One Year In Office: Open Letter To Governor Sheriff Oborevwori

Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori,
The Executive Governor of Delta State,
Nigeria.

Your Excellency,

Re: Celebration Of 1 Year in Office; Inconsequentiål, Unexceptionål.

You have been in office for a year, and we have noticed your efforts to redeem the fading hopes of the people. These efforts, however, still harbour some flåws; and they have resulted in the perpetual pãins of Deltans who had hoped that this Government would give them succor. It is on this note that I write to congratulate you on your one year in office while locating the fåilings of your Government and the pressing needs of Deltans.

I wish to heartily congratulate you on your one year in office as the Governor of Delta State. We understand the physical and psychological stråiñs which accompany the demands of leadership. You have demonstrated vigour in the face of these demands, and I congratulate you heartily.

While in a congratulatory mood, it saddens me that the State is still being ravaged by godfatherism, which is the mother of cörrüption; and which is basically responsible for the political instability that characterizes the State. The politics of godfatherism has introduced mėdiōcrity into the public bureaucracy, stemming from fãülty and lõpsidėd recruitment methods which, in a normal sense, prevent a successor from leading in his own will. This cõmpėls him to remain loyal to his predecessor, obeying chains of commands and portraying other shades of slãviśh loyalty. The continued acceptance of godfatherism in Delta State poses a great thrëãt, not only to good governance, but also to the sustenance of democratic governance in your regime.

For over twenty nine years of governance, politics in Delta State Government has favoured only political elites, few party faithful, and loyalists. The common man is completely out of the picture. The State Government has been so irrëspõnsivë to its roles: no job opportunities, and even if there are, only persons in Government have access to them. There are no industries. Just disillüsiõnēd graduates and unemployed youths, loitering and riding tricycles… It takes me aback that a government can reign for this long without narratives of human and infrastructural development. It is really sãddėning.

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There are so many hörrid challenges which the common man faces, but this Government has been unapologetically indifferent to this reality. The extant issues of kïllïngs and råpė, perpetrated by the herdsmen in the State, continue to beg for attention; but this Government continues to feign ignorance of these issues. Our parents can no longer boldly go to their farms for fear of being kïdnåppėd, råpėd or kïllëd by the måråüding herdsmen. These kïllïngs and other atrocities, committed by the herdsmen, were what informed the clamouring for community policing, which ought to be funded by the State Government; and which ought to be a source of employment for the youths. Despite the cries of the affected Deltans, this Government has continued to overlook the situation.

These challenges have been wörsênëd by the astronomic costs of commodities and the unbëãrãblë costs of transportation. Considering the agonizing situation of transportation, I am usually forced to ask what really happened to the Delta State Urban Mass Transit Scheme and why your predecessor completely ignored it, knowing the prominent role which transportation plays in socioeconomic activities. There are questions, begging for answers here.

If I may ask, what are your plans to industrialize Delta State? The leaders have kept uttering the stale rhetoric of combating crimės among the youths, but they-all have turned their faces away from the fact that industrializing the State will be a huge solution. Most of the youth empowerment schemes, initiated by your predecessor, fäilėd as a lot of the starters’ packages were sold to deal with the hüngër which continues to plågue the sanity of the youths. With the State owned resources, we are fully equipped to advance our economy through practical, technologizing strategies. Also, as a rich-crude-oil-producing State, going by the activities of the Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (DESOPADEC), whose agency was created by the Enabling Act in Delta State, to secure 50% of the 13% oil derivation fund, accruing to the Delta State Government, each indigenous youth deserves a monthly stipend of N30 thousand. This, we-all know, will help curb crimëś and unemployment among them — the youths. I may not need to finger anybody for äccüsätiön, but it is an open secret that huge sums of money are regularly ëmbėzzlëd by the Commission’s leaders. Those are sums of money that would have been more than enough to assuage the päins of the hüngry and unemployed youths.

Your administration does not lack the financial and human resources to resuscitate this State, but we have continued to see the slüggišh response to challenges, the characteristic construction of substandard roads, and the trademark abandonment of projects. The recent approval and award of contracts worth N79 billion to Julius Berger Nigeria Limited for the construction of three flyover bridges and roads expansion in the Warri-Effurun megalopolis were the first of their kind in Delta State, and we are grateful for that. However, good governance is beyond road construction. We cannot construct roads without, first, constructing the lives and stomachs of hungry Deltans.

At this time of hüngėr, economic rėgrėssiön, and hõpelëssnėss, a sane government should engage its people in productive conversations with a view to alleviating their süffėrings. With due respect, it is distractive to listen to the media hypes which have accompanied your first year in office. You should not be carried away by them. The ordinary man has not been positively affected by your Government, and this underscores that expectations have not been met. Kindly, get close to the people; and be swiftly responsive to their plights. Your Government should be for the people, not against them.

Your Excellency, I believe so much in equity, fairness, and justice regardless of party affiliation, ethnicity, and economic status. Your swift intervention in the challenges and fåilings, examined above, will not only serve the cause of true democracy; but will also alleviate the süffėrings of the ordinary Deltan and revive the ailing image of the State. I anticipate an apt consideration and response to these detections and suggestions.

Thank you.
Happy Democracy Day Mr. Governor..!

Yours faithfully,

Comr. (Amb) Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen
National Coordinator,
“No Justice, No Peace Initiative”
12/06/2024.