• How UNIZIK lecturer won NASS seat after failed governorship battle
From Obinna Odogwu, Awka
When a woman marries two husbands, according to a popular Igbo saying, she naturally finds herself in a good position to tell which one of them is better.
This saying took shape in Anambra State when Oby Orogbu, a professor of Business Administration, dropped her academic gown and sauntered into the town.
And like an excited kid determined to unravel the content of her mother’s basket, Orogbu unearthed a big pie just at her second dig.
Her first was rather a battle with her fellow professor, Chukwuma Soludo, whom she had staged a political war with for the soul of the state.
Orogbu was the factional deputy governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the November 6, 2021, election in the state.
She had contested for the plum position in a joint ticket with Chief Chukwuma Umeoji, who was one of the factional governorship candidates of the party for that poll. Umeoji represents Aguata Federal Constituency in the National Assembly.
Had the Soludo and Umeoji legal battle at the courts ended in favour of the latter, the female professor, Orogbu, would have been deputy governor by now if they equally went further to win the main election like Soludo did.
But, perhaps, divinity had another plan for her. She is today a House of Representatives member-elect for Awka North and South Federal Constituency.
This is happening about two years after that long but unfavourable walk to the state’s seat of power in Agu Awka. And all things being equal she would be inaugurated anytime from May 29 this year as a lawmaker.
Orogbu contested for her latest position on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), a party, which many people said was in coma before Mr. Peter Obi, the former governor of the state, joined it.
Obi later emerged as the presidential candidate of the party for this year’s February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.
Undoubtedly, Obi’s entrance into the party, which belongs to the Nigerian workers, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), woke the sleeping giant from deep slumber.
But beyond spotting the difference between two figurative hubbies, Oby, an elegant, young lady with brains and beauty, seems to be really prepared to write her name in gold once again, this time, in another sphere.
Before her foray into politics, Orogbu was the dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, a position she had won in a keenly contested poll in which observers gave her no chance.
Her election into that office came a year after she stepped down as the head of the Department of Business Administration. She headed that office for five solid years.
Those who monitored her activities while she reigned said she performed well as the departmental head. They said that she showed leadership and paid serious attention to important issues in the department.
The erudite professor, The Education Report gathered, had served the citadel of learning in various capacities and had won awards because of her work. She also has a long list of accomplishments earned through hard work and dedication to duty.
Orogbu had successfully supervised 19 postgraduate students, including four PhDs. She has occupied the editorial position in several journals, including the Journal of Business and Finance Management Research and the Journal of Social Development.
She rose meritoriously through the ranks as a trainer of business administrators to become a professor of Business Administration at the prestigious Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka.
Orogbu had earned numerous speaking engagements from reputable training organizations and governments in Nigeria and beyond because of her eloquence, teaching style and mentorship skills.
Some of them included those from South Africa, in which she handled diverse topics that ranged from business leadership and entrepreneurial skills, among others.
While she served as faculty dean, she was chairman, of the board of the Faculty of Management Sciences. She also chaired the Postgraduate Studies Committee and served as the chief administrative/academic officer of the Faculty of Management Sciences, UNIZIK.
Beyond teaching in the classroom, Orogbu was also into business consultancy and brand management. She had consulted for NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the NNPC; Catholic clergy, Anglican clergy, and Stanel Group,. among many other organisations.
Orogbu, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management and the Academy of Management, Nigeria, had been a member of 12 university statutory committees at different times.
While she held sway as the dean, Orogbu organized the maiden edition of the ‘Alumni Homecoming and Award Night’ of the faculty, themed “Re-energising Alliance and Society for Sustainable University Development” under the chairmanship of Senator Annie Okonkwo.
That event had high-profile personalities in attendance. Some of them were the then Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Uche Ogah; Chairman of Air Peace Airlines, Chief Allen Onyema; and the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, who doubles as the Chairman, of Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council.
At the event held at Stanel Dome, Awka, Orogbu revealed that the homecoming was coming 29 years after that faculty was created. She said the alumni never “had a platform to re-energize alliance with their beloved alma mater.”
“As a professor of Business Administration and presently Dean of the Faculty, I feel guilty about not giving back enough to the institution that moulded me. I believe there is more I could personally do and even much more we can do collectively as an Alumni Association.
“I am overwhelmed with joy seeing some members of my class that we never got to meet since our graduation; that alone has made our coming to this occasion memorable”, she had said.
At that event, Orogbu made efforts to mobilize funds through goodwill donations to enable the faculty to take care of some identified challenges that were affecting its smooth operations.
“On my assumption of office, I noted that hiring buses for 365 members of staff of the faculty and numerous students for social events and conferences would be too weighty for our funds to handle.
“That got us thinking about how to overcome these challenges. Sequel to the foregoing identified challenges, we humbly present these three major needs of the Faculty of Management Sciences for your kind support.
“Building of an ultramodern 100 blocks of offices with conveniences in all that will have a well furnished 500-seater boardroom, staff canteen, and equipped staff recreation center.
“The building will provide all administrative offices, offices for professors and associate professors, as well as a faculty library. The cost implication is N200 million.
“Perkins 300KVA soundproof generator to serve the new building. Its quoted amount is N18 million. Brand new Innoson 6751 (60-passenger bus) is estimated at about N15 million.
“If we could meet the three immediate needs as presented and with the usual support from the university management, I have no doubt that the Faculty of Management Sciences would be well positioned to board the flight to higher levels”, Orogbu had said.
Although Orogbu did not stay long enough to actualize her lofty dreams and aspirations for the faculty, it is hoped that her successor would take it up from where she stopped.
Going forward, all eyes are on the erudite professor to fulfill her campaign promises to the good people of Awka North and South Federal Constituency as soon as she assumes office.