by Nkem Osu
TO SOME people, empowerment has become a palliative rhetoric inclined to the escapist option, tilting more to playing to the gallery, as against the more enduring and result-oriented intention of impacting the lives of the populace positively.
Unarguably, Hon. Victor Ochei, Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, conveniently falls into the latter category as exemplified by his numerous empowerment programmes for his constituents of Aniocha North, dating back to 2002, even before mounting the soap box.
In one of such programmes, artisans numbering over 1,000 comprising barbers, hair dressers, welders etc, were provided the requisite tools of their trade, as a means of enhancing the economic sector of the area.
He has also demonstrated unalloyed support for education as the only veritable legacy that could be bequeathed to the younger generation by their older compatriots, which ultimately engenders societal advancement in the various areas of human undertakings.
At various fora, he had unapologetically stuck to this belief which, according to him, arises from his late father’s conviction that without education, the society stagnates and this paints a forlorn picture of the society.
Sometime in September 2010, he gave out sixteen 18- seater buses to secondary schools, over 50,000 exercise books, 100 motorcycles and 50 tricycles to beneficiaries within the Aniocha North locality.
This is undoubtedly a show of commitment to uplifting the standard of living of his people, borne out of an intrinsic desire to ensure societal evolution, using education as the sustaining conveyor belt in realising the set out objective.
In the sports segment, Hon. Ochei has bankrolled the Victor Ochei Soccer Competition for the 17 towns in Aniocha North Local Government Area for more than eight years, coupled with his sponsorship of a National Wheelchair Basketball Championship for the second year running, which has transformed the sport to a class of reckoning.
Just recently at the Pilgrim Baptist Grammar School, Issele- Uku, in Aniocha North, he once more demonstrated his resolve to continuously apply empowerment as a proper tool of development by doling out a princely N25,000 each to 1,020 women, totalling N25 .5 million, as well as over 40,000 branded exercise books to public secondary school students in the locality.
In his speech on the occasion, Hon Victor Ochei, the Empowerment Parliamentarian Par Excellence, submitted that ’’ My desire to empower the womenfolk engaged in artisan, farming, hairdressing, tailoring and other trades was in fulfilment of the campaign promise I made to them while seeking a return to the House for a third time in 2011.’’
He disclosed that ‘’The idea behind the empowerment programme for the women was to boost their trades for them to generate more wealth and develop the culture of savings.” He also assured the male folk and the youths to be patient, saying “Your empowerment is on stream and prospective beneficiaries will be notified.’’
A new positive vista was thus opened on that historic day when he affirmed his resolve to extend the scheme to the remaining 24 Local Government Areas of the state, which elicited not just ovation from the all present but provided a ray of hope to Deltans that in the desert of adversity, there is always an oasis of salvation.
Governor Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan was so enthralled by the prospects of the scheme that he gave a marching order to elected and appointed political office holders in the state to urgently initiate empowerment programmes in their wards and constituencies to complement government’s effort at improving the living standard of the people.
In a nutshell, the mustard seed sown on April 4, 2013 is growing to offer a ray of hope, pointing to an enhanced socio-economic standard in Delta State, owing to the altruistic disposition of Hon. Victor Ochei, who is being deservedly regarded as The Empowerment Parliamentarian Par Excellence.
* Nkem Osu is the Acting Chief Press Secretary to The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly.