Sin is perceived as a wicked act or a misdeed or an error deliberately made to inflict pains on another person or persons. Biblically, a man’s misdeeds and conscious disobedience to the bidding of God is adjudged to be a sin. The Bible teaches that sin separates man from God. This separation, the Bible warns leads to lots of grace with its associated divine favours and blessings, culminating in spiritual death. In the physical realm, within the political sphere, the expectations of the people act as a barometer by which the administrative input of any administration can be determined. The titled head of the administration of our country is the President and that of the states, is the governor.
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Today, the head of administration of Delta State is Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa. In today’s Delta are numerous ethnic nationalities whose expectations, quests and aspirations are equally numerous and differ sharply. The needs and aspirations of the average Isoko people may not tally with those of the Urhobo, Ijaw, Ishekiri and Igbo speaking Deltans and vice versa. Almost always, there are differences of needs and wants even among same ethnic nationality, occasioned by individual social, economic and educational background. Political affiliations within an ethnic group also generate differences of needs, wants and quests even among same family background. The rich and the poor definitely cannot have same needs neither the civil servants and traders, even of the same ethnic group. The artisans and the industrialists cannot have similar expectations because of their mental waves. When therefore an administration enacts a policy or embark and execute a project, some are bound to be more positively impacted. If a law is enacted prohibiting street trading, hawkers will cry foul and scream injustice but more revenue will accrue to state and local governments through full utilization of market stalls built by the government. Stores and shop hitherto unrented would be rented and happy will be the owners of the stores. READ ALSO :VIEWPOINT: POLITICAL GLAUCOMA BY Danphidel Akpenyi
Being the Governor of Delta State is like being the coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
A Super Eagles’ coach is only seen to be good if the team keeps winning even in strenuous circumstances. Besides, most Nigerians think they know better than the coaches, always seeing errors in who was fielded and in the changes made. They think they are better football tacticians. Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has scored many economic and socials goals. First, he is making conscious and visible efforts to give Asaba city a facelift, restructuring it into a capital city that it ought to have been. There are also massive drainage project, revolutionary roads and street constructions, lighting up the streets and beautifying them with plants and flowers. He has upgraded the Asaba Airport to acceptable and admirable standard. He has courageously rehabilitated Stephen Keshi Stadium to International standard. As Asaba is being touched and decorated, so are other major cities in Delta State. Villages hitherto inaccessible are being opened up with new records. His human development policy seems unparalleled, turning thousands of our youths from being job seekers to job creators, thereby restoring hope and dignity to them.
The First Lady, through her pet project of medical outreach to the poor, provides medical facilities to the despondent indigents in the cities and villages.
The seriousness of the governor’s intention of giving Delta a new name and a new beginning is manifested with the streets in major cities of the state being swept every morning.
These are unprecedented developmental strides, unappreciated and unapplauded by some Deltans but widely noted and commended by outsiders, wishing they were Deltans, resident in Delta.
The reasoning that informed their fastidious dispensation is unfathomable. They wonder why the state has no industries of her own. They also wonder why the state has not embarked on massive employment into the civil service and why teachers have not been recruited en masse into the State Teaching Service. They condemned the clocking system. READ ALSO :FIGHTING FOR THE HONOURABLE I FOUGHT AGAINST By Danphidel Akpenyi
They queried the dismissal of people hurriedly and massively employed at the eve of the departure of the previous administration. They blamed the governor for arrears of salaries owed the local government staff. That the salaries of council worker are not generated and distributed from the governor’s table but from the federal account does not bother them. They refuse to see the recent release of 5billion as assistance but as a desperate measure to woo council workers.
They even criticized some of the constructed streets and roads on ground that they lacked economic values. Some are of the opinion that the streets tarred were the ones leading only to the houses of his political aides. That these street’s usage is not restricted to other road users is of no consequence.
To some politician, a working governor is the one who lines their pocket with money and is concern about their stomach infrastructure rather than general and even employment of the state.
Many are of the mental perception that the government should foot all their bills, build houses for them, cloth and feed them, and grant their children free education and thereafter, give them automatic employment. These, are alien to economic recession and economic meltdown, and such economic jargon holds no meaning to them. Theirs, is to procreate and government is to provide. They want to be catered for. They want to be waited upon. They want to be given and not to give. Anything contrary to this, is bad governance. The governor courted for their votes therefore, the governor must succumb to every of their whims and caprices, having expectations beyond the ordinary.
There are also many Deltans who are just rooted to their locality. They seldom travel outside their dormain. Many of these are educated but unenlightened and unexposed with their restrictive and demobilized lifestyle. These are, unfortunately, educated ignoramus. They are unaware that our economy is sorrowfully dependent on the prizes of oil and that the fall in prize is shortfall of resources for economic development. They are therefore not impressed by the developmental strides of this administration that are geared towards prosperity in adversity. They refused their mindset to be changed in order to change with the changing times. To them, as it was in the past, so should it continued to be. Technical education and acquisition of technical skills are not generally acceptable to them. Agricultural practice as propagated by the government is considered condescending by this category of persons. They condemn and cause their children and wards to resist skill acquisition programme of the state, discolouring the programme with their criticisms.
To them, flooding the State ministries with our graduates would have been more acceptable. Over-staffing and the resultant redundancy of our ministries are not given any thought. That our dear Delta State is saddled with wage bills and her bill is the highest in the federation arising from over bloated staffing holds no meaning to them.
The top echelon of political class are peopled by political heavyweights. These are politicians who are desirous of becoming the tenants of government house after Senator Ifeanyi Okowa. The pace of infrastructural development within a very short period in an unfriendly economic environment is discomforting and disconcerting to them. They see everything wrong. Pick holes where there are no holes, find faults where there are none and even cry wolf where there are no dogs.
Criticism is an essential ingredient for the growth of democracy. Criticisms devoid of destructive tendencies brings out the best in our administrators and the masses are better off for it. If our creator, God Almighty is criticized by His vulnerable creatures, what would they not do to their fellow beings in position of transient authority. When it rains all day, man complains. When it is sunny and humid, galore of complaints. Man is a complaining homo sapiens. He complains until he is demised and totally incapacitated.
It is only God that can give to all the people all their needs at the same time. Equating man with God is mischievous and wicked. Man cannot function like God even though he may strive to be like God as biblically instructed. Man cannot be everywhere like God neither does he have the awesome power of God who creates and construct by pronouncements, decrees and declarations. He says, “Let there be light and there was light.”
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is as human as you and I, he cannot function beyond his given capacity and no man can or has or will ever be. Governor Okowa’s capacity as a man, an administrator and politician has been vigorously tested. As a man graduating as a medical doctor at the record age of 22years. As a commissioner of different ministries, as the state SSG, a Senator and Governor, his attainments and achievements are glaring and eloquent. He acts and sounds like a focused man with mission, refusing to be derailed. His followers seemed strengthened by the day, by his passion, zeal, steadfastness, determination and above all, his legendary promise keeping dispositions. If he has sinned in all of what he has done, then we have sinned more for not acknowledging his contributions to his people and to Delta at large.