By Don Peter Okoro
Going by sampled opinion concerning the forthcoming election into the Federal House of Representatives for the Nnewi North, Nnewi South, and Ekwusigo Federal Constituency, the general preponderance, and prevalence of opinion is that the incumbent Member representing Nnewi North in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Nonso Smart Okafor is headed, for, not just victory, but a landslide for that matter. This conclusion is based on empirical evidence and visible track records of the Lawmaker.
The subject matter of this write-up is a man who has enjoyed so much love and warmness from his Community; apparently due to his willingness to place the people’s interest above self. The major attribute that has endeared him to the voting masses is his ability to identify with the pains and pangs of the people he promised to serve. He is a man endowed with good interpersonal relationship, empathy and sympathy for the suffering, accessibility to the indigent members of his Community, good human relationships, and abilities to deal with difficult and complex issues. Add this to his cognate experience as an erudite and eloquent Legislator, a Leader of men, a Social and Political Engineer of the First Order and a Globally recognized Transformational Agent. These are the qualities that our man of the moment embodies and exemplifies.
This piece is not about to chronicle his Legislative achievements so far, as that will take a whole topic to discuss, but let it be on record that in this new dispensation, Hon. Nonso Smart Okafor is the first person to execute and commission a Constituency project in Anambra State House of Assembly, when he built and furnished and three (3) Bedroom Bungalow for three (3) widows who were married to the same husband, but were living in a dilapidated and collapsing hut in Nnewichi, Nnewi. That singular act sent a powerful positive vibration all over the Constituency and the general consensus since then has been that this man must not fall. Since then, he has gone ahead to build other houses and renovated old ones for ailing widows and widowers. Time will fail us to list his numerous interventions in market sanitation, scholarships to indigent students within Nnewi, hospitals and schools interventions, contribution to churches irrespective of denominations, monthly allowances for widows, elderly and other acts of kindness and philanthropy most of which are not captured in his Project Funds, but which he does out of his personal resources.
And so, as he put his act together to run for the Federal House of Representatives, let us look at some of his Strength, Weakness, Opportunity And Threat in what is generally known as SWOT Analysis.
His major Strength is that he has done well as a State Legislator. Nnewi people couldn’t have asked for someone better. He knows how to flow with the weak and the strong, the poor and the rich, the educated and the uneducated. As far as he is concerned, he sees all men as one and no one should be given an undue advantage because of pedigree or accident of birth. As a Legislator, his presence in the House has been very visible and his voice very audible. He is very much involved in all the Sensitive and Important Committees in the House and his representation has been very impactful. With this kind of antecedents, when he gets to the Federal House of Representatives, he will naturally glide on, having gone through the rudiments of Legislation at the State level. Hon. Smart Okafor represents the New Breed of National Leaders as a man of high sense of articulation, responsibility, and overwhelming integrity. Having worked so hard; as the saying goes, the reward for hardwork is more work. So let him go to the Federal for more work.
Weakness: Some people say he should not have left APGA. This thinking is faulty. He didn’t leave APGA for no just cause. He left because he was maltreated. If he didn’t leave to take his destiny in his hands, some of these people would still have been the ones saying that he is weak. That he looked them straight in the face and walked away shows the kind of strong will he has. So instead of being a weakness, that he left APGA should actually be a strength. It shows that the person Nnewi North & South and Ekwusigo is sending to the Federal is not somebody you can just shove around. He is a man of Honour, a man of His Words and a man of Sound Judgment.
Opportunity: The opportunities are awesome. As a Ranking State Legislator with enormous wealth of experience garnered at his present level, Nonso Okafor, when he gets to the Federal House is bound to surpass all expectations. As it stands, he is the only candidate among the other four (4) candidates that has legislative experience. The Anaedo spirit of unity will definitely work in favour of Smart Okafor. Nke a bu nke anyi. No right-thinking voter will abandon Smart for another Candidate or Party.
Threat: The major threat remains in the area of partisanship. There are some people who are so engrossed in Party politics that even when they see a suitable and capable Candidate, will out of Party affiliation, still go against him due to primordial Party sentiments. The truth is that of all the Candidates contesting, Hon. Nonso Smart Okafor is the most experienced and qualified in terms of Legislative Matters. He is not a Novice when it comes to the rudiments of packaging Bills and Motions. He knows his onions.
Born in Nnewi, he had his primary education at Odida Central School from where he proceeded to Nnewi High School for his secondary education. He later gained admission into The Federal Polytechnic Oko where due to his exceptional leadership skills, he was elected as the President of the Student Union Government (SUG). The Legacy he left still resonates in volumes, years after he left that Institution. Among many other National and International Engagements, He was the Speaker at the 2014 Young African Society Conference at World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC. It was Smart Okafor who moved the courageous Motion during YALI Program in the US. This earned him a strong commendation from President Barrack Obama and First Lady of the United States. It also earned him Nigeria Youth Ambassador accolade from President Goodluck Jonathan at a Reception at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC.
As we approach the 2023 general election, it is important to remind ourselves that the days of voting based on Party predilection is over. This time around, the focus should be on Individuals and what they can offer. And this man we are talking about has a lot to offer.
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