By Chinedu Nsofor
In Nigeria, politicians are well known to be people of little compassion, little vision and little integrity, their words are seen never to match their actions, but not in the case of distinguished Senator Bright Nwanne.
Thus, in the midst of scarcity of political leaders with compassion, character and integrity, Senator Bright Nwanne could be picked like a golden fish in a river. A very straight forward man, who might have been perceived erroneously as being too blunt (by people of zero integrity).
However, he prefers to have very few friends who identify with his life principles, visions and character, than to identified with a wrong crowd.
Born on December 31st 1956 in Ezinihitte Mbaise, his home town, in Imo State, Bright Nwanne attended St. Michael’s Secondary School in 1970 and Methodist College, Uzuakoli in 1975 before proceeding to the University of Texas Arlington, United States of America, in 1979, where he studied marketing.
Upon graduation from the University, Bright Nwanne worked for a while at the United States of America before returning home to develop his father land, Nigeria. Bight Nwanne started his small scale business venture upon his return to Nigeria.
Proppeled by a burning desire to create jobs for the teaming unemployed youths in Nigeria and to advance the industrial sector of the country, he grew his small scale business venture into a chemical manufacturing company: Bonn Industries Ltd. The recent giant strides the company is making in the manufacturing sector will see Bonn Industries Ltd standout as the first company in Nigeria to make pharmaceutical grade glycerine, first to make extra white distilled fatty acids and extra white soap noddles. The manufacturing company seats on almost 44 plots of lands in Aba, Abia State. Senator Bright Nwanne’s business interest also spans through real estate and international trade. His companies currently employ several youths thus creating jobs for the teaming unemployed youths in Nigeria.
In 1992, at a very young age of 36 years, Senator Bright Nwanne was elected into the Senate through the platform of the NRC (National Republican Convention). Though his tenure in the 3rd republic was short-lived by the military, he was very vibrant at the Senate and made very meaningful contributions during his stay there.
Senator Nwanne was also a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the Nigerian Constitution which midwifed the 3rd republic which was short-lived by military incursion into politics of the country. His election into the Senate at that tender age could be attributed to his humility and compassionate ability to be in touch with his people, Senator Nwanne never loses touch with the yearnings and aspirations of the common man.
His vision of alleviating the sufferings of the poor and the downtrodden led him into establishing the Senator Bright Nwanne Foundation much later in life which has over the years intervened in the area of Job Creation for his people. Through this Foundation, Nwanne has given scholarships to over 50 indigent students, single handedly built a motor park and a police station at Onicha Mbaise, provided several pipe borne water for his people, provided transformers for over four autonomous communities in Onicha Ezinihitte Mbaise, empowered over 150 youths of his immediate community and other adjourning communities – all 10 communities in Onicha, Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State – in agro based skill acquisition, procured five Sienna buses for the youth of the communities in Onicha Ezinihitte Mbaise to manage, among many philanthropic projects of his foundation. He is however known not to be given to publicity thus most of his philanthropic gestures remain very quiet and are usually not broadcasted.
To show aappreciation for his numerous contributions to the society at large, especially to the Mbaise nation, the entire Mbaise Council of Traditional Rulers comprising more than 100 traditional rulers under the leadership of the former Deputy Chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers for Owerri Zone, as well as the then Chairman of Mbaise Traditional Rulers Council, His Royal Majesty, Eze Chidume Okoro, conferred the prestigious chieftaincy title – Ugwu Dike Mbaise on Senator Bright Nwanne on Tuesday, August 15, 2017, as an honour to mark the 2017 Mbaise New Yam Festival.
Senator Nwanne, who in the past was conferred with a chieftaincy title of Dike Eji Ejemba of Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area is a very compassionate democrat by nature with huge quest for the betterment of the country, his immediate community and the Mbaise nation.
Obviously not satisfied with the limitations of achieving his life vision for his people as a private individual, Senator Bright Nwanne in 2018, offered himself to serve the good people of Imo State as Governor under the platform of All Progressive Grand Alliance though in an unsuccessful attempt, however his visions for a new Imo State as contained in his manifesto christined The Imo Development Agenda which is premised on well detailed research carried out by a team of renouned experts of Imo extraction he commissioned, remains a master peace for governance in Imo State. Its focus is on Education, Job Creation/Youth Development, Health, Agriculture and Reorientation of the people. This vision if fully implemented is projected to prepare Imo State to look beyond crude oil in the next 10 years.
Earlier in October 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan had appointed him among other illustrious Nigerians into the Board of National Open University. He had also contested for the governorship of Imo State in 2015 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The likes of Senator Bright Nwanne are required in the political scene of Nigeria to shine forth the bright light of good governance through Character, Compassion and Integrity in order to restore sanity in the political space of Nigeria.
Chinedu Nsofor writes from Owerri Imo State
