. That speaks to his versatility. It also speaks to his willingness to break new grounds and explore other fields. As Information Minister, Frank was at the studio of the Cable Network News (CNN) in the United States where he audaciously engaged the crew, on live television, in defence of Nigeria’s global image against a fake narrative by the television. That push made a profound impact on a lot of Nigerians. For the first time, a Nigerian Minister of Information showed courage in walking up to CNN to challenge an orchestrated negative report aimed at rubbing mud on Nigeria. He won. CNN not only pulled down the report, but apologised to Nigeria as well as relieved the reporter of his contract. That was the extent Frank was prepared to go in patriotic defence of his office, name and country.
From Zoology, Nweke became an expert development economist and was resident consultant to the Enugu State government on development planning and general public sector reforms in 1999. From there, he became coordinator of the Enugu State Community Development Programme and, later, appointed as the Chief of Staff to the governor of Enugu State. The progressive trajectory of his being saw him going to Harvard University in 2008 to prepare for future assignments and, in 2020, he was elected president of the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HKSAAN). Prior to that, Nweke made a transformative journey to the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), where, as Director General, he exposed his result-oriented mindset and initiated reforms that repositioned the group as Nigeria’s economic policy formulation engine room. Under Nweke’s leadership, policy decisions off the Nigeria Economic Summit, were adopted by the Federal Executive Council and mainstreamed into the Federal Government’s fiscal policies. Policy roundtable of the group, became more robust and attracted more participation. He brought life back to the Summit. And, he left it better repositioned to play major roles in Nigeria’s economic growth.
Nweke was one of the privileged delegates to the National Conference convoked at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja in 2014 to fashion out a new trajectory for Nigeria. He made a profound intervention, which marked him out as one of Nigeria’s futuristic minds. Taking advantage of this three minutes of fame as allocated to every delegate, Nweke spoke eloquently and convincingly about the future of Nigeria and what is needed to get the country there. He said: “Indeed, our country cannot develop by accident. No nation has, or can, develop by accident. The old and new civilizations that we aspire to be like were not built by accident; they were not built by mediocre. They were built by missionaries who were disciplined. They were built through a conscious and dedicated effort anchored on deep commitment to the welfare and wellbeing of their people. Those nations have continued to make progress for the same considerations today. My country cannot be different.
This conference affords Nigerians opportunity for renaissance in this second decade of Nigeria’s second century. We cannot have a new beginning but we must mobilize a national consensus on a national development philosophy. It is such a philosophy that will underpin our economic policies and development.”
At this point, he wasn’t just talking. He was also laying very solid arguments for the engagement of futuristic minds like his, who are also result-driven, to push Nigeria into its next millennium.
Looking into the future, Nweke said: “We must be clear what we want as a people. What is our national ethos? What are our irreducible national development priorities irrespective of party or government? What is our place in the world today and where do want to be in the future following a clear time line?”
Those questions are still begging for answers. The failed leadership experiment of the past Nigerian decade tells a pitiful story of Nigeria’s growth and development. Transformational leaders across the world seek results that come from positively affecting their societies with the right policies, the right human resources and the right motive. Nigeria’s story needs not be different. Perhaps, that is why the leadership recruitment system in Nigeria needs a surgical one that will birth a process that recruits the competent and the capable; the informed and the knowledgeable; the willing and the prepared, the smart and result-driven administrator. The Nigerian system needs the gutsy and the emotionally intelligent in both and federal levels. This has become imperative because Nigeria cannot develop by accident neither can the dream of Nigerians, in states and local governments, be delivered through miracles.
Nweke said so when he noted that “the fact of the matter is that our country cannot develop by accident.” He warned that “the world is not going to wait for us and the world is not waiting for us.” He referenced Sheik Mohammed Ibn Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and quoted him as saying: “‘Every day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up knowing that, to survive, it has to outrun the fastest lion. On the same savannah in which the gazelle dwells, the lion will wake, stir and stretch, knowing that, to survive, it will have to outrun the fastest gazelle, otherwise it will starve.’
“It is the same thing with the human race distinguished delegates. Unless we get together; unless we decide who we are and, what we want to be known for, unless we decide what our future should be like, the world will leave us behind. I believe that the men and women in this hall have the capacity to change the course of Nigeria’s history and I like to ask, on behalf of all of us, that God will help us.”
It is a great feeling that Nweke is starting this journey from Enugu State. He gives hope that southeast will be good again and, for the good of all man. This is because he is prepared, willing, competent and frankly capable of radically changing the Enugu story for better.