Tag: Otuoke

The Presidential glamour of Otuoke, a community in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, has disappeared. The condition of the roads to the community has no presidential vestige. Judging by the roads, it seems the immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan never hails from Otuoke.

The road from Azikoro Village through Otuokpoti, yearned for presidential touch, but former President Jonathan turned the other way preferring rather to jet in and out of his community on either a presidential aircraft or a chartered flight.

In fact, the road is in a terrible state of disrepair. Many portions have failed. The other access road to Jonathan’s village through Elebele axis is even worse. The potholes have become a gulf. The recent flood that affected some communities in the state further dilapidated the roads.

Surprisingly, colonial bridges, a lineal and narrow bridge constructed with steel, still dot the road to Otuoke and other communities in Ogbia. The bridges which can’t accommodate two vehicles simultaneously are death trap.

Perhaps, the only respite for the roads is the absence of heavy traffic of exotic presidential vehicles which once plied them without sympathy to their rough surfaces. The vehicles and most times long siren-blasting convoys have no longer come.

Indeed, heavyweights, politically-exposed persons and wealthy individuals who were regular visitors to Otuoke, may have forgotten the roads to the village. Otuoke is no longer attractive. It has since shed its glory with the exit of Jonathan as the President of the country. In its place has risen the town of Daura, the community of the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari in Katsina State.

Therefore, the breeze of affluence and grandeur no longer blows in Otuoke. The excitement and enthusiasm that usually enveloped the village has since ebbed. Otuoke now lives in mixed feelings of regrets, melancholy and appreciation.

It mourns the ouster of Jonathan but at the same time rejoices in its historical significance of being the first Niger Delta community to produce the President of the country. Even though it boasts of no significant achievements in terms of infrastructure and development, it derives joy from the fact that the history is indelible.

Otuoke waxes in unfulfilled expectations. Apart from the roads, which were not constructed with the influence of Jonathan, kinsmen of the former President who were awarded contracts to develop the community, abandoned the projects. The bridges were not constructed. Otuoke like many communities in Ogbia local government area has been in darkness without electricity for over two years.

So, from the entrance, one could see the difference between Otuoke when Jonathan was the President and the present condition of the community. Security is no longer tight. It used to be in the “days of the king”.

Both entrances to Otuoke were hitherto manned by soldiers, who mounted checkpoints to stop free movements of vehicles and visitors into the community. In fact, before visitors were allowed into the community, they were frisked by the soldiers. But now, the soldiers are no longer there and entering Otuoke is as easy as entering every other community.

When Jonathan was the President, there were two military Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) stationed at two strategic areas in Otuoke. One of them was placed at the entrance to the multi-million dollar Jonathan’s palatial courtyard while the other was stationed at the entrance to the hotel owned in the community by Patience, the wife of Jonathan.

But now the APCs have gone back, perhaps, to the army barracks where they came from. All the vestiges of the military have disappeared from the community.

At that time, Otuoke witnessed influx of dignitaries who either attended ceremonies to appease the President or ran different errands on the orders of Jonathan. So, the town boomed almost everyday.

The presence of such wealthy and high-profile government officials stimulated the economy of Otuoke. When ceremonies held like the periods Jonathan buried his relations and gave out his daughter’s hand in marriage, Otuoke was electrified. Residents made brisk businesses.

Many people relocated from Yenagoa, the state capital, to Otuoke to open business ventures. New businesses such as boutiques, restaurants, hotels and pubs flourished.

But after Jonathan’s administration, the big men no longer come to Otuoke. Ceremonies are scarce and many businesses have closed shop. Some have relocated their ventures back to Yenagoa and other cities. Hotels are lacking patronage.

“Things have really changed in Otuoke. We are missing the years we ruled this country. We have lost all our privileges”, a resident who identified himself as Joseph said.

“If you ever visited Otuoke when Jonathan was the President, you can see the difference now. Everywhere is dry. Those big men who used to come are not coming again. Our community is no longer important”, he said.

A lady, Franca, who closed her restaurant said she was no longer making profit. “Things were different when Jonathan was the President. But since he left, his community is now very boring. I am no longer making profit because the attractions that brought me here are no longer there”, she said.

One of the kinsmen of the President, Ricki, said they missed the days of Jonathan’s Presidency. He said the negative impact of Jonathan’s exit on Otuoke would be greatly felt during the Yuletide.

He said: “People achieved a lot in the community during Jonathan’s Presidency. Each Yuletide was a real celebration because gift items were flying from one place to another. Each home had bags of rice not only in Otuoke but in the entire Ogbia.

“In Yuletide, food items have never been a problem to us. But it is difficult now. We can’t see a half bag of rice. Jonathan and his men were feeding many people, but these people are now are hungry.

“We can’t even buy anything because of the cost of things. It is now a mess. Everything has changed. He no longer comes home because they are chasing him upon and down. We miss the President and all the good things coming to us”.

He said Otuoke would never be the same with the exit of Jonathan. He confirmed that businesses were in low ebb adding that many of them had closed shop. He said hotels were the worst hit as they lacked patronage.

“Nothing is happening now. It is like a stagnant water. Nothing is happening. The projects awarded are no longer working. Contractors have abandoned sites because they have not been mobilised.

“Each time our son visited population of wealthy people used to follow him, but everything has changed in Otuoke and other places. Most of the hotels are empty”, he said.

Perhaps, one of the abandoned projects that shows the ephemeral nature of power is helipad, which was under construction was being prepared for the landing needs of Jonathan in the community. But since his exit, the helipad had been abandoned with the project site covered by vegetation and trees.

But Otuoke will remain grateful to Jonathan for siting a federal university, the Federal University, Otuoke, in the community. The community also has a well-equipped cottage hospital operated by the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.