David Edevbie and Sheriff Oborevwori

By Emuesiri Ofotokun

Unlike any other time in human history, contemporary challenges: economic, socio-political, and technological, require that those seeking leadership positions must possess a complex array of skill sets necessary to harness solutions that globalisation and local knowledge offer. The possession of these skillsets is primarily a function of the right kind of education reinforced by the acquisition of requisite experience. Sadly, for about seven years, Nigerians are unwilling guinea pigs in the experiment that led to the election of National leaders devoid of the nous, in educational and practical terms, to steer our dear Nation towards the path of development. The consequences have been acute poverty, unemployment, and insecurity.

As we approach another election cycle, the attributes canvassed above have direct implications for the fortunes of Delta State. Delta State has many latent potentials: hydrocarbon, maritime, agriculture, and tourism, to become the Dubai of the Federation. However,   economic growth in Delta has been stunted largely because political leadership capable of thinking globally is lacking. In recent times, policy formulations and economic horizons have been restricted to the boundaries of State and National projections. An immediate consequence is that we have metamorphosed into a subsistence economy that is solely reliant on revenue from the Federation Account. All attempts to grow the economy of the state have practically been abandoned. A culture of wanton borrowing is the order of the day.

In this age of globalised economic interconnectedness where growth and development are dependent on a leader’s profound understanding of global trends, Delta State needs a governor who understands these global tendencies – based on education and requisite experience – and how to exploit them to the advantage of Deltans. This is the surest way of enacting policies that will attract badly needed direct foreign investment, create employment, guarantee economic growth, and ensure the social security of traumatized serving and retired public servants. In addition to the foregoing, the next governor of the Delta State should also have profound knowledge of the complex dynamics of local and national politics, and its intricate geopolitics.

In the past weeks, Delta’s political terrain has been awash with endorsements and counter endorsements – within the PDP – of the candidacies of David Edevbie and Sheriff Oborevwori. Both camps have proffered reasons why their preferred candidate should be considered for a plum job. Sadly, many reckless comments have been made in the course of these exchanges. It is indeed sad to observe that the venerable pedestal of the UPU; the foremost Urhobo socio-cultural organization that has been at the forefront of confronting existential threats to the Urhobo people and continues to provide the umbrella platform for the projection of our identity have been impugned for selfish reasons. The propriety of the recent and past endorsements by the UPU of Urhobos seeking political offices is based on solid historical antecedents. Recent instances of similar endorsements by other socio-cultural associations abound. For instance, Afenifere, the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, was actively involved in the politics of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD). She also endorsed Chief Olu Falae in 1998 as her preferred presidential candidate. The Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Ijaw National Congress (INC), have also openly endorsed the candidacy of President Mohamadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, Goodluck Jonathan, and Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu of blessed memory at various times.

Arising from the pivotal roles that the quality education and requisite experience play in contemporary governance, these factors should be key determinants – in the light of the skillsets germane to governance in a complex, globalised world – the choice between the candidacies of David Edevbie and Sheriff Oborevwori should primarily a question of the scrutiny their academic background, pedigree, and experience.

 Oborevwori’s educational timelines are unusual. It is curious to observe that he waited twenty-two years to obtain his WAEC certificate at Oghareki Secondary School in 1999 at the age of thirty-six. Considering the significant time difference between his Primary School Leaving Certificate and other qualifications, the tangible impression is that his later certificates – beginning with WAEC – were afterthoughts; unplanned and ‘acquired’ to meet ad hoc exigencies. Consequently, he did not exert personal effort in acquiring his post-Primary School certificates and degrees. One has to be extremely inventive to rationalize how he was able to extricate himself from the numerous heady pleasures that his role as works supervisory councilor and Osubi Community chairman (1996 – 2003) to personally study for WAEC exams. For the same reason, the extent of his personal academic contributions towards the acquisition of a BSc and an MSc, when he was a special assistant (2003 -2006) and special adviser (2007-2010) is under scrutiny. Furthermore, the multiplicity of names – up to six – in his academic certificates provide additional evidence that they are facile, of insignificant mental value to the bearer, and  acquired  with the aid of mercenaries. The dodgy nature of his certificates was confirmed by the hard time Oborevwori had getting provisional clearance from the screening committee in Rivers State. In fact, he was screened with his PSLC and WAEC after jettisoning his BSc and MSc. 

 Additionally, Oborevwori’s pedigree does not cast him in the mould of someone Deltans can entrust with the complex challenges that governance entails. For too long, sociological forces, more brutish than cerebral, shaped his mindset. This is especially true of the years after the attainment of his Primary School Leaving Certificate and his acquisition of WAEC at the age of thirty-six. In a recent interview with the Vanguard,  Loyibo’s use of the phrase ‘motor park Venture Business’,  an attempt at euphemism, describes Oborevwori’s antecedents and provides a clue to why Sheriff is unfit to be Governor. All his legislative actions, as speaker for the past seven years, betray a profound ignorance of the core business of governance. They embody the reckless financial mindset that Delta does not need. His instinctive and casual approval of the Executive’s request to borrow 240 billion within three months, without pretense at debates, is troubling. His claim to street credibility represents everything negative. It is a potent mix of the Tony Kabaka and Lamidi Adedibu kind of street credibility. It is crude. It is uncouth. We do not want a Salisu Buhari in government house.

Emuesiri Ofotokun

Warri