Mary Nnah
A Nollywood star and Technical Assistant on Culture to Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State, Timi Hadiza Zuofa, has explained why February 14th is celebrated specially in the state and the magic wand being deployed by the governor to ensure that there is love among the people of the state.
She said the governor’s resolve to run an all-inclusive government, which does not discriminate against political interests or affiliations, has ensured tremendous development, unity, love, peace, and understanding among the people and promoted progress.
Speaking about the forthcoming celebration of two years in the office of the governor which is scheduled for February 14, Zuofa, a Theatre artiste and Television personality, said: “February 14 is not just unique on the calendar but also a day that the Bayelsans would look back and continue to thank God Almighty for being God.”
Speaking further on how significant February 14th is to the governor and the state, Zuofa recalled that when the gubernatorial poll between Governor Diri of PDP and Mr. David Lyon of APC took place, a lot of disagreements and misgivings came up and the case was taken to court.
“The parties went back and forth and in fact, it was almost like PDP had lost the case but as God would have it, at the last minute when some of us had lost hope, the outcome was announced by the Supreme Court on February 13, 2020, and Senator Diri was declared the winner and the governor of Bayelsa State and on February 14 our dear governor was sworn-in, signaling the beginning of prosperous years ahead for our dear state,” she added.
She said further, “Senator Diri is a lover of peace and this declaration came up on the eve of February 14. We all know what the date stands for, worldwide, it is set aside in most parts of the world to celebrate valentine; it is a day set aside to show love to all, irrespective of who they are. It is a day everyone shares gifts to affirm their love for one another.
So, what does his Excellency, Governor Douye Diri do in a day like this, after this election he took it upon himself to bring all Bayelsans together because the things that happened during the poll pulled many families apart, but the governor used the date to preach tolerance, love, and understanding among Bayelsans.”
Zuofa also revealed that Governor Diri has performed creditably well in the area of providing dividends of democracy for his people, adding that there has been a huge turnaround in the fortunes of the state, especially in the areas of the economy, education, agriculture, social infrastructure, and others.
She explained the role her unit will be playing in the celebration of the two years of Governor Diri in office: “My unit’s contribution towards the February 14 celebration which would mark the two years of this prosperity government is to perform a special musical drama. I am producing a musical drama titled ‘Biokpo’, it is written and directed by Dan Kpodo, the musical drama centres around human struggles and the victory that comes with perseverance, love, understanding,and others . The performance’s theme is centred around our February 14 celebration and that is why it is picked.”
Promising that the culture sector in Bayelsa is set to be fully revamped such that the state would soon be exporting her cultural products in order to shore up her internally Generated Revenue (IGR), she said: “The government has been trying to bring all together irrespective of party affiliations. He is doing a lot to preserve and promote our people’s culture. The government is set to revamp the cultural sector in the state by taking concrete steps in this direction, through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism,” she said.
