Only those with great brainpower like a former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, look up forward, not pulled back by politics of brickbats, but believe in shared value in order to help humanity anytime, anyday, irrespective of political hiccups that might have been here or there.
This was evident on January 25, 2017 when the ever-forgiving Uduaghan said he would continue to work for peace and mankind in Delta State. He didn’t look at paid tantrums from some quarters against him when he left power as governor (2007 to 2015). Today, Uduaghan has kept his promise of continued help to the humanity in Delta State irrespective of who paid to blackmail him or who was paid to do the hatchet work on several occasions.
Uduaghan has been restless, just as he does to ethnic issues, except solution is proffered on the issue of the global pandemic called COVID-19. On March 24, at about 1pm of that day, he reportedly raised the alarm through his Twitter handle, suggesting the need for the whole levels of government to implement the stay-at-home order to curtail the spread of the virus. A trained Medical Doctor, Uduaghan’s reason for that proposal was in making sure that ethnic peace and unity, which he had been in the forefront for, are harnessed as remarkable legacies, with every resident of Delta State alive to witness such, be it Urhobo, Ijaw, Isoko, Itsekiri or any other ethnic nationality in the state.
He didn’t show easiness over COVID-19, unlike when he was unflustered during the time he contested for the Delta South Senatorial District seat in the 2019 general election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, but lost to Senator James Manager of the Peoples Democratic Party. Uduaghan remained unperturbed in that loss. He, however, congratulated Manager, though he made his discerning points on the court judgment that brought Manager to power very clear. He never loved ethnic issues, because this could keep him awake till solution to any uprising was proffered.
Uduaghan, providing remedial approach and supplementary panacea in the event of coronavirus to people in making sure that they live healthily, was how he invested heavily in healthcare, especially in the area of maternal and child health, when he was in government. He believed that every woman in Delta State must deliver safely, hence he commissioned a 100-bed Maternal and Child Care Complex and other projects at the Central Hospital, Warri. This was when he was governor.
He didn’t end there, but lamented that poverty and ignorance were the major factors (as they are today towards Nigerians’ attitude to stay-at-home. Mine) expectant mothers died in the past, but these were addressed in his government through the Maternal and Child Care project. Uduaghan threw his strength in the project than he did to others. In one of his public presentations, he said he valued the Maternal and Child Care project more than any project like bridges, buildings, roads, vehicles.
Just as Uduaghan advised the tiers of government to stay-at-home, he had advised hopeful women there, when he was governor, to take seriously child spacing and birth control, or visit the medical resource for appropriate birth control direction. Uduaghan has been showing how splendid it is for one to love his state of origin and country, adding that love should not stop at the border, but should go beyond the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara Desert.
Uduaghan has been showing that it is not only politics that politicians should owe their allegiance to, but also to humanity. He is a selfless patriot spurred by his love for people. It could be his training to save lives as a medical doctor that made Uduaghan to be meek and humble and could go miles in saving humanity. Conversely, did George Washington, 1796, not say mankind should guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism? Uduaghan abhors masqueraded patriotism, and this shall be revealed in subsequent bulletins.
. Onwumere writes from Rivers State via: apoet_25@yahoo.com and could be reached on 08057778358.
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