By Dr. Festus Goziem Okubor

If there is anything Nigerians, irrespective of tribe and tongue, religion, or age, are undivided and unbroken, it is the accepted wisdom that their nation needs a rebirth.

This feeling and thinking have gained intense traction in the last 10 years. When we hear most Nigerians talk about restructuring, secession, and even the deadly crises arising from insecurity manifesting as insurgency, banditry, and kidnapping, they all point to the urgent need for a rebirth of Nigeria.

All that is wrong with us as a country and as a people are the cumulative consequences of not seeking early enough, the path that could have led to a rebirth for Nigeria. The problems of bad leadership, corruption, poverty, economic mismanagement, and all other acts that point to our acute deficiency as a country are signals we are almost too late in seeking rebirth.

However, since every nation remains a work in progress, it is never too late to realize and seek that route that leads to rebirth. An Indian proverb said that no matter how far one has gone on a wrong path, it is never too late to return. This is Nigeria’s abiding hope that there is light at the end of the dark tunnel.

In the sticky situation, that has entrapped Nigeria, a few people pushing a phenomenon usually emerge and point the way out of the quagmire.

One such man has been in Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, the Governor of Delta State and Presidential running mate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Governor Okowa has a cerebral endowment that can match that of any Nobel Prize winner in Medicine. It is this enormous brainpower that he has deployed into politics and has become one of the nation’s most strategic politicians that remind us of greats like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who were nationalist politicians and leaders in a class.

Since joining politics, three decades ago, Governor Okowa rose from the very bottom of political participation from the local government level to the state and now federal level as a vice-president in waiting.

This uncommon feat is unprecedented in Nigeria. Governor Okowa is a thinker and a pragmatic politician with a charisma that endears him to people.

What has most recently projected Governor Okowa as embodying the spirit of the new Nigeria we are all searching for is the National Sports Festival, hosted by Delta State. Sports make up a unifying phenomenon for humanity. It speaks the language of unity, friendship, and solidarity. Sports bring out the best in humanity. That is why people talk about the “spirit of fair play” in making the best out of a bad situation.

This is exactly what Governor Okowa has done with Delta State hosting the National Sports Festival. The festival brought Nigeria and Nigerians together regardless of religion, age, tribe, or tongue did not matter.

Nigerians from Warri, Wukari, Kano, Calabar, Ikeja, Kafanchan, and other far-flung places came together to engage in a healthy competition for medals and honor. As they did so, the beauty of humanity founded upon fellow feeling enveloped them.

The sportspersons , including spectators, saw themselves as one. They saw themselves as Nigerians and as one people. It was an inclusive engagement. The sports festival banished isolation, marginalization, oppression, exploitation, and other such negatives that have set Nigeria back. It was all about one Nigeria. Governor Okowa did this yeoman job for Nigeria. He deserves applause.

The sports festival highlighted excellence, which Nigeria needs in her rebirth. The stadium that hosted the event, Stephen Keshi Stadium, is world-class and part of Governor Okowa’s deliberate design to let the world know that so much good can come from Delta State and Nigeria.

The organization of the festival earns excellent grades for Governor Okowa, who is a stickler for perfection ensured that they put everything put in place to ensure a trouble-free sports festival.
The Asaba International Airport, which Governor Okowa completed and upgraded to international standards, came in handy and very useful, as it became the link between Delta State and the world. What the sports festival has done for Nigeria was to bring Nigerians together in harmony without friction.

This is what a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria deserves and Governor Okowa, working with the PDP presidential candidate, the pan-Nigerian Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is toiling day and night to achieve.

Despite what Governor Okowa’s political enemies, few as they are, would say, the man is a beacon of hope for Nigeria. He represents the ideals of unity, cohesion, solidarity, peace, and other positive factors that Nigerians need to embrace in order to attain rebirth.

In the past seven years, Governor Okowa has performed creditably in stabilizing Delta State and putting the people on the path of prosperity, notwithstanding the gross economic mismanagement and poverty crises the All Progressives Congress (APC) government hangs on Nigeria.

As Nigerians seek rebirth, they should look toward one man, who has the magic wand. Using his brain and brawn, Governor Okowa is the embodiment of the spirit of new Nigeria.