By Carl Seiyaibo
This year’s February 14th occupies a unique place in the political calendar of Bayelsa State. By divine arrangement, the date coincides with Saint Valentine’s Day, a day been set aside to express love and care to individuals or groups, an attribute of the Almighty.
For Governor Douye Diri, his swearing-in in 2020 was no doubt a big smile on him by providence after he lost the election in questionable circumstances and his mandate was subsequently restored by the Supreme Court just 24 hours to the swearing-in ceremony. It was in this vein that he was aptly described as the “Miracle Governor”.
In a month’s time, Diri will be inaugurated for a second tenure, after the people of the state renewed their faith in him by having him re-elected on November 11, 2023. Recalling his inaugural address to the people of the state on February 14, 2020, he did not mince words in outlining his responsibilities and tasks ahead of him.
He hit the ground running by unfolding his vision, with a central message of governance revolving around the need for “love, unity, peace and prosperity”. He summarised by stating that his performance and developmental strides will be defined by the four pillars of peaceful co-existence. He, however, enjoined the people to think of the peace and prosperity of their brothers and sisters irrespective of political affiliations.
According to him: “Today, we have been sworn in, my advice to all is that we be magnanimous in victory and eschew all forms of bitterness and acrimony. If we kill ourselves because of politics, who are we going to lead, animals? “Today is 14th of February, a day of love. As a Valentine governor, we bring the message of love to Bayelsa State; we bring the message of prosperity to Bayelsa State”.
The governor ended his extempore speech by reading out a famous prayer by a Catholic friar, Saint Francis of Assisi, which he called “Our creed” and I quote: “Lord, make us an instrument of thy peace, where there is hatred, let us show love. Where there is injury, let us learn how to pardon. Where there is doubt, let us have faith. Where there is despair, let us have hope. Where there is darkness, let us bring light”.
It is known that since Diri assumed office, apart from the initial handful of kidnapping and other socio-political infractions, Bayelsans have enjoyed the peace, unity and love that pervade the landscape of the state. This has made him to be widely described as a man of peace. Little wonder, he has displayed uncommon dexterity and political sagacity in relationship management of his predecessors that has been devoid of the usual friction and daggers-drawn atmosphere that characterizes virtually all ties between governors, their predecessors and political benefactors. His continual maintenance of peace and harmony with all divides, earned him massive votes during his re-election bid.
When Diri took over as governor, he prioritized a stable and prosperous management of the state’s economy through a transparent, prudent and resourceful application of the state’s scarce resources.
Borrowing is contemplated in the budget to bridge financing gap and is a critical instrument for intervention in execution of projects. The outcome of such interventions transformed the lives of the people and the value of the state.
Acknowledging the negative implications of debt funds and the burden thereof, he ensures that borrowings undertaken are necessary, value laden, content fit and are within the debt sustainable ratio threshold. Diri further ensured that debt secured are not detrimental to the economy and developmental programme of the state, hence he consistently managed the debt profile in collaboration with Finance Management Team.
In the area of education, his administration has deployed huge financial resources to pull the state out of the unenviable status of the educationally-disadvantaged. Apart from embarking on massive rehabilitation of primary and higher schools across Bayelsa, the government also built one technical college in each of the eight local government areas of the state.
These technical colleges are essentially to promote education that will entrench the values of self-reliance and prosperity through the acquisition of technical skills. This is in addition to improving the infrastructure of tertiary institutions across the state, which culminated in the accreditation of several courses at the state-owned Niger Delta University, School of Nursing, College of Education and Polytechnic.
It is heart-warming that the huge investment in the education sector is yielding results, as statistics indicate that among the six states in the South-South zone, Bayelsa has the lowest number of out of-school children.
Moreover, infrastructure development has received great attention, as the governor has proven himself to be a worthy ambassador in this area. This is evidenced by the aggressive mode in which projects are being executed without making any noise about it. This singular action has averted the syndrome of abandoning projects initiated by predecessors, which is a common phenomenon in the nation’s body politic with resultant effect of impediment of development.
Shortly after his inauguration, Diri went round the state to conduct an audit on projects initiated, work in progress and other stages of construction by his predecessors. In earnest, he mobilised contractors to site, the completion of the first phase of the New Gloryland Drive which runs from the gateway at Igbogene through Onopa to Government House was one of such inherited projects. The project, which was initiated by the administration of Chief Timipre Sylva was only at its early stage of execution then. The project is critical to opening up that axis of the Yenagoa metropolis by averting the inconveniences of traffic that road users contend with in the state capital.
The outer ring-road connecting Opolo-Elebele to the Igbogene gateway, initiated by the administration of Senator Seriake Dickson and completed by the Diri administration has also reduced traffic problems and enhanced the socio-economic lives of Bayelsans.
Besides, the age-long bridge linking the ancient towns of Bassambiri-Nembe and Ogbolomabiri-Nembe, popularly called “Unity Bridge” which construction stopped years ago, has been completed. The Elebele Bridge, a major link which collapsed two years before he took over, has also been completed.
Another people-oriented project which the Diri administration will be remembered for is his resolve to link up the hinterlands of the riverine communities by roads. Thus, the continual construction of three roads in the three senatorial districts which he partly inherited from his predecessors, which include Yenagoa to Oporoma-Ukubie, the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road and the Nembe-Brass Road. These are signature projects that will not only enhance the socio-economic lives of the rural dwellers, but will also curtail the twin problems of sea piracy and rural-urban drift.
The completion of the Bayelsa International Airport which was in high debate over cost and usefulness has finally repositioned the state’s economic and transportation windows. The completion of the airport comes with a lot of benefits as well as places Bayelsa in the world map of flight operations. Diri aptly said during the inauguration flight that “This airport will take Bayelsa to the world and the world to Bayelsa”.
This is in addition to the construction of major highway from the airport to Igbedi community in Kolokuma-Opokuma Local government area, which until now was accessible only by river craft. This has changed the socio-economic lives of the people for good.
The Diri four years report card cannot be complete without reference to the huge investment made in the area of security. The administration referred to as “prosperity government” appreciates that there is a strong nexus between security and development. In this regard, he took several bold initiatives to confront the security challenges in the state.
He first inaugurated a committee to promote community policing, by recruiting young men and women who were trained in the art of intelligence gathering to work with the state-owned vigilante outfit. It was set up to complement the role of the conventional police force and other security agencies with the broad spectrum towards nipping in the bud security concerns in the state.
Also, the government embarked on demolition of illegal makeshift structures around the Tombia-Edepie round-about which until now was a notorious den for criminals and men of the underworld. Today, the area has been converted into a tourist’s delight with aesthetic beauty of light and redesigned structures. These measures have shored up the profile of the state as the most peaceful and secured state in the South-South region.
So, it is not out of place to state the obvious, that the four-year first tenure was dedicated to reconstruction and redefining the state’s development narratives. Apart from the construction of over 70 internal roads, there is no government in the history of Bayelsa that has touched the lives of the rural dwellers as much as the Diri administration has done.
This ranges from road construction, capacity building, building and rehabilitation of schools, to the empowerment of the vulnerable ones. The first tenure was captivating with clear vision of navigating the ship of the state to an anchor without betraying the confidence the people have reposed in him.
While the transition bell continues to rings for the journey of his second tenure come February 14, the 2024 Budget which has already been passed has set the tone for consolidation and determination to do more with focus on education, life transforming projects, human capital development, electricity, and many others that are critical to changing the story of under development of the state has begun.
Governor Diri is urged to redirect his infrastructural development periscope to the deployment of drones and circuit cameras for security control. Furthermore, the abandoned 18-storey tower hotel, Galleria Viewing Centre, the five-star hotels along Swali Road, the abandoned Peace Park, the abandoned shopping mall, should be looked into to avoid the resources invested become wastage.
The governor should see the importance of construction of massive drainages from Ovom to Igbogene to control rain overflows in the capital. He should pay more attention to linking the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road across the canal with minimum of five bridges to expand the infrastructural development of the state capital for accessibility and decongestion.
In summary, Diri should come up with a development plan that will stand out Bayelsa among other states comparatively and become a reference point. It could be in the area of health village, industry park, information technology hub, steady power supply, sustained fuel supply, portable water supply powered by dam, etc. This will make the state an investment destination.
There is no doubt even ardent critics of the Diri administration have conceded that the government has done well and deserves a pat on the back. As we take stock of his performance in the last four years, we look forward to brighter days in Bayelsa and for Bayelsans.
Dr. Seiyaibo, Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), wrote from Yenagoa
