Okowa pays tribute to Dein of Agbor at 43

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has congratulated His Royal Majesty, the Dein of Agbor Kingdom, Benjamin Ikenchuku Keagborekuzi I, as he clocks 43 today, Monday June 29, 2020. 

The governor said that the Dein had provided purposeful, courageous and tenacious leadership for the Agbor people over the years and deserves to be celebrated on his new age.

Governor Okowa, left, and the Dein of Agbor, HRM, Keagborekuzi 1.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba on Sunday, the governor commended the monarch for making Agbor kingdom peaceful and investor-friendly since he ascended the throne of his forefathers.

He joins the people of Ika nation, particularly the Agbor people, in celebrating the monarch, and prayed that he would remain in good health, wisdom and strength to continue ruling the people of his kingdom. 

He extolled the monarch for his contributions to the issues of unemployment, social deviance and value-orientation among youths, which spurred him to establish Agbor Youth Learning, Development and Empowerment Centre. 

Okowa added that His Majesty also initiated cultural and traditional reforms to enhance the living conditions of the people of the kingdom, and ensured appropriate recognition and strategic relevance in the ever-important traditional institution in our society. 

“On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I warmly felicitate with Obi Ikenchukwu I, the Dein of Agbor Kingdom on the ocassion of his 43rd birth anniversary.

“We pray that the Almighty God will continue to give you good health and wisdom to pilot the traditional affairs of your kingdom and offer valuable contributions to the development of our dear Delta State and Nigeria,” he stated.

Okowa's family on self-isolation as daughter tests positive to COVID-19

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.

As the Delta State Government intensifies efforts at stemming the spread of COVID-19 in the state, it announced on Friday that one of the children of the Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has tested positive to the virus.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, said, "consequently, the Governor and his family members will immediately commence self-isolation for 14 days".

"It is again pertinent to stress that COVID-19 is real, and citizens are advised to be disciplined and comply with the protocols of wearing Face Masks and maintaining physical-distancing while in public places as well as basic hygiene of hand-washing with soap in running water and use of alcohol-based sanitisers as NCDC regulation demands," Ifeajika added.

Delta SSG, Information Commissioner test positive to COVID-19

Delta's SSG, Barrister Chiedu Ebie, right, with Information Commissioner
Mr. Charles Aniagwu.

As Delta State Government intensifies efforts at combating the spread of COVID-19 in the state, it said today Sunday June 21, 2020 that two top officials of government had tested positive to the virus.

The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, who made this known in a statement in Asaba, named the officials as Secretary to the State Government, Mr Chiedu Ebie and Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu. 

Ifeajika said both officials showed mild symptoms of the virus and consequently subjected themselves to the test.

He said that both men had been moved to an isolation centre and were stable, and responding well to treatment.

Ifeajika called on residents of the state to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 protocols as anyone, irrespective of status, could contract the virus.

"Let me advise all Deltans to, as a matter of top priority, always obey the COVID-19 protocols, which have been in public domain, so as to curb further spread of the pandemic.

"The fresh cases in our hands in Delta further testifies to the fact that COVID-19 is not a scam. It is real and people should take the issues of the virus and personal hygiene seriously.

"COVID-19 is not a death sentence; so, when you begin to feel unwell, reach out to approved government hospitals for appropriate tests to be carried out.

"We can save ourselves and others from this virus if we obey all the protocols of wearing face masks, regular washing of hands in running water, use of alcohol-based sanitisers and maintaining physical-distancing while congregating in any form. 

"All our hospitals and isolation centres across the state are on 24 hours alert to receive any case(s) of the Coronavirus or other health challenges," he stated.

PERSPECTIVE - Retooling the Almajiri

Mr. Felix Oboagwina.

By Felix Oboagwina

Covering the transition programme of the Third Republic in the 1990s meant I travelled much. Prior to that time, I never crossed the River Niger Northwards, although Dad and Mum told me they took me as a baby up to Bacita and Jebba in Kwara State during my father’s many transfers under G. Cappa Nigeria Limited, the Italian construction giant of those days. As a journalist, I reported politics and travelled endlessly with Baba Gana Kingibe, M.K.O. Abiola and other players in that ill-fated transition, which afforded me a panoramic exposure to the nooks and crannies of the country.

But the North broke my heart. The disease. The squalor. The listlessness and indolence. The flies. And yes, the Almajiri. In my eyes, the streets of the North brimmed with these plagues in the face of a lag in human capital development. Up North you found the contradiction between rich citizens who appeared dizzyingly rich, and poor folks who swung on the pendulum of abject poverty and debilitating disease. In-between you had the introverted middleclass. But everywhere, the poor idolised and hero-worshipped the rich in the lingering breath of ancient feudalism. 

Anytime we landed with Kingibe in Maiduguri, tons of children and youths chased the Social Democratic Party (SDP) National Chairman’s convoy through the town like flies follow the festering sore of a dog’s ear. In the evening, all shades of folks turned up in huge numbers and took their places on the bare ground of the Ambassador’s vast compound, where they encircled trays of sumptuous rice and roasted guinea fowl that they rapaciously devoured.

The same depressing narrative assaulted my eyes in the homes of various Arewapoliticians. It reverberated from Minna to Nupe, Maiduguri to Damaturu, Biu to Potiskum, Kano to Jigawa, Katsina to Kaduna, and virtually all through the Muslim core North where this Troubadour traversed. Scores of able-bodied youths, arrayed in prison-colour monochrome Kaftans, flocked the streets with plastic bowls in their hands. They begged for alms. Local journalists told me these were “Almajiri.”

Indigenous colleagues educated me that the Almajiranci system sign-posted the centuries-old system of Islamic education practised in Northern Nigeria. But despite the march of enlightening civilisation, this archaic form of learning continues to hold strong. According to a 2014 UNICEF estimate, up to 9.5 million Almajiri boys and Almajira girls follow this learning curve in Nigeria, their figure representing an astounding 72 per cent of the country’s out-of-school children. Whatever its pluses, the arrangement has bred Almajiria who constitute a major eyesore on the streets. Tens and hundreds of these youngsters live in ramshackle hostels and cells under a Mullah, the equivalent of a School Headmaster or School Proprietor, who superintends their training in Arabic alphabets, Arabic numeracy, the Koran and sometimes divination.

Behind this facade of religiosity, however, dark politics lurks. Since the days of Lord Lugard, poor Northern Muslims have been encouraged to embrace polygamy, breed ad infinitum and pump up the region’s population figure. While the South tamed population through education and birth control, the Northern elite fanatically pursued a population supremacy over the South by encouraging the proletariat to breed recklessly and dump children irresponsibly in the countless Almajiri colonies. Perpetually in motion, these children, in singles, pairs or groups, move from person to person, house to house, street to street, begging for Sadaka or charity. What philosophy in the world reduced school-age children into this indignity, servitude and platitude?

Something told me back then that this was a keg of gunpowder! Danger loomed as I could see. And I never ceased to wonder why the leaders of the North turned a blind eye to the looming explosion.

Clearly, these youngsters had no life! In whatever holes they crawled into at night, they got initiated into homosexuality, while Almajira girls suffered rape, with some parceled off into underage marriages as juvenile brides. Substance abuse among them spiked as both Almajiri and Almajira experimented with all shades of drugs (from alcohol to Tramadol, to Marijuana and lizard’s faeces) to get them perpetually “high” and psychologically escape their nightmarish life. Their way of life was no way to live! How could any society stomach this subhuman existence?

Placing the genetics of the region’s many crises under the microscope showed that the Almajiri substantially featured as foot-soldiers and cannon fodders in Northern Nigeria’s many ethno-religious eruptions, even when they never understood the raison d’etre of such upheavals. Once the blood-lusting Mullah’s voice rang through the mosque’s horn-speakers, these expendables jammed the streets with blood-curdling screams: La ilaha illallah! Allahu akbar!

At such faith-driven frenzy, these boys quickly became part of (to borrow Winston Churchill’s words for Nazi missiles during the First World War) “destruction sent forth in a soulless machine.” They joined the foot soldiers of the Maitatsine crisis of the 1980s and Mohammed Yusuf’s Boko Haram’s descent into terrorism at the dawn of this millennium. Today they remain available for Boko Haram, bandits, ISWAP and suicide bombing that has inflamed the insecurity turning the North into a vast killing field. During elections, they execute under-aged voting and over-voting for politicians to rig polls and finish off uncooperative electoral officers.

President Goodluck Jonathan rolled out an intervention to ameliorate their darknesswith the establishment of 157 Almajiri schools. The schools designed conditions to pamper the Almajiri. Offering free education on a platter of gold, they admitted students pro bono. Tuition, meals, uniform, books and boarding came free of charge! But rather than scamper into these four-walls of modern education, the Almajiria and their slave-masters scoffed at these pearls and dug deeper into their dung like pigs.

Today, these unfortunate souls form a substantial part of the aggregates coalescing to make the North the poorest place in Nigeria and Nigeria the “poverty capital of the world.”

However, recent pronouncements by Northern governors and Arewa leaders insinuate an awakening to the danger the Almajiri poses and the urgent need to guillotine this backward system. The system and its runners have been used and, having outlived their usefulness, must now be dumped. But instead of adopting strategic thinking to retool over 10 million youths, children and operators destined for dislocation, the authorities hide behind one finger to make grandstanding pronouncements aimed at throwing these miserable souls under the bus and outlawing them.

Even worse, the Northern establishment wants to push this army of liabilities Southwards! Southerners have kicked, vowing to resist any attempt to arm-twist their region into welcoming the dislocated Almajiri in the name of political correctness.

To be fair, the South grapples with its own home-grown black sheep –area boys, cultists, kidnappers and drug addicts. Additionally the South already bristles with millions of strange Northerners and their foreign cousins, already raising suspicion. Apprehensive Southerners suspect that adding this new wave of Almajari was not the North’s master-plan originally –to train this army of vagrants and release them to the South as part of an overall scheme to advance Caliphate hegemony and expansionism in the South (stage one of which saw foreign herdsmen embark on an unbridled raping, kidnapping andkilling campaign)! Such Southerners’ suspicion is fuelled by the way the Arewa literati has vehemently defended the invading Almajiria and forcefully demand their accommodation in the South because they must enjoy their constitutional right to movement and residence. Almajiria are certainly Nigerians and should not be rendered stateless. But how does making them leave the known for the unknown solve their problem? Who approbates and reprobates in one breath –you encourage their lifestyle, and when you find them toxic, you suddenly outlaw them and want to dump them in another man’s compound?

Southerners are saying: Back to Sender! As far as they are concerned, the North created this Frankenstein and must bear responsibility for its annihilation and rehabilitation!

Like charity, the retooling of the Almajiri must begin at home. The dismantling of the Almajiri circle deserves commendation as it represents a giant leap away from the tipping point into Boko Haram, the extremist form of Almajiranci’s kindred philosophy of rejecting modernity and Westernisation. The next stage is for the North to embark on mass rehabilitation of its dislocated inmates through re-indoctrination, skills acquisition, mass employment, birth control and massive education beginning with heavy investment and enrolment in the 157 Almajiri schools.

The challenge confronting the North is not to simply dismantle the antiquated Almajiri institution but to equip its victims with resources for modern living. This critical task of retooling the Almajiri the Northern establishment can neither circumvent nor delegate.

·        * FELIX OBOAGWINA IS A JOURNALIST AND WRITES FROM LAGOS

The other side of Delta State House of Assembly’s 7th conclave

By Chukwudi Abiandu

The months of May and June of every year have become unique in Nigeria’s democratic history since the fiasco that was the 1993 elections. It is the time that Nigerians regard as when the citizens truly expressed their democratic franchise in free and fair elections in which, although a winner emerged in the person of late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, but their votes were subverted by a conscienceless military dictatorship that shamelessly annulled the people’s mandate that was freely given to Abiola.

Many will recall also that June 12, i993 was when Nigerians sincerely showcased their sense of nationalism, throwing away religious, ethnic bigotry and other forms of primordial sentiments to decide on, and for who they believe is their choice to lead them in a democracy. But the forces of reaction drew a wedge into this and frustrated the effort of the people to rightly decide their democratic fate.

With events finally culminating in the return to democratic rule, May 29 and June 12 of every year have become notorious for elected officials to try to highlight their deeds. It is indeed, the very reason that the 7th conclave of the Delta State House of Assembly came up to try to make fanfare of its so-called achievements.

For observers, the 7^th Assembly’s press briefing, with a select media, which it thinks it is comfortable with was nothing but a sham; an attempt to white wash itself from a negative public perception of an assembly that has been docile, uneventful, lukewarm, timid and compliant; one that does not care about the cries of insecurity that those they represent have stridently made across the state. 

A visit to witness plenary proceedings from the gallery reveals an assembly of lawmakers with very low quality of debate. Even when school children come to visit, they have in all cases left with no good impression of the legislators because of the horrible quality of debates. Nothing to excite; the plenary is drab, lackluster and without erudition.

What most visitors take away is flamboyance and the culture to impress displayed by the lawmakers when given the floor to speak. It has become customary to hear the lucky one that won the floor to make contributions, introducing himself or herself as: “I am Honourable, Chief, Evangelist, doctor so and so, representing the good people of so and so constituency.” After that, it is sweet nothing.

The 7^th conclave of the Delta House of Assembly wants people to believe that it is vibrant; nothing can be farther from the truth. Often times, what is witnessed at plenary beats the imagination; that a House with members elected to represent the interest of the people on sundry matters, including security and other issues of importance affecting constituents, will shy away from discussing matters relating to the siege of insecurity in which their constituents across the state have been subjected to by gangs of rampaging cattle herders, who have taken over the bushes of their constituents.

The obviously tamed legislators lacked the courage to bring up motions and pass same to call the attention of relevant federal authorities to the plight of their constituents whose farms are devastated, women raped; persons kidnapped and in extreme cases killed by the band of territory expansionists predators. They have left everything to the governor to do without given him their much needed support.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has many times cried out, and in his frustration, called on Aso Rock to make a statement on the problem created by these invaders of the bushes of Delta State. Even to support the governor by bringing up motions to reiterate his call on the Federal Government to make a pronouncement became a no-go area to the legislators. In their faint-heartedness they remained mute, while their constituents pined away helplessly.

 

Recently, the monarchs of Delta North Senatorial District in their exasperation had to summon their subjects who are legislators representing their various constituencies to come and brief them on what they are doing about the problem of insecurity in the district. This alone speaks volumes about the perception of the people about the quality of representation of members of the 7^th conclave of the Delta State House of Assembly.

Truth is that this conclave lacks inspiring leadership; of course, a House that operates the senior prefect kind of leadership with a swashbuckling swag cannot provoke debates on national issues and pass motions for the benefit of the people of the state. When legislators of other houses of assembly out of a sense of indignation take on issues and engage in lively debates on such issues of national and state or constituency importance in the interest of their constituents, it doesn’t happen in the Delta State House of Assembly.

The 7^th conclave of the Delta State House of Assembly is not the journalist and other stakeholders’ delight. They will never respond to questionnaires sent to them for response even though the Freedom of Information Act as amended has been domesticated in the state. They are averse to speaking to journalists. No matter how well you try, they will put up a disposition with so much arrogance that tells the journalist that they are not interested in talking to him. Even when the journalist, as a member of the Fourth Estate of the Realm seeks to speak to them about events happening in their constituencies, no, they are never willing to grant audience. These legislators don’t want to be seen to be held accountable. It is a conclave that pays lip service to serving the cause of the people, and therefore, not media friendly.

Even the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, having observed them from close quarters, once called the attention of the legislators to the fact that they have not lived up to the people’s expectation. The party’s state Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sylvester Imonina in a statement recently lampooned the legislators for their docility, and expressed worries “over the state of affairs of our beloved state as it concerns the seeming toothlessness of the Delta State House of Assembly.”
"We call on members of the House of Assembly to wake up from their political somnambulism and do what the electorates voted them for: Good and quality representation, not appendages,” the APC stated.

 The social media is also abuzz with statements expressing disappointment at the lifeless and undistinguished work of members the 7^th assembly so far. For instance, Wong Box on social media asked rather derisively: “Is Delta State House of Assembly a ‘rubber stamp?” What have they achieved? They celebrated one year in office.”

Another statement from the same Wong Box reads: “Delta State House of Assembly was supposed to be watch dogs…, but they failed in their duty and are ‘yes men.”

Go to the streets and ask the opinion of Deltans about how well those they elected as law makers have fared, the response is always one of a hiss and an attitude that they are a bunch of docile, unimpressive elements whose legislative output is nothing to write home about.

It was Dovi, a political scientist who posited that “A good democratic representative will be the unbridled advocate of her own constituents.”  Judged against this, the 7^th conclave of the Delta State house of Assembly is a far cry. And like the APC said: They must wake up and live up to expectation.

Being responsible is a basic quality of good leadership. What the leadership of the 7^th conclave of the Delta State house of Assembly should do is not to make excuses for its lapses. It must take personal responsibility for failure.

·        Chukwudi Abiandu, a journalist sent in this contribution from Asaba, Delta State.

Gov. Obaseki vists Buhari, resigns from APC

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.

By Ismaila Chafe
Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has resigned his membership of All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he will soon announce his next line of action.

Obaseki, who made his position known to State House correspondents after visiting the Presidential Villa, on Tuesday said his resignation from the ruling party followed his disqualification from the June 22 APC primaries.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obaseki was disqualified by the APC’s screening committee over alleged discrepancies in his personal and academic records.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of APC also endorsed the disqualification of Obaseki as a candidate for the party’s governorship primaries.

The NWC of APC, led by its National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had on June 15 met behind closed doors with the Chief of Staff to the president, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, at the State House, Abuja.

Obaseki had in a statement vowed not to challenge his disqualification by the party, allegedly accusing Oshiomhole as the brain behind the disqualification while Oshiomhole said the party was going ahead with its primaries on June 22.

Oshiomhole, after the meeting with Gambari on Monday, said: “We’ve gone a long way: we’ve advertised the timetable, there was the stage of collection of forms and about six people collected forms. In that time table we also provided for screening and we also provided for appeals arising from the screening.

“This is standard practice that the NWC has adopted since 2015 and in the case of Edo, we have completed the process of selling forms; we have also completed the process of screening; we have completed the process of appeals arising from the screening by those who wish to take advantage.

“The NWC has met and has reviewed the report of the screening committee and we were unanimous that the screening was thoroughly done and found that three people were eligible to contest, with regards to the provisions of our Constitution.’’

Obaseki, however, said: “You would recall that my statement in my last tweet I said that I will make a decision after my disqualification was announced by APC that I will make a decision after I have consulted with the leadership and my supporters in Edo state and also having informed the president.

“So, just here today to inform you that I have now decided formally to resign my membership of All Progressives Congress.

“Having done that, I would now announce in the next few days my specific line of action and what platform I will be contesting the gubernatorial elections on.’’

The governor, who dismissed all allegations against him by the party’s screening committee, described his disqualification as unfortunate.

On why announcing his resignation while on visit to the State House, the governor said:

“I have said that before I make a decision, I have to show respect to my President, who I adore, who for me is an epitome of incorruptibility, an epitome of order, an epitome of lawfulness.

“This is the man whom for him that is what Nigeria should be all about. I think I owe him that respect to come and tell him what I have done and why I have decided to take the decision I took.’’

PDP chides APC for condoning insurgency, banditry, kidnappings

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been criticized for displaying aloofness to the plight of Nigerians who have been under the siege of insecurity occasioned by insurgents, bandits and kidnappers across the country.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the criticism in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan today, Sunday June 14, 2020. In the statement the PDP stated: “Nigerians have observed the failure of the APC, as a party, to raise a strong voice in giving its government, marching orders against banditry. The APC had not taken any decisive action or proffered any significant suggestion in the effort to secure our nation, beyond lame condolence messages to victims of the attacks.

“The PDP holds that the time has come for the APC to define its stand on the issue of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly the call by well-meaning Nigerians on President Buhari to rejig our nation’s top security architecture and inject new blood into the system.”

The PDP also stated that it  “that the frightening situation where bandits have reportedly taken control of some parts of our nation and even grant permission and consent to residents before they can conduct weddings, naming ceremonies or operate their markets, is completely inexcusable.”

Full text of the PDP statement reads:

June 14, 2020

Press Statement

Banditry: PDP Calls Out APC…Says Ruling Party Yet To Account For Its 2019 Election ‘Mercenaries’

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has again decried the failure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to contain the incessant killings of vulnerable Nigerians by insurgents and bandits in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, Kaduna, Kogi, Taraba and other parts of the country.

The PDP is greatly hurt by the horror, anguish, agony, torture and cruelty our compatriots are facing in the hands of bandits, insurgents and kidnappers, following the failure of the APC administration to get its acts together, tighten our security architecture and secure our nation, despite the huge resources it claimed to have spent.

Our party holds that the situation where marauders and insurgents, who had been pushed to the fringes by the PDP administration, had resurged under the APC, to the extent of occupying territories, ravaging communities and killing our citizens with reckless abandon, raises a lot of questions.

The PDP further notes that the frightening situation where bandits have reportedly taken control of some parts of our nation and even grant permission and consent to residents before they can conduct weddings, naming ceremonies or operate their markets, is completely inexcusable.

It is even more lamentable that the bandits had become so emboldened by the failure of the APC administration to the extent of holding Mr. President’s home state, Katsina, to ransom.

Our party invites Nigerians to note that the APC has failed to account for the whereabouts of the political ‘mercenaries’ it imported into our country from neighboring countries, particularly from Chad and Niger Republic, to participate in its campaigns during the build-up to the 2019 general elections.

Nigerians can recall that the PDP had cautioned on the perils of the importation of unscreened aliens by the APC to involve in its presidential election campaign rallies.

Our party had warned that such elements could be used to unleash acts of violence, including banditry against Nigerians. The escalation of banditry since the 2019 elections, therefore calls for a deep soul-searching by the APC and its leaders.

Moreover, some APC governors are reported to have had contacts, discussions and even negotiations with the bandits: a situation which also demands that the APC and such governors come clean on links with marauders.

Furthermore, Nigerians have observed the failure of the APC, as a party, to raise a strong voice in giving its government, marching orders against banditry. The APC had not taken any decisive action or proffered any significant suggestion in the effort to secure our nation, beyond lame condolence messages to victims of the attacks.

The PDP holds that the time has come for the APC to define its stand on the issue of insecurity in Nigeria, particularly the call by well-meaning Nigerians on President Buhari to rejig our nation’s top security architecture and inject new blood into the system.

The PDP weeps for the victims of the mindless attacks and restates its call on President Buhari to wake up from slumber and take conclusive steps, beyond speeches, to flush the bandits out of our nation.

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan
National Publicity Secretary

FEATURES - DLA, Maryam Babangida Way: Okowa to the rescue

Maryam Babangida Way, Asaba.

By Chukwudi  Abiandu

Like every new capital city, Asaba has its share of infrastructural deficiencies. One of the most pressing, are roads. The major road in the city, Nnebisi,  was often choked by heavy traffic build-ups.

The best alternative to it was the untarred DLA road.

The James Ibori administration of 1999 to 2007 earmarked it for construction. And, for good measure, the contract was awarded to the biggest political "masquerade" from Delta North Senatorial District, at the time. Asaba is also in the district. Rather than deliver, the

masquerade abandoned the job and could not be tamed in any way all through the tenure of the administration that awarded the contract. It's successor, the Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan administration, was equally helpless.

Gutters were provided in some sides of the road but they emptied their water to nowhere, a situation that became the butt of derisive jokes of residents who referred to them as fish ponds. The economic impact was telling. Landlords even relocated as tenants followed suit.

The road became a nightmare as days went into months, several years and decades before Governor Ifeanyi Okowa came in as the chief executive of the State.

Said Mr. Ikechukwu Ajoh, a   commercial tricycle operator: “We suffered a lot, because of the bad condition of DLA Road. Shop owners locked up their shops, tenants packed out as commercial activities dried up.”

Ajoh attributed the cause of the bad flooding situation to the drainage work before now, which was poorly done as no channel was created to get the flood water into the drainage.

The same was applicable to the Maryam Babangida Way, a road project birthed by the Uduaghan administration.

The initial dualization of the road was awarded to ULO Consultants Limited on  December 16, 2009, but it was a shoddy job that was hastily inaugurated.

On Wednesday, December 6, 2017, the Commissioner for Works, Chief James Augoye, told the Works Committee of the State House of Assembly on oversight assignment that the 1.882km Maryam Babangida Way had no design at the time the contract was awarded, stating that ULO moved to site and started work without an approved design of the government, and without the knowledge of the Ministry of Works.

Meanwhile, ULO in its hurried non-performance, had attained a substantial level on the road before the involvement of the ministry. But owing to  the absence of an initial design for the project, the road quickly failed as a result of the closed- ended drainages which caused constant settling of water on it.

 It is a road that  harbours very remarkable and essential Federal and State establishments, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Asaba, a new Appeal Court Complex, the Olorogun Felix Ibru Secretariat, the new ultra modern Delta State Library; it provides links to West African Examination Council office, the State secretariat of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, the State Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, five star hotels, event centres, fuel stations, among other vital economic ventures. Like the DLA Road, it became burdened by heavy rainfall and the attendant stagnant large pool of water. It collapsed.

Thus, Maryam Babangida dual carriage way, Asaba, sank and became deplorable, and impassable. It was supposed to provide a quick and diversion link for motorists and travelers living around the Government Reserved Area to the Benin-Asaba Expressway and other adjoining streets. And like their counterparts on DLA Road, the trauma of experiencing the harsh effect of an awful road began. Businesses suffered, hotels and offices became  inaccessible.

One notable but common factor that affected both roads was the poor drainage system. Then enter the jinx breaker, Senator (Dr.) Ifeanyi Okowa as governor, with his policy to advance rural-urban integration  including the urban centres, which should remain livable cities with good road networks.

It was this consideration to relieve Asaba of the menace of perennial and devastating flood problems that Okowa to embark on the humongous storm drainage work in the State capital. The DLA Road water drain project became one of the three major storm water projects in Asaba.

Indeed, the 2.44 kilometre length storm water control measure covered DLA-Jesus Saves Roads' corridor, with the construction contract awarded on May 15, 2017 to CCECC, a construction company, at the cost of N1.7 billion.

Addressing a news conference, the Commissioner for Works, said  the roads' storm water project and the Maryam Babangida Way, Okpanam Road and other adjoining streets when completed,  would effectively evacuate flood water from the areas. “As a responsive government, Delta State Government could not fold hands and watch the nightmare that residents and commuters undergo to continue unrestrained,” Augoye said, adding that the bad state of DLA Road had lingered for so long owing to the challenging topography of the road. He commended the people for their patience, reassuring that succour was bound to come when the Nnebisi Road section of the storm water project was connected with the DLA-Jesus Saves-Agric Roads' projects.

Today in Asaba, the sewer project from Maryam Babangida Way has effectively addressed the flood menace on the DBS/Cabinet Office Roads, including the road leading to the West African Examinations Council and the secretariat of PDP in the capital. Residents and business operations have returned and started flourishing once again, while the dual carriage Maryam Babangida Way is now a narrative of a well-paved and beautifully tarred road devoid of flooding. Writing recently, Mr. Norbert Chiazor, an experienced journalist said: “But alas! The memory of the late Maryam came alive on the 19 March, 2020, in Asaba. It was a memorable morning for the residents of Delta State capital, as Governor Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, accompanied by his bosom friend and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, commissioned the Maryam Babangida Way.

“Moved by the exemplary standing of the late Anioma foremost daughter, Okowa, saw the necessity of immortalizing Maryam. The Maryam Babangida Way is easily the most iconic road in Asaba today.”

Although yet to be inaugurated, DLA Road now wears a new look and bubbles again with life and the return of commercial activities. The jinx that held the road down from being done for a long time is broken.   Ikechukwu Ajoh said: “All the drainages are working and there is no water logging  anymore on DLA Road.  It has become a smooth tarred road.”

 Similar testimonials abound in several places around the State.