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By Allison Abanum

When Philip rushed to Nathaniel with the news of having found the Saviour of Mankind, the Messiah, as was prophesied in Nazareth, a sceptical Nathaniel, one who no one can even argue to be racist, asked, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip had only three words as his answer: Come and See.

Seeing is believing. To many, nothing becomes real until it is seen by their two eyes, and nothing is real as that which can be seen and touched. I am part of the many. So, when in 2021, a friend of mine from Afiesere said to me, “Allison , I have seen our new governor and his name is David,” I asked him, “Do Davids of today still kill lions for their sheep?” My friend held me by the hands and said, “Come and see.” I followed him.

On our way to Afiesere, we met an elderly woman, with two school children in their uniforms, all bubbling with joy. Whatever will make an old woman with walking stick to be dancing as she was walking her wards to school must be something serious. Curiosity set in and the investigative journalist in me drew me to the woman. “Mama, Good Morning oo,” I greeted. “This one you and your grandchildren are dancing to school, what’s the news?” The old woman raised her hands towards heaven, readjusted her wrapper in a way that signalled to me that I am in for a very long talk and started. “My son oo, how do I even start? These children here belong to my only child who died with his wife eight years after they got married in a car accident. The children were on holidays with me when it happened and that’s how they escaped death.

Since then, life has been tough for us. I’m just an old diabetic woman who’s counting her days on earth.” She shook her head, drew a long breath in and with eyes that had now become misty from remembering the grief of time past continued, “I couldn’t take care of my diabetes medication again after my son’s and daughter-in-law’s death. What mattered to me was these children, to make sure they go to school but even at that I failed. I couldn’t pay their school fees.

But you see, no matter how dark the night is, morning must surely come. No matter how fierce the lion is, it can only be a pet in the hands of David. One morning, the community leader called many of us, poor and helpless people, and informed us that a man called David Edevbie had come to help us. And that was how he took up these children’s school fees and my hospital bills.

Why won’t I dance my son, when a stranger has asked me to live?” From the way, she spoke, it was clear she is not a Deltan and I asked, “Mama where are you from? She said, “I am from Enugu-Ezike”. At that point, I had to greet her in her own mother tongue, “ Mama Deje ni o”. She was surprised because it was her deep Igbo dialect that only people from that part of the Igbo land understand. I could speak the dialled because I was at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka for eight years and Nsukka is just a throw stone to Enugu-Ezike.

The visibly excited woman burst into songs of praise to the God of David as Onorode( my Afiesere friend) and I moved on. I turned to Onorode and told him that I had seen all I wanted to see to believe and I shall involve my journalist friends in a comprehensive investigation of David Edevbie. But Onorode won’t hear of it. “There is more where this is coming from,” he insisted.

The last time I visited Onorode’s place in Afiesere was in 2003. At that time, you dare not come to Afiesere without a torchlight, the type that’s powered by batteries that are not rechargeable, where will you get electricity to recharge the torchlight? Afiesere was without light and I used to taunt Onorode, “When God said ‘let there be light’, Afiesere was not included.” That was why the sight that greeted me on my return visit to Afiesere was jolting me. There were shining electric bulbs in every household I passed and one could not hear the sound of a generator from any quarters. I turned to Onorode and asked, “What is happening?” He was puzzled.

“What do you mean?” “The light, electricity.” “Oh, that,” he answered, “it’s now an old story. About two years after you visited, David Edevbie provided all these transformers you now see in this community. Like I told you, the three-times Commissioner for Finance didn’t start working for the good people of Delta today. No, he has been doing that. He just needs a bigger platform to do bigger things.” I totally agreed.

Not always do you see one who is loved by both the mighty and the lowly? It takes special grace, splendour and attention to detail to get that. I can, today after my brief sojourn tell you that David Edevbie is a man loved by all and sundry. One just needs to turn on the television to see how glowingly the matter speaks of him. Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has this to say about him, “My dear Olorogun David Edevbie, you have over the years continued to offer genuine leadership at various levels of governance and I urge you to remain unrelenting in your service to the state and the country.”

As if that’s not enough, he continued, “By dint of hard work and discipline, you have continued to carve a niche for yourself by maintaining a charismatic and untainted leadership style that has endeared you to many Deltans and Nigerians.” Not often do you hear a statesman speak so glowingly of one man?

After moving around town and the entire state with Onorode, I went back to base and called My Friend and Brother, Roland Ogbonnaya, Former Daily Deputy Editor of Thisday Newspaper and Currently Saturday Deputy Editor of Daily Independent Newspaper to join me in a deep investigation on David Edevbie. To be more balanced, I called another friend and brother, Amos Oweifighe, News Editor at Radio Nigeria, Creek Fm to cover for the Electronic Media. We took three months to do our Investigation moving from Abuja to Asaba. I shall share our Experience, Findings, Observations and Position soon in National Dailies.

Today, I am the voice on a mountaintop announcing the Saviour I have discovered for Delta State and when people ask me, “Can the David of today kill a lion to protect his sheep?” I hold them by hand and take them to Chike, a Deltan from Asaba who was a tout until 2008 when the Afiesere Skill Acquisition Centre was built and he acquired the skill that kept him off the streets today. I take them to many other youths like Chike and remind them that such a skill acquisition centre wouldn’t have existed save for the influence of David Edevbie. When people become sceptical, I remind them of the one who influenced the dualization of Ughelli Township Roads in 2006 and the one whose role is indispensable in the 13% derivation payment by Federal Government.

Come and See! Come in 2023 and see the Delta State that will be governed by Olorogun David Edevbie and you will be reminded that David had always been a man after God’s own heart.

* Abanum is the Senior Special Assistant on Strategic Communication and Documentation to the Governor of Bayelsa State.

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