When Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa was sworn in as the governor of Delta State for the first tenure in 2015, most of his detractors heaved a sigh of relief, believing that whatever was propelling his success in wherever he found himself had been abated by the daunting challenges confronting him as the governor of the state owing to the gloomy economic meltdown, ravaging not only the state and the country, but the entire globe.
They clinched glasses filled with wine to the brim, believing fervently that he would cave in under the load of paucity of funds and inability to keep to his campaign promises to the people of the state; they were cork shore that the people he promised prosperity would hate him as he would not be able to raise a bar in the standard of living of the people in the state.
However, Okowa in his inaugural address on May 29, 2015 had sounded the Biblical admonition for Deltans to have faith in the situation that, if one does not succumb to fatigue and hopelessly, one would always have brighter days ahead
!He acknowledged the daunting situation and urged for cooperation with the populace in the gruesome task of forging ahead by throwing open his five prong thrust of his administration in the SMART agenda.
The agenda does not need any explanation here as it has become a household sing song among Deltans as a determination to positively transform the socioeconomic and political landscape of the state through astute management of the available scarce resources in the state; an elaborately laid down work plan to continue to create wealth and raise the standard of living of the people in the state and making the people happy at all times.
Six years down the lane, Governor Okowa has showcased rare managerial astuteness in the governance of the state amidst daunting obstacles, including the recurring COVID-19 Pandemic with its ever shifting variants that have been threatening the very foundation of humanity. He has been resolute in his keeping to his social contract to the people.
Apart from curbing unemployment through the various youth empowerment programmes, Agricultural rejuvenation to ensure food security, human capital development, urban renewal, massive construction and renovation of roads and bridges that has earned him the sobriquet, “The Road Master” and other developmental milestones of his administration that have etched him a place in the heart of Deltans and residents in the state, Governor Okowa has scored the bull’s eye in initiating, building, completing and inaugurating a one stop central secretariat in the state capital for the workforce in the state.
Inaugurating the magnificent multi billion naira edifice in Asaba, the Vice President of the country, Professor Yemi Osinbajo SAN, testified that ” Okowa is a man of few words and multiple actions. He is a blessing to Delta State and that is why, irrespective of our political party leanings, I am always eager to celebrate his success. We need more men like him in governance.”
That testimonial from Mr. Vice President Osinbajo is a reverberating acknowledgement of Governor Okowa’s quintessential ability to turn things around in the face of Herculean realities, a kind of the mysterious turning anything he touched to gold by Midas in the Greek Mythology. It is an awesome mystery that many are suggesting should be introduced as a course of study from the elementary through the secondary to the tertiary institutions of learning to serve as a road map for good governance in the country.
As we all bask in the joy of having Governor Okowa as the man with the Midas touch as a Deltan, it is expected that he be given the needed support to finish the arduous race of transforming Delta State stronger in 2023 than he met it in 2015.
