Sylva, Wabote, Alaibe Hail Bayelsa At 25
As Bayelsa State celebrates her 25 years of creation, some highly placed sons of the soil have sent congratulatory messages to the government and people of the state.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Wabote and one-time Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe are among those celebrating with the state at Silva Jubilee.
Both Sylva and Alaibe however said though the state has not achieved all it desires in the area of infrastrural development and growth, the people of the state should be hopeful and steadfast as the era of liberation and harvest was near.
Simbi Wabote on his part in a statement said “we celebrate with the Governor and the good people of Bayelsa state on the 25th anniversary of the state.
“As worthy partners, we celebrate with you on this unique occasion which coincides with Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary.
“We wish you well in your developmental strides and assure you of our full commitment to your drive to industrialize the state and improve the wellbeing of the citizenry.”
While Sylva noted that though he had a rare privilege of leading the state during the perilous times of the Niger Delta Crisis, and in the process bequeathed the Amnesty Programme which brought peace in the region, his achievements of lasting legacies including unmatched infrastructures are still standing tall in the State to this day – on the occasion of her 25th creation anniversary.
Chief Alaibe assured Bayelsa people that there is still hope for the state despite the fact that from the onset “we lack leadership that exhibited quality of personality, character, conviction, and the vision that would turn our expectations into concrete achievements.
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“Our founding fathers and succeeding generations looked forward to a leadership with the capacity and the will to rally men and women under a common purpose; a leadership, which in the words of Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery, possesses the character that inspires confidence among the governed.
“We had envisaged a state that would conceive and execute a sustained blue-print of economic and infrastructural development, with the aim of turning our towns and villages into booming business centres; and a sustainable plan to resolve our fast deteriorating environmental conditions. We intended to be the glory of all lands.
“Unfortunately, and in spite of the development efforts of past leaders, we are not there yet. In leadership, we are still experimenting. We are yet to put our best foot forward. On physical development, we are yet to develop a Master Plan. Sadly, states that were created at the same time with ours, have left us far behind.
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“What Bayelsa State has in abundance, but is yet to put to profitable use is visionary leadership; a transformational leadership that is trustworthy; a leadership with the capacity to persuasively generate support and turn our abundant human and material resources into development capital; a leadership that would recognize that marine-based industrial development and growth or blue GDP is a great potential to Bayelsa State economic and social development; a leadership that would utilize Blue Economy as a strategy or policy instrument to drive economic growth, create jobs and reduce youth unemployment.
“Even more imperative is a leadership with clear understanding of the reality of disruption of the digital revolution and the inevitability of its impact on governance, and be able to establish a set of common values to drive policy choices and implement changes that will create opportunities for Bayelsans.
“However, despite these avoidable setbacks, despite the human errors that have pushed us several years behind our contemporaries, we still have reasons to celebrate.”
