Michael Afenfia
On Wednesday, February 14, 2018, when world celebrates love, Bayelsans, home and abroad, would be rallying for another kind of celebration. It is the celebration of six years of restoration in the “Jerusalem” of the Ijaw nation.
In the sixth year anniversary commemoration of the Restoration Government on St. Valentine’s Day, there is a gear shift from sombre to a showcasing to the world a scorecard of impressive projects and revolutionary policies that have restored, reformed, re-energised and re-launched Bayelsa to the rest of the country as a prototype for good governance and exemplary leadership.
First the anniversary, drums will be rolled out and big wigs invited to commission projects initiated and executed by the Restoration Government. Two past presidents of Nigeria, the freshly minted PhD holder, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, would be on ground to commission some of the projects earmarked for commissioning, as part of the activities in the anniversary celebration programme.
Those who interact with Dickson privately, as well as the people of Bayelsa that follow his public remarks, would agree on one thing: The governor is passionate about the development of the state he governs and the people who elected him to govern them. The point of intersection can be summed up in these words of the governor himself: “I believe that the future of Bayelsa State is not in oil and gas alone.” That is the thinking that has fuelled his passion since 2012 when he first took the oath of office, and again in 2016 when the people returned him in preference to the other candidate that had also served the state as governor. My assessment then, and I still hold that view, is that the people had a basis for comparison and when weighed, one against the other, track record against track record, they chose to go where they saw light, where they saw progress, where they saw peace, where there was a long list of projects and accomplishments under the belt, and above all, where there was transparent and prudent deployment of state resources.”
While it is true that the governor has made an indelible imprint in the educational sector in the state by setting up, for the first time ever, free boarding secondary schools, with the Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama being the flagship, as well as the University of Africa that is heavily textured by its international flavour of academic and non-academic staff, those who see the bigger picture can easily identify that beyond the aesthetics of buildings and service infrastructure is the ultimate goal of moving away from dependence on oil and gas resources to evolving into a knowledge driven society.
Beyond his interest in the health and wellness of Bayelsans and ensuring that they have access to world-class medical facilities and professionals, there is an overarching purpose for the huge investments made so far by Governor Dickson in the healthcare sector in the state. The intention is to make Bayelsa an inevitable destination of choice for medical tourism. The Specialist Hospital beside Government House Yenagoa, the Diagnostic Centre and Medical Quarters located within the precincts of the 350 bed-hospital and the Drug Mart, all built by the Restoration Government, are indicative that the governor is looking way beyond the availability of syringes, placebos and MRI scanners but into the realm of the economics and commercialisation of medical care and consultancy.
Those who hitherto would travel to India and Dubai in search of expensive treatment for conditions, like diabetes, stroke, renal failure and other life-threatening conditions, do not need to travel that far again. The expertise to deal with these situations now exists in Bayelsa State, and the facilities and structures that house them would be commissioned as part of the anniversary celebrations.
The already completed Bayelsa Aquaculture farm is also slated for commissioning as the Restoration Government hits the six-year mark. Situated in Yenegwe, Yenagoa Local Government Area, the farm has a total of 500 ponds to be privately managed under the supervision of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Agriculture. After the commissioning and it becomes operational, the fish farm would create jobs for many people from the state and provide a window of opportunity for earnings through local sales and export of fingerlings and table fish. Again, the focus is on wealth creation and diversifying the economy of the state beyond what the people have become accustomed to, through Agriculture.
Dickson also has an eye for tourism development in Bayelsa state. Six years ago, there was no gulf course, no polo playing field, the castle was not a hotel, the Ox-bow Lake Pavilion did not exist, the Yenagoa cinema was an abandoned project, and no one thought having a helipad was feasible in Bayelsa. Today, the Restoration Government is putting together a tourism framework that will create jobs and bring visitors to the state. That is why the government invested so much on the projects listed above. The revenue generating potentials in this area are enormous, and it is a good thing that six years on, the tourism sector has received a huge boast.
As the Restoration Government coasts towards the finishing line in another two years, it is safe to say that the governor is finishing strong on development, peace, security and prosperity just like he promised he would in his 2012 inaugural address. Governor Dickson, through his policies and projects is without a doubt, creating a pathway for a future Bayelsa that is not dependent on oil and gas alone. That is what I am most excited about as we celebrate love and restoration on February 14.
• Afenfia, a public affairs commentator, writes from Yenagoa via [email protected]