When a governor of a state, especially, in Nigeria, is described as the Number 1 citizen, it is not really a joke: a lot goes with such title beyond the razzmatazz.
As the number one citizen, people can misconstrue your good intentions and as such, you are always on your toes trying to do what is right for the citizens of your state.
As the number one citizen, while you tackle the challenges facing the people from security to social life, economic issues and more, you are also saddled with the enormous responsibility of being the number one image maker of the state.
So, it was with a smiling face that yours sincerely listened to the Acting Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, FCA, marketing the state to the High Commissioner of Kenya to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina.
It was on Saturday, October 12, 2924 when the Acting Governor had a breakfast meeting with the High Commissioner at the Acting Governor’s residence in Asaba and, in our characteristic manner of letting you know what transpired at the meeting, we present below, the speech of the Acting Governor at the occasion.
Excerpts:
“Delta State is well known among the states in Nigeria. In every facet that you want to consider, whether it is in economy, sports, culture, art, or any other area, be it education, the state records excellence. So, this state is a very important state in the country and it is not an error or by mistake that God made it possible for you to be here in Delta today as the first state that you are paying an official courtesy visit since your arrival in the country.
We are a praying state and when the people pray to their God, God always answers them,; so, God is always with us.
We have a lot of areas that we believe our state, Delta, can cooperate with the Republic of Kenya and I want to use this opportunity to say that we can from today, explore these areas of cooperation.
We do know that Kenya is very very good in tourism, and our tourism in Nigeria generally is still crawling. We are not as advanced in tourism as the Republic of Kenya; the few times that I visited your country, I know what goes on there; so, that could be an area that we could look at.
There are tourism sites that this country is blessed with; the vegetation is very good and there are a lot of places that we could develop for tourism purposes. So, I am using this medium to say that your country and mine could look at that area critically.
We are not only rich in oil and gas; there are a lot of oil and gas deposits in our state and this is probably the state with the highest gas deposit in Nigeria, and probably the whole of Africa; iincidentally, this gas deposit is in my own particular area, the Ndokwa area; so, companies and businesses from Kenya are welcome to Delta State.
But, apart from oil and gas, this is also a very big agrarian society. There is no local government area here in Delta that does not engage in farming of various crops. Rubber grows very well here, just as cocoa and Palm tree grow very well here.
of course, our staple food, cassava, banana and plantain grow very very well here and it is the same with many other crops.
So, that is also another area where I think your country and our state can cooperate for mutual benefits. There are also other solid mineral deposits which are unexplored and I know that mining in Kenya is advanced and we will want to encourage companies that are engaged in mining of various solid minerals to visit us in Delta so that we can cooperate with them.
Again, like you mentioned, in our entertainment industry, the music and the film – Delta is the headquarter of Nollywood in Nigeria. So, if you have few days to spend in Delta, you can visit our Leisure Park; our film village is just a stone throw from here and we encourage you to visit before you leave. We also encourage you to visit some of our historical sites like the Lander Brothers’ Anchorage which is just by the River Niger; it is a good site that I will recommend that you visit.
I want to thank you for this visit and your invitation to us to Kenya is taken and as soon as the governor is back from his vacation, I will brief him about your visit.
I am a farmer not by profession but anybody that comes from our part of the country is a farmer because that is what our parents did all their lives and that is what they used in raising us; so, we are natural farmers and till date, even as a Deputy Governor, I am still farming. So, when you mentioned coffee and the other crops, we would want to explore the possibility of looking at some of the things you do in your country and bring them to our country, while you also take some of the things we do here to your country for the benefits of both countries.
So, we are happy that our state is the first that you are visiting officially and we welcome you to make Delta your second home.”
The High Commissioner, who was obviously elated with the warm reception accorded to him on his arrival to Delta State, had said, “I feel so honoured and privileged to be here today. I met your Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, a few months ago in Taraba State and we had a brief conversation and I told him of my desire to pay a courtesy visit to Delta State, particularly because Delta State is one of the states that is known for huge economy, for oil and many other things and most importantly, its good people. So, I came to meet with the people and relate with them.
I am honoured, this is my first courtesy visit to a state government in Nigeria; thank you for your hospitality.
We are the same people divided by our geography. When we look at our culture and the way we do things, Africa is one.
My presence here today is an affirmation that Kenya is ready to work with Nigeria in many ways. Nigeria offers us a great opportunity to learn and to have a special experience.
Ours to is to seek areas of comparative advantage where Nigeria is doing well in various sectors, including oil, art and culture, creative industry. In Kenya today, we watch a lot of Nigeria Nollywood movies of which I know that a lot of them were produced in this part of Nigeria, especially, here in Delta State.
This is something that Kenya is very keen to advance engagements on. I would really appreciate if there will be engagement even at this level of government. The Kenya County government, departments can come and learn from this end.
Kenya is very good in tourism and many things. Even in the sector of agriculture, which Nigeria government is diversifying the economy to incorporate some of these non-oil sectors so that they can expand the economy.
Kenya is very good in hospitality, tourism, and agriculture especially, in area of tea, coffee and livestock development which, I believe, is of interest to both countries to solve the problem of unemployment. Both countries have well educated and skilled youths and I believe that our partnership will go a long way in solving some of these challenges, that is, finding our local solution to our local problems which are more or less similar.”
With the interest of the international community in Delta State and the receptive nature of Deltans, no doubt the economy of the people will witness a great boom in the nearest future.
God bless Delta State.
Comrade Fidelis Egugbo is the Senior Special Assistant, Media to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State and the Chief Press Secretary to Acting Governor Monday Onyeme.
