By Sunny Ikhioya

WARRI is a city with a big reputation. The vibrancy of its people can only be matched by that of Lagos: Welcoming, inviting and open to all manner of people, irrespective of race, tribe or religion.

Add the special pigin English language that is second to none in the whole world. The Warri man or woman is a confident person; he does not get easily intimidated by either circumstances or the oppressive tendencies of officialdom. To cap it all, the average Warri person is stubborn.

Because of his stubbornness, the Warri man sometimes, can convert the illegal to the legal and be ready to defend it. The beauty of Warri has been smeared by illegal erections of structures and filth, polluting the environment in the process.

That is why the bold attempt by the Delta State government to sanitise the city and adjoining metropolis must be commended.

The government recently undertook the difficult task of bringing sanity and order into Warri city and environs. So many illegal structures were pulled down and compulsory environmental sanitation exercises have become the order of the day. Warri is now wearing a new look and there is hope for a modern and repackaged Warri city in the near future.

While all of these are going on, the government appears to have ignored two significant projects that are crying for urgent action in Warri. Until these two projects are completed to satisfaction, Warri will remain a whited sepulchre, beautiful on the outside but when you dig deep, you find heart-wrenching rot. I am referring to the Essi College, located at the Moreogun, off Iyara axis of Warri, and the Obire Street, off Cemetery Road and opposite the stadium gate.

People have always wondered, what the residents of Obire Street have done wrong for successive governments to treat Obire Street with so much disdain. This fact is made more obvious by the special attention given to neighbouring streets like Ogedegbe, Sido and Iyara. Some have said it is because Obire Street is an Urhobo enclave. But we have more Itsekiris living there and are owners of houses than any other tribe. Notable Itsekiris like Chief Nelson Utieyone, Ejeye, Ereku, Omoluwa and others have properties along Obire Street. Ayo Oritsejeafor’s Word of Life Church also has a branch or preaching station in the street.

Also, if the road is neglected because it is an Urhobo enclave, why is Urhobo Road, that is in the same Daudu and stadium axis tarred?

Obire Street is a disgrace to Governor Uduaghan’s modernisation efforts in Warri and its re-construction need urgent attention. The deplorable state of the road is rather seen than imagined, it cannot be explained. It is rotten.

Ironically, Obire Street is the street that links the popular Essi College that has produced so many notable citizens of Delta and Nigeria, but which is now a carcass of its old self. The buildings are dilapidated and the roofs have caved in. No one can explain the reason for this. We have a running school, with a Principal and teachers; we have Parents/Teachers Association; we have Ex Students of Essi College, we have the notable Essi family in Warri. Why nobody has brought the deplorable condition of this school to the attention of the government is baffling.

Warri presently boasts of millenium schools: Nana College, Cavegina Primary School and many others. Why is Essi College abandoned? Do we not have education supervisors that regularly visit schools? What report have they been submitting to the Permanent Secretary and his Commissioner for Education on Essi College? Do we not have open days any more in schools where parents and teachers meet to discuss children’s performance, state of affairs of the school and how the standards can be maintained or improved upon?

Essi College, as it is presently, is a real disgrace to the effort at raising the standard of education. If they do not find it necessary to rehabilitate the structures of the schools, they should close down the school and distribute the children and teachers to other viable schools as the present situation is not conducive to learning and growth, and therefore, not fair to the children’s developmental efforts.

Again, some mischievous people are claiming that it is being neglected because Essi College bears the imprimatur of the Essi family, a popular urhobo family, as compared to the more distinguished Hussey College founded by the popuar Rewane family.

I do not think this is the basis for the deplorable state of the school; somebody, somewhere, possibly from along the rank of the Ministry of Education, to Works and to the politicians in the area such as the local councillor and local government Chairman, has simply refused to do his job. Even if we concede schools to private bodies to run, there should be minimum standards required before permission can be granted.

Essi College is an eye sore; I do not know how the teachers there have coping.

Both Obire Street and Essi College need urgent rehabilitative and reconstructive actions, they are anomalies that Governor Uduaghan must correct before leaving office. He is trying to finish strong as I can see of projects in Ugbangue and Ubeji areas; let Obire and Essi College projects be added to these.

Let us be fair to Uduaghan, the rot did not begin from his regime but amongst all of the governors that have ruled Delta State, his regime seems the most focused on cleaning up the environment, maybe, because of his health background. It is therefore incumbent on him to complete the Essi College and Obire Road projects in order not to leave behind any dent on his record.

Also, it may be possible that the Governor’s attention has not been drawn to these deplorable state of affairs. If this is so, then it is too bad and the civil servants and supervisory ministries whose duties are to bring these to the Governor’s attention should be sanctioned.

The people of Warri can be very grateful for any positive effort aimed at uplifting their living standards. Obire Street and Essi College are both at the heart of Warri; the people will therefore, be very grateful to Governor Uduaghan if he can bring these two projects to fruition. It will also remain a lasting legacy many years after his exit from government.

May the Almighty God grant Uduaghan the enablements to carry out these projects.

Mr. Sunny Ikhioya, a commentator on national issues, wrote from Lagos.