With a federal constitution in place, Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara was able to enact one of the economic wonders of his era as the premier of the defunct Eastern Region. That region’s economy alone was ahead of the economies of Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, among others. In fact, it was rated as the world’s fastest growing and industrialising economy between 1954 and 1964. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Okpara, which was driven by his principle of “Pragmatic Socialism.”