By Monday Uwagwu
There is always something uncommon between two people who share virtually the same fate- Ancient African saying
As with people, so it is with institutions and organizations or establishments. The import of the wise saying above rhymes with the uncommon relationship between Delta State and present Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori.
And this is how…
The state and the present governor were birthed the same year 1963. While Oborevwori was born in June of that year, the state (as part of the now defunct Mid West Region) was created on August 9 of 1963 following the plebiscite of July 13, 1963.
In this sense, the state and present Governor are both 61 years old this year and deserve their diamond anniversary.
Cosmologically, both share the same reading and or mark of 7 (6+1), which is regarded as the magic number of good luck, fortune and virtual perfection.
Both also mark this historic anniversary at a time that the emergent Delta State, on the basis of the state creation exercise of 1991, attains 33 years of age.
Given the significance of this number in psycho- spirituality, it is evident that both the state and the governor share striking similarities in numerical configurations which the principle of coincidence may be hard out explaining.
That is for their similarities.
For Oborevwori himself, his place in the life of the state is no less significant.
He is the fifth democratically- elected substantive governor of the state after Chief Felix Ibru, Chief James Ibori, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and Dr Ifeanyi Ozabor Okowa.(Note that the only civilian leader of the state, Rt. Hon. Prince Sam Obi, was Acting Governor who held the reins briefly following the annulment of the election of then governor Uduaghan).
Given the psychic significance of the number five ( which is symbolic of uncommon grace), Oborevwori ‘s place in history can be better understood.
Even in basic literature, the poetic rhythm five, tagged the iambe, is regarded as the perfect chord and held as inimitable.
The same streak of significance plays out regarding the place of the governor among previous leaders of the state, civil and uniformed. He places 12th in the line after Luke Ochulor, Felix Ibru, Bassey Asuquo, Ibrahim Kefas, John David Dungs, Walter Feghabor, James Ibori, Emmanuel Uduaghan, Sam Obi (Acting Governor), Emmanuel Uduaghan ( on his re- election after the annulment of his term of office by the Court of Appeal, Benin) and Ifeanyi Okowa.
Nobody, especially adherents of Christianity, need any telling the spiritual significance of number 12 as the zigma( also spelt sigma) of due spiritual process.
That is not all.
Oborevwori is also the third governor of Urhobo extraction to lead the state as elected chief executive, after Chiefs Felix Ibru and James Ibori. And of course, does anyone need any reminder as to the importance of the number three, in Christian pantheon and spirituality as the completeness oh the Trinity?
Does something not strike a chord of symmetry here?
Above all else, the man also had a piece of enviable history coming into office as the first Speaker of the Delta State House of the, DTHA, to be elected Governor, the first Speaker of DTHA to be elected governor during the pendency of his Speakership and the first Speaker to preside over two sessions of the DTHA.
Can anyone beat that?
Yet, Oborevwori is not done ..he seems determined, via the MORE Agenda, to leave his footprints on the sands of time and history via his development initiatives, some of which are:
(A) The award of N78billion worth of road and flyover bridge projects to giant construction firm, Julius Berger;
(B) Payment of N10, 000 per employee per month over a three- month period to public officers in view of the harsh economic effects of the sudden removal of subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government;
(C) The design and operationalization of a new work schedule for government employees, under which aegis each non- critical hand could enjoy two-day off duty per week ;
(D) The payment of more than N5 billion to cover the arrears of the promotion benefits of deserving public officers;
(E) The establishment of a College of Nursing at Ovrode;
(F) The establishment and operationalization of a campus of the Delta State University of Science and Technology, DSUST, Ozoro, at Orerokpe;
(G) The recruitment of more than 3,000 teaching and non- teaching personnel into the basic school system;
(H) The facilitation of a N40billion credit facility for the state ALGON to clear the backlog of the entitlements of retirees in the local government system, and
(I) The signing of a deal with UTM LNG for the harnessing, processing and marketing of the huge deposits of gas in the state.
What’s more?
Well, all of the above represent only the major development initiatives of Governor Oborevwori- in his first year in office.
It is expected that, with the initial steady steps he has taken so far, he would deliver more as the days and years roll by and he seeks, at the end of his term of office, to bequeath an enduring legacy of stellar performance for the benefit of the state and for the reckoning of time, history and posterity.
