By Norbert Chiazor

Enigma! Ned Nwoko reminds me of James Bond.OO7. The charming character created by maestro director, Albert Broccoli.

But there is a sorry difference. The Ned model is fact not some fantasy. Made by God of men, not god of movie.

Ned Nwoko… To discover the man, focus beyond Russian writer Andreevich Krylov’s “The Inquisitive Man” and see an Elephant!

Ponder not in fancy about Regina Daniels. Regal Regina. Liala…Women of beauty. Women of Ned. Mute thoughts of mansions, Rolls Royce, Private Jets and other tangible tools of vanity. Dig deeper. Decipher the real Ned.

Here is the story…Rising from the high walls of the best British universities to Lincoln’s Inn, Prince Ned Nwoko first took the world by storm as the best black lawyer of African descent practicing in England, in the 1990s.

Homeward bound after conquering the global stage, he flew from London to the House of Representatives in 1999 to help chart Nigeria’s democratic future.

By the time he bade goodbye to the nation’s legislative green chambers in 2003, he had left indelible footprints etched in honour, strength and service.He would spend the next two decades breaking new grounds and expanding frontiers of human resilience.The results are vast.

Founder of first sports university in sub Saharan Africa, builder of one of Nigeria’s finest tourism resorts, Mount Ned, initiator of Nigeria’s economic lifeline- London/Paris Loans Refund, Antarctica record-breaking explorer, progenitor, Africa Malaria Eradication Project, patron of public charities and more.

Today, he waxes stronger in patriotic currency. A freshly baked Senator, bedecked in more radiant charisma. The proceedings of the newly inaugurated 10th senate are coloured by the image of Senator Ned Nwoko adorned in snow white ‘Agbada’, pepper red Anioma cap and full -rim transparent glasses. But far from sartorial elegance and political rhetoric, the Senator stands as a game changer at the National Assembly.

Impeccable.At a time leadership rot casts a dark shadow on Nigeria and wallops a sick nation to perilous ruins, the Ned persona is making us smile.Just three months at the senate, the voice of Prince Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta North Senatorial district has been comforting before the nation, soothing our worries and rekindling our hopes. ‘Nigeria go survive’.

The beams of the moon will ultimately bring good dreams. The passion of Ned reassures.He is helping to build a new Nigeria, with a sense of purpose, clarity of advocacy, and affirmative action.

On his shoulders lie 16 strategic committees, an unprecedented responsibility and trust, all in recognition of the tremendous capacity of one man.

Leading the charge as vice chairman of senate committee on Environment, Senator Nwoko had been appointed to serve in other significant legislative groups to exercise oversight functions.

The committees are NDDC, NEPAD, TETFUND, Gas, Upstream Petroleum, Works, Finance, Defence, Police, Drugs and Narcotics, Communications, State and Local Governments, Primary Health Care Development and Disease Control, Constitutional Amendment, Anti-corruption and Economic Crimes, Youth and Sports.

At the international scene, Senator Nwoko is very comfortable dealing with such issues as electoral rights of Nigerians in diaspora and the historical issues of reparation and repatriations against transatlantic slave trade and colonialism.

At the regional level, he is a passionate proponent of non-military intervention in independent nations and within the country, affirming dialogue as a means of peaceful resolution of conflicts especially with separatists like IPOB and Boko Haram.

At the local enclave, he is on top of environmental degradation, health, employment, education, and infrastructural needs. With Anioma agenda at the National Assembly, Senator Nwoko champions a new dawn of good governance and sustainable development, with Nigeria in focus and global in vision.

Gradually, for Anioma people, the years the locust ate are over. Never to return. The land is smiling without scandals.

‘Odogwu’ is not all about big cash and fat cars, but a better Senator from Delta North. Ned, no doubt, is needed.

*Chiazor is a former Chairman of the Delta State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a veteran journalist/ media leader.

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