Lagos — Born on December 10, 1968 to Chief Eze Emmanuel Ubani and Lolo Ihuoma Ubani in Abia state, young Anthony Ubani set out at an early age to make a difference in his family, community and country.

By 1995 Mr. Ubani was already making waves and receiving rave reviews in the marketing communications industry for his outstanding work in advertising and public relations. So much so, that in 1998 Ubani received a priority nomination from the American Biographical Institute (ABI) for biographical inclusion in the Seventh Edition of "Five Thousand Personalities of the World". According to ABI, Ubani was nominated "because of his exemplary performance and for the fine example he is setting for his peers and society."

In 2000 he relocated to Abuja and worked at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Institute before moving to the USAID funded Mississippi Consortium for International Development (MCID).

At MCID Mr. Ubani distinguished himself, delivering an all-round excellent performance. Amongst other achievements, Mr. Ubani designed and implemented a program that successfully expanded the operations of the Mississippi Consortium for International Development from only eight States to the thirty six States of Nigeria. He subsequently rose to become the only Nigerian in history to be appointed Interim Country Director at Mississippi Consortium for International Development. For his sterling achievements, Mr. Ubani received a special award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Mississippi Consortium for International Development".

Following a request by the then leadership of the PDP, Mr. Ubani moved over to the Peoples Democratic Institute where he took up appointment as Coordinator, Special Projects and Special Assistant to the Director General.

In 2005, Mr. Ubani was appointed Head by the PDP Secretariat set-up to provide strategic support services to the PDP Delegation to the National Political Reform Conference (NPRC). In the same year Mr. Ubani successfully served as Secretary of the Monitoring Committee of the 7th PDP National Convention.

In recognition of his loyal service to the PDP, his creative, productive and successful work at PDI and his multifarious initiatives and leadership at promoting democracy Mr. Ubani was meritoriously appointed to the office of Ag. Director General, Peoples Democratic Institute in 2005.

In 2008, Mr. Ubani was honored again when he was appointed Chairman, Governing Council of National Legislative Awards. In the same year Mr. Ubani was inducted a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Administrators and Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria.

A very devout Christian, Mr. Ubani is happily married to Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ubani and they have four lovely children: Natasha, Oluwatomi, Ikechukwu and Murna. He told Nseobong Okon-Ekong that as a practical demonstration of his faith in Nigeria, he married a Yoruba woman and his children answer to Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo names.

Ubani was sweating after a work out at the gym. He started the exercise routine four months ago, when his doctor warned that his health could be endangered. "It was a wake up call. Whatever it is we are running around for, we need to be alive to do it."

All he needed was a foothold in the doorway. It was enough to push his whole body through. In the living room, he found space enough at the gathering of elders. Having appreciated the calibre of persons at the convocation, he took quite a bit of time to engage in meticulous washing of hands. Satisfied with his observance of rudimentary hygiene, Anthony Abisogun Ikechukwu Ubani, Director General/Chief Executive Officer of Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) has been invited to dine with elders. His current designation gives him the privilege of meeting at close quarters with some of the decision makers in government.

Often, this proximity is not for courtesies only. There are other fundamental opportunities that many of his contemporaries only dream about. Ubani's lot has always been tied to civil society work and he has experienced the running of these organisations at local, regional and international levels. He was a foundation staff of the PDI, serving as its first Public Affairs Officer. He left the institute in 2002 to work at Mississippi Consortium for International Development, an American organisation with propensity for democracy and programme building. He worked there for two years.

Having made modest contributions in the organized private sector, Mr. Ubani joined politics in 1998 and was one of the 15 persons that received and inaugurated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area in Lagos. He subsequently won the party primaries and represented the PDP in February 1999 in the Lagos State House of Assembly elections.

He returned to the PDI on invitation in 2004 to work as Coordinator of Special Projects. At the departure of the first DG of the PDI, Dr. Haruna Dabin in 2005, Ubani took over on acting capacity. He held on till he was made the substantive DG in June, 2007. This achievement did not come over night. It is the product of a studious calculation and deliberate planning of a lion hearted sportsman who wins against odds. His incursion into the top rungs of power began with an appointment at the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, a Federal Government agency in the Presidency. "I have a history of working NGOs whether it is federal government owned, party owned or international private owned."

His appointment is for a single five-year term and it is a high-tasking responsibility which Ubani is giving his best shot; for obvious reasons. Don't ask him to hazard a guess on what he will do in the future. Reason: The reason is pregnant with meaning. It is in the hands of God and in the realm of conjecture. He is only too grateful for the privilege to serve and wants, at the end of his term, to be able to look back and say to himself that he did a good job.

Recently, Ubani was honoured by the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria. For someone whose work is largely kept under wraps, he was flattered to know that a respected group like the ICEN recognised the proactive intervention of the PDI and sought to celebrate him. He treasures the ICEN plague and has found a vantage position to display it in his office.

In March 2006, Mr. Ubani was elected Member of the prestigious Institute of Directors (IOD) London. In the same year he became Member of the highly acclaimed International Leadership Association (ILA) United States of America. Mr. Ubani is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators & Conciliators (ICMC) and a Distinguished Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. Recently, Mr. Ubani was officially accredited as a Certified International Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute (MTI) United States of America. Mr. Ubani also holds a professional certificate in Executive Leadership from the Manchester Business School, Manchester University, United Kingdom.

In 2006, Mr. Ubani was inducted a Fellow of the African Business School. In that same year he emerged the Chairman, Board of Fellows of the African Business School. Also in 2006, Mr Ubani was inducted a Fellow of the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants. To cap it all, Mr. Ubani received the award of Administrator of the Year 2006.

For his excellent performance and leadership, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in 2007 confirmed in substantive capacity Mr. Ubani's appointment as Director General of the Peoples Democratic Institute. In 2007, Mr. Ubani received the Young Achiever Award from the Abuja Merit Award and also received the Youth Ambassador for Peace from the Universal Peace Federation and the Youth Federation for World Peace. Also in 2007, Ubani was honoured with the Fellowship of the Institute of Fraud Examiners.

Apparently, his call up at the Presidency was recognition for his brilliant planting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag in Amuwo-Odofin council of Lagos state. In the heat of the sentiments over Bashorun Moshood Abiola's death, Ubani had insisted that Yoruba land is his political turf and could not be bothered by the ethnic sentiments so prevalent at the time. He entered the contest Lagos State House of Assembly. The first hurdle was to get the party's ticket. Not many gave him a chance. There were 50 other candidates in the race. Competition was keen, nevertheless, Ubani was returned as the party's candidate. When he eventually lost to the Alliance for Democracy candidate, the party was satisfied that he had fought a good fight. Ubani was identified as a prized jewel by the party and, therefore, requested to serve in the Presidency.

With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, Ubani exploits every chance to study. After obtaining a first degree from the Lagos State University, he got his Masters from the University of Lagos and went to the Nigeria Institute of Journalism for Post Graduate Diploma in Public Relations and Advertising. His academic chest is decorated with a lot of certificates for professional and executive training programmes abroad. He actually began his working career at the American International Insurance Company in Lagos and later resigned to set up his own enterprise, Broad Ventures International Limited; before his current engagement.

The PDI is Nigeria's answer to America's National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI); the difference being that the American platforms were set up by congress to support and promote democracy worldwide. Its Nigerian equivalent is not backed by congress. It is funded by the party and from sale of books and consultancy. The founding fathers of the PDP saw the organ as a good leaf to borrow from America. The PDI is one with its American counterpart in the promotion of democratic ethics and initiatives. It was set up in the Year 2000 to carry out research, training, capacity building far from the madding crowd of partisan politics. It is the party's voice in the civil society and acts as a think-tank for research which keeps the party on the cutting edge within the democratic space.

Ubani insists that the PDI is not only at the service of the ruling party. "The impact of the institute can be viewed from different angles. Nigeria has a large population and land mass. As you are aware NGOs do not make noise about their achievements. This is a big country. We have 40 staff. We are running training programmes. We are determined and focussed. Since the establishment of the PDI, we have conducted over 100 training programmes. The first activity we carried out in the current dispensation was to bring all the elected officers of the party's national executive together for training. As a result of that session, the party was able to generate fresh ideas which are helping the Federal Executive Council. For the first time in the history of political parties in Nigeria, the National Chairman of the PDP has an Economic Adviser We have taught legislators how to pass high impact resolution bills. On the non-partisan level, we have trained local government chairmen. You don't promote democracy by being section. Everyone needs knowledge of good governance and development. In this wise, I would say the PDI is PDP's gift to Nigeria and Africa in general. It is the strongest, boldest and most compelling demonstration of PDP's concern for democracy. No other party has the vision and the wherewithal to do it. We have 50 political parties; none of them has shown this kind of commitment. When the PDP says it is going to rule for 50 years, it is not necessary through rigging, it is only talking about structures like the PDI that have been put in place to make sure the party constantly re-invents itself."

If Ubani were to beat his chest, he would talk loudly about the PDI's training for former Sierra Leonean rebels. "These are people who understood nothing but the use of guns to get their way. We had to teach them the benefits of negotiated settlement. There were 14 of them. We taught them the dynamics of setting up a political party and dialogue. The PDI has monitored elections in Nigeria and America. This is a solemn issue that should be taken seriously."

A prolific writer and polyvalent professional, social development Expert and astute administrator, Mr. Ubani has to his credit three edited published books: Party Politics and Power Struggle in Nigeria; Moving from Third World to First: Effective Strategies for Alleviating Poverty and Corruption in Africa; Giant strides; and one authored work: Reforming the Rally into a Party. In addition he has served as Editor-in-Chief of a Legislative Magazine Consensus and a Leadership magazine Democracy Nigerianna. He has also written dozens of expert articles for various newspapers in Nigeria and established a strong and credible following as an objective Public Affairs Commentator.

A strong believer in democracy, performance based leadership and good governance, Mr. Ubani has spent the last ten years of his life working at various levels and capacities to support and promote democracy and democratic ethos in Nigeria. In 2001, he founded Campaign for a New Nigeria (CAAN), a non governmental organization, to further his commitment to promoting a new culture of leadership, followership and service amongst Nigerians.

At the fullness of time, when Ubani plans to count the blessings of his tenure, he will plans that the accolade will weigh heavily on the side of documentation through book publishing. The PDI under his leadership will vigorously keep records of epochs in Nigeria's political history, by writing down details. His aim is to provide useful resource books that are non-partisan. Already, the PDI has published 'Giant Strides' which chronicles some of the policies and programmes of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. It also published a book on local government systems which was well received all over the country. The PDI's quarterly magazine, 'Democracy Nigeriana'- a news amagazine on democracy, leadership and governance is in its fourth edition. It also issued a book on the party side, 'Reforming the Party into a Rally'. Another book is in the works on the Seven-Point Agenda of the Yar'Adua administration. His most ambitious project yet is the proposed 'African Journal on Democracy', for which he is in touch with scholars and political elites all over the continent.

"A lot of people may not appreciate what we are trying to do at this time, however, researchers and generation unborn will applaud our efforts. For instance, if anyone wanted to know what happened during the days of the national Party of Nigeria (NPN), he will have to search hard and far. We want to bring to an end. Nigerian today hangs on the success of the PDP. The party cannot afford to operate as if it is the military that is in power. It must carry out intellectual research and prosecute governance based on issues. Our parties are becoming ideologically rooted. It is not going to happen overnight. We expect the other parties to establish an organ like the PDI. As we go forward in our democracy, elections will not be about money. It will be about what the stands for and its principles. Nigerians must take note of these important changes and begin to institutionalise manifestoes."

If Ubani is to be believed, the PDI has come out with a position paper that insists that the party must present only credible candidates with a track record of good performance in future elections. "That is the basis to enforce discipline and effective performance. If you want to be considered or you want to make a come back, there are certain targets that should be set for people in position of leadership. Monitoring and evaluation is a critical component of the performance of leadership.