The situation presently in Nigeria is akin to what existed in the Nigerian Senate in 1999 before the assumption of office as its president by Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. This was the summation of the interactive session between Anyim and delegates from Kogi State, May 5, at Ibro Hotel, Abuja which included the two former governors of the state, Ahaji Ibrahim Idris, and Capt Idris Wada. The delegates commonly agreed that Nigeria is in a very precarious state and in dire need of a natural stabilizer like Anyim. In his closing remarks, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Engr. Sam Uhotu, recalled the invaluable role Anyim brought to bear in the stability of the country democracy. According to him, the nation’s upper chamber of the national Assembly was in a voyage of no destination until Anyim stepped in to chat a clear course for the National Assembly and indeed Nigerian democracy. The chairman stated that the Senate before Anyim was seating on a slippery ground of banana peels, throwing up different leaders of the chamber at an average of one president after the other in every six months until Anyim came to put a stop to that. Uhotu reiterated that the situation in the Nigerian Senate when Anyim was divinely brought to the rescue is akin to the rudderless journey of the Nigerian nation now. “If Anyim has offered himself to serve Nigeria again,” the PDP chairman advised, “Nigeria should consider him seriously.” The chairman further drew the attention of Nigerians to Anyim performance as the Secretary to government of the federation saying that it's high time Nigeria took a serious look at the roles Anyim had played in his previous positions in government. He said as Secretary to government of the Federation, SGF under Goodluck Jonathan administration, Anyim has been variously described even by his own boss, Jonathan, as the engine room of that regime. This again, the chairman stated, validates the fact that his magic in the Senate was not a fluke. It’s my belief that Anyim will perform same magic again if allowed to rule Nigeria as her president, the chairman claimed. Speakers after Speakers agreed with the opinion of their chairman as they commonly resolved in unison to form a social contract with Anyim. In addition to Anyim five star performances, Dr Shuibu Tete, a former gubernatorial aspirant in Kogi state under the All Progressives Congress APC now a member of PDP, remarked that one sterling quality that stands Anyim out among others is his stainless records in all his services to Nigeria. Till date, Tete recalled, Anyim has remained blameless in all his services to Nigeria. Echoing the views of the party chairman, Capt. Idris Wada, former governor of Kogi State, emphasized that the meeting with delegates only exposed the stuff Anyim is made of to those who never knew him before. Wada stated, that his knowledge of Anyim since his days as secretary to government of the federation is that “Anyim is a man of the people, a detribilised Nigerian and a great man.” Citing Anyim’s intervention in the affairs of Kogi, Wada explained that in 2012 when the state was enmeshed with floods, that Anyim as the SGF, quickly released N500m with just little effort to save the people of Kogi State. He also stated that Anyim was instrumental to the flood chanalization work in the state which was initiated by his administration. He described Anyim not only as a leader with listening ears but one who backs up his promise with commitments. Sharing similar views with others, Wada repeated: “If there’s any other time Nigeria needs someone like Anyim, it’s now, because Anyim will give Nigeria qualitative leadership.”

Anyim had in his speech promised to make Kogi State the most industrial hub in Nigeria if given the chance to rule. He told the delegates that the abundant mineral deposits in Kogi distinguishes it among other states. The steel mill at Ajaokuta, Kogi State, Anyim promised, will be his priority on his assumption of office.

“My intention, he told the delegates, is to develop smart cities among the contiguous states surrounding the capital, such that the pressure on Abuja can be reduced,” he said.

According to him, steel – not even oil – will constitute one of the major drivers of the fourth industrial revolution.

Anyim also told the delegates that he would not just replicate what Goodluck Jonathan administration did with women but will surpass it. According to him, under Jonathan, a woman was a coordinating minister of the economy, a woman was a petroleum minister, and a woman was aviation minister, among others.

“I will do more for women,” he thundered, even as he stated that the youths will be given the opportunities they need to deploy the abundant energies they have. Anyim said that while he will rely on the advice of the elders, he would work with the youths to execute such advice.

The Commission for the Disabled, which has remained dormant, Anyim promised, would be made to work, just as he assured that he was going to improve on the achievements of PDP when a dollar exchanged for N180, when Nigeria was reckoned as the fastest growing economy and where people were free to travel from Abuja to Kaduna, etc.

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