Dr Cairo Ojougboh is an Ika born doctor turned politician. He has held various political positions, including an Honourable Member of the House of Representatives and factional Vice Chairman, PDP South-South. So by all accounts, he is a major player in the political space of the current republic that birthed in 1999.
That he has the ambition to become the governor of Delta State is public knowledge until it was truncated by his new party, the APC. That his ambition was foreclosed by APC was not influenced by the incumbent Governor, Dr. Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa. The APC showed crass disdain for the Anioma Nation when in their arrogance of power at the center disrespected and disregarded the existing political covenant of power rotation amongst the three Senatorial Districts that make up the State. The arrogance under reference gave birth to Chief Great Ogboru’s candidacy.
One would have thought that Aniomas’ in Delta State APC would have canvassed “The Anioma Agenda”from the get-go. But either they were outwitted or were seen as inconsequential, the throw up of their present candidate is a self inflicted embarrassment, shamefully too.
Against this backdrop, the narrative of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, of PDP 16 years misrule of Delta State is self indicting as until a few months ago he was a major stakeholder of the PDP. It is tantamount to a head game to believe that he was not part of PDP in the years he referenced.
The abstract of this essay is not to interrogate the credibility of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh assertions, as that is laughable but to question his “Aniomaness”, more so, when he posited that Governor Okowa will be swept away from office in the upcoming governorship election. All politics they say is local. Is it in the interest of Anioma Nation that Dr Okowa is swept out of office, notwithstanding his outstanding performance? Is Anioma not entitled to 2 terms of 4years each like the other Senatorial Districts (Central & South) that preceded Anioma?
The assumed rivalry between Governor Okowa and Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has been simmering for long, call it the clash of ambitions, but providence has always smiled on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa due to many factors; including the fact that he is a grassroots politician who has diligently climbed the political ladder in the state and consequently built structures and bridges and adjudged to have a mastery of the art of political networking second to none in the State.
Apart from his stint as a Senator that took him out of State to Abuja ….. records show that he hardly missed a weekend in Delta State, so he cannot be classified as an Abuja based or diaspora politician, he kept in touch with his constituency.
It is my contention that, all these attributes must have impacted positively on Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s political acceptance and ascendancy throughout the nook and cranny of the state. Which has given him overwhelming advantage when juxtaposed against other Anioma contenders and even all the current contenders for the Governorship of Delta State.
Back to the kernel of my thoughts, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh should put the Anioma interest above all other considerations as the contentious issue at hand is not about Okowa but that of the Anioma Nation. All discerning prominent politicians and stakeholders in Delta State know that it is the turn of Anioma to govern to fulfill their 8 years tenure, as Governor Okowa is performing creditably on the job. Delta State stands on a tripod which our dear Dr. Cairo Ojougboh is well aware. President Jonathan ostensibly lost the presidency in 2015 pundits averred, because he discarded the unwritten principle of power rotation having reneged on his promise to do a single tenure as president, following the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua. Nevertheless, the reality on ground today is that either by happenstance, providence or diligence, et. al, Dr. Okowa is poised to remain the Governor of Delta State till 2023….. the likes of Dr. Cairo Ojougboh should embrace this stark reality and beat a retreat and more advisedly, comeback to the fold as he is a complete stranger in APC.
It will be a herculean political miracle for Dr. Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa to be defeated against the run of play as he is finishing his first term strongly against all odds, considering the inherited myriad of debts, abandoned projects, and shabbily executed projects from the immediate past government that had to be redone. It is my postulations that Dr. Cairo Ojougboh will like history to be kind to him when the political history of Anioma Nation is written and therefore cannot afford to be on the wrong side of history as one of those that joined forces against his own people. This reminds me of the folklore about the “Anam” fish seller, who was about to have his fish confiscated in the market and screamed to his fellow Brethren to help save his fish because the loss of his fish is a loss to the entire people of Anam….. this, summarizes my position! This election is not only about Dr. Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa, it is about the collective interest of the Anioma Nation as a cohesive entity in the political space of Delta State. I therefore, urge Dr. Cairo Ojougboh to come back home, because only one person can be governor at the same time. There are lots of opportunities where his talent could be put to use in the development of our beloved state. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa has a large heart and will surely synergies with him to move the state forward.
Hon. Uraih, public affairs analyst & news media consultant.
