Humanity is naturally segregated into three major categorisations: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and lastly those who don’t know how things happen. Those who make things happen are further classified as societal change-makers; they inherently occupy great spaces in history and posterity accords them a special place. They are usually men and women with great accomplishments in various fields such as communication, politics, science, academia, music, human rights and religion. They are remembered and celebrated routinely; given the changes they brought to their immediate environment and the world at large.
Midas was a mythical king of Phrygia in Asia Minor, famous for his extraordinary ability to change anything he touched into gold. This gift was given to him by Dionysos in appreciation for his hospitality to the wise satyr, Silenus.
Change-makers’ milestones such as birthday commemorations are usually and understandably celebrated with huge fanfare and pomp, underlining the inexorable link between achievers and the great passion to celebrate them.
For many people, the kind of birthday celebrations one should be accorded ought to be consistent with his level of accomplishments and the kind of life he has led. Accordingly, a change-maker should, at auspicious periods, be acknowledged and amazingly celebrated, even long after his exit. Dr Chimezie Amadi, who marks his birthday on Saturday, April 27, 2024, fits into this characterisation.
Amadi, who was, for about two years, Imo State Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, was recently reappointed by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma. He belongs to the category of men who make things happen, having demonstrated to be Imo societal change-maker in the digital economy and empowerment. As a result, he deserves to be celebrated elaborately by relations, friends, admirers and, indeed, a wide spectrum of Imolites as he marks his nativity.
The reasons for drums to be rolled out and red carpets laid out to celebrate Amadi’s new age are self-evident and verifiable. He is a thoroughbred technocrat and burgeoning high political officer, who has leveraged the top public offices he has held to etch himself positively in the minds of people as a societal change-maker. For instance, in the National Communications Commission (NCC), he occupied strategic positions and made excellent use of the windows to enthrone lots of innovations that stimulated desired changes and enhanced service delivery processes in the commission.
He served in critical departments, including Procurement, Projects, Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement, and Research and Development. He brought in creativity and deftness when he headed the commission’s newly established Technology Unit by providing a strategic framework for the unit’s development. For instance, he initiated a series of nationwide stakeholders’ meetings and conferences to enhance the unit’s participatory, consultative and collaborative space, raise its bar and realise its mandate. He also facilitated Acaopreneur, a structure designed to build a strong link between academia and the industry to strengthen the communication sector for shared gains and enhanced results.
For the two years he served as Imo Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Amadi resourcefully anchored Uzodimma’s vision on Imo Digital Economy aimed at providing a robust digital regime for communities, institutions and business clusters to have access to the Internet and digital service to promote the socio-economic development of the state and well-being of the people. The great results he has recorded within a short span in government are instructive that Amadi came focused, prepared and committed to the cause of reinforcing administrative processes, e-governance, businesses and investments through digital efficiency and deployment. His ministry’s mission drawn on Uzodimma’s vision for the state is “to build smart cities, which leverage digital technology to drive governance, innovation and entrepreneurship, while promoting value creation and prosperity for all.”
To accomplish Uzodimma’s digital vision, Amadi has been able to fashion out a well-designed strategic plan that contains actions, steps and timelines.
One of the most popular schemes Uzodimma has pursued, which is anchored by Amadi, is the SkillUpImo Project. The project, which commenced in December 2022, was designed to empower youths by training them on digital skills acquisition, create wealth among the youths and to make the state commercially viable and economically competitive. Spread across phases and termed cohorts, thousands of Imo youths have benefited from the programme in less than two years, it commenced.
Besides, Amadi is leading the Imo governor’s policy thrust on facilitating broadband penetration into all the 27 local governments of Imo, especially underserved and unserved locations, through partnership with the private sector and deployment of the state-owned fibre highway to interconnect business districts and communities. The expected gains include improved broadband penetration, enhanced e-government activities and a greater digitalisation process.
Fascinatingly, the success of Governor Uzodimma’s digital governance in Imo, which Amadi has been anchoring, has incredibly contributed to the redrafting of Imo into the National Hall of Fame. In the last year or more, Imo has interestingly been recognised and honoured at national and private sector levels with prestigious awards and festoons, on several occasions, on account of its digital accomplishments. Last year, Imo won the Best State Award on ICT Human Capacity instituted by the Presidency through its Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR). Amadi was separately honoured by the same agency with the Distinguished Govtech Trailblazer Award as the commissioner in charge of the ministry that is anchoring the state’s digital drive. The awards were in recognition of individuals and government institutions harnessing digital technology options for effective governance and enhancement of public service delivery and to encourage such entities. In the same 2023, Uzodimma and Amadi also received awards in Lagos for pioneering the digital revolution in Imo. These are a few of the awards so far received by the state as a result of its commitment to digital innovation.
As Amadi celebrates his birthday today, he is intriguingly known to be imbued with remarkable qualities such as academic sophistication, passion for excellence, dedication to first-rate delivery of service, hard work and astuteness. These sterling values, coupled with his international exposure and training in modern and global communication modules such as 5G and the path to next generation, digital transformation, enabling full value of wireless technology, game-changing technology for the digital age and ethics intelligence, among others prepared him exceptionally for the great tasks in Imo. With these lasting digital footprints engraved in Uzodimma’s government, Amadi, with his touch of Midas, has made things happen in Imo, underscoring the worthy nature of his milestone celebration.