“Akpokuedike: Duty Call in Anambra, a biography of Governor Willie Obiano’s accomplishments in Anambra State written by Prince Ike Chioke, Group Managing Director, Afrinvest Nigeria Limited was recently presented to the public in Lagos. The event took place at the conference room of the company, Gerald Road Ikoyi Lagos.
According to the ahe author, his admiration for Governor Willie Obiano’s leadership style and accomplishments inspired him to write the book in order to put “on record the remarkable public service legacy of this unusual man.”
He stressed that the book unfurls Obiano’s investment legacies in Anambra State which Anambra State Investment Promotion and protection Agency (ANSIPPA) was at the center.
He disclosed that the title catalogues his experiences as the agency’s generalship who witnessed the conception and execution of many of the legacy projects that helped realize the State’s economic’s blue print.
“Akpokuedike as the ittle of the book is derived from Obiano’s many ranks. One of them is Akpokuedike Aguleri. It was confered on him in 2000 and stands for When the Hero is Summoned, the day is saved. He earned it as a result of his accessibility, availability and preparedness to offer his help and service to the point of sacrifice.
The centrality of this title, the author says, informed his choosing it as the book’s main title, which is his history of Obiano’s administrstion for those who want to research on his 8 years as Governor of Anambra State and his creative intervention to different sectors of the economy in the State.
He said that he has been a ghost author of many books but this title on Obiano was his first direct book and probably the most researched about any governor. “This book is replete with complete, consistent and not misleading information about his sucess of private sector enterprise in Anambra State. It is a model on how State governments can drive a special purpose investment into their states. It documents Governor Obiano’s vast improvement on the economic ranking of the state which was at low level at the inception of his administration in 2014.”
Asked if there are elements of fiction in the book, Chioke said, “yes the book is embelished with some fictional conversation about Obiano and his secondary school mates in Onitsha, a kind of banters young men would have while in secondary school. It aims at giving it more life, and fun to read.”
He noted rather regrettably that the biggest challenge in the country was that “we don’t read alot these days. Technological devices and the social media had overtaken the lives of many young men and women in Nigeria. They hadly read and when things are looking down, they may never get to it unless there is Nollywood version of it to watch and see.
“Someone told me something more practical for the black man. He said if you want to make sure that Nigerians would never see anything, write it down, you would be sure they are never going to read it.
“We need information about worldview. The world needs some knowledge. We live in an information age. Books simplify our lives. Books teach us. A great deal of our learning is gained through books. Books allow us to internalize, respond, react, and transform, among others. Books are very Important in the growth and development of humanity.
“So “Akpokuedike: Duty Call in Anambra,” is an acknowledgement of someone who has done fairly to the nation. it is my own humble contribution to a man who has given me a position of influence as chairman of ANSIPPA, which enables me to know many other people who may be useful to my own business.
“It is not a political book about praise singing but documenting a story in a candid manner that it will serve as a reference guide, and also taking the effort to publish – the 203-page book and 15 chapters on Obiano’s various interventions in business, economy and industry, which is climaxed with Consolidation Through the Soludo Solutions, in Amazon. It takes a lot of personal finding to accomplish.”