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The joy, excitement, euphoria and celebration that greeted the announcement of the creation of Bayelsa State by General Sani Abacha the 7th Military Head of State of Nigeria on the 1st of October, 1996 is speedily dying down as we are confronted with some sad realities. 

The saddest reality here is the fact that the same Ijaw people that built Port Harcourt in Rivers State to the level that it was adjudged the Garden City of Nigeria due to her beauty and cleanliness cannot do the same in the only homogeneous Ijaw State in Nigeria. 

The above development is due to the wrong and faulty foundation that was laid at the inception of our contemporary democracy. Beginning from Chief D.S.P Alamieyeseigha to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Timipre Sylva and the present Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson Restoration Government none of them had a comprehensive plan to develop Bayelsa State as a modern state. 

I say this because at inception, the Ikwerres, Ekpeyes, Ndonis, Ndokis, Ogonis, Eches and others became very enviable of the Ijaws in the newly created Bayelsa State. They extended the same respect to Ijaws in Andoni, Okrika, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro, Degema, Abua/Odual, Akuku-Toru, Asari/Toru, Ogu/Bolu, Engennis in Ahoada West, the people of Abuloma and others in Port Harcourt City LGA who were very happy and proud of their Ijaw brothers in the Jerusalem of the Ijaw Nation which is home to all Ijaws all over the world.

The Ijaws in the present Rivers State boasted to their neighbours that their brothers are going to build one of the most beautiful states in Nigeria. They believed that their brothers who industrialized and opened up Port Harcourt and the Old Rivers State will transform and turn Bayelsa State to one of the most beautiful states in the world especially because of the abundant and enormous natural resources in the state and her small population with only eight (8) Local Government Areas.

It is however very sad that they have become disappointed, devastated and traumatised due to bad leadership and corruption. 

Today, Ikwerres who saw themselves as inferior beings and second class citizens, the people who learnt good leadership, administration and development from Ijaws have become champions and masters that we celebrate while our people are moving backward on daily basis. 

Go to Port Harcourt and see modern well dualized roads criss-crossing everywhere. They learnt from their develomental mistakes and today they are building and opening up new roads with beautiful roads but here in Yenagoa we are celebrating Mbiama-Yenagoa Road and Isaac Boro Express that we are using to play politics. Only Iwofe or Ada George is far more than the celebrated Isaac Boro or Mbiama-Yenagoa Road we are very proud of. 

We are supposed to be doing a comprehensive development plan for across the famous Epie Creek, we are supposed to build bridges across the Epie Creek, open up the forest and design the new Yenagoa City. Look at what Gov. Ambode is doing in the new Eco Atlantic City that he is building in the Atlantic Ocean. That shows a leader with so much vision and plan for his people. We are supposed to open up the Igbogene-Gbarain, Biseni-Okordia-Zarama Area and the Elebele Area with good development plans as against what is happening now in those areas. 

THE NEEDFUL

If we are truly tired of these Accidental Public Servants who have reduced us to our pitiable and shameful state and condition then we need to elect competent leaders who are prepared for leadership. 

We must elect people who are passionate about the growth and development of our great people. We must stop our Compensatory kind of Politics where very key and sensitive positions are used to compensate stooges, surrogates and puppets simply because we see them as political loyalists or based on recommendations of political godfathers. We need credible, competent, creative, innovative and productive minds that can move the state forward. 

The much awaited and anticipated Change is very possible. All we need is to elect the right persons in 2019.