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| Delta State Commissioner for Information, Patrick Ukah, during a visit to the Vanguard |
The three-man delegation from the Delta State
government walked briskly into the Conference Room of Vanguard that Monday in a
sort of way that reminded one of the SMART agenda of their principal, Senator
Ifeanyi Okowa.
The team was led by Mr. Patrick Ukah, the state
commissioner for information that included Mr. Charles Aniagwu, the chief press
secretary to the governor and Mr. Augustine Avwode, special assistant, media
(Lagos).
If the walk of the trio was smart, the articulation
of the two, Ukah and Aniagwu who did much of the speaking showed a precision
and purposefulness in their business of information management.
Ukah, until
his appointment a sports marketer and former president of the Nigeria Hockey
Association, had until his recent appointment as commissioner had not been
known much in the politics of Delta State. But even as a Lagos-based sports
marketer, he was one of those who were quick to identify with Okowa and visited
all the wards in the state with the Okowa campaign before the election.
Aniagwu was
himself an Abuja-based journalist who acquired fame as one of the regular hosts
of the Raypower 100.5 FM programme Political Platform.
Just as the
delegation took their seats, the first question was on the controversial plan
by the federal administration to provide grazing reserves in the states for
Fulani herdsmen. The question was especially sensitive given the fact that a
leading traditional ruler in Delta State, the Obi of Ubuluku was murdered by
suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Responding, Ukah said: “That issue of the
traditional ruler that was killed has remained a very sad moment for Deltans.
But thank God we are getting over it. Recently, a Hausa man was appointed a
Special Adviser, SA, to the governor to help us relate with such issues and to help
us bridge the gap of understanding.”
Ukah was to add, however, that the issue of carving
an area for grazing in the states would have to be a matter of a national
policy which the state may key into. So far, his appointment is doing a lot for
us.”
“It is not an issue for Delta to carve out one, it
has to be a national policy, and I think that the governor is very much on top
of that. But what we have tried to do is to manage the relationship with these
people and appointing one of them as an SA is one of the ways we think we can
bridge this gap for now. But you will agree with me that setting up a grazing
area for these people is a national policy; it is not something that we are
going to do single-handedly. It is being taken care of now by the National
Economic Council. When it is in place, Delta is willing.”
It was, however, shocking to hear that following the
brutal killing of the Obi of Ubuluku that the herdsmen would be rewarded with a
sub-cabinet position.
Ukah was to take a patriotic stance saying to the
relief of all those offended by the murder of the Obi that all but one of the
culprits involved in the incident had been apprehended.
“I can tell you that this is one of the few stories
where we can boast of apprehending those involved. So, it is not a question of
reward. You will agree with me that for a better relationship, that if we get
one of those persons, who understand their language and their ways of life, it
will be easier for you because if you want to talk to them when you don’t
understand Hausa, there could be communication problem.”
Ukah added that a number of Hausa Fulanis had even
been indigenised in Delta with a number of them speaking the local languages.
It soon became obvious that Mr. Ukah was seeking an
opportunity to blow the trumpet of his governor, and he ironically latched on
the tricky question of how the new administration is managing in the midst of
dwindling federal allocations.
“That is one area that I know that the state
governor has done very well. When we say that he has properly stabilised the
economy of the state, we are not wrong. First, he tried to tighten up
governance. If you look at the Delta State government, you will know that the
governor had only visited America once since he became governor.”
Besides the
governor’s judicious use of resources, Mr. Ukah pointed out progress made by
the new administration in the provision of micro-credits to the informal
sector.
Speaking passionately of how the government is
working to increase the fortunes of the informal sector he matter of fact also
said that it was also to the benefit of the government to grow the informal
sector, noting that that would also help increase government revenue.
“We are trying to engage the informal sector through
cooperatives, through market women associations and other areas where people do
not even know why they should pay tax. So, since we came, we have been engaging
them and those are the areas we are trying to tell them why they should pay
tax.”
Noting how the new administration has been encouraging
the informal sector, he said: “The first loans we gave out were about N500
million. The second set was about N400 and just recently we did about N150
million. We found out that these cooperatives are actually getting it, so they
actually have to get back to the government. Through these interactions we have
made them to understand why they need to pay tax to the government.”
Given insinuations by some political rivals that
Governor Okowa has taken his victories in the election and the courts as a
reason to snub his rivals, Ukah was tasked on the relationship between the
governor and the other political parties.
“When we won at the tribunal, the first statement
the governor made was to call his two brothers in the other parties that they
should work together. And I am sure those our two brothers are aware that they
did not campaign. I did not only visit the 25 local governments; I visited all
the wards. If I went to all the wards, that is to tell you that we were with
the governor, and we went to all the wards.”
Flaunting Okowa’s phenomenal growth through the
ranks of political authority, he said: “Someone who has been there as a local government secretary, local
government chairman, commissioner, secretary of the state government, a senator
and now as a governor, what do you expect? He has been in the system, and he is
a grassroots politician. You cannot compare a grassroots man with those, who
have been in Lagos and later came back home.
“He extended his hand of fellowship after the
tribunal judgment, after the appeal he repeated the same, and at the Supreme
Court he did same. Recently, he met one of them at the airport; he walked up to
him to greet him.”
Ukah as with many partisans of the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP are wont to say was quick to point to Delta as a
one-party state.
“The political family in Delta is a movement and
they are in one house. That house happens to be PDP. A few will go, may be
because they never got what they were looking for but when they go, they later
return. I think the distraction has stopped because it is difficult to beat
one’s family in terms of philosophy and in every way.
“In the last
election, the governor did not only win in four local governments in Delta Central,
but the other four were also won by SDP, LP and not even APC. The APC candidate
only won in his ward. And the strategy was to leave him because he is our
brother and that is his home. The distraction has ended, what we need to do now
is to sit down and develop our state.”
Given the seemingly high approval rate of the
governor, Ukah was not shy to let out the governor’s secret to winning the
hearts of the populace.
He said: “one
of the ways the governor has used to court the opposition is even development.
In all the projects that Governor has initiated, it goes around the three
senatorial districts. It started with the renovation of the three technical
schools. There is one in Sapele, Ofagbe and Agbor. Even in road construction,
we make sure that everyone is carried along so that as we move along people
will be able to feel the impact of the government so that by the time we get to
2019, we will be able to carry the majority who don’t belong to any party.”
“The very
potent weapon the governor is using now is to spread development and
appointment; we are very confident that when some persons want to move their
brothers will prevent them.”
Off course, Mr. Ukah was not let off without a
return to his former constituency of sports.
Given the
fact that the same situation of limited funds which he faced as president of
the Nigeria Hockey Federation is also facing the administration in Delta State,
he was asked how the Okowa administration would sustain Delta State in its
pride of place as the leading state in
sports in the country.
He said: “As
the President of the Nigerian Hockey Federation for four years, I got only N3
million from the federal government during my tenure. But I was able to keep
the game going in the country, (though) not as much as I wanted. I took the
county to the Nation’s Cup with the assistance of the private sector.
“Like the governor said, the focus has to go back to
the schools which are where some of us stand. We need to go back to the
collegiate system. And if the right environment is provided in secondary
schools, I believe that Nigeria will be able to get back to being the best.
Collegiate
sports is one of the areas that Delta will focus on, and it will involve the
private sector. And that is where to go. If we think that the government is
going to bring out money and sink into sports the way it was in the past
administrations, I don’t see that happening. We need to raise the value of
sports and attract the private sector, the government will have to provide the
enabling environment for that to thrive,”
Ukah said in the apparent realisation that he has
his job cut out for him. Ukah, who before now thrived on marketing sports, is
now charged with the reverse role of providing the adequate environment for
marketers to thrive in Delta State.
It is a task he apparently feels comfortable doing
on the basis of the support he has from his principal.
“The governor is called Ekwueme which means one who
will always do what he says he will do. When he gives any promise, he is ready
to back it up.”
So, with the
robust support of a committed governor eyes are on the team in Delta to lead
the citizenry on the smart path
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