2015: We need result that will inspire change —Votu Obada

By Chris Onuoha Votu Obada hails from Ukwuegu Local Government in Ugheli North Local Government Area of Delta State. A business man and widely travelled with vast experience in oil and gas business and human resources management, he obtained his master’s degree from University of Covetry, UK. Votu is the son of General Orho Esio Obada (rtd), ADC to the late Dr Nnamdi Azikwe when he was Nigeria’s ceremonial and a former Federal Commissioner for Works. Votu’s interest to govern Delta State is borne out of the quest for a change in the way the polity and well-being of people is handled in the state. In this chat, he speaks on why he wants to govern the state. Let me begin by stating that one of the penalties our youths pay for refusing to participate in politics is that they end up being governed by people who pay little attention to the basics. My desire to be governor of Delta is well thought out after due and thorough consultations with my elders, leaders and political stakeholders in the state and Deltans in Diaspora. I feel it is time we brought about in Delta the long awaited change; change is what I represent, and part of my plan is to inspire that change in Delta State. If you watch carefully, you see that those aspiring to be governor in the state had at one time or the other in government. If they truly have solution to the problems of Deltans, by now we should have entered our promised land. It is high time we stopped recycling leaders, otherwise we will continue to get same result. I want to inspire that change. We need a different result that will address the sufferings and aspirations of our people, and that is what I represent. We cannot fold our hands and watch our people wallow in abject poverty in the midst of abundance. How to address challenges To be able to address these challenges, you must have understanding of what these challenges are and how they affect our people. In the first place, you cannot rule out the fact the unemployment exists and that is the reason some youths take to arms to reflect their agitation and grievance for better life. This can be tackled by creating jobs through public private partnership initiatives. Secondly, lack of quality education is a challenge to our state. As a result, we have poorly educated graduates looking for job at wrong places. The situation can be addressed through integration of entrepreneurship development programmes from secondary to tertiary level, to equip our graduates to be independent and creative. Also, full scale industrialisation is necessary. My international exposure will help in this regard. I will bring my foreign business partners to invest in Delta and that again will create employment. We also need to build a new Delta through urban-rural re- modernisation to get our state to compete with what is obtainable in the western world. In the area of security, there will be rule of law. You know when the people are happy with your administration; peace and adherence to rule of law will exist. Leadership is a call to serve and not to be served. This change is what I dare to inspire in Delta and it entails these: A Teacher – a leader is to be reproductive, A Soldier – a leader is to be loyal, An Athlete – a leader is to be disciplined, A Farmer – a leader is to be a hard worker, A Worker – a leader is to be diligent, A Vessel – a leader is to be pure, A Servant – a leader is to be submissive. Together we can inspire ourselves to achieve our desired future/change. I am here to serve.