THE POLITICIAN COLOURED NOVEMBER 2013 | Page 79

The great people of Anambra state in the South- Eastern geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have produced many outstanding public servants who have done them and the entire nation of Nigeria extremely proud. They produced the first ever President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe (RIP), Professor Chinua Achebe (arguably one of the finest writers of his generation), Alex Ekwueme (Former Vice President of Nigeria), Charles Chukwuma Soludo (Former Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria), Emeka Anyaoku (the first black secretary general of the commonwealth), Dora Akunyili ( the former head of NAFDAC whose tireless efforts to fight the importation of fake medicines into Nigeria saved the Nigerian healthcare system), Nwafor Orizu (the first ever senate president of the Federal republic of Nigeria) and Chinyelu Onwarah a British politician and first ever female member of the British Parliament of African descent. Once again Anambra state has produced another outstanding public servant, a woman who is on a mission to reclaim Nigeria’s aviation glory. Stella Oduah- Ogiemwonyi comes from a prestigious royal family. She is the daughter of Igwe D.O Oduah of Akili-Ozizor in the Ogbaru Local Government area of Anambra state. As a child Princess Stella excelled academically, and her desire for learning was what propelled her to the United States of America where she acquired a Bachelors degree in Accounting and a Masters in Business administration (MBA) respectively. It is indeed an open secret that Nigeria almost be- 63 BY PAUL OKADE Jr came the laughing stock of Africa because of the poor state of the nations Aviation sector. Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora were becoming so ashamed of the state of their airports, coupled with the fact that we no longer had a national airline. All indications suggested that as far as air travel was concerned, Nigeria was a failed state. From decaying airports right through to a non-existent national airline, it is fair to say that for a Nation which is reputed to be the biggest producer of crude oil in Africa and certainly it’s most populated, we had a lot to live up to. It i ???????????????????????9????????????????)M?????????????? ???????e??????????????]?)???????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????)????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????????]????????????)????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????)???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????@??????????????????]?????)???????????????????????()!?????????????????e?????????????????()??????????????????????????????????????????)?????????????????????=???????????)???????!??)????????A??????????????????????)?????????????????????????????????????????????)??????????9???????????????????????????????????)??????????????????????????????!??????????)!??????????M?????=????=?????????????9???????5???????????????((0