Okowa’s Election Good For Delta, Says Bozimo

WHAT do you have to say of the political situation in the country?
The state of the nation, as regards political activities, is relatively at peace with itself. Political tension is not on the rise, as expected, with the conduct and outcome of the presidential and governorship elections.

There is no cause for alarm; election has come and gone and at the end of it all, we would remain one country; we would not break- up.

There is too much invested in this country for Nigerians and the Nigerian institutions and to toy with our achievements. It is no mean achievement to have the biggest economy in Africa and therefore, we have too much at stake to gamble with our country’s unity.
What is your take on the elections in Delta State?

I am quite excited about the outcome of the governorship polls, because some of us believe Delta North should have a fair share, which is, the opportunity to produce the governor.

We came to that conclusion because ours is plural state. The Delta South senatorial zone has enjoyed the position; Delta Central had done so and we think it is only fair Delta North to also produce the governor.

I am a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elder in the state and therefore, I had the stake of ensuring that PDP produced the next governor, in the person of Okowa. I rooted for him and a lot of my people were on his campaign train and incidentally, his running mate, Otuaro, is our son.

We thank God that Okowa has won.

Any advice for the UPU, which was opposed to Delta North/Okowa’s emergence?
As an Urhobo man, I believe our political thinking and strategy as Urhobo people have not very impressive. Now, what have we gained from all these in-fighting all these while?

I would have thought that we would manage our numerical strength better than we have done. We cannot always get it all at all times. At times, we concede, so that we reap huge better harvest.

Urhobo people should stop destroying the UPU, which is our pride. We shouldn’t let down our founding fathers. There is this struggle in Urhobo land and we don’t seem to know where we are going.

What really would you say are Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s achievements?
So far, he has done well in the area of security. When you look at our hospitals, schools, rural roads, one may say that he has done well.

But I think his management of the transition from himself to the next governor was a bit faulty. He ought to have managed it better than he did. As a result, we had to scramble for that position and many interests groups were upset, which wasn’t necessary. He should have managed it better.

But that notwithstanding, I think he has a legacy that he should be proud of. We are still one Deltan and Delta is not an easy place and we remain in Nigeria. No doubts, he has done reasonably well and he is finishing strong.

One can see what is happening in Effurun Roundabout; what has happened in Asaba flyovers, shopping malls, etc.

He has done his best and another person, like Okowa, would continue from there.
Some critics rate him low on performance considering the amount of revenue his administration received in eight years?

As you know, it is very easy to begin to jump into conclusions. I was in government and I know that it is very easy for those outside government to condemn and conclude that government has shared so many billions.

The fact is that they do make excess expenditure on salaries, good roads, hospitals, bridges, e.t.c and on running and management of government affairs.

So, the fairest thing is to ask the man to account and I think that if tackled on that, he would give proper accounts. I don’t think that it is fair to say that huge sums of money has come and we don’t see anything from it. How can you see it when all has been spent in developing the place?

What advice for Nigerians and Deltans?
This is a crucial and critical time for this nation. We cannot gamble with the freedom that we have achieved thus far.

Nigerians need not to fear; Nigeria would not break up. We are lucky people; we are wonderful people; we are lucky nation and all would be well with us.

It is good that we know ourselves as Nigerians and be ourselves.