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Olomu Onyiye.

The last two weeks have been so tense and exciting in Delta State and the major event serving as catalyst was actually the ordeal of Dr. Okowa with the EFCC in their Port Harcourt Office.

From all indications, no other recent event has generated such a mix of solidarity, betrayal and bad blood- for while the huge mass of Deltans staunchly rallied behind the ex-Governor, a select few, so loud and hysterical in their deviousness, were behind the scenes suffocating the media and public spaces with lies, misinformation and verbiages of character assassination.

But, haters of Dr. Okowa grossly underrated him.They failed to acknowledge in his case that whom God has graciously blessed, no man can curse.

That they even could not see how such a man well respected as an undeniable epitome and stickler of due process in all governmental activities, cannot be easily trounced, was one reason among many, that their fabulous allegations fell flat ab initio.

For sure, I do not intend to tackle the nitty gritty of the case; all of these have been treated much earlier but with the hale of solidarity visits from across the State- which have somewhat transmuted Dr. Okowa’s residence into a Mecca of sort- I can’t but muse how his haters would be feeling after their acts of calumny intended primarily for his humiliation, have now become the purveyor and tool for affirming his goodwill among Deltans.

Across board, solidarity has remained on the rise for Dr Okowa.

The Urhobo Progressive Union(UPU), serving as the Sociocultural Body of Urhobos worldwide, was among the first to visit him. Traditional Rulers, under the auspices of their Council, have equally led a high-powered delegation to his residence. Much earlier, the youths of HOSTCOM in Delta Central have also made a Press Release denouncing the saga as an outright witch-hunt. The list goes on.

But while Dr. Okowa basks and relishes this well-deserved solidarity and camaraderie from beloved Deltans, we await the next move of his haters and detractors who have largely gone in circles in their macabre dance of seeking to nail him.

Initially, they alleged a whooping N1.3trillion. Immediately after, they amended it downwards to a relatively paltry sum of N40 billion. Now, they’ve recruited the services of their maverick ‘Blackmailer-in-Chief’ who has characteristically reeled out phoney figures of Dr. Okowa’s misappropriation; but curiously, he’s yet to substantiate any, even days after.

In all, I’m consoled by one fact: that Dr. Okowa has at every point and visit, assured that he has nothing to hide.

It’s really so heartwarming to see him remain in high spirits while his detractors run from pillar to post on a phantom mission of repudiating and tarnishing his hard-earned reputation.

Well, that’s always what enemies of good conscience and the greater good of humanity bargain for. In Dr. Okowa’s case, there will definitely be no exceptions to this timeless rule.