BEHOLD, THE SELLING POINTS OF BARR KINGSLEY OTUARO; A LEGBERE DEPUTY GOVERNOR ANGLING TO BE GOVERNOR OF DELTA STATE COME 2023.

"The Ijaw populace and intelligentsia have abjectly failed to imbibe the spirit of godliness and fairness in their dealings with their neighbors, they have arrogated to themselves a supercilious penchant to usurp all financial and political tidbits that accrues to the people of Warri and environs".... Yugbovwre.

Mr Kingsley Otuaro, the current Deputy Governor of Delta State is a lawyer by profession. He read Law and obtained his LLB from the famous Faculty of Law in Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma. He was admitted to the Law School in 1999 and thereafter, called to the Bar in 2003 .

Barrister Otuaro became a lawyer in the thick of the Warri crisis and was distracted by inflamed passion and ethnic jingoism to become a bigot, activist, and active participant in the iternicine crisis which tragically engulfed Warri and the contiguous riverine landscapes. 

The gory bloodletting of that era defied the logic and explanations of shared inter ethnic relationships spanning  centuries of mutual cohabitation.

Even the  educated Ijaws who were seen as men of deductive reasoning, abysmally failed to promote harmonious coexistence as a mantra and panacea for peace in Warri. 

A despicable aftermath of the Warri wars is the uppity tendency of the Ijaws to see other tribes in Warri and environs as conquered people, a trait that has continued to stoke the embers of division and hate. 

The Ijaw populace and intelligentsia have abjectly failed to imbibe the spirit of godliness and fairness in their dealings with their neighbors, they have arrogated to themselves a supercilious penchant to usurp all financial and political tidbits that accrues to the people of Warri and environs.

This is the inexorable conclusion that can be deduced from the infantile decision of Barrister Kingsley Otuaro to scheme for and shamelessly accept to be Deputy Governor to Senator Okowa, the Executive Governor of Delta state, irrespective of the fact that another Ijaw man, James Manager was simultaneously serving as a Senator. A position/seat that automatically should be rotated amongst the four ethnic groups in Delta South Senatorial District.

Thus, for the first time, the two highest and elective offices that the Isokos, Itsekiris and Urhobos by constitutional delineation can rightly aspire to were occupied by one ethnic nationality (Ijaw) much to the chagrin of the others.

Assuming that it was superlative competence that influenced the lopsided decision for such a political travesty, it would still have been objectionable and condemnable, because the other ethnic nationalities equally have cerebral persons aplenty.

So it is very painful and insulting that the single factor that recommended and galvanized Barr. Kingsley Otuaro, a political neophyte, who was not a visible political actor prior the period he was picked as Deputy Governorship candidate, is his filial kinsman with ignoble roles in Niger Delta militancy. Barr Otuaro was bereft of any iota of experience in all spheres of his professional calling as a lawyer. His professional life and career is nebulous, nobody knows the law firm where he practiced law, and neither are his accomplishments visible for public scrutiny and excoriation!

As for character and integrity, there is nothing to be gleaned from his more than 6 years in office as deputy governor that speak compellingly  in his favour as a person of outstanding candour and integrity, two basic desiderata that have been copiously absent in the Delta state Public Space, more so, as we march with high expectations towards a better governed state in 2023, where the basic needs of all denizens and residents would be assured and adequately taken care of. 

In view of our high expectations for a better life, it is best we move out of our pedestrian template of the past 22 years plus and sincerely settle for a candidate whose depth of character and integrity is not beclouded by bigotry and ethnocentrism.

The Dubai that we all stream to,  for luxurious holidays and solace was made possible by men with vision, strong character and integrity. Such men also abound in our dear Delta State. Therefore, it behooves of us to identify and  persuade them to reinvent our greatness. It is time to be resolute, fair to ourselves and engage each other more robustly. An Urhobo thief, Itsekiri thief, Ijaw thief, Anioma thief, Isoko thief etc shouldn't be laundered for an office that is far above his competence for, whatever his misdeeds might be, it is a burden we all have borne equally because the crumbs thrown at our feet only provide illusory succour that has not taken our pains away.

The good work of a credible person is surely a balm for today as well as tomorrow, especially, When our tomorrow becomes as important to us as our today, we all  should l do the most conscionable in the electoral space to elect responsible, responsive, visionary and accountable people.

God will not come down to do this for us; these are things we must do by ourselves to make Delta State greater than it is. We owe posterity this duty to put Delta state back on the trajectory of greatness. Hence, I am compelled to aver that Barr Kingsley Otuaro is not the man to take Delta state to Eldorado, the Deputy Governor is a chip off the old thieving block; a leprous finger amongst leprous phalanges.

Delta state deserves a much better candidate with antecedents and track records of qualitative leadership. Let Barr. Otuaro show us his score card in the last 6 years.

Kenneth Yugbovwre, Mph,

Conflict Resolution,

Trinity College,

Ireland- Dublin