JUDE OGBECHE NGAJI: A BUDDING NATIONAL POLITICAL ICON
Margaret Akpa
A Scion of the Senator Greg Ngaji political family from Yala in Cross River State.
A man with a sunny heart, Jude Ngaji radiates a ray of light through the cloudy world of society most neglected and forgotten species as they struggle through the storms and turmoil of their uncertain future. As an uncommon gift to his generation, the Honourable Member is widely seen as a radiant and compassionate beacon of hope, a twinkling instance of what it means to care and the necessity and joy of sharing the suffering of others.
Seen by many as an Iroko among shrubs, Jude is a medley of many things and different things to different people. As one time Organising Secretary of the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jude ensured a coordinated and collaborative effort that led to howling successes of the party’s activities.
Graduating from the position of the organising secretary to Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Liyel Imoke, Jude earned his stripes to later become the substantive Chief of Staff to Governor Imoke in the twilight of that administration.
He has been the state security adviser since the coming of the administration of Governor Ben Ayade. A young man with an insatiable appetite for learning, Jude, following his graduation from the university quickly proceeded to the Federal University of Technology, where he bagged a master degree in Marketing Technology.
Currently studying Law at the University of Calabar with a PhD admission in International Relations in the kitty, Jude has undergone several foreign security training spanning the Dubai Police Academy, where he emerged the best student of his set, As well as Enforcement and Regulatory Management at Harvard University, USA.
Interestingly, as his humanity continues to resonate all across the five council areas, there is increasing pressure on the young leader to assume higher political responsibility by running for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There has been a huge clamour from sundry support groups across the length and breadth of the five local government areas of Bekwarra, Obanliku, Obudu, Ogoja as well as Yala, persuading the State Security Adviser to have a go at the senate.
Coming under different names such as Generation Next; Team Jude; The Eagle Squad; Judified; King Jude; Ladies for Jude, among others, the support groups have taken it upon themselves to print T-shirts, face-caps, banners, handbills, if anything, to underscore their unflinching commitment and seriousness to the ,Jude for the Senate project which they insist, they are ready to give their all to actualise.
While Jude is yet to respond to the popular clamour to aspire to the Senate, he is to the youth, a senator in the waiting.The youth have thrown a challenge, and the ball is now in Jude’s court.
For Jude, there seems to be a tide in his affairs, which might lead on to fortune, This, the youth can ill-afford. For them, it is Jude or nobody else.
Barr Margaret Akpa is a Legal Practitioner based in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. She is also a writer, human rights lawyer, an Advocate for women, girls and children’s rights.
margaretakpa77@gmail.com
