By Austin Ogwuda
BARELY a week ago, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State let the cat out of the bag by sharing the secret behind breaking record as the longest serving Speaker in Delta State.
Actually, it was in the public domain that there were attempts to impeach him while he was Speaker in the Delta State House of Assembly but he survived like the proverbial cat with nine lives.
The Town Hall Media reliably gathered that the last attempt almost succeeded but he still survived.
Even nosey reporters had concluded that the last attempt before his gubernatorial race began was a done deal having privy to the number of members who had purportedly signed the Impeachment Notice.
But at the end of the day, there was no dice.
What happened was the question asked within the political arena.
Some political pundits postulated that it was his former ‘oga’ ex Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who saved him from the clutches of all the undercover impeachment plots by some of his aggrieved colleagues as he (Oborevwori) usually ran to him for protection.
Yes, Okowa, undeniably, the political ‘god father’ of Oborevwori must have shielded him to some extent, the real secret behind his survival as a Speaker for that length of period has been revealed.
This reporter chooses to term it as ‘Oborevwori School of Conflict Resolution’.
Why?
Because he, too, has passed through that school, which he openly confessed was the magic wand that saved him from the political tsunami that usually sweeps away former occupants of the enviable post of Speaker in the State House of Assembly.
Then came Wednesday last week the governor disclosed the real secret unknown to the public before.
That was the day he played host to the leadership of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators of Nigeria (ICMC), led by the Vice President of the Institute, Ambassador Victor Ojaide during a courtesy visit to Government House, Asaba.
He noted that the programmes of the Institute were very vital as they helped in building the human capacity needed to entrench a sound culture of peace that would ultimately engender societal growth and development, pointing out that the ICMC programmes, which he undertook, actually helped him to successfully pilot the affairs of the State House of Assembly for a period of six years.
His words, “I am very happy to welcome you to Delta State Government House. I am very proud to be a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators of Nigeria.
“There is no way I can easily forget what happened when I was doing my assignments. It was tough but at the end of the day, it came out well. I want to sincerely thank you for the encouragement.
“The lnstitute was the first lnstitute to award me a Fellow. The ICMC is a programme that will humble you and change your life style. The Sheriff of 10 years ago is not the same as today.
“The programme helped me to manage the State House of Assembly, where you hardly see a Speaker that survives three years. But I survived six years.
“Delta State will collaborate with you in alternative dispute resolutions because we are a peace loving State. We will continue to encourage you in our own little way”, he further added.
The Governor further disclosed that he encouraged some members of the State legislature to become Fellows of the Institute when he was the Speaker of the House, adding that he would also encourage members of the State Exco to join the Institute now that he is a Governor.
According to him, most of the things that one learns from the Institute are things that would obviously sharpen and refine you as a public servant and as an individual.
On the Institute’s proposal to establish Conflict Resolution Centres in the 25 Local Government areas of the State, Oborevwori said, “I feel that a major center should be built in the State capital where people can converge for training instead of trying to build centres of the Institute in all the Local Government Areas.
“You can also go to the Local Government Councils occasionally, to train people as a one-off thing and come back. So, concentrating on the major center here will be best and more effective.”
Earlier, the Vice President of the Institute, Ambassador Victor Ojaide, who applauded the Governor for accepting to receive them on courtesy visit, described the Governor as a consensus builder who made history by becoming the longest serving Speaker in the history of the State.
Ambassador Ojaide, who represented the President of the Institute, Dr. Agada John Elachi during the visit, said the lnstitute wants to create in every Local Government Area in the State, a Conflict Resolution Centre where people would be trained on conflict resolution.
It is now clear that it is important to enroll into this school for clearer perspective and ingenuity towards handling crisis.
Even in the advanced countries certain trainings, acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge for instance para military background are part of requisite qualifications for occupying sensitive and certain offices.
Therefore, ours can’t be different as this school definitely baked Sheriff Oborevwori to navigate through as had told the story himself.
Oborevwori story above aptly says it all.
Political sagacity, not earned on a platter of gold, acumen, doggedness, formal and informal schooling and most importantly ability to thrive in crisis must come into play.
