By Sunny Onuesoke
It is no longer news that some Urhobos who hitherto raised dust over the emergence of Senator Okowa as the Delta State PDP gubernatorial candidates have since sheath their swords and gone ahead to embrace and endorse him as their preferred candidate for the April governorship elections, ahead of the APC and Labour Party contenders.
What is news however is that Okowa has perfected ways to pacify aggrieved parties and interests by coming up with clear-cut master plan to develop the state, paying specific attention to contingent needs and political expediency.
Sources close to the Okowa camp indicated that the journey to gain the acceptance of the Urhobos was one of the hardest projects ever embarked upon by the astute politician.
But Okowa was able to rise above ethnic politics and internecine struggles and grab the jigsaw at the perilous edge, engaging the Urhobo leadership in very profound and incisive deliberations while allaying and assuaging their fears in the proposed construct of a reinvigorated Delta project.
Unlike his opponents who have narrowed their purview to ethnic geography and concentrated their campaigns within their senatorial districts, Okowa has been smart enough to know that he needed to work more in areas that are likely to work against his aspirations. Therefore, at the blast of the whistle, Okowa moved his campaign trail to Delta central, encompassing the Warri- Sapele-Ughelli axis which does not only have a preponderance of Urhobo population but was almost always going to play out as his Achilles’ heels.
And this has profusely paid off for him because today Okowa enjoys more loyalty and support in Delta Central than any other gubernatorial candidate. This seemingly deft political move has provoked many thoughts, and today the single question many political scholars and analysts are asking is: how did Okowa pull this political masterstroke?
According to many political analysts, Okowa pulled a quick one by ‘moving into the thick of the smoke’, even as the Urhobos were still reeling from the pain of losing out in the PDP primaries. That deliberate decision to engage the Urhobos in their moment of grief, and offer himself as a shoulder of succor to lean on, has won the Urhobos over and warmed Okowa to their hearts. Okowa saw a need, an opportunity in the market place and he offered the right product to satisfy this need, a top analyst with the high profile group NETWORK 4 GOOD GOVERNANCE based in warri reasoned.
And truly, that product was to come in the form of a bold commitment to the Urhobo people on how he plans to impact their land and lives and empower their people if he gets their mandate. People very close to Okowa revealed also that Urhobo leaders were able to task Okowa and extract real commitments from him, even as they tried not to arm-twist him in his greatest moment of vulnerability.
According to insiders, the Urhobos – who have been especially pained by the dereliction of the Delta Steel Company situated in their land and deeply worried by the present comatose situation of the multi-billion dollar project – decided to throw this up as one of their key agenda. And Okowa readily presented himself as someone who can use his closeness to the Presidency to get the Steel Company running again.
What is more, Okowa’s closeness to both the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Okonjo-Iweala and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele is seen as an added advantage as these people can also influence the Presidency and wake up the moribund Delta Steel Company.
In fact, people close to the PDP governorship candidate indicated that Okowa is taking the DSC project as a Key Performance Indicator. The Urhobos seem to trust him on this and believe in him, especially given the passion and conviction he has shown towards reviving the company.
The fact that the other aspirants do not have the clout to influence the Presidency means that the Urhobos will not want to bet on candidates especially those whose only pedigree is to fight with the government of the day, to the disadvantage of the Urhobo people. To this end, the Urhobo people clearly see the Okowa option as the best proposition, and hence are voting massively for him in the forthcoming elections.
Furthermore, the distinguished Senator has been able to win over the Urhobo people because of his recognition of their importance in Delta state politics. Being the fifth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, the Urhobos command a great deal of influence and affluence, and can potentially determine the swing and balance of power in the state. That people of Urhobo extraction will dominate Okowa government is not in doubt. This is simply equity, and Okowa is a lavish apostle of equity!
Okowa has also increased the stakes and standard by providing a comprehensive plan of how he plans to develop Urhobo land, as part of the blueprint and vision for Delta state which he adroitly crafted. Part of that plan involves massive infrastructural development of Urhobo land, with Sapele as the vortex of action.
The choice of Sapele as a starting point is understandable. The city used to be the hub of business in the old Mid-West Region until neglect and partisan politics consigned it into obfuscation, obscurity and obsolescence.
Okowa would want to wake up the city by rapid infrastructural development, building of a tertiary institution in the town and revival of the timber and plywood industry in the city by linking it with the state’s agricultural and non-oil development policies of Delta Beyond Oil.
Young entrepreneurs will be empowered to jump-start the lumbering industry here and drive it toward export-orientation. The Sapele – Eku – Abraka road will also be dualised by Okowa, and this will be a strong catalyst of growth for Sapele and its environs.
Added to this, Okowa is said to have promised he would link up all the towns in Okpe Kingdom, from Adagbrasa to Orerokpe, and from Aghalokpe down to Elume and up to the Atlantic Ocean with good, motorable roads. He will also build a lot of cottage industries here to tap into the huge agricultural potential of this rain forest region.
The PDP gubernatorial candidate also mentioned the Warri Industrial Park project which is an ongoing process, hinting that his administration would ensure the project is swiftly completed to accelerate the industrial growth of Warri and its environs.
Okowa is also said to have appeased the Urhobos and their neighbours with the possible conversion of the College of Education in Warri to a University of Education. Apart from this, he will continue the dualisation of the Effurun – NPA road which runs through the heart of the city. Huge compensation is expected to be paid to owners of properties to be demolished in the course of this gigantic project.
The Senator who has visited every kingdom in Urhobo land also plans to open up the eastern part of Urhobo which has been wallowing in neglect for ages. Towns like Olomu, Otokutu, Otu-Jeremi, Ekakprame and others within that axis will receive greater attention, as roads and markets will be built to increase the tempo of commercial activities. These places will be opened up vastly up to Ijaw land with modern bridges and good road network. There is also the likelihood of Okowa building a School of Nursing or Health Technology here to address the dearth of health personnel in this region of the state.
While Okowa never betrayed any desperation, his aides say the respected gentleman has been very pensive and precise with his promises, and only stuck to what he felt he could do to assuage the people’s suffering and wipe away their tears of neglect. His development plans in Urhobo land will also envelope the whole of Ughelli as well as Ethiope local governments which are all cradle of Urhobo civilization.
More schools will be built to cope with the growing number of school enrolments in this part of the state, while the government will make conscious efforts to empower the youths to engage in meaningful and profitable economic ventures. There will be training on micro-finance and investments for the youths to steer them towards SMEs and micro-economic activities.
Dr. Okowa will stick to his plan of accelerated development by also building Trunk A roads in some of these localities. The whole of Ethiope will be vastly linked by good road networks, to transverse through Ughelli local governments with connections coming from as far as Okpara Waterside and Igun to Ovu, up to Kokori through Orogun before linking towns like Agbara-Otor, Evwreni and Ughelli, up to Isoko land. It’s a massive potpourri of development that will change the entire Urhobo landscape and accelerate growth to the highest economic echelon.
Given that Okowa is a man of integrity and impeccable character who has risen above board in all his dealings, it is not surprising that the Urhobo people have trusted him and decided to support his candidature in the forthcoming elections.
Besides, since the Urhobos form the majority in the ruling PDP in the state, political pundits have reasoned that it will be suicidal to attempt to support rival parties like APC and Labour who are not only alien to the state but do not position the Urhobos in the political balance of power in Nigeria.
HON.SUNNY ONUESOKE, a former PDP gubernatorial aspirant in Delta state and country director,www.n4gg.com sent this piece from Warri
