Of recent, “show of force” has appeared regularly in news stories. This is because, despite the fact that we are in a democracy, the military has severally, used such to tell the civilian populace that they are around. ‘Crocodile Smile,” “Python Dance’ and others are now easily associated with the military’s “show of force.”
When Nigeria was under the yolk of military juntas, such operations were not in existence and during the crawling days of democracy, when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was in charge with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the Vice President, what Nigerians experienced were the declaration of a state of emergencies in some troubled areas.
Unfortunately, there is no state in the country that is currently in a state of emergency despite the fact that war is going on in some states. There is no doubt that Nigeria is at war, soldiers are reportedly being killed in large numbers, military hardware are getting into the hands of terrorists, the governors of such states have cried out that state of emergency be declared as a result of the killings going on; yet, the Federal Government has not seen any reason to declare state of emergency in those states,
Interestingly, less than 60 days to another general election, political activities are revving up in different parts of the country and the case of Delta State is not an exception.
Two days ago, precisely, Friday, December 4, 2019 in what one can comfortably describe as a civilian show of force, strength and relevance, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flagged off its campaigns for the general elections at the Oghara Township Stadium, Oghara, Ethiope West local government area of Delta State.
It was really a show of force because in democracy the force lies in the number of eligible voters who are supporting the candidates of a political party, the force is about the number of votes and the antecedents of the PDP in Delta State since 1999 when the current democratic dispensation was born clearly shows that Delta State is a PDP stronghold. But, that Oghara show of force was vital to show that the state remains the stronghold of the party.
Apart from the PDP members who literarily took over all available space at the Oghara Township Stadium, the cream of politicians, the presence of decision makers in Delta State politics at the ceremony was a clear signal that the PDP was ready to coast home to victory in the elections billed to hold in the months of February and March this year.
Chief James Ibori, a former Governor of the state, is reputed for wilding a lot of powers in the Nigerian political space. In Delta State, he is seen as a political idol and he was there to let his teeming followers know that he supports candidates of the PDP. He reeled out the achievements of the Delta State Governor, Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa who is seeking re-election on the platform of the party within the more than three years of his administration and scored him high, stating unequivocally that Governor Okowa has the ability, capability, integrity, intelligence, the reach, astuteness, God’s guidance to lead all the candidates of the PDP to victory in the elections.
"The re-election of Governor Okowa is our challenge. I have no question in my mind that you (Governor Okowa) have done very well, I can say that without equivocation, you have done exceedingly well. You (Governor Okowa) are competent, capable, knowledgeable and have the capacity to govern the state for another four years. You (Governor Okowa) deserve another term and I am indeed very pleased with you, your achievements."
"In your first tenure, you launched your campaign from Oghara and today, you are here to launch your campaign, it means you know your history and as the head of this political family, I declare and decree that you have all it takes to lead this battle, for all the candidates of our party to win in the election, God will continue to guide you, you have humbled yourself, God will uplift you," Chief Ibori said at the rally.
As a former Governor of the state who experienced inter-ethnic crises that rocked the oil city of Warri, he is aware of how volatile Delta State could be and with the intending show of force by the military in some states and possible fear of manipulation of the electoral process using the military, Chief Ibori, popularly described as the Odidigborigbo sent a warning signal to anybody who may hide under the guise of election to cause trouble in the state.
According to Chief Ibori, "we should allow the Anioma people to complete two terms; it is the turn of the Anioma people, don't let them deceive you. As you go into the field, be peaceful; we are peaceful people; sell your programmes to the people. But, please, please, please, in the name of God, don't come to Delta State to cause trouble. This is a democracy; you tell the people what you will do; sell your programmes to the people. Anybody that is planning anything that is bad for our state, God will not allow it.”
Knowing Chief Ibori, that warning, though, subtle, should be taken seriously by anyone who wants to cause trouble in the state. Delta is a peculiar state in the country, and one cannot forget in haste that the destruction of just one pipeline in 2015 put the Nigerian economy in comatose as the country went into recession until the pipeline was fixed. This is a democracy and people should be allowed to freely make their choices through their permanent voter's cards; the voters cards were issued simply for people to exercise their lawful rights of voting and with the way they are protecting the voters cards, there is no doubt that they also believe that their votes must count.
At that rally was the former Minister of Defence who was also, National Secretary of the PDP, Dr. Roland Oritsejafor. Dr. Orisejafor, a medical practitioner is a respected Chief of Itsekiri ethnic nationality, so, when he came out to say that Governor Okowa deserves to be re-elected to complete his two terms in office, his words, naturally, has weight as he is in a way, “a Civilian General.”
"I am here to declare that in agreement with all Deltans, the governor has done very well. Today, we are testifying that he has delivered on his promises and has done extremely well; several factors are behind him and he will be re-elected,” Dr. Orisejafor said.
Senator Patrick Osakwe is a man who can be described as a trail-blazer who during the days of Bendel State, recorded successes in the business environment as the man in charge of Flash Airlines, Flash Flamingos Football Club, Flash Pools, Evidence Motors, Evidence Farms, among several businesses before the creation of Delta State and was among the first set of Senators at the birth of democracy in 1999 which he sustained for three terms. So, throwing his weight behind the candidature of Governor Okowa and other candidates of the PDP, naturally, speaks volumes about the followership of the party in the state.
At the rally, Senator Osakwe was called to address the crowd and he simply said, the followership of the PDP in Delta State is “a mass movement.”
Another respected personality is, Senator Stella Omu, recognized in some political cycles as the Amazon of Delta State politics. Wife to General Paul Omu (rtd), former Military Governor of South-Eastern State, Nigeria.
Stella Omu was an Assistant Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service, and retired from the civil service as Controller of the Prisons Service before she joined active politics and represented the people of Delta South Senatorial District; so, she knew what she was doing when at the rally, she said, we Governor Okowa "is a master of good governance, master of road construction who has been tested and will be re-elected for us to continue to enjoy peace.”
Politics is very interesting when you have people with electoral value, people who understand what it takes to go to the polls working for you. So, at that Oghara rally, former Deputy Governors of the state, Chief Benjamin Elue and Professor Amos Utuama (SAN) came out to endorse Governor Okowa for a second term and threw their weights behind all the candidates of the PDP in the forthcoming elections.
Chief Elue said, "there has been a foundation of power rotation and good governance in Delta State. Let us go to our different units, our wards to work for PDP. I can assure you that victory is ours." And to Prof. Utuama, a legal icon, "we are here to affirm our support for the candidates of the PDP.”
Chairman of the Campaign Council, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire had set the ball rolling when they called on all Deltans to always remember that the PDP is theirs.
Naturally, the rally was an avenue for Governor Okowa to talk about his achievements within his first tenure but, one could feel the excitement in the air as the governor sang and danced, expressing joy that with the cooperation of Deltans, his administration delivered on promises made in 2015. To him, if his administration could do so much for Deltans within for years, another four years would make the state the envy of all.
Governor Okowa accompanied to the rally by his wife, Edith, said, "I thank all Deltans for the votes cast for us in 2015, together, we have crossed the very difficult times, our collective efforts have been recognized nationally and internationally, we have delivered on our promises. As we move to the next level, we will continue to grow prosperity, but, I cannot do it alone; working with you, all Deltans, we will build a stronger Delta that we will be proud of and others will emulate. What we need are cooperation and peaceful environment."
“From the Presidency to the House of Assembly, we will have to deliver all our candidates. I offer myself for debate because it is not enough for All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate to come out and say he wants to be governor and relying on thugs or run to Lagos after every election. I am going into the election, together with all Deltans and we will win in every local government area of the state. Deltans are happy; Delta State is a peaceful state; let us take the message from house to house, talk to everybody, so that before the elections, all Deltans will belong to the PDP. Tell them about what we have done, what we are doing and what we will do."
"When we said we were going to create jobs, people thought we were joking but, through the Job Creation office, we have created over 20, 000 jobs; we are organizing business fairs for beneficiaries of our entrepreneurial programmes; we have revamped technical colleges and all the courses in our Polytechnics have been accredited. Because of peace, our state has moved from number four to number one in oil production; this is the only state in the federation that has awarded contracts for the construction of more than 350 road projects; we are constructing drainages to check flood and in the course of this year, we will start drainage projects in Effurun/Warri axis of which we have made budgetary provision for to the tune of N3 Billion.
We have constructed over 4, 738 classrooms; we have awarded a contract for the renovation of the Teaching hospital. We are the first state in the country to start a health insurance scheme of which we have captured the formal sector and already enrolling the informal sector," the governor said with the people chanting his praises.
It is worthy to note that Governor Okowa has always displayed confidence that with God, the best would be achieved, so, to most of us, it was not surprising that on Wednesday, second day of January, the PDP Campaign Council had a vigil of prayers and praise singing at the Government House Chapel, Asaba to put the campaigns in the hands of God.
Governor Okowa during that vigil, said, "because we have put our God first, we have no need to be scared of going into the campaign or scared of the elections. God is leading us into the battle; we will have victory. As a people and as a party, there is no doubt that we have been working hard these three-and-a-half years to deliver democratic dividends to our people, but, it is significant that we come to the presence of God today to seek Him. It is going to be the battle of the spirits and our God will prevail; our opponents that are relying on small gods will fail. Delta State can never return back to Satan; be strong and of good courage, go into the campaign praying together, go out with one mind trusting in God our Lord and victory will be ours."
He continued, "we are not going into the campaign to cast aspersion on others, we are going there to tell the people what we have achieved and we have achieved a lot to campaign with. We should think about PDP realizing that we are one family because, once we have that in mind, we will excel. Don't be afraid because, every power is subject to the power of the Almighty God and we have God on our side; opponents will come with all sorts of rumours but, know that God is doing a lot on our behalf and we must continue to build on the gains of what the Lord is doing for us. We will need to work hard to ensure that we deliver all the candidates of our party.”
With the successful flag-off of the campaigns, Chairman of the party in the state, Barr. Kingsley Esiso presented flags to all the candidates of the party from Senatorial to House of Assembly levels.
Yesterday, the PDP Campaign train electrified Koko and Sapele with the people pledging to vote for the PDP as they have always done since 1999.
Deputy Governor of Delta State, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro on seeing the crowd, simply said at the flag off ceremony, "the time has come again for us to do it the way we have been doing since 1999."
February 16 and March 2 are deciding dates not only for Deltans, Nigerians but, the international community bearing in mind that, as a country with the largest population of blacks in the world, the outcome of the elections will certainly, reverberate all over the world.
We are watching, the world is watching, God is still on the throne.
(As published on page 10/11 of The Pointer Newspaper of today, Sunday, January 6, 2019.)
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