By Henry Efe Duku
He who hawks salt ought not to invite the rain. But when Governor Ifeanyi Okowa spoke yesterday, he tested the political waters beyond normal boundaries and breached this wise admonition by the elders. But then, spoken words cannot be recalled. They are credible evidence of the contents of people’s hearts.
First, Okowa projected himself in his ill-advised speech as the Almighty God who has the sole power to determine who becomes the next Governor of Delta State. This is wholly false because even if he were a god, Deltans will never worship him. We do not allow pretenders to operate and get away with false strengths, and Okowa ought to know.
Yes, it is realistic to admit that if as a thin god, Okowa totally humiliates and conquers Delta PDP’s leaders, he could impose candidates on his party as he chooses. It is however a total misreading of the bold handwritings on all important political walls to think or suggest that somehow, he (Okowa) will select or determine who the next Governor of Delta State will be. That is just a joke, or a pipedream made possible by high fever. He ought to know that it will never ever happen.
A super ethnic irredentist will not be granted the freedom to select Delta’s next governor. Indeed, Okowa ought to know that he does not even have viable options at all on this subject matter. The permutations and democratic capacities required for ‘Delta 2023’ are far larger than him. If he does not yet know, then we may be having a situation akin to the biblical Pharaoh whose heart was hardened for God’s maximum glory.
ALSO READ: OPINION: Okowa Will Not Determine Delta’s Next Governor
It is of significance that in his false claim to political almightiness or omnipotence, Okowa emphasized that Delta’s next governor must not hate Anioma. That is not wrong. However, Okowa did not disappoint many that he deliberately did not make a similar emphasis regarding Delta South and Central Senatorial Districts.
So, we have a governor whose ‘No Hate’ rule applies only to a section of the State. A section he falsely claims as his most loved for political expediency, deception, and mischief. A man who after deceiving and receiving the votes of the people of Ndokwa, Aniocha and Oshimili areas of Anioma, has been busy and happy presiding over their abject underdevelopment and systematic rejection in the last 6 years.
Indeed, it does not take a complex analysis to conclude that for Okowa, Anioma starts and ends with his village, Owa-Alero – not even the entire Ika ethnic nationality. We shall speak to the broad wickedness of his regime to all areas in Anioma but Owa-Alero at the right time. The facts are hard and undeniable.
For Urhobos, the hate from Okowa’s regime is at its very zenith. The venomous, vengeful, and utter disdain is just palpable. So, it was unexpected that Okowa would ever say that his political ‘Don’t Hate’ rule applies to Urhobos. He disappointed nobody by speaking from the abundance of his well-known heart.
So, a good takeaway from that empty boast about selecting Delta’s next governor must be that whoever Okowa selects as his 2023 governorship candidate must be treated as Okowa’s political incarnate. That so-called candidate must carry Okowa’s heavy load of salt of bad and wicked governance and drenched by the rain he invited yesterday.
This is just testing the microphones. We are coming …
Mr. Efe Duku is the Special Adviser to the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate at Senate, National Assembly, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
