By Emmanuel Onwubiko<\/p>\n
Bayelsa state is the ancestral home of the Ijaw speaking ethnicity in
\nthe deep south and is the first spot whereby crude oil explorations in
\nNigeria began over four decades running.<\/p>\n
Bayelsa is unique in the sense that apart from the South East of Nigeria
\nwhereby the entire population speaks a common native tongue of Igbo,
\nBayelsa state is amongst the few in the country with only just a single
\nnative tongue.<\/p>\n
However, the positive advantages of Bayelsa state as clearly stated
\nabove have not in any way translated to sustainable development of the
\nstate in the areas of sustainable peace; aggressive infrastructures,
\nsecurity of lives and property and environmental sanity.<\/p>\n
Indeed Bayelsa is one of the crude oil producing states whose devastated
\necosystem and polluted environments are in urgent need of sustainable
\nfacelift.<\/p>\n
The current administration in Bayelsa headed by a former federal
\nlawmaker Mr. Henry Seriake Dickson is almost at the verge of winding up
\neven as the election to select his successor is due to take place on
\nNovember 16th of this year.<\/p>\n
The current governor is credited with making some positive strides in so
\nmany areas including the area of establishment of educational
\ninstitutions because of the claim by the governor that he is deeply
\ninterested in human capacity development. His administration is not
\nknown for attending to the much needed environmental solutions to the
\ndevastated ecosystem which has resulted in the deprivation of the right
\nto full employment for millions of fish and agricultural farmers
\ndisplaced by the activities of crude oil exploration and exploitation.
\nBut in some key economic indices such as education and healthcare,
\nobservers say he performed some feats significant enough to require a
\nsuccessor good enough to maintain and upgrade these facilities for the
\nbetterment of the good people of the state.<\/p>\n
It follows therefore that the election for who would succeed the
\noutgoing governor in Bayelsa state will certainly not be a tea party.<\/p>\n
The two dominant political parties in Nigeria namely the All
\nProgressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) have
\nalready begun strategy sessions on how the flag bearers of their parties
\nwould emerge.<\/p>\n
The political parties have also started the process of staging primary
\nelections to select from amongst their members who would run to succeed
\nthe current governor who is rated in some quarters as an above average
\nperformer.<\/p>\n
The state is known as one of the spheres of control of the People’s
\nDemocratic Party and it would seem that contestation for who picks up
\nthe ticket has intensified with many notable persons buying the
\nextremely expensive forms which goes for as much as #22 million which
\nautomatically still make Nigerian elections very expensive and indeed
\none of the most expensive elections globally.<\/p>\n
Bayelsa as a dominant crude oil producing state suffers from the twin
\nevils of environmental degradation and poverty which afflicts the
\ngreater percentage of the young population.<\/p>\n
It follows therefore that the choice of who becomes the next governor
\nneed not be business -as- usual but ought to throw up business-minded
\nand highly committed professional technocrats and not career politicians
\nif the state ever hopes to sustain the giant strides reportedly made by
\nthe outgoing governor.<\/p>\n
In the People’s Democratic Party, which is our focus in this first
\npiece, two key human rights conscious technocrats are amongst the
\nearliest to pick up nomination forms and are at the early stages of
\ncanvassing for votes of the delegates who would decide who succeeds
\nDickson.<\/p>\n
Dickson does not seem to have any preferred successor, to the best of
\nour public knowledge.<\/p>\n
However, he seems to know who should never succeed him.<\/p>\n
To him, his successor must never be a man\/woman who has no fear of God,
\nwhatever that means.<\/p>\n
The outgoing governor has therefore introduced the God factor in the
\ncalculations of who should succeed him.<\/p>\n
Well, from a purely human rights perspective, this writer has decided to
\nfocus on two of such persons who are God fearing but most importantly,
\nhave demonstrated quality leadership and the character of a philosopher
\nking.<\/p>\n
These two are Ambassador Godknows Igali and Mr. Timi Alaibe and\u00a0 of the
\ntwo; Ambassador Igali appears to be much more of a global figure because
\nof his high levels of attainments as a diplomat of the highest level and
\nfor his meritorious services to Nigeria in different capacities.<\/p>\n
He (Igali) picked up his nomination form and immediately spoke to the
\nissues of immediate human rights needs of the people which he will
\nconfront and tackle.<\/p>\n
Igali made a pledge to make Bayelsa productive when he spoke with
\njournalists shortly after obtaining his nomination and expression of
\ninterest forms at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja. Productivity
\ngoes to the roots of sustainable development and also captures the
\ndesire to ameliorate the devastation that have been unleashed on the
\nenvironment which rendered farmers and fishermen unemployed and
\nunproductive.<\/p>\n
Mr. Igali, who is former Nigeria ambassador to Scandinavian, said his
\nfocus is to create an entrepreneurial and productive society.<\/p>\n
“We are a state where almost everybody works for government or our
\ntraditional method of fishing and farming. But there is no state in this
\ncountry that has the endowment of Bayelsa.<\/p>\n
“We have about 30 per cent of oil and gas. We are going to focus a lot
\non agriculture but we will create jobs.<\/p>\n
“We will put a lot of young people into entrepreneurship and
\nproductivity. We will make Bayelsa a productive society where everybody
\nis producing something, “he said.<\/p>\n
The governorship aspirant, who is a former Permanent Secretary, Ministry
\nof Power, also pledged to build on the developmental project of the
\nincumbent, Governor Seriake Dickson.<\/p>\n
Mr. Igali said “government is a continuum” and “Dickson has done
\nappreciably well.<\/p>\n
“Nobody can reinvent the wheel. Any candidate that comes to say that I
\nam going to reinvent the wheel has not tasted governance.<\/p>\n
“Government is a continuum and you have to continue with what has been
\ndone, especially if is in the right direction.<\/p>\n
“But there is always a possibility for you to bring your experience,
\nother ideas you have to improve on things.<\/p>\n
“Experience comes in different ways: in private sector, public sector
\nand how to make money to be available for governance.”<\/p>\n
Ambassador Igali holds a Ph.D. in Political and International Studies
\nfrom University of Venezuela, Masters in International Law and Diplomacy
\nfrom University of Lagos, and B.A. (Hons) in History from University of
\nPort Harcourt.<\/p>\n
He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma from the Diplomatic Academy,
\nIslamabad, Pakistan and studied at the Foreign Service Academy, as well
\nas Bible Faith Training Centre both in Lagos.<\/p>\n
He started his working career as a Foreign Affairs Officer with the
\nFederal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in nineteen eighty-two and rose to
\nthe level of an Ambassador and has served in different parts of the
\nworld as a Diplomat where he exhibited exemplary commitment, creativity
\nand selflessness in achieving targeted goals in the Nigeria’s foreign
\npolicy objectives, so wrote a commentator with vast knowledge of the
\ndiplomat.<\/p>\n
He was Consul-General to Cameroon from nineteen ninety-nine to two
\nthousand and five, Secretary to the Bayelsa State Government between two
\nthousand and six and thousand and seven as well as Honorary
\nAdviser\/Chief Negotiator to the President on Niger Delta Matters in the
\nsame year.<\/p>\n
Ambassador Igali was also Nigerian Ambassador to Sweden between two
\nthousand and eight and two thousand and ten as well as Federal Permanent
\nSecretary, Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Power between two
\nthousand ten and two thousand and fifteen. He has Timi Alaibe to vontend
\nwith amongst others but observers believe that if the test of the
\npudding is in the eating it follows that experience being the best
\nteacher has thrown up Ambassador Igali as a very meritorious successor
\nto the current governor of Bayelsa state.<\/p>\n
On June 10, 1962, there was born in Opokuma, in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local
\nGovernment Area of the present day Bayelsa State, a boy who was destined
\nto become one of the most influential, as well as one of the most feared
\nmen of his generation. His early education began at Isoko Primary
\nSchool, Marine Beach, Apapa Lagos from 1967 to 1970 and later enrolled
\nat Christ the King School, Oromenike, Port Harcourt for his secondary
\nschool. Alaibe’s parents were of modest means who engaged in fishing and
\nfarming to make ends meet but Alaibe was not deterred by his
\ncircumstances.<\/p>\n
As captured in a prepared CV sent to me by his aide Chief Henru Ugbolue,
\nhe wrote that in the course of time, in spite of his indigent
\nenvironment, Alaibe gained admission to study Accounting at the Rivers
\nState University of Science & Technolgy, graduating with a BSc. in
\nAccounting and capped it with an MBA from Obafemi Awolowo University,
\nIle Ife.<\/p>\n
Upon completion of his Master’s degree, he joined Peat Marwick Ani
\nOgunde & Co (now KPMG) as a trainee accountant. He further served in
\nseveral top positions in the banking sector, rising to the position of
\nGeneral Manager, Corporate & Investment Banking, Societe General Bank
\nLtd in 1994.<\/p>\n
In 2001, President Obasanjo appointed Timi Alaibe to the position of
\nExecutive Director, Finance & Administration, Niger Delta Development
\nCommission (NDDC). His office was instrumental to the establishment of a
\nprudent fiscal regime that ensured the efficient management of the
\nfinancial resources of the Commission.<\/p>\n
In 2007, he became the Managing Director of NDDC and set in motion a
\ncoordinated response to the vagaries and challenges of the Niger Delta,
\nwhich led to the formation of an integrated Regional Development Master
\nPlan. The plan included key projects for the Niger Delta States
\nincluding skill acquisition and youth empowerment.<\/p>\n
Long before his foray into politics, Timi Alaibe had been known within
\npolitical circles as an effective advocate of peace within the region. A
\nchampion of non-violence in the Niger Delta, his grand master plan for
\nthe region was aborted by President Goodluck Jonathan. He was however
\nappointed the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta in 2009.
\nOn that job, he doubled as the Chairman of the Presidential Amnesty
\nProgramme. On this position, Timi Alaibe superintended the Disarmament,
\nDemobilization and Reintegration of militant agitators in the entire
\nNiger Delta who accepted the offer of amnesty from the Federal
\nGovernment. The Amnesty Programme under Alaibe led to the speedy
\nstabilization of security conditions in the oil-rich Niger Delta.<\/p>\n
Chief Timi Alaibe continues to play active roles in Bayelsa, the Niger
\nDelta and Nigeria in general. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of
\nZomay Group of Companies and sits on the boards of several companies
\nwith interests in dredging, civil engineering and offshore marine
\nlogistics.<\/p>\n
The die they say is cast.<\/p>\n
But this piece is only but the beginning of our continuous assessments
\nwhich will inevitably lead to the decision on who to endorse as the best
\nphilosopher king for Bayelsa state by Human Rights Writers.<\/p>\n
*Emmanuel Onwubiko heads HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA By Emmanuel Onwubiko Bayelsa state is the ancestral home of the Ijaw speaking ethnicity in the deep south and is the first spot whereby crude oil explorations in Nigeria began…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n(HURIWA) and
\nblogs@www.emmanuelonwubiko.com<\/a>