Leadership goes beyond having some loyalists or beneficiaries under your control. Leadership, as I tell those that care to listen, is selfless sacrificial services; building a people oriented ideology and sticking with same irrespective of the pains, punishment and price one has to pay in the hands of highly self seeking gladiators while laying an exemplary foundation.
Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru is a leader that belongs in such category. He does not just habe a selfless and service oriented ideology, he has also stayed glued to it all his life without compromising his position. To him, the confidence reposed on him by the generality of the ordinary Deltans, worth more than silver, gold and diamond. He would rather remain friends with the people than trade them to satisfy himself, a practice that dominates our political terrain. No wonder he is fondly addressed as “The People’s General”.
You will agree with me that today a large majority of the people see politics as a “game of interests”. To them, you must belong to the circle or league where you ego and personal interests can be protected and satisfied. No wonder our corridor of power is characterized by incessant defection of political elites especially to a ruling political party, in the bid to seek avenues for self aggrandizement.
This is not the case with “The People’s General”. A little journey into our State’s political history lane will reveal that the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, has held the State to ransom and ceased all vital public and social institutions that defend the interests of the people against political egoists, who see gerrymandering as a veritable tool to manipulate the ballots and pin the people against themselves.
Being that as it may, Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, has consistently maintained his stand with the people. Unlike what many political elites do today, Chief Ogboru has never considered trading the people by joining forces with the oppressors. He is not part of the self seeking class that believes that “if you cannot beat them, you join them”. Ogboru’s ideology is simple: the forces of darkness can be defeated; if not now, it will surely be in the nearest future, then the people will rightly take their place as the engine of government, the drivers of government and the passengers of government, being the true meaning of Democracy. Hence, Chief Ogboru has been the major opposition leader in Delta State for over a decade now. He has been in the business of building unpopular political parties within the State and bringing them to lime light, such that the PDP has on different occasions been brought to its toes by those Parties. Several persons have rode to power under such platforms. This is to tell you how acceptable the man called Ogboru is among the people of Delta State.
At a time when a mega political party like the All Progressives Congress, APC, promised to “Change” the ugly narrative in our political domain, a worthy leader as Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, who has proven his unalloyed integrity and has the irreversible support of the people, is the right man that should be given the mantle of leadership to be the gubernatorial candidate of the Party in Delta State and I can assure you in such circumstances that the failed and anti-people PDP shall be sent packing from Unity House, Asaba come 2019.
Signed:
Michael Emumena Paul
Secretary, Media and Publicity Committee,
Light of APC, Delta State.
