Innocent Ojefia Blog

One of the ironical features of general elections in Nigeria is the tendency to encapsulate the fate of the nation in the post of President. In this election year, a talking point is about the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] being in control of the centre since the return to civil rule in mid-1999 – with the attendant realistic and unrealistic expectations. Perhaps, understandably so; but it will bear repetition to draw attention to the real fact that the administration of the States of the Federation largely determines the lot of the people. No Nigerian is a federal indigene, but each of us has a State of origin. And yet, the unwary voters will quietly cast their ballots for good and poor performers alike – while looking up to the central government to literally solve all their problems. So, what have the State Governors been doing? Interestingly, Nigerian States are run mostly by two political parties – the PDP and APC. For the purposes of clarity and equity, the critical area...

“The 2015 Presidential election is still difficult to call, but the expectation of a narrow Jonathan win predicated on several factors are now losing some saliency late in the campaign. Chief among them is the incumbency and financial advantages of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) . While this still helps Jonathan, its impact is blunted by the intensity of support for Buhari, lackluster grassroots campaigning by the PDP, and new anti-rigging measures by the electoral commission. New permanent voting cards and card readers will sharply reduce the level of rigging seen in 2011, when Jonathan beat Buhari in a landslide … While it was expected that the electoral map should favour Jonathan, current trends suggest that the swing regions may side with Buhari, including the heavily-populated southwest around Lagos. That could be the decisive demographic factor in the election … Despite some important military gains against [the Islamic terror group] Boko Haram   in the ...

There is no gainsaying that the development of any State/country or its backwardness is tied to the quality of leadership. Pundits even predict the estimated level of development with the leadership as a yardstick. Therefore, Delta State, one of Nigeria's fastest growing economies cannot afford to handover the State at this period to a man without the technical know-how of the public sector which is the main stay of any viable modern economy. When the people of the State are hollering for such economic and social change, The world economic crisis according to the United Nation is caused by indecorous planning and research by leaders of countries. To have a successful and sustainable development, there should be a passable forecasting at least focusing on the economy for the next ten to twenty five years. The only candidate with this brain, this aptitude and job exposure is Senator Ifeanyi Okowa for the Delta State assignment. At this critical period where developed countri...

The Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan is on course to commissioning the flyover bridges in Asaba and Effurun. This follows the renewed commitment by the State government to actualize its ‘finishing strong’ mantra. And for those who think Governor Uduaghan may not be able to finish the two gigantic flyover bridges being built by his administration in Asaba and Effurun, they will need to have a rethink. Reason! March 2015 is said to be the deadline for the two gigantic flyover bridges, which are currently undergoing heavy construction work. The State Works Commissioner, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon, said the State government is doing everything possible to ‘finish strong’ in the area of infrastructural development, which includes building of roads and bridges. Funkekeme, whose Ministry supervises every civil work in the State, including the ones done by other ministries, said that government was keen about its urban and rural road transportation system for ea...

One female student lost her life after a failed overtake attempt led to a deadly collision along the along the Abraka-Urhouvie road, Abraka. A student has died in an accident that occurred near   Double Delight Eatery   along the   Abraka-Urhouvie   road, Abraka,   Delta   state at the weekend. It was gathered that the student was killed when a Toyota Hilux van rammed into a commercial bus before the overhead bridge in Abraka. The student reportedly died on the spot while the other four passengers and the driver in the bus sustained injuries. One of the victims said   that the driver of the Toyota Hilux caused the accident after his attempt to overtake failed. After the Double Delight Fast Food, a Toyota Hilux was coming from the opposite direction, I noticed he was about overtaking a Jeep, but there was not enough space for the Hilux to balance itself so it was unable to return because the Jeep was on high speed, and there was no space fo...

Humility is defined as the quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance. Words that are considered synonymous include humbleness, meekness, diffidence and unassertiveness. We are well aware of the perils of hubris, we are taught from an early age that pride comes before a fall, but is there not an inherent tension, or indeed contradiction, between being truly humble and being a leader? How does humility square up with leadership? Is there a place for humility in the practice of leadership? And can a truly effective leader be truly humble? Too many people remain enamoured by the view that leadership is really about control, but in fact great leaders demonstrate again and again their humility by influencing, inspiring loyalty and providing support. They do so however from positions that are not necessarily to the fore. In fact they lead from behind, putting others in front especially when there are things to be celebrated and then only coming to the fore when there a...

The Africa Magic Viewers Choice Award nominees cocktail party which precedes the award proper with a day, held last night, and almost everyone you know in Nollywood showed up looking dapper… See more photos: