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By Jackson Ekwugum
Conventional wisdom teaches us that it is better to under promise and
over deliver, rather than over promise and under deliver, especially
in the world of business and politics. With the former, you earn the
reputation of a promise keeper, which leads to higher credibility
ratings. On the contrary, to over promise and under deliver is to
court disrespect, distrust, and disrepute.
Mounting the saddle as the fourth civilian Governor of Delta State on
May 29, 2015, in an economic environment of anxiety and uncertainty
occasioned by the slump in the global price of oil and a massive debt
overhang of N600billion, it seemed Ifeanyi Okowa might have fallen
into the latter category with his prosperity for all Deltans mantra.
There were whispers that he needed to quickly walk back on some of his
electoral promises and cleverly lower the expectations of the people.
It was the politically expedient thing to do, and the average
politician sees such double speak as part of the game of politics.
But Okowa is not your average politician. And politics for him is not
a game, as treacherous and tempestuous as it may be. For him, politics
is the serious business of winning the mandate of the people through
an electoral contest with the sole purpose of meeting their needs and
expectations. His political philosophy is driven by conviction, not
convenience, commitment, not compromise. Unbowed by the doomsday
predictions, Okowa pressed ahead with his S.M.A.R.T agenda with the
patience, dedication, and compassion of a family physician. Not even
the economic recession would stop him from keeping faith with the
electorate.
That is the essential Okowa. Unassuming, yet unafraid, unpretentious,
yet unflinching and humble, yet tough. His next moves were swift and
decisive. To eliminate the deficit and restore the health of public
finances, he embarked on cost cutting measures to cut waste and plug
leakages and insisted that expenditure must be within revenue limits.
In his inaugural budget speech, he told the House of Assembly: “The
(2016) budget is admittedly tight but it is consistent with our vision
for maintaining strict fiscal discipline. The health of our public
finances is crucial to good governance, inspiring hope and confidence,
attracting investors and ensuring the sustainable development of our
economy as a whole. Therefore, we will continue to observe the basic
principles of prudent management of public finances, strict adherence
to due process and keep expenditure within revenue limits, because
every expenditure will be paid for.”
It was no longer business as usual. And it would have been foolhardy
not to expect resentment of this new policy direction, especially from
those who were feeding fat from the old order. There were grumblings
but Okowa stayed the course. His Delta State Medium Term Development
Plan (2016-2019) outlined the blueprint for revitalising the economy,
ensuring strict fiscal discipline, creating wealth and employment,
fostering self-reliance and building a knowledge-based economy. More
significantly, the plan prioritised programmes and the funding of
on-going projects/programmes based strictly on their socio-economic
value.
In seven years, the state has reaped quantum benefits from Okowa’s
prudential guidelines. Through the various streams of skills training
and entrepreneurship development programmes, a radical departure from
the previous practice of one-off cash empowerment, the administration
is unlocking – and unleashing – youth entrepreneurship. So far, the
administration has trained and resourced almost 150, 000 persons to
start their own businesses. The impact of these programmes is already
being felt with hundreds of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(MSMEs) dotting the business landscape in the state, leading to wealth
the people.
Very importantly, youths are no longer fixated on civil service or oil
industry jobs. Instead, they are now looking beyond their academic
certificates for employment and livelihoods, as owners and managers of
skill-based enterprises. Statistics from the National Bureau of
Statistics (NBS) show that there was accelerated growth of the
services sector in Delta State. It jumped from the average annual rate
of 8.9 percent (2013-2015) to annual average rate of 13.2 percent
(2015-2017). In the same vein, the agricultural sector interventions
such as the Production and Processing Support Programme (PPSP)
resulted in agricultural growth from annual average of 8.6 percent
(2013-2015) to annual average of 13.3 percent (2015-2017). Judging by
the trend, Delta is on its way to becoming the hub for MSMEs in the
country.
Also, Delta was ranked the Best State in Human Capital Development in
the 2017 states peer review by the National Competitiveness Council of
Nigeria. In 2020, Delta was adjudged to be the Second Least Poor
State, coming only after Lagos, according to the NBS. This achievement
is better appreciated when juxtaposed with the fact that the state was
the 12th poorest state in Nigeria in 2010 in the NBS ranking.
In the infrastructure space, Okowa is nicknamed Roadmaster. With over
1800km of roads and 977.84km of drains, urban centres and rural
communities are experiencing growth and renewal. The many road
projects in the riverine areas underscores his commitment to road
infrastructure of the most vital interest and consequence. What makes
these projects unique is the difficult terrain in which they are
located.
For instance, the 20.28km Obotobo 1- Obotobo 11 – Sokebolou – Yokri
Road is located right beside the Atlantic Ocean. Depending on the
number and sizes of hydraulic structures, the terrain, the nature of
underlying materials, as well as the peculiar challenge of
accessibility to men and materials, it could cost seven times more to
construct a kilometre of road in riverine areas than it is in the
upland areas.
Delta is the first state to commence universal health coverage with
the establishment of the Delta State Contributory Health Commission in
February 2016. There are currently over one million enrollees under
the scheme, the highest in the country, while 510 healthcare
facilities are accredited to provide service.
The administration is advancing technical and vocational education in
line with the new policy emphasis on skills acquisition. The existing
six technical colleges were rehabilitated and equipped with
state-of-the-art equipment while nine new ones are currently at
different stages of completion. The goal is to equip the youth with
the knowledge and skills to function as job and wealth creators, in
addition to possessing employability skills.
In the tertiary education sector, three institutions were upgraded to
universities in 2021, to broaden access to university education for
bright students, who, due to limited space, are unable to gain
admission into the existing federal and state public universities,
especially in the fields of Medicine, Engineering, Law, ICT and
Architecture. They are the University of Delta (former College of
Education), Agbor, Delta State University of Science and Technology
(former Delta State Polytechnic), Ozoro and Dennis Osadebey University
(former Anwai Campus of Delta State University), Anwai, Asaba. They
have since commenced academic sessions.
Among the flagship projects of Governor Okowa are the Prof. Chike
Edozien Secretariat, Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba Film Village and
Leisure Park, Asaba Storm Water Drainage and Warri Storm Water
Drainage. Asaba has shed off its rustic look and is now looking every
inch a capital city; in fact, it is currently one of the fastest
growing cities in the country, thanks to the Delta State Capital
Territory Development Agency, which Okowa set up within one week of
assuming office in 2015.
That Okowa continues to cross new frontiers in governance and service
delivery despite the massive disruptions caused by two economic
recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic is a testament to visionary
leadership, administrative acumen and seamless execution. Leadership
experts tell us that five elements must be present for an organisation
or government to succeed. They are strategy, structure, systems,
skills and culture. If they need empirical evidence of this theory,
they need not look any further Okowa is the perfect case study, the
symbol of a masterclass in leadership and governance.
*Ekwugum is Communication Manager to Okowa.
