The Lion and His Burden
Emmanuel Addeh writes that as a new government takes over the reins of power in Bayelsa State on February 14, the euphoria generated by his electoral victory will decline, leaving Mr. David Lyon, Bayelsa Governor-elect to face his clear-cut job
“If somebody dreamt and told me that David Lyon from Olugbobiri would be the elected governor of this our great state I would never believe it. But God Almighty has made it possible. By February 14, by the grace of God, I would be sworn-in as the governor of Bayelsa State,” he told a crowd of supporters during a thanksgiving ceremony recently.
Mostly comprising the common people, this classification, routinely refers to the incoming administration as ‘our government’. They tell anyone who cares to listen that Lyon will halt the dangerously skyrocketing unemployment rate in Bayelsa, fix all the bad roads, build bridges across the major rivers in the state and make generosity an official government policy.
Pundits believe that having been handpicked by Sylva one day to the deadline for the purchase and submission of the All Progressives Congress’ expression of interest and nomination form, then supported by a disgruntled clique of elitist politicians in the last election, Lyon may end up a lame duck if he does not wean off their overbearing influence early in his administration.
Inam was probably spot-on. The chaotic history of politics in Bayelsa, from the impeachment of late Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and culminating in the somewhat disgraceful hounding of Sylva from office is confirmatory of how their leaders have come with so much acclaim and departed with harsh criticisms of their activities while in office.
“The Governor-elect rode on his wide acceptability to power and must not betray the confidence reposed in him by Bayelsans. He must show foresight in governance. Lack of foresight has made governance to seem very difficult in the state. With the right team at his disposal, I expect the incoming administration to take Bayelsa State out of the doldrums,” he said.
“All he needs is total support. He does not need distracting politics. Another thing I expect of the government is to concentrate on the construction of infrastructure. I mean only infrastructure that will jumpstart the economy. What the incoming government needs to do is to create industries. Small scale industries that will employ Bayelsans because majority of the problems in the state is poverty and it is poverty that results to crimes. So, he should tackle that,” he noted.
Lyon has a huge burden on his shoulders. First, he’s a green horn in government, with limited exposure. Secondly, as expected, those who backed his rise from obscurity to political stardom will soon start breathing down his neck. Thirdly, how he handles the soaring projections from the people of Bayelsa will matter in the short and medium term.
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