There is so much difference that good leadership can make in a nation, state, in fact, in any community. It’s the same with corporates. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta, has proved this in his seven years as governor of Delta state.

Leadership coaches and experts from John C. Maxwell to Seth Godin, Jack Welch and Dale Carnegie all agree on one thing: Where there is good leadership, there is development. This best illustrates the story of Delta state. As a major oil-producing state, many expect the state to rank high in human development index, infrastructure, quality education, healthcare delivery and general rural and urban transformation. Carved out from the old Bendel state on August 27, 1991 by the military government, Delta has struggled to improve the lot of the people.

Not even the birthing of democracy in 1999 has helped to pull her from the stumps of underdevelopment. The military halo of negligence haunted the state and it showed on the dashboard of development that Delta needed a jab to spring her out of the doldrum of development stasis. By 2010, Delta was ranked 10^th in the National Poverty Index data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). This meant that Delta was 10^th among the least poorest states, according to the data. However, the story changed when Governor Okowa mounted the saddle in 2015. As someone who has been around for decades in the state, he understood the needs of the people. He did not mince words during the electioneering days. He promised to run a people-centric government, create an ecosystem that would challenge the youth to unleash their creative energies to create wealth. He promised a SMART Delta. And Okowa, a man not given to noise-making and empty grandstanding, went to work.

Fast forward from 2010 to 2020. The narrative changed in just five years as governor. Specifically, the 2020 National Poverty Index saw Delta leapfrog to second least poorest state (state with lowest number of poor people) in Nigeria. This came as no surprise to many Deltans. Between 2020 and now, the state’s development fortune has continued to nose up courtesy of a carefully planned and painstakingly executed development roadmap of the Okowa government.

In the last seven years, the difference between what Okowa inherited and what is today, is akin to the difference between day and night. The gulf is as divergent as the variable between light and darkness. Yet, some persons masquerading as analysts and commentators, but who are indeed delusional ombudsmen, still scour the social media space to spew bovine criticisms all marinated with lies and fatuous falsehood. They say Okowa has done nothing. But that’s the lot of paid pipers and hungry hirelings. They dance to the drumbeats of hell. They convulse on social media to convince their paymasters even when they know that their homily and hymnals are pathetic lies and jejune blabs of toxic propaganda. They serve no good.

Yet, they refuse to notice the obvious transformation of Delta in seven years of Okowa. Their bile blinds them to the network of roads and sturdy bridges and constellation of infrastructure that now define the state, a signature of the Okowa government which has earned bipartisan commendations from Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senator Bukola Saraki and other top politicians, including the clergy, traditional rulers and sundry professional bodies.

Okowa’s critics pretend not to notice the network of roads and sturdy bridges innervating the state, from riverine to upland communities. For the first in their history, riverine communities in Delta can now access other parts of the states through bridges. These critics turn a blind eye to the revolutionary rebirth of educational and healthcare delivery excellence in the state by Okowa. Improved funding for education has necessitated the establishment of more technical colleges, universities, polytechnics and medical science institutions in the state which in the golden years of old Bendel was a model state for others in the country in education and sporting refinement.

Obviously, these critics bear logs in their eyes so they cannot see the urban renewal and infrastructural transformation in Asaba, Warri, Ugheli, Sapele and Agbor, the top five city centres in the state. Neither would they notice the ongoing makeover of rural communities, some of which have never had asphalted roads since their existence. Perhaps, they need to be reminded that the tag Roadmaster placed on Okowa was earned, not a political title. Delta in her over 30 years history has never seen a governor so bullish with infrastructural development like Okowa.

Pity is the feeling for anyone who would see good and call it bad. And that’s the feeling for Okowa’s critics who fail to see the majesty of the Professor Chike Edozien Secretariat, sitting on 45, 000 square metres landmass. For a state that has never had a secretariat of her own, this is not only historical but it testifies to the truism that something good can come out of Delta.  And for the first time ever, all the 27 ministries and their commissioners and permanent secretaries will be housed in one place specially designed and equipped with all the ergonomics of a modern workplace.

With nine seminar/conference rooms, a training room, clinic, creche, banking hall, three restaurants, car park with capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 cars, electricity supply powered by  8.5 Megawatts Asaba Independent Power Plant, internet-enabled systems, the Secretariat stands out not only as an architectural majesty and a worthy addition to the emerging magnificence of Asaba landscape, it is also a model of what an office complex should be in a digital age.

In seven years, Okowa has transformed Delta. Though it’s still morning on creation day but the auguries are bright and beautiful. The fact that the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba built by Okowa is now among stadiums of first choice for the hosting of national and international sporting festivals; the fact that children of five years and below and their mothers including persons with sickle cell anaemia conditions are captured under the robust healthcare service of the state attest to the development leadership wrought by Okowa. Perhaps, we should remind Deltans that whereas 24 states attracted zero foreign direct investments (FDIs) in 2021, Delta is one of the 12 states that attracted FDI in that year, all thanks to the atmosphere of peace and security sustained in the once-upon-a-time volatile state.

Seven years of Okowa has kindled hope among Deltans especially the youth who have continued to add value to the nation’s economy using the skills, knowledge and starter tools acquired from the many empowerment programmes in the state. Going by reports from Central Bank of Nigeria, Delta is among the top states with the most vibrant micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the country. The implication is that Delta youths are actively engaged with many graduating from the vocational centres as creators of wealth and jobs, and not as job seekers.

Need we remind them of the transformation of Asaba International Airport after its concession by the Okowa government, a move they strongly protested, but which, today, has transformed it to a truly international airport with one of the best runways, improved aviation security measures, and more patronage from airliners. Above all, Okowa has restored Delta to her standard number one position in national sports. This is why May 29 anniversary date would have more essence in Delta than in many states.

• Umukoro writes from Warri