From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

 

The former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe has felicitated with the people of Bayelsa State over the celebration of its 25th anniversary as a state.

 

He noted that though the state has not achieved all it desire in the areas of infrastructural development and growth, the people of the state should be hopeful and steadfast as the era of liberation and harvest is close.

 

Chief Alaibe assured Bayelsa people that there is still hope for the state despite the fact that from the onset “we lack leadership that exhibited magic quality of personality, character, conviction, and the vision that would turn our expectations into concrete achievements.”

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According to Alaibe in spite of the development efforts of past leaders, Bayelsa is not yet where it should be noting that on a personal level he is proud of the state “ not necessarily in what it has achieved in 25 years, but in what the future holds.

“Unfortunately, and in spite of the development efforts of past leaders, we are not there yet. In leadership, we are still experimenting. We are yet to put our best foot forward. On physical development, we are yet to develop a Master Plan. Sadly, states that were created at the same time with ours, have left us far behind.

 

“What Bayelsa State has in abundance, but is yet to put to profitable use is visionary leadership; a transformational leadership that is trustworthy; a leadership with the capacity to persuasively generate support and turn our abundant human and material resources into development capital; a leadership that would recognize that marine-based industrial development and growth or blue GDP is a great potential to Bayelsa State economic and social development; a leadership that would utilize Blue Economy as a strategy or policy instrument to drive economic growth, create jobs and reduce youth unemployment.

 

“Even more imperative is a leadership with clear understanding of the reality of disruption of the digital revolution and the inevitability of its impact on governance, and be able to establish a set of common values to drive policy choices and implement changes that will create opportunities for Bayelsans. However, despite these avoidable setbacks, despite the human errors that have pushed us several years behind our contemporaries, we still have reasons to celebrate. “