Each time I drive through the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, I remember the late President Muhammadu Buhari for good even though I got fed up with his government since a little over two years into his first term.
I remember him for good because I can never forget the ordeal I went through before he completed the reconstruction of that road. The frustration was unbelievable. You will see the sign indicating 25 kilometers to Lagos. You would assume that even with a heavy traffic, you would arrive at your destination in an hour.
But you might still be on the road after four hours. I once missed a very important 75th birthday celebration in Ibadan though we left Lagos by 8am. We arrived Ibadan between 5pm and 6pm when the ceremony was over. The most painful part was that we were carrying gift items to be distributed at the party. My wife couldn’t hold it. She burst into tears. She had spent days and sleepless nights preparing the gifts.
I cherish good news, though we were taught in the university that bad/odd news sells faster, but there is so much bad news now that I look forward to good and heartwarming news. It in this regard that I was jubilating earlier in the week when I read two major good news items from my state, Delta.
One, the approval of Otovwodo flyover on the East-West Road in Ughelli North Local Government Area, my place of birth, by the Delta State Governor, Elder Sheriff Oborevwori and the Delta State Executive Council. Many lives have been lost at this critical junction that links Ughelli North in Delta Central Senatorial District to Isoko North Local Government Area in Delta South Senatorial District.
Overtime accidents became rampant with increased traffic to and fro Asaba, the state capital. Deltans from at least 10 local government areas use that route to Asaba.
The federal government should have done the flyover during the reconstruction of the East West Road, but didn’t. The Delta State Government approved this flyover and another critical flyover at Uromi Junction in Agbor, headquarters of Ika South LGA.
I have been agitating for the construction of the Otovwodo flyover for many years. My hometown, Eghwu (Ewhu), is off the East-West Road, so I am forced to pass through Otovwodo junction when going to Ewhu with trepidation. Some articulated vehicles pass through the junction as if it is part of the less busy portion of the East West Road, thereby endangering the lives of other road users.
The second good news is putting a bite on the Delta State Electricity Power Sector Bill, 2024, which Governor Oborevwori signed into law some time ago. According to the Delta State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Sonny Ekedayen, “we now have a clear pathway towards providing reliable and steady electricity supply to Deltans at competitive prices.”
The commissioner further said that the state government had adopted a mini-grid model that will allow multiple independent operators to provide end-to-end electricity services in various locations across Delta State.
The Delta State Government embarked on such a project in the past but it was abandoned. One thing you must give to the current administration is that no project gets abandoned. In fact, uncompleted and abandoned projects by the past administrations have either been completed, work is going on or there are plans to complete them.
I said in a previous article that the power project is a game changer. There is currently an army of unemployed young men and women in Delta State. Some of them want to engage in useful economic activities. Stable and affordable electricity supply is just what some of them need. The other critical factor is making Delta State safer. We need improvement in security. This will naturally attract more investors and make our people go back to their farms unhindered.
I commend Gov. Oborevwori while awaiting these projects to commence. Some people would say, “why you dey thank am? Nor be im work?” Definitely. That is why he ran for the governorship. He is only doing what he was elected to do.
But in Urhobo land, when someone comes from his own farm or work, you greet him/her “doooh” which can mean welcome or you have done well. That’s all I am doing. But if I may ask, what about his predecessors who should have done some of the projects being done in the state but didn’t or abandoned them?
What about the federal government that should have constructed the Otovwodo flyover but didn’t? The second Niger Bridge was first proposed in 1958, then resurrected in 1970, but Buhari did it from 2018 to 2023! Even if you hate Buhari, you can’t deny him his flowers for the second Niger Bridge. Criticise when necessary, but also acknowledge even if you don’t want to praise people for doing jobs they applied for.
This brings me to the local government areas. During my last visit to Delta, I saw that the state government was doing a lot. Even in my Eghwu (Ewhu) Kingdom, work has gone far on the Orere bridge, although I consider the pace of work slow.
The state footprints are in many local governments, although a lot of grumbling is still going on. What are local government area chairmen doing? Your humongous monthly allocations can do a lot for our people. This is no time to put your light under the table. Showcase your activities.
You are closest to our people. Are there still pupils in your primary schools sitting on the floor? Do they study in classrooms with leaky roofs? What is the state of your primary health care facilities? Deltans’ lives matter. Can your primary health facilities provide basic services or stabilize a patient in a critical condition before being transferred to a state government hospital nearby? If not, you are failing. Local governments must complement the state government.
I have not been to a Delta State government hospital recently, but I learnt that the government is upgrading infrastructure and providing equipment. Ekedayen also said new hospital equipment will be purchased. But youths in Udu Local Government Area protested recently about the alleged neglect of their local government.
The videos of the Udu General Hospital I saw do not look good. The premises were flooded. The commissioner for health. Dr. Joseph Onaejeme, needs to look into it. I will try to visit a state government hospital the next time I am in Delta. In Lagos, the state government has gone far in terms of infrastructure and equipment for hospitals. That is where my family uses for dental related-matters. The Nigerian factor is there among the staff, but the equipment and dentists are good.
EWHU GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Let me go back to my hometown. Ewhu Grammar School is the only government secondary school in the town. There are some challenges which need to be sorted out. An ICT centre was put in place by the Nigerian Content and Development Monitoring Board.
I leant that the project was facilitated by the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, HE Ovie Omo-Agege. A few computers in the centre and all the batteries powering the inverters need attention. I urge our current senator, Okakuro Ede Dafinone’s office to sort out the matter.
To our commissioner for Secondary Education, Mrs. Rose Ezewu, the science laboratories are outdated. The old students, I learnt, volunteered to intervene, but work has stopped. Please intervene because the science students are greatly affected. Let them resume the new session with upgraded laboratories. Also, water is a problem.
The school has a borehole, and generator, but buying fuel continuously is a challenge. It needs a solar system installed to power the pumping machines and save the school money to continuously buy fuel. They also need a new water tank.
Also, some classrooms in the school do not have doors and windows while the ceilings are broken. Finally, there is a teachers’ shortage. Those posted there do not stay due to lack of accommodation for teachers. The solution is to build teachers’ quarters or post only indigenes to the school. Ewhu has the manpower. Just recruit more indigenes to teach in the school.
NB: I am not representing or writing on behalf of any constituted authority in Ewhu. I am writing as a concerned Ewhu son, sent by some other concerned Ewhu sons. I could have gone the official route, but the Ewhu people who sent me need to know that I delivered their messages.