Keyamo: From the courtroom to soapbox
http://deltaforcesunited./2013/04/17/keyamo-from-courtroom-to-soapbox/
Written by GBOYEGA ADEOYE


Human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, enters the Delta 2015 gubernatorial race with pomp, saying his coming into politics is to end the gridlock of a certain clique in the state on governance, reports GBOYEGA ADEOYE

Those who think it is going to be an easy sail for incumbent Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State to have his way as to who emerges as governor of his state in the 2015 gubernatorial race, as is the case in Nigerian political circle, should start having a re-think.

The order of movement of the political pendulum is changing and permutations are likely to be altered as erudite lawyer and civil rights activist, Festus Keyamo, signifies interest in assuming the exalted Delta numero uno position, damning all political bumps that have been planted on the road by those that dictate the political pulse of the state.

Already, the political drumbeat in the state has attained a high pitch. Keyamo had declared his intention to run for the 2015 gubernatorial post in Delta. And according to him, he is prepared to stake his life to attain this ambition.

This declaration pricks the consciousness of pundits in the zone as Keyamo minced no word in stressing that he was not going to run under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Only recently, all opposition parties to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, visited the Lagos lawyer in his country home to declare support for him. They expressed delight in the coming out of someone of Keyamo’s stature to declare to run for the Delta leadership position.

Indeed, Delta is one of the states in the country that are in dire need of urgent deliverance from the stranglehold of a clique that have formed the tail wagging the dog of their affairs. Keyamo lamented a situation where anybody seeking political office or planning to get political appointment has to seek the blessing of certain elements in the state before such ambition can be achieved.

According to the Ughelli-born lawyer, his decision to veer into the murky Nigerian political arena is also to put a stop into the lingering situation where those who toiled and laboured for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria are now being treated as underdogs in the system they produced. He noted with pain the gradual erosion of people’s thinking by the current political class into believing that politics is a game of “cash and carry.”

At his Anthony, Lagos office where Keyamo played host to Nigerian Compass, emotion rose as the lawyer reflects on the level of rot in the Nigerian political scene, saying it was a high time patriotic Nigerians rescued the nation from the bunch of locusts that are bent on pulling down the economy of the country to its foundation. “I received a call from a young man from my state (Delta) today.

This is a man in his early thirties asking me how I think I can be planning to run in the governorship and up till now, I have not been seen distributing rice, even “pure water” for the youths.” Speaking further, he said: “he called those things “empowerment,” stressing that I need to really come around and ensure that the masses that form the bulk of the electorate are adequately empowered.

“Rather than giving him a straight response, I allowed him to talk and later called him. He was so shocked on realizing I could return his call. This gave me the opportunity to lecture him on what good governance is all about. I made him to realise that all those things he referred to as empowerment are mere baits, crumbs that the today politicians give to their pauperized subjects to buy their conscience and then plunder them into another round of neglect and utter poverty.”

To Keyamo, Delta State has not for once enjoyed the dividend of good governance. According to him, it has been a state under the grip of an individual who despite his visible political dents has constituted the rallying point without whom no political dream could be successfully hatched.

The human rights lawyer said the sole aim of his coming to the political arena is to whittle down the makeshift dynasty of political jobbers in the state by propping up needed synergy between the people and government in midwifing a government that will be truly for the people. He noted with regret why subsequent governments in Delta State has found it so difficult to build a round-about at the three major junctions at Warri which has over the years been giving motorist plying the road sleepless nights.

Keyamo said his government will have as its main objective, accountability to the people as a way of displaying loyalty to the people with whom he said power resides.

“First of all, my government is going to ensure that a geographical information system is carried out in Delta State. By this, I mean every house will be numbered and identified with such number to curtail crime as well as making it easy for government to plan right.

This will also be used to fight sundry other issues like flood. Also, I am going to ensure that all contracts awarded by government are published quarterly with the cost which shall be verifiable to all residents. Effort will also be geared towards agriculture as a way of curtailing the rising unemployment situation in the state,” he said.

Na today?