By Lindsay Barrett

Hardly anyone can doubt it if told that Bayelsa State is one of the most important territorial components in the effort to build a wholesome democratic system for the Nigerian nation. The state has become known for the volatility of its administrative profile throughout the duration of the most recent manifestation of the political growth of the nation and has been the source of some of the most dramatic eventualities of the era.

Apart from having been the home base of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the first member of a southern minority ethnic group to become President, several other events have occurred which have encouraged analysts and observers of the Nigerian polity to take particular notice of the Bayelsa State experience.

Paramount among these was the Supreme Court judgment of 2020 which overturned INEC’s award of the gubernatorial election to the APC candidate and awarded the victory to the major opposition candidate Senator Douye Diri who represented the then-incumbent ruling party in the state the PDP. Knowledgeable observers regard this outcome as being in some ways almost “miraculous” since they consider the announced result as having been questionable because of the irregularity of the conduct of the election in two remote coastal local government areas.

Diri was considered to have been cheated of genuine victory by the INEC verdict, but the eventual decision was based on the apex court’s definition of the ineligibility of the APC ticket. As a consequence, those who had attempted to manufacture the regime change in 2020 have been hard at work trying to turn public perception against Diri’s re-election at the next gubernatorial contest, which is due later this year. However, it has become clear in recent months that this would be a difficult task as some of Diri’s policies and his conduct in office have captured public sentiment in the first four years of his tenure.

The primary issue around which public opinion in the state appeared to have coalesced in his favour very quickly arose from his efforts to restore the amount and regularity of public workers’ salaries and allowances, which had been reduced and interfered with by the previous regime. Diri’s reputation for long and selfless service as an advocate and activist in the promotion and empowerment of the indigenes of the Niger Delta communities is well known.

As a consequence, this initiative was regarded as being the fulfilment of his natural inclination for service to the ordinary people once he had been given the opportunity to govern the state. Now that his first term in office is coming to an end it is becoming clear that Senator Diri has endeavoured to put some far-reaching development programmes in place to an extent that surpasses the record of his predecessors and intimidates his challengers.

As a result, the Diri Administration’s determination to improve access by road to the coastal communities of the state is a major innovation. In recent weeks some surprising comments in favour of his performance as governor have been heard from prominent members of the opposition, especially from a senior member of the APC who hails from Brass.

Some close observers of the polity in the state have attributed these statements by erstwhile opponents of Diri to the fact that his road development initiatives have generated popular support for his governance style in the remote rural areas of the state. Because of this, it is widely believed that any attempt to perpetrate the irregularities that were carried out in these remote communities at the last contest will provoke popular resistance.

Analysts and observers of the affairs of the state have adjudged the commencement and implementation of the road-building initiative introduced by Governor Diri to be the landmark achievement of his governorship. They believe this programme will provide the state electorate with good reason to grant him a renewal of tenure for the following reasons.

Bayelsa State, which lies at the heart of the oil-producing belt of the Niger Delta, hosts the original oil wells that laid the foundation of the industry that provided the humongous revenue that various Nigerian governments have used to build the nation. An informed study of the history of Nigeria’s international trade and contact with the outside world reveals that the territory was an important location from which both enslaved human beings and palm oil were shipped in ancient times.

The development of progressive modern society in the region should therefore consist of the development of infrastructure and services in the territory from which effective wealth has been generated for such a long time. Unfortunately, the circumstances in the region have been exactly the opposite and Bayelsa State was established to help reverse the unqualified neglect of the region.

Of its eight Local Government Areas three of its coastal territories which are adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean are recognised as having been major suppliers of hydrocarbon resources but none of them have efficient road links to the state capital of Yenagoa.

The Diri administration has targeted this deficiency for corrective action in spite of the undoubtedly formidable extent of the cost of such development. The LGAs of Brass, Ekeremor, and Southern Ijaw which are affected are to be linked by roads passing through some of the most picturesque riverine terrain in the country.

However, the environmental challenge of construction in that territory is a daunting one. To this end, the state government has embarked upon some of the most demanding contractual agreements ever engaged in since the state was founded.

Sand filling for a major causeway to the ancient town of Brass has already gone a long way, and construction of a major bridge to Oporoma the headquarters of Southern Ijaw LGA has already commenced. The highway to Ekeremor town is already in use, and sand filling of the highway alignment from there to Agge town which is on the Atlantic coast is proceeding effectively.

This state government initiative when coordinated with a programme of community road development being implemented through constituency projects inaugurated by Hon. Fred Agbedi the member of the House of Representatives for the district will enable the completion of these new routes and change the development trajectory of not only the state but also of the entire Niger Delta.

 This aspect of the Diri Administration’s performance will encourage the development of economic potentials in agriculture, industry and tourism to be implemented in these territories. Accessibility will enhance the commercial viability of the local markets and improve the standards of educational institutions and health facilities in these hitherto inaccessible communities.

Governor Douye Diri has emphasised the introduction of this programme by placing it at the head of his priorities in governance to an unprecedented level and this has made it obvious that his objective in leadership has been to prepare the state for the future rather than to seek to create a narrative of personal political glory, which many of the previous leaders of the state have been accused of doing.