‘DELTA PEOPLE SHOULD DECIDE WHO GOVERNS THEM’ Written by EMMANUEL NWAGBONIWE Chief Peter Olisaeloka Okocha, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Delta State is an accomplished industrialist and philanthropist. The PDP chieftain who is also seeking to contest for the state’s governorship seat next year spoke with EMMANUEL NWAGBONIWE on his vision for Delta. OKOCHA has been unrelenting in his quest to govern Delta State and he give reasons why he has this burning desire which interesting is not borne out of selfishness, but rather from the desire to give back to the state who he said in the past offered him the opportunity to become whatever he is today. “My desire to govern Delta state is borne out of the passion to give back to my state which has given me so much in terms of the opportunities that aided me to attain the modest height I have reached. I must confess that as a young man who started life in a vacuum having inherited nothing in material terms from my parents, but who enjoyed government scholarship in secondary school, and who today, has so much to be grateful to god for, it therefore behooves on me to use my wealth of experience, resources and energies to help lift that society to an enviable level through putting myself forward for service.” “By service, I don’t just mean creating jobs like I have done to about 1000 people working in my various companies or offering scholarship through my Foundation, P. Okocha Foundation (POF), but extending a hand of support and followership by making the generality of our people actualize their God given talents and potential beyond their imaginations. This will be achieved through creating a conducive and peaceful environment for mutual co-existence and putting inevitable structure and system for value-added life.” “ My overall vision is to make Delta State a more hospitable and conducive environment that our children and future generations will be proud of and not one where they will feel that they don’t have a stake because it represents backwardness, decay and deprivation. Okocha like a man set to hit the ground running says: “I intend if given the mandate, to achieve the vision of making Delta State first among equals by first pursuing through well articulated polices, projects and programmes; in additions to updating existing physical infrastructures, and embark on creative participatory community-driven development. These would institute the process for greater self-confidence, community progress, enhance employment and productivity and eliminate the anti-social stigma of idleness and criminally especially in our restive youths.” “The strategic priorities of the government that I shall lead, God willing, should centre on employment generation and wealth creation; education and social services; security of lives and property, good governance and war against corruption through better fiscal discipline and management, strategic partnership with the private sector to boost real sector growth of the state economy, among others.” On his take on the need for power shift to Delta North, Okocha declares: “Frankly, l believe first and foremost, on the quality of leadership. I think we should always emphasise the best for the state. Let those who have the ability to lead the state come forward. It should be our priority to get the best hands for the development of the state. However, I believe that in the spirit of equity, fairness, justice, Delta North has all it takes to produce a governor for the state in 2015 . I always laugh when some mischief-makers say people from Delta North should not aspire to be governor because we have Asaba as the state capital. It is the height of mischief to say that, because some people are born into an area they never chose to be born into, therefore they should not aspire to be leaders in such a state.” “And moreover, if as some say, providence or good luck smiled on Delta Central and South to produce the past and present governors of the state respectively, then let that same providence or good luck smile on Delta North to produce the governor in 2015. I believe we are all children of God and must all know that we are accountable to Him and cannot continue to behave as if He has no say in what we do. Let us begin to live as brothers despite our diverse nature. What Delta needs is a leader who will make them more fulfilled, and I feel Delta North is poised to make a huge difference in terms of quality governance.” On whether he is jittery over the unending number of governorship aspirants particularly from Delta North, the 62-year- old Okocha states that, “Infact, that we have many aspirants from Delta North is healthy for democracy. The large number of aspirants from Delta North zone shows that we have a reservoir of very competent, qualified and experienced manpower or personnel who can pilot the state affairs creditably. We are only telling the world that in our land, we have very intelligent, knowledgeable and capable men and women. It is all in the spirit of participatory democracy. However, I am not carried away by the boisterous nature of many of the aspirants, because our choice is going to be primarily through the collegiate system where only few key institutions and party leaders will have the final say. “I don’t feel that going around and getting questionable endorsements from all manners of obscure groups or individuals makes one the aspirant to beat. I believe in playing to the rules of the game and since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not lifted the ban on campaigns, I feel it is not time to flood the place with banners and posters, when the time comes, we will do the right thing. “But finally, I feel I have lot of edge over other aspirants, I have been an industrialist all my life and I think that Delta State needs someone with a business mind to move the state forward in tune with the challenges of the 21st century. What I see in other aspirants is the same curriculum vitae of ex-council chairman, commissioner or ex-this-ex-that, all in government service. We need to move away for such stereotype and embrace a new thinking which entails putting those who understand true governance in an ever competitive world. “I have learnt how to manage resources and men with investments in nearly all the sectors of the economy; I have been successful in my business life and this wealth of experience l intend to bring to bear in the running of Delta State. This business and human management acumen which is essential in modern governance, I know many of the aspirants lack.” Commenting on the alleged endorsement of some aspirants by some prominent leaders in the state, Okocha waves the allegation off, restating that endorsement is a human and natural thing to do by anyone. He further adds “endorsement simply means that someone is showing a preference for someone, it does not mean automatic choice or victory. For example, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has made it categorically clear that he has not endorsed any aspirant but that contenders should go out to sell their candidacy and say what they intend to do possibly better than others. The governor’s position is clear and anybody peddling rumors that some government official or that officers have endorsed aspirant A or B is living in folly. Like I have always said, the primaries which will produce the candidate will be through the collegiate system and only a few bodies will be involved in the selection process.” Continuing he says, “You equally know that politicians have a way of seeking relevance through many antics. By flying such endorsement kite, many chicken hearted aspirants will beat a retreat. Like I always say, I am not in anyway perturbed by the allegation of endorsement. “But on a more serious note, like I told the Izu Annoma and the Annoma Congress at the meeting with aspirants from Delta North, I don’t want Delta North to become a victim of imposition. While I am not saying it must be Eloka Okocha at all cost, however, what I don’t want is for any group or individual outside Delta North to dictate the people whom they want as governor from the area. It will amount to modern slavery for anybody to impose any candidate on the Amirna people just because they believe they have the right to do so. It is true that the Delta Central and South chose their governorship candidates, we in Delta North did not dictate to them, hence we must have a level playing field to choose our candidate in the spirit of fairness, equity and justice.” The astute business man in his usual frank nature believes that the road to clinching the party’s ticket may not be totally smooth, he however expresses the hope that at the end of the day, he will triumph. “There is bound to be opposition even among your people, but I think I have been in this race since 2003 and I understand the terrain better. I have been involved in building bridges across the ethnic divides in the state. I have come to appreciate one fact. The people need a sincere leader who will better their lives and once they are convinced you can fill that yawning gap they will support you. I am still moving round and meeting all those that I feel will make the difference. I have no fear since I have the conviction that I am prepared to make a difference in governance; we need visionary leadership and I feel we can get to that helpful if we carry the people along.”
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:19:46 +0000
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