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| Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi. |
Turning cynicism
to plus point
OLOROGUN Kenneth
Gbagi, currently the highest indigenous investor and employer of labour in
Delta State, has declared that he will not stop being tough,
emphasizing that the feature, which critics view as his Achilles’ Heel
is, in fact, necessary to sustain and build on the worthy legacies of
incumbent governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
The former
Minister of Education, criminologist and attorney stated this at what many have
come to know as the “Mosogar Declaration” when he visited the Odidimadi of
Delta politics, Senator Ighoyota Amori and members of his political family,
across the state, at his country home in Mosogar, Ethiope West Local Government
Area, recently. It was to inform him of his 2023 gubernatorial quest.
Incontestably,
the security consultant and opinion leader from Oginibu, Ughelli South local
government area is either streetwise or might have read the minds of those who
accuse him of being very complex to deal with in his numerous businesses.
He told his
Mosogar listeners: “I thank God that nobody is saying that I am a thief, that I
am corrupt, that I stole money or that I am a swindler. They are not saying
that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is hunting for
me, they are only saying that I am tough to deal with.
What they refused
to say
“They have also
said so many other things, including that he does not pay his workers and is
indebted to contractors among other whispered allegations, but none of the
employees told anybody that he was not being paid or resigned his appointment
on the account of not being paid because all these are fallacies.
“You see how some
minds function; they are not saying that the man created businesses for people
to eke out a living, they are not thinking of how to create their own
businesses, they are fishing for nonexistent lies to blackmail him. That
is the mindset we must change.
My confession
“However, I admit
that I am tough, I have to be tough as an entrepreneur to succeed. No
entrepreneur can navigate the business terrain in this country and even outside
without being tough. I want to tell you very categorically that toughness is
what Deltans abundantly require in their next governor to be able to sustain
and build on the commendable legacies of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa,” he asserted.
Gbagi pointed
out, “I can see the same toughness in Governor Okowa, which is why he is able
to take very hard decisions and stand by them in the interest of the
state. Let me tell you that we are miles behind in Delta state, Lagos and
Port Harcourt have gone ahead of us, it is not because of lack of knowledge
that we are where we are. We have to be sturdy to move forward.”
Gbagi stressed
the fact that no human being is perfect before God Almighty, adding. “Though I
may be strict, I am disciplined and a workaholic to the core. I am a
politician, but I know that we have core politicians, I am an entrepreneur, I
have business sense and that is what I want to bring to bear in the governance
of Delta. “
According to him,
“My GKO Properties Limited is a key player in the home/property sector in
Nigeria, managing portfolios that include 5-star hotels, shopping malls,
housing estates, market lock-up stalls. Only Robinson Gbagi Shopping Mall is
currently engaging over 20,000 youths, while Woodridge Hotel and Woodridge
Annex employ over a hundred professionals to mention just a few."
He added,
"That I am tough does not mean that I do not listen to people, I listen to
the governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa and other leaders of the state. If God, our
Creator, listens to people, who am I not to listen to people. But people
will always contrive things and that is what keep some persons busy."
Vow and gratitude
to Okowa
The
philanthropist asserted, “I will leave the politicians to do the politics,
while as a captain of industry; I will do the business part for Delta. I will
turn the state around in one year, I know what it takes and you can see it in
the businesses I have brought as an individual to the state, what more if I am
entrusted with power as governor."
He explained that
sturdiness made him to grow as an accomplished industrialist with a vast
business empire all over the country and world, explaining that he could not
have survived and protected his business without the virtue.
His words: “I am
the first living black man to attain the coveted Arch Klumph Society, AKS
member of Rotary International and I will use my business acumen and dexterity
to govern the state, protect Deltans and our God- given wealth if
our party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and Deltans see reason with me.”
He expressed his
profound gratitude to Senator Okowa, who he described as an incredible
administrator and detribalized Deltan, saying, “All hands must be on deck to
see that Governor Okowa finished better than he started.”
Without
criticism, there is problem - Odidimadi
Speaking,
Chief Amori, chairman, Delta State Capital Development Agency and
national chair, Urhobo Political Forum, UPF, said Gbagi has a Midas touch and
made money early in life as a young man, dinning with the powerful and the
moneyed.
He said his
business ideas and vision were beyond the state; hence, he was not surprised at
his industry sagacity, which he wants him to demonstrate as governor.
Amori, a
Political Adviser to the national chair of PDP and at different times
Commissioner for Education and Water Resources in the state, told Gbagi, “If
people do not talk about you negatively, then, there is something wrong
with you as a human being.”
“You are in
business where people must criticize you, they call you all sorts of names, but
they do not know what you carry. Some people have been Ministers from Delta
Central, what did they did with it? As Minister of Education, we know how you
supervised and midwife the creation of `13 universities and eight federal
government colleges, restructured the workings of agencies such UBE, WAEC and
NTI.
“We know that you
brought the Federal Government College, Oginibu, we also know that battle you
fought as minister to legalize the establishment of the Federal University of
Petroleum Resources, FUPRE.
“You are a goal
getter; you are not going to Government House, Asaba, to make money because you
already have money. We know about the businesses you brought to the state under
your business empire,” he said.
* Prof Uche Haalim,
a political analyst wrote in from Asaba
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