Why I will never cut my beard –Dr. Ezeife

Harvard-trained economist and former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, opens up to LOUIS ACHI on why he is still vigorous at 78, his favourite vices - “I am an original sinner” - and why he will never cut his trade-mark snow-white beard.

Up close, the vibrations of energy warn you are in the presence of an uncommon intellectual. The label - ‘maverick’ - could hang comfortably on his bull’s neck and this would hardly bother him. He is an independent thinker who often speaks with alarming frankness, a trait that’s hardly a selling point for the regular Nigerian politician. Meet Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra State during the botched military-civilian diarchy in 1989. Then, all the democratic structures (elected governors, state and federal parliaments) were in place - except the president. When military president, General Ibrahim Babangida ‘stepped aside’ after annulling Chief MKO Abiola’s acclaimed presidential victory he handed over power to General Sani Abacha, sending Ezeife and his co-travelers packing. Closing in on 79, the former governor looks strong and quite vigorous. He was quite ready to share the secret formular that powers the essential Ezeife. “The Bible tells you to cast every care on God and if you do so, you don’t carry too much burden. There is an equation: event plus response equals outcome. E + R = O. Two people who are exposed to the same event may have different responses - and therefore different outcomes. One may have stress because he worries so much. The other one may say oh… my God…whatever happens… So that’s the secret for everybody not just one person. Anybody who applies it will go far. You see, we think we are Christians but we carry the entire burden on our shoulder and die young.”

A surprisingly straight-forward secret made available with his trademark directness. Ezeife who is a Salvationist, a Christian denomination, tells The SUPREMACY MAGAZINE that the most important model that influenced his life was simply telling the truth. His words: “I am a Salvationist. My model is excellence, persistence and telling the truth. I say what I have to say without hurting anybody.” A defining feature of this foremost member of Ndigbo political intelligentsia is his snow-white beard. Ezeife immediately disappoints Nigerians who are hoping he may cut this natural facial identity. According to Ezeife, “God put it there. You are asking me why didn’t I cut if off. I didn’t want to cut it off because I want to be as natural as possible. For example, you said am young. Anytime you look at me the first thing you see is this beard and it is already at the colour it will be forever.” In effect, Nigerians can expect the ex-governor to retain his beard for a long time. But given Ezeife’s regular preachments on ethics, discipline and living a life worthy of emulation - is he a candidate for sainthood? What are his favourite vices in life? The man leans forward with a twinkle in his eyes, to weigh the question. Then without beating about the bush he concedes his is a sinner; actually an original sinner! Hear him: “I am a sinner, an original sinner. I am ambitious but not enough to steal money from the treasury. I worked in Anambra State as governor; I didn’t take one kobo of salary. But that was selfish. It was for selfish reasons because I wanted to develop Anambra so massively that the Hausa will see it, the Yoruba will see it so that when I want to campaign for president it will be easy. But it lasted for two years before Abacha threw us out.” Today, Ezeife is a respected thinker and certainly not retired, especially when it comes to articulating the way forward for his beloved Ndigbo and also for the socio-political progression of the Nigerian state. Ezeife was born at Igbo-Ukwu, Anambra State, on 20 November 1939. He did not attend secondary school, but taught himself through correspondence courses, qualifying for university admission. He gained a BSc. in Economics from the University College Ibadan. Subsequently, he attended Harvard University, on a Rockefeller Foundation scholarship where he obtained both a master’s and doctorate degrees, in 1972.

He became a school headmaster, a lecturer at Makarere University College, Kampala, Uganda, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard University, and a Consultant with Arthur D. Little in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ezeife joined the civil service as an Administrative Officer and rose to the position of Permanent Secretary. Ezeife was elected governor of Anambra State on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform, holding office from 2 January 1992 to 17 November 1993, when General Sani Abacha took power after a military coup. As governor, he declined salary and said he wanted to use his planned total transformation of the state as springboard to seek a higher, national political office. During his short-lived tenure he transferred Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Federal Polytechnic, Oko to the federal government, which helped ensure that they survived in the ensuing military regime. During the Nigerian Fourth Republic, Ezeife was appointed presidential Adviser on Political Matters to President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was a delegate to the 2014 National Conference convoked by former President Goodluck Jonathan to seek resolution of tensions and internal contradictions that have come to define the national journey. Today, Ezeife is an intellectual arrowhead in the efforts of his zone’s political intelligentsia to properly engage the Nigerian state so they can be able to access political deliverables commensurate with their weight in the polity.