,- When Neglect Becomes a Language of Governance
– Delta’s Forgotten Sons and Daughters
From the banks of the mighty River Warri rises a cry soaked in anguish -- the voice of Ogbe-Ijoh, the proud but forsaken headquarters of Warri South-West Local Government Area. Once the administrative heart of this rich region, Ogbe-Ijoh now stands like a stately palm tree stripped of its fronds -- a landmark no longer admired, but pitied. Our streets, once busy with the steps of traders, workers, and students, have become perilous channels of mud and crater-sized potholes. The entry roads resemble the cracked skin of a snake in dry season. Public spaces are ghosts of their former selves; there is no sign that this kingdom houses the nerve centre of a local government.
For decades, the people of this kingdom have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with successive administrations in Delta State, offering unwavering loyalty, helping stabilise the political climate, and contributing richly to the economy. Yet, our loyalty has been met not with the handshake of partnership, but with the cold shoulder of neglect. It is a cruel irony that while we keep faith, the government turns its face away. The air here tastes of abandonment; it is as though Ogbe-Ijoh has been erased from the state’s map of meaningful development. This present administration, since its inception, has not birthed, commissioned, or completed a single project within our territory.
A walk through Ogbe-Ijoh today is a descent into a gallery of decay. The Skill Acquisition Centre, once promised as a cradle of empowerment, stands silent and hollow -- a carcass of bare walls bleaching under the merciless sun. The Internal Road Project has been abandoned to weeds and stagnant pools that breed mosquitoes and sickness. The Technical College’s roof yawns with rusted holes, allowing rain to pour into classrooms -- drowning not just books but the dreams of young artisans. The High Court and Customary Court sit like tombs where justice is meant to live, their once purposeful corridors now home to cobwebs and dust. The General Hospital, which should be a sanctuary of hope, is now a warehouse of broken beds and lifeless equipment. Even the Grammar School stares at the world through shattered windows, and the JAMB Centre -- meant to open doors for the future -- has itself been locked away by neglect. Each neglected building is a mocking reminder of promises made and abandoned halfway.
Beyond collapsing walls, the spirit of exclusion cuts deeper still. Our youths -- vibrant, educated, and determined to make a difference -- have been frozen out of appointments, employments, and empowerment schemes. While other communities within Delta State dine generously at the table of political inclusion, Ogbe-Ijoh’s people are left waiting at the door, told neither to sit nor to leave. Government opportunities float past us like well-provisioned ships, yet we remain stranded on the shore with empty hands. It is an insult that a headquarters of a local government is treated as the orphan of the state.
And yet, in the spirit of peace, Ogbe-Ijoh has never lifted its hands to violence. We have endured, like the patient farmer watching the horizon for rain that never comes. For too long, the government’s response has been silence, as if by ignoring us the problem will vanish. But Your Excellency, indifference cannot build a house; it only invites the wind to scatter the roof. We do not seek destruction; we seek inclusion before the rising tide of frustration sweeps away the calm waters of patience.
We are not asking for charity. We are demanding justice. Justice means revisiting every abandoned project and breathing life back into them. Justice means mending our roads so that traders, workers, and schoolchildren can move without fear of accidents. Justice means restoring our schools as spaces of inspiration, not places of shame. Justice means sending skilled hands to repair our hospitals so that no mother loses a child because there was no functional bed, and no patient dies simply because the oxygen tank has rusted shut. Justice means ensuring Ogbe-Ijoh youths are no longer spectating at the edges of opportunity but are seated where decisions are made.
Your Excellency, Ogbe-Ijoh is woven into Delta’s story, and to erase us from development is to weaken the whole state’s fabric. Our exclusion is a scar on the conscience of governance. The urgency is clear: act now, not tomorrow. Every new day of inaction allows neglect to deepen its roots. Delta State cannot thrive while keeping its own headquarters in shadow.
Let our place among the developed communities of Delta be restored. Let our roads speak of progress, not abandonment. Let our schools hum with learning, not decay. Let our politics reflect that Ogbe-Ijoh, too, is a firstborn of this state. For only when this kingdom rises from the mud of neglect will Delta truly stand on unshakable ground.
EBIKABOWEI KEDIKUMO -- Writes from Ayakoromo Town, Delta State
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