Stanley Nkwazema
In the last few weeks of his exit from the Creek Haven, Government House of Bayelsa State in Yenogoa, Governor Henry Dickson has engaged in feverish activities to round off his giant development strides in the state. In fact, the looming exit has not slowed him down but rather, not wanting to encumber the incoming government, Dickson has ignored critics and concentrated on completing as many of his transformational projects as he could in the hope that the new administration would sustain the tempo without any hindrance.What is obvious to all is Dickson’s singular devotion to a legacy of service, which is what has driven his action-packed tenure in office these eight years.
During the twilight of administration, the Bayelsa State Governor, Rt. Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, has been battling fifth columnists, over his stewardship to the state, as he prepares to handover to a new helmsman on Friday February 14, after eight years in office.
Although many believe that the man from Toru Orua has done so much to garner accolades, having elevated the standard of education where the state rose from perennial 32nd position in federal examination to be now rated among the first six in the last six years, infrastructure development, healthcare delivery and a secured state despite threats, others including some elite and the opposition have never allowed him to drink water and drop the cup without batting an eyelid.
Interestingly, in the past few weeks, Dickson has been working in a frenzied pace to finish stronger and commission several projects before leaving office.
As part of the finishing strong initiative of the administration, Dickson directed that all projects near 90 per cent completion including the Onopa Bridge, which leads to the New Yenagoa City, where actual work has started. But Dickson after signing several C of Os for the new city decided to leave sveral plots for the incoming administration to allocate to people, the Opume Bridge in Ogbia Local Government Area and the Harold Dappa-Biriye Conference Centre in Onopa, must be completed and commissioned. Other projects include newly constructed roads to be commissioned are the High Profile road by the Nigerian Airforce Mobility Command, the Kpansia Market road and the Yenizue-Gene New GRA main access road, the Bayelsa Palm and the old Assembly Quarters roads, which had been completed and already in use.
On the Isaac Boro expressway, the completed first phase of the project between Oxbow Lake and Opolo Roundabout will also be commissioned while the second phase between Opolo and Tombia Roundabout at Etegwe will be resurfaced. The flyover at the roundabout would be done by future administrations in the state.
READ ALSO: http://Coronavirus’ll be gone by April when weather gets warmer – Trump
It was gathered that the governor had equally directed various ministries and agencies with projects that are near completion to finish them for commissioning. Such projects include 84 of the 105 health centres in the 105 wards across the state under the Ministry of Health as well as the renovated Samson Siasia Sports Complex which hosts the final of the Restoration Cup on Monday.
The governor has revolutionised education in Bayelsa State by introducing the free compulsory education from primary to tertiary institutions. He also ensured the employment of Masters and PhD. holders from the state to lecture in the schools, the people of Bayelsa will appreciate the investment in education in the near future when some of the graduates of the system start taking over positions of authority.
Indeed to Dickson, lack of education was at the root of instability, militancy and insurgency urged multinational oil companies to emulate the Nigerian Army by adopting secondary schools already built by the state government while disclosing that the government had committed N80 billion to the development of educational infrastructure in Bayelsa aside from salaries in pursuit of the vision to create access to education in the state. According to him, the state has 13 functional model secondary schools with about 10,000 young Bayelsans, enjoying free education in quality boarding secondary school.
The outgoing governor had told the mammoth crowd of students and stakeholders at the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri, Ekeremor Local Government Area, that the large number of projects embarked upon by his administration will stand him out as a leader, who came prepared to serve his people
The governor is always proud to let you the difficulties he encountered getting formal education in the then old Rivers state while growing up , wants people to note that though some people may not appreciate his modest revolutionary projects, that posterity would be fair to him in its judgement as one who paved the way for sustainable development through education.
Before the Dickson-led government assumed office, it was an incontrovertible fact that private schools were booming, as all government institutions of learning were in a comatose state. It is worth recalling that several years ago, Bayelsa State languished in the bottom half of states’ students’ performance chart in the West African Examination Council’s examination and others.
READ ALSO: Congestion: No vessel diverted to Eastern port – NPA
However, moving from the sad laughing stock status and after investing heavily in the critical education sector – both in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, the state is now occupying an enviable 5th position in the latest chart released. The government has also sponsored over 3,000 Bayelsans on various overseas scholarships, with education at the primary and secondary level made free.
While the scholarship was ongoing, the government made massive investments in educational infrastructure, which has today resulted in the establishment of over 16 public boarding schools with the Ijaw National Academy (INA) as its flagship project. Collectively, the model boarding schools, first of its kind in the state, hosts over 15,000 students who are being trained from JSS1 – SS3 free of charge, which indeed was confirmed after a tour of the schools.
Compulsory teachers training and upgrade programme was established. In addition, all indigenes with degrees in education that were hiding in ministries and parastatals were fished out during the civil service reform programme, which lasted through the second term of the administration and moved to teach and provide required services in the sector.
The outgoing administration also built two universities; the University of Africa, Toru Orua, and the Bayelsa Medical University. The Bayelsa State Polytechnic, Aleibiri, was also built as well as Bayelsa State International Institute of Tourism, Bayelsa State Music and Cultural School, the Bayelsa State Sports Academy and the Bayelsa State Driving School.
For the foremost university in the state, the Niger Delta University, the administration built and dualised road, spanning from one end of the institution to the other as well as a Senate Building, 21 years after its establishment; and accreditation of the courses in the school courtesy of the Dickson led restoration government.
There is no doubt that the Countryman Governor, as Dickson is fondly called, has impacted positively on Bayelsa and Bayelsans. As he bows out in grand style on Friday, he would be leaving behind giant foot prints for which the state would always remember him kindly if only they put politics aside and face reality.