Okowa’s vision for Warri

No city can be as iconic as Warri, the famous oil city of Delta State. Located in the Niger Delta, it is the fourth largest wetland in the world. Warri has stood for ages as a melting pot of economic bubble and social revelry, dating back to the 14th century. 

With a large deposit of petroleum resources, Warri axis is the soul of Nigeria and the nerve centre of Africa’s biggest economy. It is also the cradle of comedy and entertainment.

But even with its glorious essence, Warri bears a tearful toga. One of Nigeria’s most important cities had, over the years, been raped terribly by man and nature. 

Imperial and neocolonial conflicts had thrown the city in the throes of degeneration but the Warri ethnic crisis of 1997 – 2004 would serve as the final death knell. 

A needless war masterminded by military actors who instigated age-old Itsekiri, Ijaw and Urhobo neighbours against themselves and thereafter plundered Warri like buccaneers. 

But it took the sacrifice of the civilian government of Chief James Ibori,( 1999- 2007) to put off the smouldering gun fires, that ravaged the oil city which broke out sadly as the Oghara born governor took the oath of office. 

The successive Emmanuel Uduaghan administration would make efforts to maintain calm in Warri metropolis after a disquiet that erupted later following a violent rebellion by Niger Delta militants, unimpressed by the endemic neglect of the oil-rich but impoverished region by the central government. 

But the wounds inflicted on Warri by the erstwhile military misadventure exacerbated by youth insurgency had gone so bad manifesting in total shut down of the famed city as multinational oil companies, subsidiaries and local businesses relocated or collapsed. This left Warri in desolate gloom. Till date, a metaphor of decay. 

The coming of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his measured steps towards Warri promises a renaissance. The arrival of a game-changer. Okowa’s willingness to give Warri respite is best exemplified by the establishment of Warri-Uvwie Area and Environs Development Agency (WUEDA). 

Empowered to bring sustainable social infrastructure to the twin cities of Warri and Effurun, the body has since risen to effect a positive change. Headed by the former civil commissioner and pioneer chairman of the Nigeria Union of journalists NUJ, Delta state council, Comrade Ovuozorie Macaulay with the doyen of Warri development, Chief Joseph Otumara as chairman of the board of the Agency, there are high expectations even from cynics that the oil city and environs would stand on the threshold of transformation. 

The lofty mandate of the agency is on course as the experienced team had commenced the clean up of Warri and Effurun. Macaulay’s optimism settles Okowa’s vision for Warri and Effurun. “ I am not here to play politics. My task is very clear and simple. I’m not here to play ethnic politics but to restore cleanliness and development to Warri, Uvwie and its environs” Public expectations are soaring high that Okowa would build a new Warri because he has integrity. 

His nickname “ Ekwueme “ ( One who does what he says) is not a scam appellation. He will keep his promise and keep his name. Okowa is not just smart. He has self-discipline. He has honour. He has the unction to save Warri. He can. Truly Warri area needs roads. The people need a better life and fulfilment away from poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. They crave an oil city that would be beautiful and habitable to attract investors. 

They need peace and contentment in their homes away from fear, lack and anxiety. They need a new Warri where social cohesion, self belonging and oneness would define co-existence. 

They need a new life. The people look forward to a society where ethnic hatred and primordial cleavages would disappear and give way to a better culture of group harmony, impactful progress and shared patrimony. 

The troubled days of Warri and the dark era of the 1990s must never again come with all the macabre manifestations. The gothic image of a festering slum and self-inflicted human recrimination should disappear forever from consciousness. Let Warri witness rebirth of urbanization and social reconstruction. Surely Okowa’s eyes are on Warri. The vision would blossom for all to see. CHIAZOR is Special Assistant to Governor Okowa on Media.