Tony Ogaga
The entry of PDP chieftain, Reuben Okoya, into the gubernatorial race in Bayelsa State is said has changed the political permutations.
Speaking at the recent 2019 Isaac Boro Day Anniversary & Wreath-Laying ceremony for the late icon at the Ijaw House in Yenegoa, the Bayelsa State capital, the popular philanthropist said the time had come for the adoption of fresh perspectives in tackling youth restiveness and the challenges plaguing the Ijaw nation even as he urged Ijaw youths to acquire education in order to achieve the ideals of Isaac Boro and the Ijaw struggle.
Among others things, Okoya, a former Commissioner for Special Duties and Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC)’s ability to combine the wisdom of the elders with the dynamism of the youths, is said to set him apart.
It is believed that those who share Okoya’s his political philosophy acknowledge that if he is given the chance he would bring into the state’s governance creativity, innovation, and commitment, the qualities for which he has been credited with while superintending over political offices in the past.
According to Okoya, through proper communication and display of intellectualism, the Ijaw people would get the understanding of others and attract attention to their sufferings and general under-development.
Commending Boro for his sacrifice for the Ijaw nation, he said that people had at some point resorted to armed struggle but it was important and more effective to fight using the tools of dialogue and engagement, noting that every crisis has always ended on the round table through superior arguments.
The PDP stalwart lamented that Nigeria’s well-being has and is still dependent on the crude oil from the Niger Delta and called for dialogue and education in order to convince other ethnic groups that the Ijaw nation deserves more benefits.
A 1978 alumnus of University of Oklahoma, USA, where he bagged a Bachelor’s of Science in Environmental Design (BSED), and a Master of Architecture (M. Arch) from Florida A and M University, Tallahassee, Florida in 1984, he is a member of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and American Institute of Architects (AIA).