Augustine Avwode              

At last, it’s settled. Yes! With the pronouncement of the Supreme Court on the April 11, 2015 Governorship Election in Delta State, affirming Senator Dr Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa as the dully and legally elected Governor, a whole new vista has formally opened before the good people of the state.  It was a welcomed relief from utterly unnecessary distractions that the good people of Delta State and the present administration had been subjected by perennial electoral litigants for all the 244 days of the administration before that fateful Tuesday, February 2.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State

Governor Okowa, in his characteristic humility, had, time and again, called on all opposition politicians to eschew the palpable political bitterness they have exhibited and join him to move the state forward in the overall interest of Deltans. But no, not for those whose avowed obsession was to get the Governor out of Government House, Asaba, by hook or crook and in clear disregard for the pan-Delta mandate that berthed Okowa in office.

The Governor was, therefore, absolutely right and justified when he called on the individuals concerned, to do the needful, – apologise to Deltans for subjecting them, the state and the government of the people to such unwarranted distractions, especially, when it was apparent that they lacked what it would take to sustain their legal odyssey. To all intent and purposes, the Governor’s statement was an innocuous advice that was, unfortunately taken out of context and visited with thoughtless, provocative and irreverent response by the opposition.

 Notwithstanding their reaction, which stands condemned, it is necessary to re-echo and draw attention to another aspect of what Governor Okowa said on that very day which the opposition chose to ignore but every Deltan should dwell on. Hear the Governor:

“We should forgive them. It is time to love ourselves, see ourselves as brothers and sisters fighting solely for the common good of our people; it is time for us to break away from the past, to begin a new partnership; it is time to have a collective approach to governance – community governance because, on our part, we promised to carry everyone along in love and unity”.

Three weeks later at an inter-denominational thanksgiving service by Governor Okowa, at the Word of Life Bible Church, Warri,  he reiterated the same message:
 “We are all Deltans and should work to move Delta State forward, we bear no grudge against anybody, we will move forward as a state and every May 29, we will dedicate it as a day of prayer and worship to the Lord, our God…and I ask for reconciliation because, we need to stay together, we need to partner together to develop Delta State.”  

 I, like many other well-meaning citizens of Delta State, believe that Governor Okowa has set the right tone and chosen the right course in the light of the post judicial pronouncement on the 2015 election in our state. The call today, is to join hands with the government in its avowed determination to develop Delta and place it where it should belong, that is, among the foremost states in Nigeria.

And so, now that the Court has spoken, it behoves all citizens of our great state to explore to the fullest the pan-Delta mandate freely given by the people to Governor Okowa by supporting the S.M.A.R.T agenda  – Strategic Wealth Creation Initiatives and Provision of Jobs for all Deltans; Meaningful Peace Building Platforms aimed at Political/Social Stability; Agricultural Reforms and Industrialisation; Relevant Health and Education Policies and Transformed Environment through Massive Urban Renewal. We are all living witnesses to how Governor Okowa has been going about the implementation of the S.M.A.R.T agenda with consuming passion. There is no doubting the fact that he is poised to building a united and prosperous Delta State.

In him, Delta has a servant-leader who is genuinely interested in working with all parties in the interest of the citizens on whose behalf he is in power. For him, where anybody stood during the election, no longer matter. Whether you belong to the 97 percent or the 5 percent group, Governor Okowa has no time for such categorization that seeks to portray some as vey important and others as inconsequential. For him, everybody and every section of our state are important and deserving and there is no time to be wasted on the pursuit of political vendetta. Governor Okowa’s right hand of fellowship to all citizens and political leaders be it Labour Party(LP) or the All Progressives Congress (APC) is fully stretched out. His actions eloquently proclaim “I am Governor for all Deltans”, which is heart-warming.

Therefore, bickering, sabotage and vindictivetendencies that seek to divide our people should no longer have any place at all under this newdispensation, if truly we all love Delta. The Government needs the support of all and sundry irrespective of ourpolitical affiliation as it moves to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people who voted the administration into power.

Now that the Court has spoken, upholding the unambiguous electoral statement earlier made by Deltans, specialists in the art of peddling pernicious propaganda should give peace a chance.  All hands should now be on deck to rally support for Governor Okowa to deliver on his campaign promises of “Prosperity for all Deltans” as clearly espoused in the S.M.A.R.T agenda and which he is assiduously and uncompromisingly implementing.

Now that the Court has spoken, it is time to slay the monster of the politics of ethnicity. The experience during the last election was, to say the least, terrible and tragic. Some politicians invested heavily on the primordial sentiment of ethnicity in the illusory or erroneous belief that only one ethnic group was all they needed to be in Government House, Asaba. Unfortunately for them, the electorate in Delta is highly enlightened and sophisticated. They would rather go for a well packaged S.M.A.R.T programme than dwell on the inanity of politics of ethnicity.

Now that the Supreme Court has issued the final decree as it  were, we all should sheathe our swords and create a peaceful atmosphere which we need to experience prosperity,sustainable development and the eradication of poverty through the creation of direct employment for our teeming youths. A new Delta is possible, and why not? Governor Okowa has already shown that and leading the way. It is time to join the S.M.A.R.T train.

Avwode, Special Assistant on Media to Governor Okowa, wrote from Asaba,Delta State.