EVEN non-Christians have heard the cliché, the Good Samaritan, at least once. It is the parable of the non-Jew who came to the rescue of an armed robbery victim along the Jerusalem-Jericho route where a priest and a levite, who should know and do better, had passed, and left the victim to a die a slow, painful death. The good deed of the Samaritan was totally unexpected from Samaritans at that time.

How did the story of the Good Samaritan come about? An overzealous teacher of the law wanted to set a trap for Jesus and asked Jesus to tell him who his neighbour is (Luke 10: 25-37). Who is a neighbour? A neighbour goes beyond a person living near you; a neighbour is someone “who is near in sympathy or confidence.” A neighbour is someone who understands your pain and can bring succour; a neighbour is someone who is just, fair and equitable. These definitions are what Deltans should be looking at, not their “town’s man,” as we prepare to elect a new governor on April 11, 2015.

One of the tragedies of our democracy since 1999 is injustice meted to other ethnicities by those in power, as if only people of their ethnic group voted them in. Delta State has had its share of this problem. This has fuelled the resolve of the various ethnicities to have their son/daughter as governor. Delta South had theirs in 2007, now Delta North want to have their way, via the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Let me quickly add that I am not one of those from Delta Central who think the Delta State governorship is a birthright of the Urhobo people. Delta State is blessed with sons and daughters across board with intimidating credentials and it would be nice to have one of them as governor on May 29, 2015.

My thinking is that the governorship of Delta State is too important to be reduced to an ethnic arrangement where the various ethnic groups take their turns. The governorship should be for the best of Deltans irrespective of ethnicity. And at this point in time, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is the best of all the aspirants. Nobody even comes near in terms of vision, intelligence and accomplishments. Thank God for the internet, the facts are in the public domain for anybody who is interested to verify. When the other governorship candidates gave excuses and refused to participate in the Delta State gubernatorial live debate recently, I was disappointed but not surprised. No sensible man presides over his liquidation. The soft-spoken Emerhor would have made them look ordinary, pedestrian and miserable. They had to ‘dodge’ to avoid humiliation.

Emerhor will be a Good Samaritan, nay governor, to all Deltans, irrespective of ethnicity. He will be fair, equitable and just to all Deltans. He has a big heart and he is not given to pettiness and clannishness. The Bible says that he who is faithful in small things will also be faithful in big things. In his private and business dealings, Emerhor looks at excellence and other issues, not ethnicity. When in 1996, Emerhor wanted to start Standard Alliance Insurance Plc; he went for an illustrious Anioma son and well-bred professional, Chief Peter Monye, to help him drive his vision. I was there, so I know. Emerhor has two precious daughters who are married; one to an Igbo man and the other, to an Itsekiri man. Employees in Emerhor’s companies come from all parts of Nigeria; they only share one thing in common: excellence. How else do you want Emerhor to prove that he is detribalised and the kind of governor Delta needs? Emerhor has been faithful in private matters; he will be faithful in public matters.

It is only natural for Anioma to want to occupy the governorship seat, being the only senatorial district that has not occupied the seat since the creation of Delta State. But we can stretch this argument. Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who has been governor since 2007, is Itsekiri; so the Isokos and Ijaws, the other two groups that make up the tripod in Delta South, can rightly argue that they have not occupied the governorship seat. Even if an Ika from Delta North gets the governorship, the Ukwuanis can rightly argue thereafter that they have not tasted it. Even among the Urhobos who are supposed to be monolithic, you have sub- groups like Uvwie, Okpe, Agbon and so on. So the argument can go on and on.

Let us leave out sentiments, clannishness and ethnicity and concentrate on who is best suited among the candidates to get the job done. Delta is in need of extreme makeover. Who better than Emerhor, a turnaround specialist, to take over as governor of Delta State on May 29, 2015? We should be wary of empty promises. We cannot gamble with our future by electing a governor whose voice will be Jacob’s and hand, Esau’s. Our governor must be his own man. We cannot also pitch our tent with a small party with an uncertain future at a time when mega parties are the vogue. Delta State has never been in opposition since its creation. The APC has won at the centre. It should be replicated in Delta State. The impending broom revolution must berth in Delta State and usher in the much-needed change.

Really, the April 11 governorship election in Delta State is a choice among gold, silver and bronze. I do not know the silver and the bronze, but the gold is indisputable: Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, the banking, insurance, business and turnaround guru.

Mr. Francis Ewherido,  a public affairs analyst, wrote from Warri, Delta State.