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By Prince Akpo Abugo

SINCE 1998, it has almost been impossible for aspirants to be able to win an election in Nigeria without the influence or sponsorship of political godfathers or godmothers. This is why godfatherism is widely regarded as the greatest albatross of democracy in the country.

So, it came as a pleasant surprise when Sheriff Oborevwori recently shattered what seems to have become a long-standing myth as he emerged the winner of the Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, primary without any godfather claiming the credit for that feat.

This is all thanks to a credible process and Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for resisting pressure not to impose a candidate or have his predecessors impose a candidate on the party.

Party members and the people of Delta State must thank and congratulate Okowa for creating the enabling environment for party supremacy and making the delegates responsible for their own fortune or misfortune. We have never had party primaries as the one of May 25, 2022 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba.

It should be noted that before the primaries, Sheriff had become a household name within and outside the party as if he was already a candidate. But majority of Deltans decided to pray for him because many were worried that the process may be truncated by forces of darkness who had over the years foisted their mole on the people to do their bidding rather than what majority of the people want.

So apprehension grew as the time was getting nearer and rumours had it that Governor Okowa’s predecessors were putting pressure on him to abort the people’s hope in Sheriff Oborevwori; but Okowa resisted all pressures. Then came blackmail and certificate scandal, just to dampen the hope of the masses. But all like an evil wind came but did not make any difference because the people were resolute.

Sheriff Oborevwori was a sign of the revolution that has never happened in the evolution of politics since the Second Republic. Humble and open in his dealings, he had since he became a member of the Delta State House of Assembly and Speaker of the House of Assembly, not abandoned his roots or changed his behaviour; he maintains relationship with both low and high and had made personal sacrifices to change the misfortune of many underprivileged.

Power has not changed Sheriff, but rather it has humbled him to see life as a blessing from God and not by human strength.

Sheriff aspires to use power for positive change; not for personal fame, but for service to humanity in changing the mindsets of ordinary man. To prove that a friend in power is not lost but gained, his major constituency is the people and he cultivates them even in his elevation. Sheriff speaks the language of the people; he is a homeboy because he is well brought up to respect values, institutions and elders; his street credibility means acceptability by the ordinary man in the street, he understands their agitations, worries and fears because he is one of them; he had lived all his early years in Warri.

An Urhobo, he however believes that though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.

A “Warri boy” without boundaries, Sheriff is a Deltan who will build unity above division, peace above crises, development above politics.

A candidate the Anioma section can call their own, Delta South can see as part of them and Delta Central can see as a worthy son who brings glory to all, remove suspicion and sustain unity that various leaders since creation of the state had sustained. Sheriff Oborevwori is conscious of history, that’s why Deltans are “Sherified”.

His candidacy had unified all; it had energised both the party and the populace because the credibility he brings is unprecedented. This was visible in the wild jubilation that took place throughout the state. This is victory of the ordinary masses to choose their leader without interference. His acceptance is hinged on his upbringing in Warri as “wafarian”; you could be from Ndokwa, Oshimili, Aboh, Isoko, Ijaw, Itsekiri and even from other parts of Nigeria and yet be a “waffarian” because it’s a concept of brotherhood that doesn’t recognise discrimination, tribalism, greed and corruption, it emphasises progress, brotherhood and unity irrespective of tribe or tongue, it sustains peaceful co-existence and human and capital development.

Sheriff epitomises beauty of labour and industry as against the strange greed of today. He sees poverty and ignorance as the greatest threat to human development because with it people  relapse into tribalism  that fuels inter-ethnic crises and suspicion; corruption that has  crippled all facet of our society, lack of faith that has reduced nationalism and encouraged self-interest above collective wealth.

His mantra of “more” is in ditching out programmes in meeting the yearnings and aspirations of Deltans. This is also in recognition of landmark achievements and the need to consolidate these laudable programmes because governance is continuity.

Sheriff is the people’s product, from the people, by the people and for the people, this is the joy in the streets,hamlets, ghetto, cities, villages in Delta State, his candidacy represents unity above division, acceptance above primordial interests.

Sheriff will fight crime through the law by creating an enabling environment for crime not to strive, he hates injustice and before venturing into politics had fought injustice on the side of the weak, poor, deprived who could not defend themselves, Sheriff hates poverty and believes one of the means of fighting poverty is not handing fishes or foodstuff to people but equipping them through education and skills acquisition for them to fend for themselves and useful to society.

The primaries had come and gone, we must come together because we have no any other party other than the PDP, we must shun ethnic chauvinists, tribalists, corrupt elements who wants to impose theirs likes on the state to put the state backward.

This greed is what has made Nigeria what it is; our homes have become infected with immorality, lack of values and much more because of quest for wealth without work; it’s what had decapitated the family as a unit and made marriages to be valueless; it has given a false view to some that crime is profitable; corruption remains a stumbling block in our development as a nation.

We must begin to fight it headlong because like a cankerworm it is destroying values, critical sectors and negating development.

It is the reason industries have gone down and unemployment high. That’s why we need someone with a strong will and determination to change our misfortune into fortune. Sherriff Oborevwori is the fresh breath in our polluted political environment.

• Abugo, a political commentator, wrote from Uzere, Delta State.