In politics, the contest is always for the strong and popular candidate to emerge victorious at the polling booth. We have seen since 1999 when Nigeria evolved the current democratic journey that to get power also involves the use of the trigger of the gun along side the ballot paper.

There is no doubt that the struggle for political positions has gone beyond mere rhetoric’s or campaigns on the pages of newspapers, social media and broadcast medium but to the field where the strong takes it all.

However, one of the political realities is that democracy is a process which focuses on the necessity and imperative to rule by the consent of the majority. This point was made in an interview with Hon. Michael Diden, member of the Delta State House of Assembly and Chairman, House Committee on Security.

In his words, “ a tree cannot make a forest. The fact that some aggrieved members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP are decamping to the All Progressives Congress, APC, this will not make them to win elections. The few people joining APC cannot make the party to win because politics is about numbers and there is no way a few can dominate the mandate of the majority. This is the situation in Delta state today.”

The legislator declared that you cannot use the number of people decamping to judge the strength of any political party because they are the same people you see moving from one party to another.

Speaking on his ambition to contest the next senatorial elections, Hon Diden, popularly called Ejele, noted that in apprenticeship, it is the believe that one day you will be free to go and set up your workshop and equally become a master.

“I have served and I very qualified to go to the senate, especially when I have the support of my people who believe in me. They want me to come and serve them and they have called on me to run the election.

“In that kind of scenario if I refuse to heed their call, it shows that I am not qualified to represent them. On a daily basis they are calling on me to run and the pressure on me is increasing daily because they believe in me and I have promised them I will not disgrace them.

“I am ready for the race, until the people say I should not run. On the question that a former governor is also contesting the position, as far as I am concerned, there is no reconciliation. There are only two ways to get power, either from the ballot paper or the trigger of the gun,” he noted.

According to him, “If you want to run an election in a democracy no matter who you are, a former governor or president is to talk to the people and if they give it to you through the ballot paper you will win. Even if President Muhammadu Buhari wants to contest election he should come out and tell the people what he has for the people.

On the performance of the PDP in Delta State, the legislator said it is regrettable that the state allocation has dwindled drastically unlike in the past administrations. From about N26 billion to about N6 billion, the present situation of governance is a different ball game.

“There is no doubt that the state governor, Dr. Ifianyi Okowa will be regretting why it is during his tenure that this is happening. As a governor it is only what he gets that he can use. To me I am very surprised how he has been able to manage the state under this very abnormal condition. I am not talking because I am a PDP man; I am telling you the reality on ground.

“When I discussed the situation in the state with him, I pity him. He once told me and Engr. Sobotie that if he knew this was how the financial situation of the state was he would not have bothered to contest for election. But Sobotie replied him that, “ are you saying God is not favourable to you, therefore withdraw that statement because God knows that this is how it is going to be and that you can manage the situation now, that was why he allowed you to be there.

On his ambition to contest the Delta South senatorial elections and if he has the financial power to defeat Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, the immediate past Governor, Hon. Diden referred to the first king of Israel.

“His name was Saul and he was a very wealthy man and in the course of struggling for power who will become the next king, God now choose David who was not as rich as Saul. He was just a shepherd boy, but when the context started, David became first. In today’s case I am the David, so if you believe God can do that miracle for David, forget about financial muscle because any money is being given by God and He alone knows how to utilize it,” he noted.

As chairman of the peace and security committee in the house of Assembly, the legislator declared that, “We have always ensured that the crime rate, kidnappings within the state are reduced to the barest minimum. With the structure we have on ground it is easy to curb crime. The state has been peaceful because we put people who are dedicated in positions. If N2.000 was suppose to be given to you and it gets to you and from that you give N500 to some boys who want to make trouble, then everybody will be happy. The people who are commissioned actually delivered.

“We have actually changed the anti-kidnapping system and made it a gospel where we preach and talk to the people to come to church so that they will see the difference between good and bad. As for the Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa he is trying in the midst of no adequate fund and my prayer is that the state should have the funds necessary to transform the state so that we all can actually benefit.