AGE  51 (in Nigeria), a country famous for celebrations, does not necessarily elucidate merry making though enough to show gratitude to the Creator for adding yet another one year to one’s life. Jane Odessa, a colleague asked me why I always come back to Hon. Ejaife. Good question but hear this reason for the symbiotic attachment. Once I was at his residence, amongst the many visitors was his former high school classmate.

Not long the chairman came down, dressed for a trip. He regarded and spoke to everyone briefly. In reply to the old class mate he said: “I heard.” I left with the former classmate of his as we met accidently at the gate earlier. Hon. Ejaife Odebala met us as we walked away. When he came to where we were they stopped and said to me, “you always like walking.”

Then he asked us to sit at the back as he already occupied the passenger’s seat by his driver. He dropped us off by the newspaper stand as we requested. He beckoned on the classmate whom he handed an envelope as I observed a deserved smile on the recipient’s face surely in keeping with his 2007 governorship campaign slogan of “meeting people at their point of need.”

This behaviour of his for me has resonated into a case study in humility. And what this write-up wants to unravel is the place of humility vis-à-vis administration in public service principally governance per se. A lawyer by training from Ekpoma, Edo State, started his political odyssey from college as an activist. He practised law briefly from his father’s J.Y Odebala Chambers, Sapele. When the opportunity came his way to go to the Delta State House of Assembly in 1999 he embraced it. Since then he hasn’t looked back. In fact, he went on to become one of the most vibrant lawmakers in that House during his time. After two tenures he quit the House to join the governorship race of 2007. For comparative analysis, his departure from the House with the record of superlative and revolutionary bills witnessed during his era and the quality of bills and the level of intellectual discourse in the House today are better left to the people’s court. But perhaps without a wait on the peoples judgment, an observer could insinuate that between then and now another quest has become paramount.

So Ejaife Odebala popularly called Omizu by admirers knew when both the wane in enthusiasm and the other quest were anti his love for lawmaking. When  his ambition to be governor of the state did not come to fruition, he detoured to the executive arm of the government, accepting to serve as commissioner for project monitoring. Thus, he accepted the principle of when one way closes, another opens. He rejuvenated the somewhat dormant ministry to life with new approach and zeal, publicity; government on the move on telly and project monitoring today in the press to the veiled envy of colleagues. However that popularity and high sense of achievement did not becloud his ambition for some more from the electorate. Politicians are always in want of closeness with their people.

This he did in 2015 when the  temptation came calling to contest an election. He succumbed and won the election as the chairman of Sapele Urban LGA. Since then the drum beat has changed. The lofty ideals, the beautiful and ambitious manifesto to change the face of the town has not come full cycle. In his first 100days signs of changes and cleanliness of the city took the front burner. Thereafter the price of crude oil crumbled. Councils earnings across the state tumbled. Then came a suit brought about by some former chairmen of the council for an unpaid allowances totaling some N258m with a  judgment from a far away High Court in Enugu. Many observers imputed meaning into the claim of allowances some about 10years ago. It became a test of will and intelligence with the admixture of humility.

Across the state, council workers are owed but the onus to generate more funds to be self sustaining or to be seen to be doing something rests with the respective council bosses. For Odebala, he commissioned a lawyer “to prepare a draft bye-law for most of the functions of the local government council such as market regulation bye law, prohibition of dumping of silts et al, pest control bye-law, revenue committee on tenement rate, Okada, tricycle for commercial purposes regulation, et al”.

Not that these were not there before but “it is lacking in depth because it does not cover the field in terms of the powers, functions and delineations of a local government and it is a nullity because it was promulgated by a transition committee without the formal passing as a bill to the legislative arm before being approved, which is one of the opposite methods of democracy…”

There is a lull in the activities of councils across Delta State. It is not peculiar to Sapele Urban Council but he is able to operate with the little available resources. Almost all the roads in Sapele need rehabilitation – an assignment beyond the council that is unable to pay its staff. But the leak from the rumour mill is that the chairman has been able to penetrate DESOPADEC to assist and very shortly work will begin on the rehabilitations of the roads. He is a personable man with an amiable character that is irresistible. He once told me that one day “I will tell my story, the economy and the council stewardship.” He should to highlight some of his strides.

Mr. Ben Etaghene, is the editorial director of the The Bulletin, Sapele, Delta State.