Edo/Delta: Linked by history separated by development

 by EMMANUEL ADDEH.

EMMANUEL ADDEH writes that with a higher revenue base than that of Edo, Delta State has no reason to remain in its present state, while Edo is gradually becoming a haven

 Historically, Edo and Delta states, South-South Nigeria, were intertwined politically, economically and culturally before the military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida separated the two states in 1991.

With that singular action by the military, both states, hitherto known as Bendel State, were left to pursue their own separate destinies.

In fact, the common ancestry of the two states had earlier been affirmed on May 27, 1967, when the then Lt.-Col. Yakubu Gowon divided Nigeria into 12 states. The present Edo and Delta states made up the Bendel State from the Midwestern Region.

Twenty-one years after, it would seem that both states have found their paths. However, while Edo State appears to have a clear direction, Delta is still wobbly in terms of development.

For many, the inability of Delta State to judiciously appropriate the huge resources accruing to it, its failure to plug all financial drain pipes in government and the civil service, and its apparent incapacity to significantly affect the lives of its people positively, have combined to stunt the progress of the oil-rich state.

In terms of resources, especially financial, the two states do not seem to be on the same pedestal as most of the oil wells, and by extension oil revenue, fell into Delta’s territory during the creation of the two states.

As opposed to Delta State’s 2012 budget as passed, which stands at N437.2bn with N180.8bn as recurrent expenditure, while capital vote is N256.3bn, Edo has a 2012 Appropriation Act of N150bn with a capital expenditure of N86.417bn and recurrent expenditure pegged at N64.548bn.

The revenue and expenditure trend has been the same for both states for many years. However, a visit to both states would show a clear difference in terms of government’s conscious effort to revamp infrastructure and ensure sanity in governance.

Against the backwardness, which the Peoples Democratic Party’s Lucky Igbinedion, ex-governor of Edo State, returned the state after what many critics have called the years of misrule (1999 and 2007), the state, especially Benin, now looks like a place where public utilities function; where there is sanity on the roads, where traffic lights work and are obeyed and where one can drive around without fear of a vehicle breakdown due to bad roads.

Though the Action Congress of Nigeria-led government critics believe that the governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, has concentrated most of his projects in Benin City, the state capital, and Edo North, where he comes from, most residents of the state say it is a good starting point.

Little wonder then that the people of the state defied all odds penultimate week and trooped out in their thousands to vote for progress and sustained development.

Pundits believe that what is needed in Delta State is a committed leader, a peoples’ man, who will clear the seed of rot planted by the James Ibori Administration and watered by the current PDP government in the state.

Interestingly, many Deltans still believe that demonised as Ibori and his administration might be, he started and completed many lofty projects in the state, many of which if they were built on, would have set the state on the path of growth and progress.

But even more important is the thinking of the Edo people that the current government in place is owned by them as against the seeming alienation of the “leaders” from the led in Delta State.

Just  taking  road infrastructure alone, a visit to Edo State would show that the government has completed the Gani Fawehinmi Layout comprising six roads, walkways and street lights; Oba Market Road and Stadium Road.

 A few other projects, which are fast turning the once rustic city into a modern one, are the Sakponba Road, 2nd West Road, Akpakpava Road, Sapele Road (a dual-carriage way) and Airport Road (another dual-carriage way). These roads are complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights.

Outside Benin, the Isua-Uzenema Road, it was learnt, has been completed with side drains; while the Igueben-Udo Road, Igueben-Ewohinmi-Ewatto-Ohordua Road; the Amedokhian-Ugboha Road; the Irrua-usugbenu-Ugbegun-Ujogba Road among many others, are all ongoing.

But in contrast, as important as Warri is to the survival of Delta State, being the commercial capital of the state, it is like an abandoned city: chaotic, lawless, jungle-like, flooded, with deteriorating infrastructure littering the entire landscape.

Ironically, a chunk of the state’s Internally-Generated Revenue, which has leapt from N1.2bn to N4.2bn this year, is spawned in Warri.

The Delta State Government says its major focus is to pay less attention to oil as a form of revenue and give more consideration to tourism as a major revenue earner for the government, yet the state remains one of the most crime-prone states in the country with kidnappers and robbers having a field day. Even as small as Asaba, the state capital is, issues as basic as flooding and a functional waste disposal system are still a big challenge.

The argument has always been that the state should concentrate on its areas of comparative advantage and discard its white elephants, which many believe currently dominate most of the purported projects in the state.

One of those who believe in this line of thought is the Democratic Peoples Party chairman in the state, Chief Tony Ezeagwu.

Ezeagwu believes that there is no basis for comparison between the two states. He said, “There is no way you can compare the two states because there is nothing to write home about for anybody visiting Delta.

“It is like insulting the people of Edo State, given the amount of resources we have in Delta. In Edo, the tunnels are well laid out, while in Delta, the government is covering drainages that do not exist in the first place.

“It will take a government after this one a lot of resources to excavate the ones the present government is covering because they are too shallow and cannot allow water through. That’s why we have so much flooding in Delta State.”

However, the governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, who has received serious flaks for non-performance, believes he is “building for the future.” He says if more money is made available to the state, he will transform it.

He admits that though he is aware of the expectations of the people of the state, his strategy for moving the state beyond its dependence on oil would not bear fruits in the short term, adding that future generations would look back and thank him.

After five years as governor of the state and less than three years to go, Uduaghan adds, “The risk of a building phase of development is the pressure of managing high public expectation. The public demand on government to finalise project delivery before acceptable timeframe is enormous and sometimes unrealistic. I fear that is the burden we have to bear as we strive to bring desired transformation to our people.

“I do not regret that we began this journey; I am rather pleased we had the confidence and willpower to even begin it at all. Future generations will, I am sure, look to this moment and salute our courage.”

But the belief of most residents of the state is that only the living in the short term stand to benefit from projects meant for the long term, if they ever come to fruition.

The governor, they say, can start by fixing a few of the dilapidated roads that have become a source of angst to residents, restore order to the chaotic life, especially in Warri, where everyone is law unto themselves, create a handful of jobs by revamping the dead publicly owned companies and tackle insecurity.

He could also map out a functional strategy to deal with the mounting refuse in major parts of the state, confront the consistent flooding in the state and give the people some level of hope that the government is collectively theirs. This, it is believed is not rocket science. All he needs to do is to take a cue from the neighbouring Edo State.