Otuoke: The changing fortunes of Nigeria’s ‘first’ town

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Adewale Oshodi, who recently visited Otuoke, the hometown of President Goodluck Jonathan, writes on the correlation between the president’s political rise and the development of his town, while concluding that Otuoke owes its growth to its biggest ‘asset.’ His report.
Before the rise of Dr Goodluck Jonathan, from deputy governor to president, only a few Nigerians outside Bayelsa State would know about, or have ever visited Otuoke. But as the town’s greatest ‘asset’ rose on the political scene, so came a change in its fortunes.
Until now, according to residents and indigenes, Otuoke, which is just a few kilometres away from the state capital, Yenagoa, used to be a very quiet town; but that is in the past now. Beautiful structures are springing up on a daily basis. A new federal university was recently established there, and this alone has increased the economic activities in the town, due to the influx of students as well as teaching and non-teaching staff of the university.
As a result, a first time visitor who expects to see a rusty old town would marvel at the ongoing development in the town.
According to one of the lecturers at the Federal University, Otuoke, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Otuoke’s development is definitely linked to the rise of its son, Dr Jonathan.
“There is a correlation between Dr Jonathan’s rise and Otuoke’s development. I learnt that before Dr Jonathan joined politics, the town was just like any other town in Bayelsa State, and if it were not for the president, I doubt if Otuoke would ever be considered worthy of hosting a federal university.
“The university alone would ensure the continued development of the town even after the President leaves office,” the don said.
While speaking about the town, a cab driver who plies between Yenagoa and Otuoke, Udeme James, also admitted that things had really changed in the town.
“Before, it was hard getting passengers to and fro Otuoke, but the story has changed, especially since the university was established in the town.
This is the greatest thing to happen to this town, and it has increased traffic on the Yenagoa/Otuoke route,” James said.
“Before now, we could stay for hours at the park at Yenogoa before loading the cab, but today, the story is different, and even other cab drivers plying other routes are now joining us on the Yenagoa/Otuoke route,” James said.
However, with the development of the town, came an increase in the presence of security operatives on the route leading into the town, as well as inside the town.
The cab driver, while speaking on this, said, “until now, we were not used to seeing security personnel in Otuoke, but they are part of our lives now,” and to corroborate his statement, this writer saw a military observation tower in the main town. There was also an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) stationed at the entrance of the town.
While speaking on the security personnel in the town, Mama Mercy, who sells cooked food very close to the university says, “I think they are just to secure the safety of the president’s relatives; we all know that kidnappers are frequently looking for who to abduct, but the security personnel are friendly people, and we love them; they are our friends now.
Mama Mercy said economic activities were picking up very fast in the town, “although the student population is still quite low, we know that in the next couple of years, we would have a huge student population, and more businesses can be established.
“However, the lack of electricity supply to the town is giving us sleepless nights; since June last year, we’ve not had light due to a faulty turbine, and it is costing us a lot, and we just hope something can be done fast about this,” the food seller said.
One thing about Otuoke today is that a lot of building constructions are going on. As more Otuoke indigenes are also being appointed into government, and they return home to develop the town. Apart from Yenagoa, the state capital, Otuoke is definitely the busiest town in Bayelsa in terms of construction. However, majority of Otuoke is water-logged, so before a building is constructed, the land is first filled with sand.
Otuoke, the ‘first’ town definitely owes its relevance in the country today to its son, Dr Jonathan, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.