An inspirational meeting

We had a Chairman of a Local Government Council visiting yesterday. The man had suffered under the military, being imprisoned and beaten up several times. Not only has he emerged unscathed, his approach to his job is nothing short of inspirational. Several well known companies operate on his patch. Rather than take the customary bribe, he has put them to work, suggesting corporate social responsibility as the way forwards. These companies are now busy building roads, improving their relationship with their host communities. He promised improved power to the villages under his watch. When he went to PHCN to discuss, they told him he was the first Chairman to ever pay a courtesy visit. A payment schedule for unpaid debts was agreed, and now his LGA has dramatically improved power. Again, he has brought in several traditional rulers and put them on committees, giving them decision-making power as well as accountability.

Surely there is a much bigger lesson that can be learnt from his enlightened approach to governance that might be reproducible across the nation? By fusing traditional systems of governance with official democracy, he is aligning different forms of political leadership at the grass roots level. By creating a manifesto based on straightforward improvements in basic amenities, he has strong buy-in from those he represents. He told us people routinely think he is from a different planet. Good for him, the State Governor has taken notice and is strongly supportive of his business-as-unusual approach. There is hope at the third tier of government, if his simple but effective style of governance is reproduced elsewhere..