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By John Ogunsemore
The Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has praised former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside’s intellectual contributions to contemporary governance in the country.
The commendation came during the public presentation of Peterside’s two seminal works: ‘Leading in a Storm’ and ‘Beneath the Surface’ in Abuja.
The governor, who was represented by the Permanent secretary Ebonyi State Liaison Office, Abuja Dr. Kizito Nwovu, also lauded the relevance of his work to contemporary governance challenges across Nigeria.
He noted that ideas, when properly understood and applied, can transform leadership practice and accelerate development outcomes.
According to the governor, both books speak directly to Ebonyi’s own governance journey — from its early struggles with limited resources to its current emergence as one of Nigeria’s most promising states in infrastructure, education, human capital, and agricultural development.
“Dr Peterside has captured the essence of what leadership in our kind of environment demands: courage, adaptability, innovation, and a relentless focus on results,” he stated.
Leading in a Storm provides a framework for decision-making under uncertainty — a critical skill for leaders operating in an environment of economic volatility, political tension, and social transformation.
It teaches how to stay calm amid crises, how to interpret shifting signals quickly, and how to turn turbulence into opportunity.
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While Beneath the Surface, on the other hand, challenges leaders to go beyond superficial analysis — to look for the root causes of persistent problems, question entrenched systems, and design solutions that address structural weaknesses.
The Ebonyi State Government announced that it would integrate the key lessons from both books into the state’s leadership and management training programmes for senior civil servants, local government chairmen, heads of MDAs, and project managers.
The governor noted that Leading in a Storm focuses on agility, systems thinking, and proactive governance.
Similarly, he said, the diagnostic and reflective tools in Beneath the Surface would form part of new policy review templates for all major projects to ensure that policies and programmes are not just reactive, but grounded in data, stakeholder realities, and long-term sustainability.
He said, “Ebonyi has never shied away from innovation.
“These books give us the intellectual tools to optimise leadership, strengthen governance systems, and improve our service delivery: from crisis management to citizen engagement, from agricultural expansion to smart education.
“We see in Dr Peterside’s work a practical guide for sustaining transformation.”
He further noted that under the current administration, Ebonyi State has invested heavily in human capital, agriculture, road infrastructure, health delivery, and digital governance — all of which require continuous leadership renewal and adaptive strategy.
