Unless philosophers rule as kings, or those who are now called kings and princess become genuine and adequate philosophers, there would be no respite from evil for humanity Plato Of course, this is true of human civilizations where leadership and proper organization are important to move society forward. In contemporary situations, the challenge of governing and addressing the ever-increasing yearnings and aspirations of the people actually places premium on knowledge and vision for the modern state to survive. That is a major concern in a democracy, pushing the bar ever higher competitively for those who want to lead and for what possible contributions they could make in advancing the lots of the people. Without this kind of consciousness and adherence to quality leadership, society is doomed. Therefore, the philosopher king metaphor as recommended for the leadership of society above is imperative.
It is in this regard that we could justifiably evaluate the stewardship of the Bayelsa State governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson in his close to two years in office. The objective interpretation of what he has done so far is that he is visionary. He has shown courage and commitment to public good. This has influenced his policies and programmes leading to far reachingappreciation of the issues of development. Anyone who has been to Bayelsa lately must be surprised (yes surprised) at the level of development on ground compared to the situation two years ago. Before his election as governor, the state was unofficially declared a pariah state in the country because of the plethora of developmental and security challenges confronting it and the residents. But that is no more: the state’s nightmares have been converted to great vision and realities in less than 20 months.
The state’s development strategy as contained in the Restoration Agenda has been revealing especially in terms of how the issues of development have been systematically planned and executed and of course their range and time lag, in the short and long run. Under this, all the developmental needs and aspirations of the state are being given due attention they deserve. The state is now one of the most peaceful and hospitable states in Nigeria. The administration should be commended for the introduction of Operation Doo Akpo , the state’s security outfit, which has restored normalcy and tranquility to the former volatile state.
Education is undergoing a major renewal that could change the course of history in Bayelsa State in the next couple of years because of the extent of investment in providing free and qualitative education for primary and secondary students. It is a move capable of accelerating development faster than imagined in the future because education is key to development. By building model schools with boarding facilities in each local government and constituency in such quantum (400) besides the teacher training colleges, all with modern furniture and learning tools as well as teachers’ quarters, something new is happening in the state. The payment for WAEC and NECO fees for the students every year is also an incentive to study.
And then one takes note of the creativity of the state government in addressing wealth creation by diversifying the base of the state economy.We are beginning to see a modern and focused attention to overall development, harnessing local resources to establish tourism and agriculture as the backbone of the new economy in Bayelsa. This is good thinking considering the fact that oil is limited in the long run. Also when we take a cursory look at the other major and ancillary facilities in the two major areas of the new economy, particularly the deep seaport at Agee, the airport, mechanized agriculture and training, the rail line from Yenagoa to Agee and Brass, long term investment in tourism, the future of the state is fascinating. Iam really interested in what’s happening there right now because of the propensity to create so many good jobs for the people especially among the youths. This is a clear thinking on societal stability, measures that guarantee peace by absorbing people into employment thereby discouraging crime and criminality as we had in the past.
As one moves across the three senatorial districts of the state, the seriousness of the Dickson administration is firmly established going by what has been done on road construction, opening up the state for investment and economic activities. And when you’re in the state capital, Yenagoa, one comes to the reality that indeed there is a new government in town: the roads are undergoing massive reconstruction as dual carriage ways and being handled by Julius Berger. I understand a New Yenagoa City and Tourism Island are also emerging to create a fresh wave of economic possibilities. My interest really is how many jobs we can create; the attention should be on jobs and more jobs for the people to live decent life and save our society of crime and other anti-social behavior. The involvement of the private sector in the whole planning, execution and future expectation is also commendable and government must ensure nothing changes this mentality and why the establishment of the Bayelsa State Development and Investment Corporation
(BDIC) is the way forward.
Now , Bayelsa is a hub for major socio-cultural and economic activities in Nigeria: hosted the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria Pageant (MBGN), the Africa Movies Academy Awards (AMAA), the Miss Centenary Pageant, The National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFEST), the Bayelsa International Jazz Festival which Governor Dickson dedicated to the memory of the late Nelson Mandela, the Joint meeting of the South-South and South East Council of Traditional Rulers. And by next year, the state will be hosting the Africa-Caribbean Movie/Music Award in March. All these are not for the sake of it but a strategic promotion of tourism as a means of regenerating the state economy.
Similarly, the Restoration Agenda of the Dickson Administration has entrenched the culture of prudence, transparency and accountability into the system, an important re-orientation shaping institutions and conduct of governance. The waste in the old system is now being converted to fund development serving the interest of the people. Now the people are carried along in government, briefing them monthly on how much money comes into the purse of government and how it is spent. It is compulsory because it is backed by law. This will certainly enhance good governance.
As a state that used to be the hotbed for militancy, kidnapping, sea piracy and oil bunkering activities, the Countriman Governor has introduced programs that have brought an end to youth restiveness as we used to have it by organizing economic programmes through which the youths are trained to have some basic skills (capacity) locally and abroad and subsequently empowered to be self – employed. The women and the elderly are also not left out as the government has made provisions for them all and these are economic programmes which are planned to touch as many lives as possible in the entire state. The women empowerment progrmme got a boost recently when Governor Dickson gave out N15m each to the Rural Development Authorities during his Thank you and meet the people tour covering the entire state. In the other areas like power, health, judiciary and sports, the state government has also made significant progress.
Looking at the situation closely with respect to what have been achieved, there is the persuasion to believe that Bayelsa State is poised for real development and growth in the next couple of years if the government can keep pace with the extent of work already done. The government must necessarily be focused and the people should also allow it to deliver further on its Restoration Agenda by supporting it. I have no doubt in my mind that we now have a responsible and forward looking government in Bayelsa State. We can better appreciate this when we realize that despite the proceeds from the Federation Account, there are development challenges in the state. Actually, it is one state with least Federal infrastructure in the country. As a journalist who attended one of the governor’s monthly Transparency Briefings in Yenagoa, the governor did not hide his feeling when he openly called on the Federal Government to support the state in its effort to construct the Nembe Brass road, Ekeremor Agge road, among others, so as to complement the administration’s strive to move Bayelsa forward.
With the commencement of academic work in the state’s Teachers training institute, the construction of Sports Academy in the state, the completion of the state’s Tower Hotel, the building of Melford Okilo Memorial Hospital, the construction of 150 Housing Units coupled with the construction of low cost housing and the building of Airstrip along Yenagoa Amassoma Egbedi axis, one could wonder about the source of funding for all projects in the state. This is important because Bayelsa is a civil service state which gulps most of the money meant for the development of the state. For example, workers salary alone for the month of June gulped about N4 billion, yet, this is a state where a kilometer of road cost 10 times of the amount used in constructing similar road in other parts of Nigeria. This is because there are too many creeks, swamps and rivers in the state. So it takes a lot of sand filling and land reclamation processes before the actual road construction.
The state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is insignificant in comparison to the massive human and infrastructural developments going on in the state. This is so because none of the numerous oil companies drilling crude oil in the state has single office in the state. Hence, most of the money that would have accrued to the state by way of IGR g s to other states where these companies have offices. Yet, the Countriman Governor is not lagging behind in terms of providing dividends of democracy to his people.
As a visionary leader, Governor Dickson has taken some bold steps since assumption office which are changing the face of development in Bayelsa State.
Comrade Edwin Ekene Uhara is a renowned activist and public affairs commentator. He is also the National President of Young Nigerians for Change.
07065862479, 08076134054
edwinuhara@rocketmail.com
No. 29, Ben Mbamalu Crescent, Achara Layout Enugu