PAUL OBANUA ESCHEWS PARTISAN POLITICS

The Point man for the Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) in Delta State, Mr. Paul Obanua has downplayed the incident of partisan politics in Nigeria. Speaking in an interview with the Daily Sun, Obanua hinted that the time has come for Nigerians to shun partisan politics and focus more on the personality and character of the people involved as well as on real issues on ground. Partisan politics in Nigeria has taken a deep root amongst the electorate and has been the major bane to an objective election to all levels of government in Nigeria. The process has always being that of the electorate getting blindfolded by the notion that only a certain political party has the capability of projecting people who ‘should’ win elections. The implication of this is that since the projected persons are usually from a limited pool of individuals, one can rightly conclude that the masses are faced with a subjective candidacy and limited alternatives. This situation has taken its toll on Nigeria via inefficiencies, ineffectiveness, mismanagement, gross inadequacy of policies and above all , corruption.

In his response, Paul emphasized the need for the electorate to assess the candidates based on their personality, character and the issues on ground. By this, Obanua implies that the past and present legacies/ achievements of contestants should be the basis by which we can predict their conduct while in power. In most advanced nations like the UK and United States, candidates will normally market themselves based on their previous achievements in both private and public lives. For instance, an individual may be favoured based on his past involvement in humanitarian and charitable ventures. The political parties are merely the platform on which the individuals’ contest while their personalities and proposed policies are the major determinant of success or failure. According to Paul, Deltans should adopt this approach in the forth coming election if the fight for a positive change is to be won. In reality, the electorate should think of the current issues facing the state and assess the proposals of the contestants against such issues. Votes should only be cast for candidates whose manifestos and proposals have the highest possibility of resolving the issues at hand. Such issues to consider would naturally include political, economic, social and cultural dimensions in order to ensure that performance appraisal touches on all spheres of life.

In this regard, Paul also highlighted the operational strategy of the CDC; The People Empowerment Programme (PEP). The PEP is focusing on empowering Deltans by creating the necessary environment for income generation. The main thrust of the PEP is education, employment/ empowerment, infrastructure, health, agriculture, power and security. In his interview, Paul emphasized the essence of providing access to free and quality education backed up by the school feeding programme. Motivation is increased as pupils will not only develop academically but mentally and physically. He also emphasized on the youth skills acquisition/ business incubation centre. Since not everybody may have the inclination towards formal education, the skills acquisition centre will be a dual-purpose vehicle for developing business opportunities for graduates and non-graduates alike. The PEP also has provisions for income support for people going through the scheme pending when they are fully established in their line of business.

Furthermore, the CDC’s People Empowerment Programme will create the relevant infrastructure in the state. According to Paul, this will include establishing the Delta Rail Network which will run through major towns from northern to southern Delta. This network will support the business resort in Asaba as well as the Warri industrial park. This will attract business investments from within and outside the state and for such activate the skills acquired from the skills acquisition centres. The ultimate goal will be establishment of small and medium sized business ventures, which will lead to financial independence of the business owners.

On the issue of funding for the PEP, Paul rightly observed that the start off point will be from federally allocated revenues. This inflow will serve to set the ball rolling and within a space of two years, a sustainable IGR level would have been attained. Delta state gets a huge allocation from the federal purse and the prudential management of this fund cannot be over-emphasized. However, with seasoned business administrator like Paul Obanua in place, one need not bother. The issue of altering the existing fiscal regime was ruled out by Paul as he promised not to increase the tax burden of Deltans in the quest for implementing the PEP.

Conclusively, the PEP also has strategic plans for different locations based on comparative advantages. In his response to current challenges, Paul highlighted that his programme will focus on developing the capabilities of different towns in the state since this will mean cost effectiveness and efficiency. The instances of a business/ finance park in Asaba, agro-allied based businesses in Abraka and marine based businesses in Warri are notable examples from his responses.

The campaign continues as CDC forges ahead in its bid to bring about a positive change in Delta State. The clock is ticking down and the time for change is drawing closer. The call for Deltans to embrace the new wind blowing across is increasing and it will sure be in our best interests to vote wisely.

BY: MARIAN MBANUSI