Their electioneering promises ranged from revamping the education sector, ailing industries, youth empowerment, skills acquisition, agricultural programmes, health schemes, scholarship programmes and the likes that never saw the light of the day.
From 1999 till date, successive governments under their leadership never did up to 50 per cent of what they promised the youths, rather they made them end up as political thugs trained for election purposes.
But every four years, politicians come to the youths, promising what they know they would never do even if given all the resources in the world.
As soon as they come into either elective or appointed offices, the places reserved for the youths, the “Leaders of tomorrow”, are given to family members, cronies, loyalists and sometimes, exorbitantly sold out.
The appalling show has continued for decades and the 2015 and 2019 crop of politicians, particularly in Delta State, are not left out of this politics of self enrichment and have made youths to continuously look up onto them for shelter, food and virtually everything.
The jobless and helpless youths chant “Father, your boys are here”, “Anything for the boys? “Our leader”, “Make way for the man who know road” and many other phrases just to put food on their tables.
Some of these shameless politicians are again planning to come to the same youths they have kept and left below poverty line for decades to canvass for support, votes and as usual, empower them with guns come 2023.
However, there seems to be a new awareness that things should not continue the way they are in Delta, many reflect on the stone they earlier rejected the past – entrepreneur and biggest private investor in the state, Olorogun Barr. Kenneth Gbagi, and say for 2023, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Delta youths.
Gbagi’s plan to build 100 industries in 100 days, no doubt has made him the man of the youths, the right governorship choice for the state, the best and sellable aspirant across political divide.
On Thursday April 8th 2021, the most visible aspirant in the 2023 governorship race, an industrialist, criminologist and lawyer by training, Olorogun Gbagi, stormed the Palace of the monarch of Idjerhe Kingdom, His Royal Majesty, Ovie Monday Whiskey, his maternal home to hint him of his gubernatorial intention.
After the king and chiefs received and prayed for him, the mammoth crowd , predominantly youths, took over the premises chanting solidarity songs for the man they love, respect, honour and cherish. But while addressing the men and women, the internationally recognized legal luminary with connection to people who would drive home his vision and mission for the state, said: “It is my hope and desire and by the grace of God, I will eradicate poverty from our youths”.
The statement aroused a loud ovation from the youths. To them, the youth-friendly governor has come with the message of hope.
Stirring their hope further with more firm assurances, Gbagi, continued:
“These young boys you are seeing today, by the grace of God, I have removed them from the street. We have to form them into a vanguard arrangement. When the campaign starts, we will form you into a group and we will move from one local government to local government, ” he asserted.
Olorogun Gbagi, is ready to create jobs for the youths, give them opportunities that would make them excel, self-employed and self-reliant and become employers of labour.
