By Staff Reporter
Sir Sunny Areh has challenged the portrayal of former Delta State Governor and former Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, as an unrivalled political strategist and unifying figure, insisting that his legacy should be measured by the impact of his eight-year administration on the people of Delta North.
Areh made the remarks in a response to an article by public commentator Norbert Chiazor titled “Okowa, Nwoko, Ochei: The Die Is Cast,” in which Chiazor described Okowa, Senator Ned Nwoko and former Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Victor Ochei, as the dominant political figures in the contemporary politics of Delta North.
Chiazor had characterised the trio as the “triumvirate of Anioma politics,” describing Okowa as a “matchless strategist,” Nwoko as “audaciously footed” and Ochei as “exuberantly primed.”
While acknowledging Okowa’s political achievements, Areh argued that political commentary should not become an exercise in adulation, stressing that the media’s responsibility is to hold leaders accountable.
“The work of media and communication is indeed difficult and tricky. Our duty is not to worship at the feet, but to hold the mirror to power, even when the reflection is unflattering,” Areh said.
According to him, “Adulation is a choice. Accountability is the job,” warning that confusing the two could reduce public discourse to “hagiography” and deprive citizens of honest assessment of political leadership.
Areh also took issue with Chiazor’s description of Okowa as a “mythic strategist” and “unifying avatar,” arguing that such grand descriptions should not overshadow the realities experienced by communities across Delta North during Okowa’s eight years as governor.
“The painting of Okowa as a ‘mythic strategist’ and ‘unifying avatar’ is grand, and history will record his firsts. But grandeur cannot erase geography,” he said.
He alleged that during Okowa’s tenure, projects, appointments and political visibility were concentrated around one area of Delta North, leaving other parts of Anioma dissatisfied with the distribution of government attention.
“The rest of Anioma, including your own village, Idumuje-Unor, meant to be a cultural beacon, were left to survive on promises,” Areh told Chiazor, recalling the latter’s previous posts concerning dilapidated access roads in the area.
He added: “A legacy cannot be national in speech and parochial in execution.”
Areh, however, acknowledged Okowa’s political influence, saying there was no dispute that the former governor “made men, disrupted structures, and carries national reach.”
He maintained, nevertheless, that the question of political representation ahead of 2027 should go beyond an individual’s biography, political connections or temperament.
“Representation in 2027 must be judged by more than biography, connections, and calmness,” he said.
Areh challenged Delta North voters to assess Okowa’s record by asking what his eight years in office delivered in practical terms to communities in the region, particularly in areas such as roads, schools and markets.
“Delta North is asking: what did his eight years at the top deliver to their roads, their schools, their markets?” he asked.
He argued that if the benefits of governance were perceived as concentrated in a limited area, claims of enduring development would remain unconvincing to many residents.
“If the answer is concentrated in one compound, then ‘enduring development’ will sound like poetry without a foundation,” Areh said.
On the forthcoming political contest, Areh acknowledged Chiazor’s right to support Okowa, while stressing that other citizens were equally entitled to demand a different distribution of political influence and development.
“Democracy is indeed the liberty of conviction. You are free to stand firmly with Okowa. Others are free to ask for a different balance of influence, spread and memory,” he said.
He concluded that the outcome of the 2027 political contest would ultimately depend on the perception and choices of the electorate.
“2027 will not be decided by ornate oratory alone, but by whether the people of Delta North feel that the next four years will finally come home to all of them, not just to the footnotes of history. Let the people decide,” Areh said.
