Dear Senator Ifeanyi Okowa,
I write this not as a distant critic, but as the journalist who sat in the press gallery of the Senate when you first took your oath, who trailed you through the dusty campaigns of 2015 when you traded that Senate seat for the governorship of Delta State, and who applauded you when your administration got it right — building roads where none existed, paying salaries when others defaulted, and steering Delta through turbulent national waters with a steady hand.
I have also condemned you when you diverted, as I do now. This is no hatchet job. This is a passionate plea from a media friend who has covered every one of your elections and still believes you deserve to leave the stage with your head held high.
Sir, do not recontest for the Senate seat you willingly vacated to become Governor. The same seat you left behind, the same red chamber you endorsed Senator Nwoko to occupy when you moved to Government House. Do not go back. The ovation is at its highest now. Stay off the field before the crowd turns from cheers to jeers.
History is littered with leaders who overstayed their welcome and ended up disgraced — chased out not by enemies, but by the very people who once worshipped them. You do not need to become another sad footnote.
People are already asking the uncomfortable question you must answer in the quiet of your heart: Do you truly have any other vocation besides politics? Your daughter is already in the arena, carrying the family flag with dignity. Must every Okowa seat at the table be occupied by an Okowa? The public is watching, and they are not kind to those who treat public office as a family inheritance or a lifelong career with no exit plan.
You yourself anointed Senator Nwoko. You stepped aside so he could step in. Now that he appears to be riding high, any sudden return to the same seat will not be seen as statesmanship — it will be read as envy, as a desperate bid for Delta political supremacy.
All the variables are stacked against you, Senator. The arithmetic of politics does not lie. The mood of the people has shifted. The same forces that propelled you to Government House are now signalling that enough is enough.
A true warrior knows when the battle is won and when it is time to sheath the sword and walk away with honour. You seem, sadly, not to have learnt that timing.
Some quarters are already whispering that this sudden itch to return is about something else — a search for immunity, a shield against whatever questions the future may throw.
Whether true or false, the mere rumour damages the legacy you spent decades building. Stop feeding it. Stop the dream. No one is pushing you into this race; you are pushing yourself.
The public understands the rhetoric. They have heard it before from too many leaders who cannot imagine life without the title, the convoy, the power. Public office must never become your deathbed — the place where you must die politically or literally.
You are a medical doctor before you were a Senator or Governor. That white coat was your first calling. Instead of chasing another term in Abuja, go back to what you know best: build more well-equipped hospitals across Delta State. Give your people — the same people who trusted you with their votes — the chance to stay alive when sickness knocks.
Equip the health centres you once promised. That is service without the fanfare, without the immunity, without the envy. That is legacy that cannot be taken away by any election tribunal or political rival.
Senator Okowa, this is humble advice wrapped in deep respect. I have celebrated your victories and critiqued your missteps because I believe in you. But on this one, I beg you: do not attempt to go back to the Senate. Exit while the applause is still thunderous. Let the record show that when the ovation was highest, you had the rare wisdom to leave the stage standing tall.
Your media friend,
A Columnist Who Walked Every Mile of Your Journey.
–Pamela O. political commentator and columnist.
