NO question, Great Ovedje Ogboru will easily fall within the pantheon of Delta state’s political icons. This venerated stature remains something of a mystery. For one, Ogboru has neither been a governor nor held a political position in the state. Yet, he commands a totemic followership that confounds. Indeed, in Delta state, Ogboru is simply a movement. A movement for the common good.

So, I ask this question- What could be responsible for this dizzying cluster of both ordinary and extra-ordinary people around this global business mogul, the passion of their spirit and the impunity of their faith in him. Coming closely, what I found out is an awesome abiding faith that his followers share with him on the inestimable promise and possibilities of their state. For them, Delta state in the last sixteen years has been a crucible, a painful democratic journey with tragic prognosis. Despite this ordeal however, the people are willing to hold on to the arch of history and to pull it once again towards the hope of a better day as the 2015 elections beckon.

While the Presidential election may be the most important election in the land, it is the governorship election in Delta that will bring about the ultimate catharsis for Deltans. This governorship election from all indications will be clearly a two-horse race, between Great Ogboru of Labour Party and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, the governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Let’s forget the cacophonous sounds coming from the APC. They look more like a tigery grandstanding and media promo without actual preparation for elections. APC may exists on billboards but it is just absent in hearts and minds in Delta.

I have chosen to focus on Ogboru in this piece because of the staggering crowd that has followed every stop of his campaign trail since the Labour Party flagged-off its campaign in Delta on Wednesday, January 21, 2015.

I will follow this piece with another that will focus on Senator Ifeanyi Okowa who is also establishing himself as a political force in Delta. Though I must add that allegations of robust political partnership with jailed former Delta state governor, James Ibori, are casting a pall over his candidature, independence of his mind and character. For a man of his political history, it is a huge minus that he could be perceived by any flicker of imagination as Ibori’s protege. He must work hard and move quickly to derobe himself of this tainted toga because the prize of this tinge could stick beyond 2015.

But my focus here is on the captain of industry, the business mogul who at an age less than thirty, went on ten years self-imposed exile when the military junta in his country, Nigeria, accused him of financing the Gideon Orkar-led revolutionary putsch of 1990. In fact, some of his opponents have tried to use this coup saga against him in the current political campaigns in Delta. Ironically, trying to use this allegation against him ends up increasing his popularity as a folks hero. While Ogboru may not admit this, the fact is that, among Deltans, the mere suggestion that he allegedly stood up to challenge a dreaded illegal, despotic military regime of that time, automatically made him their authentic hero, something of the lead stars they see and adore in American action movies, a superman that transcends mere mortals like ordinary rich men. It is perhaps this admiration of his perceived heroics apart from his uncommon but silent philanthropy and compelling leadership character that make Deltans almost ecstatic about when they hail him as the People’s General. The character of his campaign, the aura of his followership and the tenacity of their spirit are simply gallantry and enunciate how politics should be played in Nigeria- the politics of unwavering faith in a leader without thinking of momentary monetary gains.

The massive crowd at every venue of his campaign seemed to be reaffirming their steely conviction and audacious faith in the future of a Delta state under Ogboru’s saddle. And at every stop, the business magnate seems to speak to their soul and heart desire as he assures them that handicaps are meant to be overcome and barriers to be hurdled. And so, like Claude Mckay, even though democracy has fed these Deltans with bread of bitterness and sank its teeth into their flesh, they are willing to remain in this cultured hell until Ogboru arrives to usher in a new dawn.

And that is the critical assignment of this man whose parents chose to give an ambitious name- Great!

So I ask, is Ogboru capable of winning the Delta state governorship election? And if yes, can he live up to the expectations of the people that now see him as the living spirit of the ideal.

For the first part of the question, one can say easily that the man who holds a UK Masters degree in International Relations from the University of Kent, Canterbury is indeed capable of winning the 2015 governorship election. His antecedents bespeak his capacity in this regard. In the last governorship election, which held in April 2011, the incumbent was narrowly declared by INEC to be ahead of him with a questionable 10,000 votes. But the overwhelming belief is that Ogboru won the election.

But the second and more important question is whether Ogboru will meet the expectations of Deltans. To answer this crucial question, we will have to look at his manifesto. His programme is important because of its distinctive character, different from the generic programmes of most election candidates.

More than anything else, Ogboru is on a mission to bring about Value Re-Orientation. This is what he considers as the most critical leadership challenge- to restore Deltans traditional values of honesty, integrity, equity, justice, hardwork, mutual respect, ethnic harmony and unity, and a merit-based reward system.

He looks determined to bring first class health systems and public infrastructure as well as stimulate, in a well thought out manner, economic development and growth through massive industrialization. But he also wants to show that Delta must have a strategic advantage to lead in Nigeria. He wants to establish Delta as Nigeria’s number one food market. For Ogboru, all seaports in Delta must work optimally and drive the new economy. No doubt, Ogboru’s vision has a biggish promise. And a bigger potential for actualisation. He must truly be that living spirit of an idea and ideal – the idea of a Delta state that is a rendezvous of victory where there is enough room for everyone to be happy.

Ogboru’s re-crafted Equal Opportunities Development Initiative (EODI) is a masterful blueprint that should put Delta on the world map as a place with a truly visionary leadership. With the EODI, Ogboru plans to create corporate vehicles owned by ordinary Deltans as majority shareholders. These companies will carry out the massive development agenda of the government as well as go into the open market out there to compete. In summary, with the EODI Ogboru plans to develop all the LGAs in Delta state as well as create wealth for the people. That is an amazing visionary leadership, a product of a leader that subjects himself to intellectual rigours.

His singular programme on value re-orientation is one he will need to desperately achieve because when he does, every other thing will fall into place in the Big Heart called Delta state.  In a nation that has lost its soul, where militancy and terrorism reign, a place where mediocrity and primitive acquisition of wealth are celebrated even by the once revered academic institutions, Ogboru’s value re-reorientation is fiercely needed to let Deltans appreciate the hard fact that money is not an achievement but the outcome of achievement and to close the gap in our foundation by bringing up the children with a silent code of courage and contentment.

Upon these will a crystal sense of integrity and justice be founded. And to achieve this goal, he must have the company of creative wealth and will while offering himself as an instrument of destiny to crush corruption and end nepotism, the negatives that hold Delta hostage. And indeed the ideal Delta, a theatre of old where there is no room for tribe or tongue, where Delta state is for all Deltans.

Mr. Ejiro Thompson, a member of Delta Intellectuals Round Table, wrote from Asaba, Delta State.