Clay goddess
Authour anonymous
A deity made out of clay, became so self absorbed, in her assumed relevance, in the lives of a people, that it asked to be given a sacrifice of a virgin for appeasement. The village chief priest and elders were completely disgusted with her. Whose virgin daughter would be slaughtered for the god became the question. For seven market days, they consulted different oracles, to see if the deity would shift ground, to an alternative, may be a goat, sheep or a ram. But it stucked to her guns of a maiden, and nothing else. Finding no virgin to satiate its ravenous appetite for human blood, the elders resolved the deity be taken outside the shrine, where it became subject to the elements. When it rained, the deity dissolved into the sand from which it was formed.
Considering the many obstacles and huddles, some created by the opposition, others by friendly enemies, that Gov. Okowa prevailed over before arriving Osadebey House, people expected his actions would be a total departure from those of his predecessors, who did all they could to install their successor. In the process denying qualified and competent Deltans from being elected as governors. In 2007, Chief James Ibori took all the aspirants through many twist and turns, at the end picked his elder brother, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan to succeed him as governor. Dr. Uduaghan tried same but ran into a brick wall. He failed to install late Tony Obuh as governor, due to the intervention of superior forces. Ignoring all that he witnessed and passed through, Dr. Okowa still wants to beat the same disastrous path.
The aroma of power is sweet, but it resides with no one permanently, it is fleeting. Our governor now behaves like he had his kernel cracked by benevolent spirits. He has forgotten he was once in the lush, crestfallen, and ran from pillar to pole in search of shoulders to support him, in 2015. Eight years in office has made him a superstar and king Kong of Delta, having harnessed the spoils of power and influence. Just like the narrative of the deity made from clay, Okowa is forgetting to walk with caution. All of Emperor Napoleon’s ambition to rule over the European continent brought him misery, and banishment to the isolated Island of Elba. No man plays God and succeed.
It appears the Governor is about to spring a trap that could snare his political fast foot work, if what we hear turns out to be true. The Delta State PDP governorship aspirants for the 2023 elections are livid, most especially those of Delta Central. They are angry over the rumour that filtered into the state, in the week, like cold harmathan breeze. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is said to have endorsed Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, as his successor in 2023. The offending rumour break through Fejiro Oliver.
The truth of the story could not be immediately verified as the governor who is supposed to clear the air had vaporized like a mirage. People close to power said His Excellency went abroad on a short holiday. There is no smoke without fire. Pundits said Fejiro Oliver tells tall tales, as he is often on a voyage of fantasies. However, a modicum of credence was given to the rumour by Dr. Ifeanyi Osuaza, PDP state publicity secretary, in a press release in which he eulogized the outstanding qualifications of the speaker and his eligibility for the seat of governor .
Can it really be true that Okowa gave the nod to his foot soldiers to work for the speaker’s ascension? Only His Excellency can tell, either publicly or through proxies. Our elders say, the ram meant for the Oba’s sacrifice grows thick around the neck. The path he attempts to walk could be sacrilegious. Like Shakespeare’s Macdoff the Delta’s Ekwueme would have murdered sleep. For he had too soon forgotten how he became a governor, the fights he would invite upon himself are better imagined. Any dream of the governor becoming the sole godfather of Delta politics could pitch him in diametrical opposition to forces he won’t believe exist.
The governor must remember that he was a political orphan in 2015, and it took the grace of God to see him through the race. The odds were truly against him. The two term governor should not see himself as Chinua Achebe’s Amalinze the cat of Delta State politics, he must not forget the cat was thrown. When a man forgets were he going, and can’t remember where he is coming from, we say he is lost. Governor Okowa is too sensible to be led by the nose by anyone. I doubt if he endorsed any sheriff to take his place.
The tail does not wag the dog. Delta State is too big and complex for one man to manipulate. The governor I know cannot be led astray by followers and tearful praise singers. He is a wise man. In the last 2 years they had speculated he would emerge as the nation’s next vice president. May he not scuttle their dream. Delta State can never be the fooled.
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