The December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State is mainly between former Governor Timipre Sylva, popularly known as the Opuabadi (the sea or the ocean) and the incumbent governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, known as the Ofurumapepee (the great white shark).
Most people beleive that Opuabadi is the most befitting symbol and appellation for Sylva who is the standard bearer for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election. The sea is the biggest body of water. Its vastness is most times inestimable and immesurable.
The sea is deep and swallows whatever is thrown into it. Most times the sea remains calm despite being home to different sizes of underwater creatures and vegetation. But when the sea is troubled, it unsettles and sometimes swallows whatever is afloat, including the largest vessel.
Politically speaking, Sylva truly typifies the sea. He has weathered all storms and swallowed many of his obstacles. Though the former governor has a calm and cheerful demeanour, his anger is like the rage of a tempestuous sea. It can devour obstacles against his progress. Sylva, like the opuabadi, is always unstoppable, especially when he fights on a platform of justice.
Following his travails, Sylva is alsolikened to the proverbial cat with nine lives. He is, indeed, a study in political long-suffering, tolerance, forgiveness; an epitome of endurance, courage and patience in the face of persecution and betrayal. Everybody thought that Sylva was finished politically. Who would not think so? As a sitting governor, Sylva was practically chased out of the Creek Haven Government House through the instrumentality of the then Federal Government.
His brother and kinsman, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who was then the President, unleashed federal might on the governor in pursuit of personal vendetta. Jonathan spared no federal institution, including the state security and judiciary, in his personal project of kicking Sylva out of office. He eventually succeeded in hounding him out of power and even caused the PDP to deny him his legitimate right of seeking reelection.
In the course of his political journey, Sylva no doubt took some faulty decisions which inadvertently saw him walk into the trap of his enemy. First, was his decision as a governor to seek tenure elongation. Jonathan was said to have talked Sylva into seeking elongated reign as compensation for the 2007 judgment that truncated his tenure. Granted, Sylva and four other governors got a favourable judgment in the lower court. The decision and judgment exempted Sylva from standing for reelection in the April 2011 general election the same time Jonathan stood election as the President.
But immediately Jonathan assumed office, the Supreme Court nullified the tenure elongation judgment and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to fill the vacuum. The judgment rendered Sylva vulnerable in the power play that saw Jonathan stand in all fours to humiliate him. So, the former governor, regretted his decision to get involved in the tenure elongation suit.
However, the Opuabadi, salvaged his political life through a different decision. He took the risk and joined the APC at the party’s formative stage. He was, indeed, the only notable South-South voice of the APC apart from former Governor Rotimi Amaechi who was driven to the party by the excesses of Jonathan’s wife, Patience.
Having tasted the wrath of an incumbent President, Sylva was expected by many of his friends and associates to kow-tow to Jonathan and remain in political asylum until such a time the former President would be disposed to making peace with him.
Instead of sending emissaries to beg the former President, Sylva took his political destiny in his hands and hopped into the APC vehicle without wasting time. He was antagonised and cast off by Jonathan’s men who painted him in bad light and described him as an enemy of the Ijaw Nation. In fact, his political associates and former aides, in public show of solidarity to Jonathan, disowned Sylva. The former governor bore the hate and trudged on.
The former governor soon became one of the back-room strategists and thinkers of the APC and part of the brains behind the party’s success at the poll. Without mincing words, Sylva has bounced back. He is not just an indisputable leader of the APC in the state, but he is also the party’s candidate in the election. With the APC at the centre, people now rally round Sylva, who is gradually becoming the leader of the Ijaw Nation in the spirit of the late Ijaw political icon and advocate of pro-Federal Government, Melford Okilo.
Undoubtedly, Sylva is in the race of his life. His chances of winning the election and symbolically swallowing the Ofurumapepee in December 5 appear bright. The opuabadi is becoming more popular each day despite efforts by his former party to demonise him.
Many factors account for the rising popularity of Sylva. One is his spirit of forgiveness. Sylva opened his arms and received all his former aides, who once betrayed and abandoned him. Commissioners who served under him and made fortunes in his government returned to their former boss with their loyalists. They were immediately reintegrated into the project of returning Sylva to the Creek Haven on December 5.
Following the loss of federal power, PDP became unattractive in the state. Most people immediately restrategised and refocused on APC as their new hope and future. So tsunamic defections became the lot of the PDP as many of its henchmen joined the APC.
Besides, shortly after the rancour that characterised its governorship primary and emergence of Sylva’s running mate, APC quickly mended fences and became united in the task of wresting power from the PDP. They, therefore, proved critics, who expected the crisis to divide them, wrong.
No sooner had Sylva kicked off his campaign than a crowd of persons began to identify with his aspiration and vision for the state. It has been tales of massive support for the former governor who has so far held grand rallies in Sagbama, Dickson’s local government area, Ekeremor, Southern Ijaw and Nembe. Sylva and his team also took their time to visit almost all the communities in each local council. They also received royal blessings from palaces of traditional rulers they visited.
Sylva’s acceptance was boosted by the presence of notable political leaders and former political office holders who had since bid goodbye to PDP. The reception of his candidacy was further spiced by the appointment of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as the Minister of State for Agriculture. The minister, who is incidentally the campaign Director-General of the Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO) has been leading grassroot mobilisation for Sylva.
Also, Sylva appears to be garnering endorsements from critical stakeholders in the state. Most significant recently was the backing of the Bayelsa Elders Council (BEC), a body of respected elders, some of whom are notable members of the PDP. ln an atmosphere of brotherhood, BEC-led by its Chairman, Chief Francis Doukpola, blessed the candidacy of Sylva.
Backing the former governor’s ambition, the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff said: “We have given you our blessings and support. We urge you to be peaceful and bear no grudge”.
Sylva said the elders should support him for justice sake. He said to them: “I believe if as a governor I was allowed to run in 2012, I would have run and done my second term in office. I was disqualified from the office l was occupying. It only happened in Bayelsa. If our elders believe in justice, they must start with me. I hear people say let us stop this no-second term syndrome. They say let Dickson go for second term. But l say to them let the second term begin with me”.
The former governor in most of his campaigns predicated his vision on prosperity, empowerment and security. He has also vowed to complete most of the abandoned community-oriented projects. His vision for empowerment, especially for the youths, perhaps, account for the large presence of youths population in his campaign.
In most of his campaigns, he said his administration would bring prosperity to the state and end the era of poverty and hardship. He said: “A new day is dawning over Bayelsa. We are going to bring prosperity and empowerment to you people, especially the youth. It is our responsibility to look after the youth”.
He said the APC government would be about the people, promising that youths would play active roles in his government. He said the first thing his administration will do is to embark on quick-win jobs to empower the people and reduce the scourge of unemployment in the state. He vowed to stop overtaxation of civil servants.
The APC standard bearer has responded to questions bordering on the perceived mistakes of his first administration. For instance, the government has always accused him of plunging the state into heavy debts. But Sylva said: “When I left and I hope that the Dickson administration will be sincere, I will never lie to Bayelsans, I have a commercial loan stock of N20billion which I was hoping I will be able to finish paying by May that year and I would have finished paying it if I was there by then.
“Now, the government of Jonathan was owing contractors N111billion and by the time I was leaving, the contractors’ debt rose to N207billion. You keep saying I owed so much; most of that money they were talking about was contractors’ debts. If they are truthful, they will tell you.
“I inherited a debt of N111billion and what Dickson inherited from me was N207 contractors’ debt. I am sure that if I take over today, the contractor debts would have gone up to above N400billion. I would not go out and announce that Dickson owes so much; that is to somebody that does not understand economics.
“The loan stock of 20billion that l owed, Dickson could have paid it off in the first three months because when he came in was when fuel subsidy was particularly removed. In fact in that year, we budgeted N50 billion extra because we were expecting more money to the state and Dickson got more than N50billion extra.
“I keep telling you, the facts are there. The first year I got into government, I received N89billion from the federation account the first year Dickson came, he received N191billion. Second year, I received N154billion; Dickson received N216billion. The third year, I received N106billion, Dickson received N156billion. So what is he talking about?”
On allegations of extra-judicial killing by a security outfit, Famou-Tangbe, that operated during his administration, Sylva said: “Look, Famou-Tangbe was formed as a security outfit. Dickson himself realised that there was the need for a specialised outfit. He himself has formed one and I can tell you and give you names.
“At least I know one name of somebody that has been killed by his outfit, Doo Akpo. I have pictures that I can show you; people that were killed by Doo-Akpo, they do a lot of extra-judicial killings. But the Doo-Akpo, is it run by Governor Dickson? No.
“The decision to form the security outfit, Famou-Tangbe, was taken in a security council meeting because we needed to set up a specialised outfit to combat the rising wave of crime, especially coming at the time after militancy and a lot of these young men were out from the creeks and there was a rise in criminality in the city.
“So we decided to set up a security outfit in collaboration with the police. The name was not from me. The name was suggested by my then security adviser, Richard Kpodo. Famou-Tangbe is not my dialect.
That outfit was overseen by Pere Rich as my security Adviser but under the police. If any crime was committed by Famutangbe, Pere Rich is working with Governor Dickson and so I challenged him to arrest Pere Rich. As far as Governor Dickson is concerned, it is just the name that is the problem. The name was not my suggestion and I am happy that he is now working with Governor Dickson and I wish them well.”
But despite how Sylva’s image has been polished and presented to the people of the state, he is up against the Ofurumapepee, the great white shark. The reference to Dickson as a great white shark was borne out of the desire to demonstrate that no matter how tempestuous the Opuabadi is, it cannot swallow certain creatures.
The communication concept of the Ofurumapepee shows Dickson withstanding the menacing surge of the Opuabadi. He is depicted as the shark that survives the greatest tempest. The governor has no doubt proved that he is prepared, equipped and ready with his party, the PDP, to swim the Opuabadi and come out unscathed. In other words, he is ready for Syva and his APC.
The PDP candidate is no doubt campaigning on the basis of performance. Dickson,a former member of the House of Representatives, became a governor with the help of Jonathan, who was then the President. Most people believe that the governor has delivered on security and infrastructural developments. They further said that Dickson has demystified governance and changed the face of politics. According to such persons, the governor, who prides himself as a good manager of resources, institutionalised transparency and accountability. He is known for checking the menace of cultism.
The energetic governor also known as the ‘countryman’, appears to have got his strategies right despite losing most of his party men to APC. He embarked on community-to-community campaigns, which took him to many rural settlements in the state.
Over 400 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and non-indigenes have vowed to work for Dickson. Foot soldiers of the governor also claim that the notorious militant group, the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), has endorsed Dickson. But MEND denied it. Reports also showed that residents of each community visited by the governor praised him for his giant strides on education, road, health and other sectors.
Also, Dickson is wooing each community by giving appointments to some of their kinsmen. So, the governor, during his campaigns, distributed many appointment letters. The strategy is to get persons in all the communities committed to his second term bid. Dickson strongly believes that he has performed to secure a second term. The governor said he performed better than Sylva. He said: “Even a blind man will tell you that you cannot compare our performance and that the difference between me and Sylva is like that between day and night.
“In what area can you compare? In terms of acquiring liabilities and debts for our state? Or are you going to measure the performance by the number of killings in the state? In every area, talking about peace and security and development, we know that there is no comparison”.
He said his achievements were visible in all sectors of the economy claiming that his administration had given the people a new appreciation of government as enabler of development. “We have changed the face of politics in Bayelsa State”, he declared.
He said his administration emphasised the importance of the people as the centre of all development and accountability elevated as core of democracy. He said: “For example, every month we announce what comes in, in terms of revenue and how we spend them; it is empowerment of the people. We are empowering them mentally and democratically to take charge of their future.
“I believe that this will be a standard moving forward as far as governorship and other elections in this state are concerned”. He listed development in education, roads and bridges, health, provision of important public buildings, agriculture, empowerment and the ongoing airporting project at Amassoma as some of his notable achievements. He said he was confident of victory.
He said: “If we have built the number of schools we have built within this period in spite of the short fall in allocation; If we have done the sort of things my government has done within this period. If I do not feel confident that I have done enough, then I do not know the governor that should run for a second term because frankly if a governor were to do the sort of things I have done he will win. That is my view. I have interacted with our people and communities and they all say I deserve more than a second term. And so I am very confident.”
Will the Ofurumapepee survive the Opuabadi? Undoubtedly, the Judgment Day is next Saturday when the duo will test their popularity.