The people of Ogbia kingdom in Bayelsa State believe in miracles. The first miracle for them was the discovery of oil in commerical quantity, the first ever in West Africa at Oloibiri in 1956.

Twenty-three years later, another miracle occurred. From the blues, Chief Melford Obiene Okilo, from Emakalakala, defeated all the big names in old Rivers State politics to emerge the first executive governor in 1979.

And the biggest miracle came 32 years later. Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan from Otuoke was elected the 15th President of Nigeria. Even though the name Goodluck espoused some connection with the divine, never in the wildest imagination did he and his kinsmen think that one day the son of a canoe carver and farmer, who trekked miles from Otuoke to attend St Michael Primary School, Oloibiri, would become the President of the most populous black nation on earth.

From those who know him, his story is enough proof that indeed a higher being plays a prominent role in the affairs of men. Right from childhood, all he strove to achieve was not to end up like his parents, who lived from hand to mouth and struggled to feed their children.

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/may/29/national-29-05-2011-001.html