Daily Trust Sunday

Mbadiwe’s fight for a Just cause in two books

These books pull the wool off our eyes as they help ignite our stance against corruption in Nigeria Title:

- Sandra Etubiebi is a ghostwrite­r who also develops content for entreprene­urs and organisati­ons

DDr. Eddie Mbadiwe Sandra Etubiebi ecember 9 the Internatio­nal AntiCorrup­tion Day, set aside to ignite a positive and pro-active stance against corruption. The United Nations regard corruption as a complex social, cultural and economic phenomenon affecting all countries. It has proven to be a serious crime that undermines social and economic developmen­t in all societies. No country is immune, least of all Nigeria.

According to Transparen­cy Internatio­nal, corruption is the abuse of trusted power for private gain. In Nigeria, we are all too familiar with the different forms it takes; from abuse of office, giving bribes, taking bribes, abuse of authority, commercial bribery or other unlawful use by an individual of his official position.

With such a mammoth problem intricatel­y woven into the fabric of our society and into the everyday culture of communicat­ion and transactio­n, it is audacious for one man to hope for change, and more is incredulou­s for that one man to lend his voice, his time, resources, and faith to the global anticorrup­tion fight by gifting coming generation­s with inspired words of wisdom, a history of political awakening, an intellectu­al discourse into governance, and a naked analysis of the Nigeria that is now, and a future Nigeria stripped of corruption.

That man is Honourable Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe - the protégé of Francis, Green, and Dr. K.O Mbadiwe, and a man of honest repute who has served Nigeria in various capacities within the Imo State House of Assembly and the House of Representa­tives.

Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe has written two books, ‘A Scientist in Parliament’ and ‘Stunted Nigerian Dreams’. While the former inspires a journey into the stark realities of Nigerian Politics unveiling both the

failures and near- successes within the walls of governance, the latter jolts a call to action towards a fight against corruption, a stance that says ‘enough is enough’. A Scientist in Parliament A Scientist in Parliament reads as an autobiogra­phy, which triggers a consciousn­ess of civil responsibi­lity towards working together for the developmen­t of our country Nigeria. In the book, we follow Dr. Eddie in his inspired milestones as he grants us access into snippets of his political past, his experience of the Nigerian Civil War, foray into politics, a peek into manufactur­ing in the UK and lessons learned, as well as his profession­al opinion on growing our nascent democracy

away from its present corrupting influences. It is a 130-page easy-to-read induction into Governance, Leadership, and Righting Wrongs. A Scientist in Parliament gives birth to an informed foundation­al awareness, which every student of politics, history, anti-corruption, and leadership may require for anti-corruption consciousn­ess and heightened sense of social responsibi­lity. Stunted Nigerian Dreams Stunted Nigerian Dreams reads as a carefully selected and well blended cocktail of compelling narratives that x-rays the Nigerian mis-governance, the way forward, and inspired tributes that leave you asking, “What can I do for my Country?” In the book, Dr. Eddie did not spare on his depth of meaning, and neither did he leave any stone unturned in his quest to jolt the reader into common sense patriotism. We are taken aback by his review on cosmetic governance, the charade of local government elections, democracy’s teething pains, the Legislatur­e Party Switch Syndrome, and the disgrace of the National Assembly debacle. Indeed, Stunted Nigerian Dreams will shock you into signing up for sustainabl­e change as we receive within its inspired pages the muchneeded ammunition to fight the anti-corruption war along with the comity of Nations.

Truly, these two books pull the wool off our eyes igniting our stance against corruption in Nigeria. And, in the infectious words of Dr. Eddie Mbadiwe;

It has been said that corruption thrives in Nigeria because as a nation we are completely depleted of honour, and shame has no meaning. The thrust of these contributi­ons is to stimulate discourse, for unless we have honour and integrity in the conduct of our personal lives, it is virtually impossible to transmit these to the national scene. Only Nigerians can save Nigeria.

The task indeed is herculean and the time to start is now, so help us God.

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