PLEASE READ! Profile of a Humble Gov. Hon.Dakuku Adol Peterside. (thisdaynewspapers) A lunchtime conversation and a session at his church revealed a lot about the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Dakuku Peterside, who may become the next governor of Rivers State. Adeola Akinremi writes The day was getting to zero when a call went out to him. He picked up his phone. That way, the conversation began. The following day was a Thursday and we agreed to have a ride down to Old Kent Road in Bermondsey, South-east London. He had come to see his scholars – the beneficiaries of his scholarships. I was there for a centenary exhibition. So, it was a chance meeting. At Old Kent Road, a famous Nigerian restaurant there provided us the needed shade from the sun-scorched city of London. It was sometimes in the month of August and the summer was really scorching. As he sat, it was easy to attempt a mind reading on him. I did. I telepathised him. He was down-to -earth in his response. Yes, that placid look makes him to be unassuming. But beneath that look are what those who have encountered him describe as extraordinary courage and a depth of knowledge that distinguishes him. Those who have had an encounter with him have described his character traits as fair, faithful, fantastic, fearless, fine, frank, friendly, funny, generous, gentle, glorious, and good. I had no cause to doubt these descriptions. True, that is Dakuku Peterside, a calm but firm new Nigerian leader on the horizon. At least, he’s unstained, unlike many other leaders in the country. Peterside’s background is quite a story. “I spent most of my growing up years in Bori in Ogoniland. I saw first-hand pain of the community in which I grew up. Most of my Christmas were spent in Bane (the house of the Wiwas) and it was from there I learnt to become a community organiser, helping communities to rise above their challenges and raising young leaders through leadership trainings. It was the job I did until I veered into politics.” Outside the street on Old Kent Road, Londoners were relishing the pleasure that the sun gave. Of course, autumn was approaching and inevitably the winter would come down. With screeching of the moving cars and music seeping out of cars in motion, it was clear that summertime is a happy time for most Londoners. I turned to Peterside with my cup of black coffee in my hand to know why he is supporting many young people with scholarship for foreign education. “It’s all about skills and exposure,” he said. “One of the wonders of the Asian tigers is that they encourage their citizens to go abroad, learn and return to impact on their economy. In those countries, capital productivity was attained through adopting foreign knowledge and technology.” The Peterside before me didn’t appear like a regular politician. He carried no air of self-importance common with everyday politician. But Peterside occupies no less a position in the House as a congressman. He’s the Chairman of Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream). The position he had occupied since he arrived in Abuja as a congressman in 2011. For years, Peterside, 44, did everything right in his position to support many life-changing bills. The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has been one of those. Peterside, who represents Opobo/Nkoro/Andoni federal constituency at the House of Representativ-es, perhaps had a clairvoyance eyes into the challenges confronting Nigeria today over the tumbling oil price. He had been a strong advocate for the passage of the PIB presently before the National Assembly. Last year, when opposition mounted against the bill, he had said, “it is a legislation that should be supported by all sections of the country.” His views have not changed much. “Presently, the economy is being strangulated and all this is because there is restricted opportunity for investment,” he said. “Our economy is still a third world economy which requires a lot of investment in infrastructure. The PIB addresses all of that. The Bill intends to open up the economy for further investments, because there is that uncertainty in the petroleum sector.” Just four years in the parliament, Peterside’s strengths are well-known. He is seen as focused, forthright, studious, urbane and a superb communicator. In a time of reviled politicians, people actually like listening to him, making him a man who cut across party lines. On a recent weekend in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, it was striking to see Peterside stretching forth his hands to greet locals on the streets and waiting to be photographed by them. It was the same thing in his constituency, where men and women were in ecstasy at his appearance and giggled to be photographed with him. “When you are not far from the people, that is what you get,” he told me. On Birabi Street in GRA Phase 1, Port Harcourt, where Peterside’s church, Salvation Ministries is located, he is not looked upon as a politician. The worshippers there see him as ‘one of us’. A security man at the car park nearby said: “I know him to be one of the early birds in this church; he comes before the service starts. He’s not your typical politician. We see him as one of us. He acts like a priest.” One recent Sunday morning, I waited at a corner of the street to prove the words of the security man. A man in white cloth alighted from a dark Sports Utility Vehicle and headed for the church gate. It was 7.45am. He clutched a leather back bible with no other person beside him, except other worshippers walking the same alley with him into the church directly ahead of them. It was Peterside’s moment to converse with God as a regular worshipper in the church. We did not speak. But those who spoke to me described Peterside as a rare gift to their community. While in London, I teased him about the success rate of providing scholarships to young people from his community to further their studies abroad. He didn’t speak for himself. In electronic interviews, beneficiaries of Peterside’s overseas post-graduate scholarship scheme narrated how the scheme many of them doubted has changed their lives. One of them, Victor Pepple, who graduated from the University of Port Harcourt with a bachelor’s degree in Petroleum and Gas Engineering (Gas Engineering Option) between 2010/2011 and now studying for his master’s degree in Engineering Business Management at the University of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, said Peterside has kept his part of the bargain. He said full tuition and upkeep allowance as promised by the scholarship board have been paid. “We were credited with over six months’ maintenance allowance for living expenses before arriving the UK. Beyond that, the Honourable has come to visit us in person to see how we are faring. This I find very rare of any public office holder in his capacity. For this, I remain eternally grateful.” “Every honest and right-thinking mind would agree that education is the greatest legacy any society can give to its youths in order to secure a sustainable future. In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. Hence, Hon. Dakuku Peterside is championing the individual initiative and effort to empower youths of his federal constituency with life-time training, skills and competences that will outlive time and temporary materialistic gains,” he said. Pepple who said his previous experiences with sourcing for a scholarship to study abroad had always been a last minute disappointment even in situations where he met the criteria, described Peterside as a honest politician that is rare. He said: “The name Dakuku Peterside will forever remain engrained in the hearts of many, for being a man who helped in writing the history of many generations even yet unborn. Beyond being a fast selling brand in Rivers State, the man has modestly proved that his words are honourable and he keeps his promise. He said he would empower the people of his constituency with qualitative education abroad, he did it. He said he would not interfere with the selection process for the candidates, not even on grounds of any primordial sentiments, and he did it. This I find very remarkable because if it were otherwise, people like me would most likely never have been on the preferred list and I know it. Whilst I strive to make the best of this opportunity given me, I urge all and sundry to emulate Hon. Dakuku Peterside in creating more empowerment opportunities for the upcoming generation, lest we remain in the woods.” Now, what started during the Christmas season of 2012 when posters for the Peterside’s overseas post-graduate scholarship scheme were pasted everywhere in Opobo Town and designated collection centres in Port Harcourt, has turned out to be a glorious opportunity for Pepple and others in its ilk. For his path, Tana Ofik, Ofik, a native of Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, currently studying for an M.Sc. in Subsea Engineering, with the scholarship, Peterside is laying a new foundation for the Niger Delta and Nigeria. He said: “I got selected as a beneficiary of the Hon. Peterside’s overseas post-graduate scholarship in June of 2013 after a very transparent selection process in which I emerged the best candidate for the engineering disciplines. The scholarship covers my tuition and living costs at the University of Aberdeen. Till date, the Hon. Dakuku Peterside has followed through with all the promises made to the scholarship beneficiaries. I am thus confident that I will not have any financial worries all through my degree programme. Academically, the experience so far has been quite tasking, as I have been enrolled in a world renowned university with an excellent reputation in engineering studies related to oil and gas development. “I have had the opportunity to meet key industry players and deve ·
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 08:43:00 +0000
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