HON. ITORO COLUMBA: THE BOWING-OUT OF A SERVANT LEADER

HON. ITORO COLUMBA: THE BOWING-OUT OF A SERVANT LEADER

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7

Edet John
Ibianang-Ediene
edetjhn@gmail.com

As the Executive Chairman of Ikono LGA, Hon. Itoro Columba is graciously crossing the t’s and doting the i’s in readiness to hand over the mantle of leadership of Ikono Local Government Council to the Chairman-Elect  Mr. Nyakno Okoibu in few days to come, it becomes behoving and imperative to critically analyse the life and times of his administration with the view to consolidating on the established democratic gains while elucidating on gray areas.

Hon Itoro Columba was elected into office three years ago with the mandate to lead Ikono LGA out from her then obscure, dingy, fathomless and esoteric living to the present fame and pride of place (hence the unwanaadi mantra) enjoyed by the LGA when placed side by side with other LGAs in Nigeria. The comments and accolades by concerned stakeholders in the Ikono Project at different fora reveals that the confident reposed on him at the time of his election was not in vain, has not been wasted but had been greatly utilized.

On assumption of office, he, being a leader who places premium on service to the people above self, adopted the Servant-leadership philosophy whose major goal was/is to serve. This, he had achieved by the many people-oriented projects littered across the length and breadth of the LGA as a memorial. 

Permit me to mention but a few of his life-touching and people-oriented projects and programme while in the service of his people as the council helmsman. 

In healthcare delivery, the understanding that a healthy individual is a wealthy individual led him to organized free health checks and treatment to the inhabitants of all the political blocs in Ikono LGA while persuading the State Government to renovate and equip the General Hospital in the LGA which was hitherto abandoned. 

To further strengthen the need for a healthy living, he attracted the WASH project counter-funded by the LGA to all the wards. What a good way to reciprocate their confident on him! 

Pages of books will be filled up if I undertake the herculean task of mentioning his life touching programmes one after the other. However, it is worth the time to mention the complete overhaul and furnishing of the State-of-the-art legislative chambers currently enjoyed by the Legislators at the Council headquarters. Permit me also to mention the grading of numerous internal roads, the many donations of Electricity transformers to communities/villages which before now were in total darkness, his numerous supports to the NULGE, Ikono Chapter and by extension the State or his Human Capital Development projects which he carried out in conjunction with SMEDAN to train and empower more than 200 youths in different skills. 

Without sounding sycophantic in the ears of naysayers, let me state here and now that Hon. Columba, like every other human treading the surface of the earth, is not infallible.Within this period as the Council's helmsman, some decisions may have been taken that did not go well with every inhabitant of the LGA but certainly they were not for his personal gains or for selfish interest. Like I will always say, "his political sins are but very few".

As a Servant-leader who sees service to the people more important than his personal gains, the questions now are: 

1. Do those served grow as persons? Definitely yes, as could be evidenced in the highly-rated performances of Ikono Youths in different sectors of in our LGA,  Akwa Ibom State and beyond. 

2. Do they, while being served become healthier, wiser, freer and autonomous? Yes, they do as evidenced in their physical and mental outlook as assessed in the many interactions engaged in at different fora and finally 

3. Would they more likely grow to become servant-leaders now and in the future? Let me leave that for individuals to answer for themselves.

Like Albert Einstein who rewrote the laws of nature for the betterment of humanity; Abraham Lincoln who fought for the embodiment of liberty and the great emancipator of slaves; Winston Churchill, the resolute leader during one of the most painful episodes in human history; Martin Luther King Jr., the celebrated civil rights activist that forever changed America; and St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), the Nobel Laureate who was determined to ease sufferings in the world - Hon. Itoro Columba, in his few years as the Executive Chairman has inverted the norms and has given Ikono a new name, has emancipated the youths from their mental slavery, and has brought to the minimum, the sufferings of Ikono indigenes and dwellers.

In conclusion, let me join the Biblical Apostle Paul in the passage quoted above to say, Hon. Itoro Columba has fought a good fight, he has finish his course as Ikono Council helmsman and has kept the faith. Now is left for him a crown of glory for greater services