Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has, since settling into office for a second term, embarked on the process of healing wounds and uniting a state that was considerably fractured in the run-up to the March 16, 2019 governorship election. The process has been as easy as building on the peace that reigned in the state from his first term, but which was threatened by drums of war that sounded in some quarters prior to the election.

Nigeria, like the rest of the world, enters a new decade this new year, 2020; it’s the decade of the twenties!How Nigeria starts the new decade, that is, how it performs this year, will tell us how it might end it in 2029. But the omens are not good. Truth is, the preceding decade, from 2010 to 2019, was an utterly wasted one; indeed, a lost decade for Nigeria! Yet, nothing in the behaviour or the mindset of Nigeria’s leaders suggests they are willing to stop the institutional sclerosis that has gripped this country and stunted its progress. It is therefore very unlikely that Nigeria will finish the new decade better than it did the last!

Leadership, history has proved is the difference between great nations and the ones struggling to achieve progress and development.

IT is a new year. As usual, people have started appraising year 2019 that has gone forever. The new year ushers in a new decade of the twenty-twenties. But will it be the beginning of new realities? Will it be one in which our dream, as it concerns one united and prosperous Nigeria, will be realised?

MY Dear Good People of Oyo State. As we draw the curtains on 2019 and look forward with renewed expectation and hope to the New Year, I am delighted to deliver my first New Year message.