By Francis Ewherido
I spent three weeks in Delta State recently, the first time I am staying at home this long for a while. I went for some personal matters. My short stay on each visit in the past notwithstanding, Bendel State, now Delta State, is always on my mind. As an Urhobo man, you will either relocate home at some points in your life or you will be buried in your village when you die.
Since I could not just be waiting until weekend for each of the activities that took place over three weekends, I decided to move around. I have been reading about the performance of the incumbent governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori, since he assumed office. The opinions and assessments I have been reading are discordant. My mother always advised us while growing up that “you do not use another person’s eyes to look at life. You use your own eyes.” That’s what I decided to do. I love small projects that have great impact on the lives of regular people likecapacity building, cottage hospitals, maternities in rural areas, government primary schools, good rural roads,etc. But I also love meaningful gigantic projects, not white elephant projects. My interest this time around was on the gigantic projects.
My first port of call were the flyovers at PTI junction in Effurun and DSC (Ebrumede) roundabout, all in Uvwie. The magnitude of both flyovers were beyond my expectation. They are massive projects. I am particularly interested in both flyovers because the traffic in both places can be very frustrating and hellish. I have been trapped there a few times and I did not find it funny. People have also previously been killed by moving vehicles at PTI junction. Travelers from Bayelsa State/Rivers State to Lagos and fro have lost precious hours in both places. So both flyovers are not just massive projects but solution providers, and I love projects that provide solutions.
I have heard someDeltans say the flyovers are of benefit to non-Deltans only, not Deltans. I disagree. Both flyovers are important to Deltans in Ughelli North LGA, other parts of Delta Central, Delta South and even Delta North. Before the Asaba International Airport, there was only one airport in Delta State at Osubi (it was an airstrip in Uvwie LGA) before it was relocated to Osubi inOkpe LGA. Many Deltans and non-Deltans missed their flights because of the gridlock caused by the absence of flyovers at both spots. These are legacy projects.
I also went to see the flyover at Enerhen junction. I lived in Effurun and Warri before we moved to Ekpan, also in Uvwie, so I know the place very well. Enerhen Junction was a nightmare in thosedays and still is with the traffic from Enerhen, Effurun and Warri meeting at the junction. There is a feeder road nearby which added to the madness. I once told the story about how my father abandoned his car at Udu Road and walked through some back roads (koror) to get home when we were living in Effurun in the early 80s. These are three projects have been dear to my heart and I criticized the past administrations for doing nothing about these projects. Now that Gov. Oborevwori is doing them, should I keep quiet? Not me; that’s witchcraft. He deserves his flowers. Gov. Oborevwori, take your flowers for these projects. What’s even more fascinating is the extent of work on the projects started less than 18 months ago. In the three weeks I was in Delta, each time I passed the PTI and DSC projects, there was progress.
Enerhen junction has longer history of traffic gridlock that dates back to the 70s. Uvwie LGA and Warri South LGA (Warri metropolis, to be specific) had been built up by then at that point. Only the welcome and goodbye signboards informed you that you have crossed from one local government to the other. A permanent solution should have been provided by the military, but successive military and civilian governments did not provide a permanent solution in the form of a flyover. You have to give the incumbent governor his flowers for embarking on this project. The project is a real solution provider and a game changer.
My next port of call was the Ughelli-Asaba dual carriage way. The dualisation project was started by the administration of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan. If you recall when Delta State was created in 1991, the old Delta Province was merged with Anioma, the Igbo-speaking part of Benin Province. Before then there was a single road with two lanes from Ughelli to Asaba. I know the route very well because my family lived in Ozoro, Isoko North LGA headquarters, from 1973 to 1980 and we used to travel to Ughelli regularly. When I gained admission to University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I used to travel from Warri to Nsukka through the route which was down to Onitsha. It was always risky because of reckless drivers and bad portions of the road.
The siting of the Delta State capital at Asaba meant increase in vehicular traffic, so dualising the road was a good move by the government of Uduaghan, but in my opinion, the pace of work was slow. When Dr. IfeanyiOkowa took over as governor, he continued with the road dualisation project. I thought his government would complete it, but it didn’t. When Gov. Oborevwori took over, he promised to face the project with “absolute commitment and complete it.” Much of the work has been done. My trip from Ekpan to Asaba and back was smooth when I passed through the road. The only major construction work going on was at Osisa in Delta North. That spot has always been treacherous. I heaved a sigh of relief each time after passing the spot during my four-year stay at UNN. Right now, the two bridges at Osisahave been completed, but work is ongoing to put the bridges to use. I expect that road to be ready this year. The pace of work is commendable.
Whatever my misgivings about the Uduaghan administration, I commend him for starting such a massive project like this. A 136km dual carriage road is a project very few states will dare to start. I also commend Okowa for continuing the project. But in relays, the anchor is the rallying point after breasting the tape. So the highest commendation will go to Oborevwori when the road is commissioned. For the records, not morethan two kilometres of that road is in Delta Central where the governor comes from. The other 134kms are in Delta South and Delta North.
When people grudge the governor for doing massive projects or concentrating in Delta Central, I shake my head. Ethnic politics and chauvinism are rife in Delta State like in Nigerian politics. There are mischief makers everywhere. I saw a post on the bridge linking NdokwaEast to NdokwaWestand commented on it. Someone reminded me that Okowa, not Oborevwori, initiated the project. I know that but if the anchor of a relay stumbles or drops the baton, the whole team loses out. If Oborevwori does not complete the bridge, it becomes an abandoned project and the Ndokwa Nation is back to square one in using pontoons and other boats to cross the river. Governance is a continuum, just like a relay race. Give honour to whom it is due.
Another legacy project is the road from Warri to Ode Itsekiri, the ancestral home of the Itsekiris. I can’t recall the governor who started the project, but Oborevwori has assured that he will complete it. I could not go to see the project. I was also unable to go and see Orere bridge in Ewu Kingdom where I come from because I was exhausted, but I have been getting reports from Ewu. My father was the pioneer principal of Orere Grammar School. In addition, my late maternal grandmother has roots in Orere, but I have never been there because of the river separating Ewu Town from Orere. After almost drowning at age nine, I developed a phobia for travelling by water. I was very happy when Okowa started the construction of the Orere bridge. I thank Oborevwori for his commitment to complete the project this year. The project occupies a special place in my heart.
I also took time to move around Warri, Uvwie and Asaba. I was impressed with the neatness of the roads in Warri. Some portions of the road down to the Warri Port constructed with concrete in the 70s are still in very good shape, although the surface of some portions are rough. The drainage work in Warri metropolis is massive. I could not visit the Warri Stadium under renovation because of tiredness. The only thing that depressed me in Warri was the deplorable state in which I saw Cavegina Primary School. It was an elite school in those days. It is in need of renovation.
Uvwie LGA has done a few good things, but still has a lot to do. I told a top official of the local government my observations. Having done that. I prefer to leave it there. But I was happy to see the “rehabilitated” NNPC Housing Complex Road. Motorists used to avoid it because of the robberies that often occurred between 7pm and 6am. I would have been happier if the lanes were increased to four lanes like the portion near Airport Road without putting physical barriers in the medianfor ease of crossing the road by motorists and pedestrians who live there. There is space for two additional lanes, but the signboard said “rehabilitation,” not reconstruction, so no further comments. Hopefully, the whole road will be increased to four lanes in the future. Moving around the state, I just feel that if every local government ups its game, Delta State will be transformed faster. I passed through about nine local governments. Some local governments are doing well; others are just anonymous.
Asaba City is on another level. It now looks like a real state capital. In the mid-80s before the creation of Delta State when I was passing through Asaba to Nsukka, it looked like anaveragesibling of its richer sibling, Onitsha, with many three and four storey buildings across the River Niger. When I went to Asaba in 1992 to deliver a letter to the then state governor, the late Olorogun Felix Ibru, I saw little improvements. It is a different ball game now. Some parts of Asaba now look like Ikoyi and Asokoro and more exciting government and private projects and developments are going on.
By and large, I was happier during this visit than previously visits. I saw reasonable progress, although we still have a long way to go. I saw dilapidated schools, bad roads, uninspiring court buildings and environment, widespread poverty and hunger in the land, many youngsters who want to become rich without doing legitimate jobs, a high number of youngsters who are into prostitution, internet fraudsters and stories of rituals, but I am not discouraged because a journey of a 1,000 years begins with a step.
I look forward to the signing of electricity bill into law. It will acceleration development and speed up industrialization across the state. I want us (Deltans) want to develop the agricultural sector and open rural roads. We have the capacity be self-sufficient in food production. We need to re-orientate our young population to appreciate dignity of labour and painstaking process of wealth creation, protection and sustenance, not this candle-in-the-wind kind of wealth. We need develop our tourism sector. The potentials are enormous.
We need to diversify Delta State economy and increaseour ability to earn more. To achieve this, the state government needs to work with our federal legislators to make the Warri, Sapele, Koko, Bomadi and Okwagbe ports come alive. The impact on jobs and wealth creation will be massive. Like Lagos, we should strive to be self-sustaining and be financially comfortable without going to Abuja. It is possible but we need peace to accelerate every sector. Unlike Lagos, intra-state rail lines are not a priority. It’s a project for the future. Let’s instead fix our roads and provide safe water transportation and open the rural areas. Delta State is both riverine and upland.
I added Omovudu to the governor’s name in the title of the article. Omovuduin Urhobo means a courageous child, a child with a lion heart, a child who takes a stroll where angels dread to tread. This is exemplified by the massive projects left by his predecessors which Oborevwori is completing and the new ones he embarked on. I love progress and feel happy wherever I see it in Nigeria as a diehard Nigerian. Seeing it in my state made me extra happy.
Francis Ewherido is a Niger Delta Todaycolumnist.
