By Paul Sylvester
A parallel can be drawn between the emergence of Mr. Tony Obuh as a frontline governorship aspirant of the PDP in Delta State and the awe that followed the choice of Barack Obama as the Keynote Speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Tony Obuh
Narrating how a relatively unknown state legislator, who had recently won the primaries for the Senate race, in the book titled: Obama: From Promise To Power, David Mendel stated how Obama’s advisers succeeded in winning him the address, which made him a superstar afterwards.
After the event, held at the Boston’s Fleet Centre Arena, Obama, whose name hardly made headlines, emerged the beautiful bride of the Democratic Party.
Mendel captured the emerging scenario thus: ‘’Reality had changed unalterably for Obama.
His modest fame was expanding into celebrity beyond Illinois and the Washington Beltway.
After his roundly hailed keynote speech, he was fast becoming one of the hottest commodities in the Democratic Party nationwide.’’
Though Obuh did not deliver a similar speech at a forum like Obama, his astonishing political stardom in Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, since he indicated interest to contest the governorship position has become a subject of discourse beyond the state.
Like the Obama scenario, whose promising stardom prompted questions regarding where he was coming from, there are posers on this aspirant, who is perceived to have emerged from no where.
The successor
To some, he comes across as an anointed aspirant, who may have been groomed to succeed Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Others argue that Obuh represents the tribe of technocrats, who have gone ahead to distinguish themselves as governors of their states in this dispensation.
This feeling cuts across party lines, given that his emergence at the scene appears to have overshadowed other aspirants from Delta North, who were earlier assumed as heavyweights in the race.
How the name of a recently retired civil servant came to dwarf those of aspirants like Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr. Ndudi Elumelu, Chief Festus Okubor, Prof. Sylvester Monye, among others, is better understood by those who have followed Obuh’s antecedents in the affairs of Delta.
On hand to clarify the doubt behind the buzz was Obuh, who, at an interactive session in Lagos, corroborated findings which indicated that various sensitive postings in the civil service exposed him to the intricacies of politicking.
‘’The defining phase of my career, which is well connected with my current political thrust, began with my stewardship as Director, Office of the Secretary to the State Government under Mr. J.P Erhuero, who was the Secretary to the Government of Chief James Ibori.
In this position, I was the head of the secretariat since there was no Permanent Secretary in that office at that time. I was thus exposed to the political leadership and political structures in place for the governance of the state,’’ the gubernatorial aspirant noted.
Clarifying that being exposed to politicking did not imply that he was partisan against the civil service rules, Obuh, who recently organised a Mass to celebrate his voluntary retirement, said: ‘’Though a civil servant serving the needs of the political class and coping with the exigencies occasioned by the workings of the existing political arrangements, I had the unique privilege to contribute directly to the political and economic development of the state.’’
Collaboration
He added: ‘’Though still in active service, I took interest in propagating my belief in good governance, transparency and accountability through my support and funding of a political pressure group which operated under the name, Project Uduaghan International, PUI.
The PUI, which worked in close collaboration with the leadership of the PDP from its inception in 2005, participated actively in political events and rallies selling the philosophy of the party.
“The political leadership took note of the profundity of my empathy with the agenda of the administration and I was gradually admitted to greater levels of trust and responsibility.
I was drawn into strategy building building discussion sessions which brainstormed on the least cost approaches to prosecute the administration’s programs. In my contributions to the discussions, I availed the groups of my deep understanding of the workings of the state bureaucracy and the developmental challenges which my long civil service career had made possible.’’
The greatest possible impact
Corroborating what many commentators have said about governance in the state, Obuh said, “There is no doubt that the state, through this administration, has achieved a great deal in the last seven years as reflected by the huge harvests of projects in all sectors.’’
On that note, he said, “I feel a personal sense of joy about this both as a Deltan and as a key member of the administration. But many of the policies and programs are still unfolding. And having served in the team which articulated these policies and programmes, I consider myself uniquely placed to sustain and extend them for the greatest possible impact.’’
Obuh declared that his robust experience in the civil service makes him the best man to succeed Uduaghan.
‘’I look forward to a Delta State that continues on the progressive march of the present administration. I offer myself to serve the state with a promise to run an inclusive and responsive government, building upon the very strong foundation already laid. These traits of responsiveness and inclusiveness have been characteristics of me and were especially notable during my stewardship as a senior civil servant for many years,’’ the gubernatorial aspirant stated.
Still on his unique selling point, Obuh said: ‘’Again, without sounding immodest, I dare say that responsive policy formulation and management to meet exigencies and long-term well-being of our dear state has been my forte in the past 32 years.
I promise to run an administration that will bring about the sustenance, extension, development and diversification of the many policies and programmes for economic transformation which have been firmly planted in many sectors. My deep inside knowledge of these policies is an advantage that I want all Deltans to note.
‘’With this long drawn timeline of public service, with successive administrations, I offer myself and my pair of safe hands as a friend, brother and confidant that can be trusted with the common good of all Deltans as one united family.’’
Despite this sterling resume which suggested that the aspirant might not be the political neophyte his critics claim, it is still to be seen whether he would get the PDP ticket given the calibre and number of others who are vying for it.
Already, some leading politicians across the three senatorial zones of the state have thrown their weight behind him.
Notable among there are the Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay, and Senior Political Adviser to the governor, Chief Ighoyota Amori.
Hi. I’m a Web Developer and Graphics Designer, I enjoy blogging as part-time and I draw a lot when I’m free. Thanks for visiting my blog today and I hope you come back next time.
0 comments:
Post a Comment