The Boom In Infrastructural Development In Bayelsa State
One riveting fact that greets one, as one flips through the pages of the 20-year development history of Bayelsa State, is that the State witnessed its greatest infrastructural boom ever, in the last four and half years. Quite remarkably, this epoch of heavy infrastructural harvest has been the alluring hallmark of the Dickson Administration.
It is worth noting, however, that the welcome development is not just a footnote of history or mere happenstance, as some are liable to think. On the contrary, this development is the direct consequence of the beautiful interplay of well-thought out policies, programmes and projects initiated and executed by the present administration in the State.
It is pertinent to recall that the Dickson Administration quickly won the heart of the people of Bayelsa State by the pragmatically different development approach it adopted. By deliberately taking development projects to virtually all communities in the State, the administration became a source of inspiration to Bayelsans. Driving home this point, one is not trying to imply that previous administrations in the State did not make any efforts to build the public infrastructure of the highly infrastructurally-deprived State that could hardly boast any tangible development at the time of its creation in 1996. The military administrations succeeded in constructing the Ekeki Motor Park; started the Sports Complex, the Old State Secretariat and first Commissioners’ Quarters behind the Samson Siasia Sports Complex at Ovom. Other projects include the Bayelsa State House Assembly Complex, the defunct Traditional Rulers’ Council Secretariat, the Old House of Assembly Quarters, and succeeded in preparing up the Yenagoa City Development Master-plan.
Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha (of blessed memory), the first democratically elected governor of Bayelsa State, even in death occupies an enviable place on the pantheon of heroes in view of his pioneering infrastructural projects. The Alamieyeseigha Administration had to its credit the establishment of the Niger University (NDU), the College of Arts and Science, the School of Nursing, and the College of Health Technology. That administration also built the old commissioners’ quarters at Opolo, the State Banquet Hall, the New State Secretariat, the Gloryland Cultural Centre, the Sani Abacha Express, Isaac Boro Express, Civil Servant Quarters, Ovom, among others.
Also worthy of note are the development strides of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan whose administration started the New Yenagoa Gateway Road (Phase I), the Five-Star Hotel, the Swali Bridge Project, Revenue House, the Toru-Ebeni Bridge Project, and the Millennium Park. He also embarked on the renovation of public schools, and started and completed the Okaka Housing EState. Chief Timipre Sylva whom Governor Dickson succeeded also made some contributions in the development story of the State. The first year of the Sylva Administration witnessed a flurry of construction activities to complete some on-going projects it met in office, such as the Swali Bridge, High Court complex, and the Peace Park, New Yenagoa Gateway Road (Phase I), Revenue House, House of Assembly Secretariat complex, New Government House Castle, Gloryland Television, and the State Banquet Hall. Projects initiated by it include internal roads in the State capital; the second commissioners’ quarters, second House of Assembly quarters and the Diete Ikoki Memorial Hospital at Opolo. Despite these developmental projects, Bayelsa was still regarded as developmentally malnourished State with massive infrastructural deficits everywhere. As a matter of fact, when Governor Dickson assumed office in early 2012, this reality on the ground dawned on him. Rather than feeling despondent about this, Dickson and his team took the bull by the horns. This is why Governor Dickson decided to make the building of public infrastructure like roads, bridges, health facilities, schools and other structures as a key area of focus in the Restoration Agenda. So far, his administration’s efforts at building public infrastructure have simply been unparalleled.
ROADS AND BRIDGES: It has been said elsewhere that any administration in Bayelsa State that fails to itemize road development on its priority list will end up being a disservice to the people. This assertion is not farfetched; when it is carefully considered that the chronic dearth of roads in over 70 percent of the State has over the years held back development in hundreds of communities in the mainly riverine State. With this hindsight at its disposal, the Dickson Administration undertook massive construction of roads, including bridges and a flyover. Essentially, the administration identified the three senatorial roads as key in its striving to open up the hundreds of communities and settlements in the configuration of the State’s hinterland. Aside these pivotal senatorial roads in the infrastructural definition of the New Bayelsa, the Bayelsa State Government also embarked on some ambitious road projects within the State capital, Yenagoa, and in other parts of the State.
Consequently, many road projects were conceived, awarded and executed on the template of the Restoration Agenda. Moreover, some strategic road and bridge projects the administration met derelict were duly reviewed and funded to completion. Good examples are the Etegwe-Tombia-Amassoma Road project with eight bridges, and the Toru-Ebeni Bridge project connecting Southern Ijaw and Sagbama LGAs on the western flank of the State. The projects worth perusing under this nomenclatural category include: 1. Dualization of Azikoro Road 2. Dualization of Hospital Road 3. Dualization of Isaac Boro Expressway 4. Construction of Ogobiri-Toru-Ebeni Access Road 5. Dualization of Waterboard Road 6. Dualization of Road Safety Road 7. Construction of Flyover by NNPC-Berger Junction 8. Completion of the Toru-Ebeni Bridge project 9. Completion of the Etegwe-Tombia-Amassoma Road project 10. Dualization of the Igbogene-Glory Drive (with two bridges) 11. Construction of Boro Town Access Road 12. Construction of Bayelsa Central Senatorial Road project (Phase I) – Yenagoa-Oporoma 13. Construction of Bayelsa West Senatorial Road project (Phase I) – Sagbama-Ekeremor 14. Construction of Outer Ring Road – Bayelsa Palm-Elebele-Igbogene 15. Construction of Oxbow Lake Road 16. Construction of Bayelsa East Senatorial Road project (N3 billion counterpart-funding) 17. Construction of Nembe Police Station Access Road 18. Construction of Opolo-AIT Road 19. Construction of Road (Spur) 38/37 Kpansia 20. Construction of Tourism Island Bridge project 21. Construction of Road (Spur) 30 22. Construction of Road (Spur) 27 23. Construction of Road (Spur) 28 24. Construction of Road (Spur) 31 25. Construction of Road (Spur) 24 26. Construction of Toru-Orua Internal Roads
EDUCATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE: Over the last four years, the Dickson Administration has made huge investment in the educational infrastructure of the State. Arguably, it has set a difficult-to-equal record; a reason for which, Governor Dickson has earned the sobriquet, “The Obafemi Awolowo of Bayelsa State.” Between 2012 and 2015, no fewer than 400 school structures such as classroom blocks and headmasters’ quarters running into hundreds were constructed, and old structures were renovated at the primary and post-primary school level. This is in addition to model secondary schools built in each of the 24 State constituencies full with ICT and computer halls, well equipped science laboratories, libraries, multi-purpose halls, State-of-the art toilet facilities, standby sound-proof generators and boarding facilities. Government also within this period built many school structures at the Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education (IJBCOE) and the Teachers’ Training Institute (TTI) at Sagbama and Bulou-Orua respectively.
HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE: The health of the people is one of the greatest assets to development in society. This is why provision of quality health facilities and delivery occupies a prime place in the Dickson Administration’s development agenda so far. The construction of the Bayelsa State Diasgnostic Centre with State-of-the-art medical equipment provides an eloquent testimony to this. Government also within this period built the Drug Distribution and Quality Control Centre named after late Dr. Dora Akunyili, as part of efforts to safeguard the health of the people. It also constructed the Referral Hospitals at the local government headquarters to domesticate quality health services at the grassroots. Additionally, health centres were also built and equipped across the State.
OTHER PUBLIC STRUCTURES: The coverage of the Bayelsa infrastructure boom touches some key structures in other sectors of the Bureaucracy and the public services. Some of the infrastructural facilities worth noting include:
1. State Secretariat Annexes 1-6
2. New Government House Car Park
3. Multi-Door Court House
4. Integrated Security and Communication Centre
5. NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp
6. Nigerian Army Regiment Centre
7. Isaac Boro Town, Kaiama 8. Bayelsa State Archives Centre
9. Ecumenical Centre 10. Bayelsa State Cargo Airport
11. Governor/Deputy Governor’s Office Complexes
12. New Traditional Rulers’ Secretariat
13. Upgrading of Gabriel Okara’s Cultural Centre
CONCLUSION: From the two-and-half-years transitory military administrations to the present era of restoration, one thing is clear: The people of Bayelsa have felt development most under the Dickson Administration. Bayelsa’s infrastructural boom midwifed by the Dickson Administration is rightly a historic monument that will resonate in the dialectics of development for a long time, even after the government would have left office in 2020. The obvious implication of the foregoing is that it imposes a particular responsibility on all classes of stakeholders in the Bayelsa Project, to continue to give Governor Dickson and his team the needed support to consolidate the concrete gains already made. It is equally essential that Bayelsans fully appreciate the current economic challenges being confronted by the administration, which is a true reflection of the “perilous economic times” the nation is in.
There is no gainsaying that the economic meltdown has stymied progress on many of the big ticket projects on the administration’s development menu. However, there is enough reason to hope for the best in Bayelsa State, as the Governor, himself a good student of history, continues to creditably deliver his unique mandate. The good people of Bayelsa State are assured that theirs is a government with a patriotic disposition to complete all the projects it had started from the outset.
Dennis Alemu
Is a member of the Bayelsa New Media Team
Sept. 16, 2016