For a long time it has been very difficult for me to decipher the direction of the 2015 Delta State governorship election due to the plethora of governorship aspirants that have indicated interest for the seat. Every governorship camp deemed to wield so much political influence that it was hard to concede political superiority to any one aspirant.

What, however, disturbed me was that the battle was going to be fierce amongst the major political gladiators from Delta North where the pendulum seemed to swing. The governorship aspirants of those from Delta Central and South notwithstanding, it was clear to me, or so it seemed, that the aspiration of at least two to three gladiators in Delta North would hold sway at the end of the day leaving the better aspirant to win the governorship primaries in November, 2014.

That was the situation until Sir Tony Obuh made a surprise entry into the governorship race. Bringing with him an outstanding and brilliant civil service experience, Tony Obuh is certainly a game changer.

For the two months since he declared his intention, Obuh has received massive support from friends, politicians and stakeholders from across the State. His humility, resourcefulness and humane nature has attracted so much support for his aspiration and rendered the campaign trains of other aspirants almost ineffective.

However, one thing we must remark for Obuh’s meteoric rise in the murky waters of politics is the divine touch in his mission. It would seem that the race for 2015 Delta State governorship was becoming too fierce for comfort with the aspirants literally going for each other’s jugular.

Some other aspirants supported by their ethnic nationalities had claimed that the doctrine of power shift was alien and therefore will not hold water. It is in this light that I view Obuh’s emergence as a divine arrangement to prevent rancor and violence in the 2015 governorship election. As at today, it is difficult to question Tony Obuh’s intimidating credentials as a competent bureaucrat who has been an insider in policy formulation in Delta State since its creation in 1991.

Besides, Tony Obuh’s array of friends across the 25 Local Government Areas attest to his credibility and compassion for those around him.

To me, the contest is over. Obuh has taken the sail from so many campaign organizations in the state that are gradually but steadily witnessing a depletion of their members. Tony Obuh may not possess the personal financial war chest being paraded by other aspirants but the goodwill he has mustered since he declared his ambition has been very encouraging, if not outrightly intimidating.

Perhaps, one reasons so many persons trust him is that he has no personal craving for power, just the desire to serve. His modest approach to life in spite of occupying so many lofty positions in his entire civil service career portray him as someone with an aversion for corruption.

This goes to show that Deltans are becoming very politically sophisticated and are fast shunning money politics. It also goes to show that the delegates for the governorship primaries are likely to shun financial inducements and to vote according to their conscience. As a Deltan myself from the Delta Central senatorial district, I am confident that Tony Obuh will take the entire Delta State as his constituency when he becomes Governor, having established himself as a detribalized person in his choice of friends and associates.

As Tony Obuh transmits from civil servant to a full fledge politician, we wish him well as we believe he would translate the wealth of experience he garnered over the years into good governance. Should he succeed in his quest, which we pray he does, Tony Obuh would have planted his name in the sands of time as the first democratically elected governor from the Delta North senatorial district.

Ochuko Mejire is the Chairman of Delta Central Progressive Forum, DCPF, he wrote from Delta