According to the Bureau of Orientation, sensitization responsible for low deaths recorded in 2022 flood in Delta
Special Adviser to Delta State Governor on Orientation, Mr. Eugene Uzum has said the number of deaths recorded in the State in the 2022 flood was minimal compared to other parts of the country due to the sensitization programme embarked on by the State Orientation Bureau.
The achievements of the Bureau of Orientation for the past seven and half years, has made Deltans understand their roles as critical stakeholders in governance and given them a better understanding of government policies and programmes.
Other achievements of the Bureau
“Our first engagement was in 2015 when we talked about the policies of prosperity. It was a campaign that heralded the government of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa”, he added.
“In 2017, we embarked on a campaign against cultism, and its dangers in our society. In 2018, it was voter registration across the state. The aim of the campaign was to enlighten our people on the importance of their civic responsibilities.
‘’In August 2018, it was a campaign on government polices in the area of road infrastructure as enunciated by the SMART agenda. That same year, we reached out to our people affected by the perennial flood, especially in the riverine areas. With the aid of the government we were able forestall the damages caused by the flood.
‘’In March 2019, we had a serious sensitization program on vote buying due to the state elections. The aim was to restructure the mind of our people from vote buying. In February 2020, the campaign was on the dangers of trailer parking on various roads. On the back of that campaign, we believed that a lot of lives have been saved.
“Also, sensitization against Covid-19 was very critical for us. There were laid down protocols to follow but unfortunately, while a lot of people were dying some fractions of the society were not taking the protocols seriously. But the Bureau together with the State Primary Health Care Development Agency went on a sensitization campaign, and other federal institutions that were on ground to educate the people on the pandemic.
‘’In March 2021, we did a sensitization on drug abuse and cultism. We had to do it again because it was actually posing a lot of threats, especially in our primary and secondary schools. We also did a sensitization on the state government projects in the three senatorial districts.
‘’We also sensitized the public on vandalizing of government properties which has paid off. In June 2022, we partnered with various stakeholders to talk about the issue of paedophilia and child abuse in our society.
“In September 2022, we were alerted by NIMET on the flood which was very challenging across the country, but the records of death were smaller in Delta than what we had in other states because of the level of organization and sensitization that we did.
“In October 2022, the Bureau again did a sensitization campaign on the registration and participation in the voter process”.
