By kassim Afegbua

Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan could rightly be described as a cat with nine lives. Since his ascension to the coveted seat of Governor of Delta State, the man has been on the firing line for opposition politicians and political parties in the State. His greatest arch rival Great Ovedje Ogboru has not left any stone unturned in his strong determination to take over the State from Emmanuel Uduaghan.

The number of litigations Dr. Uduaghan has survived and the number of elections he has gone through makes his political successes a case study. He has shown tremendous courage in handling his political battles and he has come out from each battle unruffled. His political battles may be one of his major strength, but his capacity to deliver on his electoral promises has also placed Delta State on the front burner of developmental politics.

He may not have fulfilled all his promises in one fell swoop, but the character and content he has brought to governance in Delta State is something to cheer about.

Uduaghan’s world presents a mixture of several possibilities. The man’s political breakthroughs have become subject matter for political analysts and public commentators. Like a complex web of inter-related matrix, the man who hails from a fishing community called Abigborodo; [sounds like an erupting volcano] has put himself in the minds of Deltans by the number of projects he has been able to midwife.

I am well informed that since his days as Commissioner for Health, the idea of building General Hospital in each of the 25 Local Government Areas was consummated and as we speak, each LGA in Delta State can proudly boast of one General Hospital in its domain. As part of his initiatives to make healthcare accessible to mothers and children, there is free pre-natal and antenatal services including cesarean section for all pregnant women in the State.

There is also free medical service for children from birth to age five. This has led to decrease in infant and maternal mortality rate in the State. The endorsement accorded the State by the World Bank gives a lot of credit to these initiatives.

One unique feature of the Uduaghan administration is the offer of micro-credit scheme through the Micro-Finance Banks to peasant farmers, traders, artisans and cooperative societies. One remarkable feature of this scheme is the high level of recovery rate thus making the scheme to achieve the purpose for which it was set up.

This perhaps explains why the Governor has consistently won the Central Bank of Nigeria award from 2008 till date. Added to this incentive is the deliberate intervention the Governor has made in the area of education. Conscious of the declining standard of education in the State, nay the country, the Uduaghan administration has taken a bold step to recruit more teachers into both primary and secondary schools in the State. At the last count, over 5,000 teachers have been adequately recruited and posted to all the areas where their services are urgently needed. Again, the Governor has since made primary and secondary education free for all in the State. Examination fees for West African Examination Certificates [WAEC] and the National Examination Council [NECO] are also free for all in the State. All these are deliberate efforts the Governor has put in place in order to stimulate scholarship in the State.

Uduaghan also gives Bursary awards to all students from Delta State to the tune of twenty thousand naira only to each student. He also gives five million naira to all first class candidates from any of the universities in the world.

As part of effort to cut down on government expenses in order to save for capital projects, he slashed salaries of all his political appointees by 40% including impress account so that the true gains of governance would be felt by the people.

Way before the Federal Government contemplated the idea of pruning down on its expenditure or introducing palliatives to cushion the effect of subsidy hardship, the Delta State government had already started implementing its own palliative measures. About 700 buses were delivered and already in use in the State.

The State also imported about 150 passport boats for water transport and security. Delta State has one of the best safety records in recent time with respect to water transportation.

Of course, the functioning air transport system has also boosted socio-economic activities in the State. The Asaba Airport is fast becoming the hub for travelers to the business City of Onitsha and the South-East.

The road network system is something to cheer about too. The several roads that have been opened up by the Uduaghan administration leave no one in doubt as to the performance of this Medical Doctor turned politician. Given his background and orientation, he has attention for details.

The quality of infrastructure in Delta State and the level of development in the various sectors of the economy of the State have greatly impacted positively on the well-being and standard of living of the people. Anyone who is familiar with the geography of Delta State would agree with me that so much has been done to improve the outlook of the State and Uduaghan takes the greater share of the credit.

I have been a keen observer of the politics of Uduaghan. I can say without mincing words, that the man is an advocate of politics without bitterness. He has since accommodated some of those who earlier fought political battles with him or who on account of political party affiliation, differed with his style and carriage.

He tells you almost effortlessly that politics is all about ideas competing for space, and that one’s measure of success might be the product of how well one is able to sell those ideas to the electorates who will derive their logic from one’s ideas to either vote for you or reject you at the polls. According to him, politics is not a do or die affair, stressing that the object of political engagement is the well-being of the people. Governor Uduaghan has not been lousy about his achievements. He has done more work and less of publicity.

He believes that his achievements should speak for him and the good which the people derive from his projects should be his lasting legacy. Hear him; “if you build a road, and the people could see for themselves that you have built a road, what further publicity is more than that?

Having scaled through the final hurdle of his electoral victory by virtue of the Supreme Court verdict on Friday 2nd March, 2012, Governor Uduaghan now has ample time to sit back and plan for the rest of his tenure. He now has enormous time to fine-tune his blueprint for the overall development of the State.

There are still some villages that are yet to feel the pulse of his achievements. He must consciously engage such villages and ensure that there is equitable distribution of government patronages to all the nooks and crannies of the State. The road networks in Agbor, Boji-Boji, and Owa still require government Uduaghan’s intervention. The Asaba-Ughelli road that has been given a facelift is good news to all.

The last leg of the Uduaghan administration should be devoted to both human capital and infrastructural development. On-going projects, as many as they appear to be now, must be completed in record time and with prudence and accountability. Transparency, which has been the practice in the award and execution of contracts, should be sustained. Quality delivery of jobs using the right materials, personnel and facilities should also be sustained.

There should be no sacred cows amongst government contractors. Anyone who fails to deliver to specification should be brought to book without fear or favour. With the number of political battles which Uduaghan has fought and won, he cannot afford to fail. The whole world is watching his conduct especially now that his predecessor in office, Chief James Ibori is undergoing anti-corruption trial.

For sure, Delta State has every right to celebrate in the wake of the physical development that one could see in the state and for having a Governor who understands the dynamics of people-driven leadership, deploying his clinical expertise to make governance attractive and rewarding for the people it is meant to serve in the first place.

It may not be bed of roses for all in the State, but it will be impolitic for anyone to say that Delta State is not working. That would be an unfair assessment of the issues and factors that are presently making Delta State wear a new look.

And since Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan will not be seeking any re-election, the opportunity of this electoral victory should make him to leave lasting legacies in the minds of the people. That way, when the history of Delta State is to be documented, it will proudly be said that the man came, saw and conquered. Congratulations on your successes thus far and wishing you all the best in the years to come.