By Etolor Anslem

There have been a long drawn argument on who succeeds Okowa in 2019 on the media space. One prominent phrase that has become a slogan for the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) that's if truly they are progressives is "APC Takeover". Ordinarily one would be wondering what are they taking over? But when you take a critical look at that phrase "takeover" you will now understand the very essence of what the APC stands for. Takeover is a phrase used mostly by drug lords and Criminal Minds who often resort to unconstitutional means in securing a territory for their smooth operations.

Modern organized societies and democracies provide standard methods for gaining power via ballots, through the electoral process voting for one's preferred candidate. From the foregoing, a background analysis for the alternative to Okowa 2019 has been provided wherein one is forced to look at what alternatives are there for deltans to choose from in 2019.

Are we going to fall prey a second time for a similar "Change" mantra the APC promised in 2015 in a bid to gain power and later changed the change in the course of governance. Nigerians did not interrogate the kind of change promised them in 2015, so in expecting positive change, they got negative change which has taken the country 10years back and destroyed the economy, heightened ethnic tension and increased insecurity on our land.

So deltans need to interrogate the "APC Takeover" phrase so as to understand what they mean by taking over. From a pedestrian understanding of what APC delta stand for, and a critical look at their antecedents so far, one is safe to conclude that the APC has one thing in common "Violence" which they exhibited at their ward and local government area Congresses in delta state, while exporting same act of violence to Abuja at their National Convention. It will be wrong to entrust power in the hands of Political Thugs who have nothing good to offer rather than legalization of Thuggery on a National Scale as was witnessed during the Invasion of the National Assembly by Thugs loyal to a Senator from Delta State. We would not want to have a state where thugs will be crawling freely as is the case of Kogi state where those opposed to the governor are haunted.

Okowa before assumption of office came out with a clear blueprint that is encapsulated in the SMART Agenda which means; Strategic Wealth creation projects and provision of jobs for all Deltans; Meaningful peace building platforms aimed at political and social harmony; Agricultural reforms and accelerated industrialization; Relevant Health and Education policies; Transformed environment through urban renewal”.

Okowa made specific promises such as the intendment for establishing a Technical and Vocational Education Board, in order to strengthen the state owned technical colleges as well as run effectively the state owned skills acquisition centers. He also Appointed the Chief job creation officer, to head the Job Creation Office, the Asaba Capital Development Agency to meet the challenges of a developing city, and Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC by restructuring the board and management in line with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) model, which is aimed at repositioning it to cater for it's manpower and infrastructural development of oil producing communities.

Three Years down the line, the delta state government has trained and empowered over 18,000 youths with various skills and has gotten commendation from the World Bank in December 2017, at the Products Exhibition and Business Fair of the Delta State Government by beneficiaries of its Job Creation Scheme in Asaba with a pledge from the World Bank to provide financial support for the state’s job creation programmes.

Tunde Adekola, a Senior Education Specialist in the bank, noted that “Delta is the only state that has demonstrated its commitment to skills development in practical terms.”

It is safe to conclude that Okowa remains the alternative to Okowa in 2019 with a proven track record of excellence in education, health care, infrastructural development, peace and security as well as job creation. The faculties of law and engineering as well as Nursing, Delta State University got accreditation because of the commitment Okowa has for educational development. He has earned the title of Road Master for uncommon effort taken towards ensuring that our inner cities have access to road infrastructure just to mention a few of his achievements.