The pan-Ijaw socio-cultural cum economic group, Ijaw National Congress (INC), has admonished politicians ahead of the governorship election in Bayelsa State that they should remember that election is not war and should play politics according to the rules.
The President, INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, gave the advice during the visit of delegation from the British High Commission to the INC at Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, during the week.
He said that instead of the political actors to raise their machetes or pull the triggers, they should use legal weapons such as the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and vote wisely to guarantee a good future for themselves and their children.
He stated that the leadership of the INC had, at several public fora, rigorously appealed to all concerned to shun bitterness and other divisive tendencies, and instead work together in unison in the overall interest of the peace and development of the state.
Okaba, also a Professor of Sociology at the Federal University Otuoke, Bayelsa State, said: “We have developed a ‘Violent Free Election Advocacy message’ which reads thus: “We as Ogbia, Epie, Nembe, Tarakiri, Kolokuma, Egbema, Mein etc. are all one Ijaw family with a common destiny, equal rights and privileges in Bayelsa and Ijaw land.
“We are first and foremost Ijaws and Bayelsans, before anything party i.e. (APC, PDP, Labour Party etc.) Parties will come and go, but Ijaw and Bayelsa shall remain. Do not disrespect, insult or assassinate someone’s character or provoke and sponsor violence before, during and after elections. It is unijawic to destroy in order to survive or progress.”
“Don’t fight or kill anyone for anyone. Remember that those you intend to kill for are not enemies, but friends who are merely pursuing personal interest, differently and momentarily. These leaders shall be friends again as they identify another common interest.
“Therefore, let love lead in the November 11, 2023 elections. The Ijaw National Congress, share in your worries and noble desire for a free, fair, peaceful and credible elections as a veritable means of fostering sustainable peace and development in Bayelsa and Nigeria at large.
“This visit is therefore timely and laudable for it will surely afford all stakeholders the opportunity to interact and cross-fertilize ideas which will be useful in dealing with the current challenges as already spotted in the early warning signals presented by the Opu–Nembe scenario.”
He also said the INC was constrained in the light of recent happenings in the state, to request the British High Commission delegation to lend their voice to the group’s strong plea to the government (at all levels) and the security agencies to stay neutral in the discharge of their assignments before, during and after the forthcoming election in the state.
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He said the INC as a responsible and responsive socio–cultural organisation made up of patriotic citizens, the Ijaw, in spite of all the ill-treatment meted to them continually by the hegemonic Nigeria state, they shared in the anxiety of the Commission concerning the present state of the Nigerian nation.
He stated: “The truth remains that Nigeria is getting more polarised with every passing day as the cleavages and the fault-lines of ethnocentrism, sectionalism, parochialism, religious extremism, class differentials and multidimensional poverty and insecurity etc. are pushing the nation to the brink of disintegration.
“The national security is apocalyptic with its structures and operations heavily compromised. This explains the reasons for our earlier call on the present administration to focus more on her internal security challenges, revamping the ailing economy and dealing decisively with issues of unbearable hardship caused by her inability to cushion the effect of the sudden fuel subsidy removal and other policies.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration has honestly acknowledged the overwhelming enormity of the nation’s present economic, political and security deficiencies and is in dire need for support from the local and international institutions for proactive, innovative and reformatory strategic measures to deal with its hydra-headed crises of nation building.
“The spate of coup d’états spreading across our international neighborhood calls for urgent steps from friends of Nigeria to help her address some of the maladies to avert impending doom.
“It is sad to note that but for the lethargic disposition of former President Goodluck Jonathan (who was under severe pressure) that informed the non-implementation of the 2014 CONFAB report in which, the issue of restructuring the country became not only a compelling need but was identified as the panacea for addressing the nation’s critical challenges, the prevailing political strangulation, economic woes and social disorder would have been significantly dealt with.
“We must recall that the 2014 CONFAB created an avenue where cheated, disinherited, deprived and the various warring ethnic nationalities disagree to agree to work together to manage their differences and unity in diversity.
“We implore your Commission to leverage the experiences garnered from this CONFAB and provide solutions for urgent national reconciliation and integration.”
Okaba appreciated the British Commission’s immediate concern for a peaceful and credible election in Bayelsa state, reminding the team that the Ijaw people found themselves in the mess (underdeveloped, pauperised, hopeless and hapless etc.) not by their choice.
“We were merely lumped into the Nigeria union by your forefathers without the consent of our forebears who at no time signed any treaty to surrender our sovereignty. You therefore owe us, beyond a moral obligation to facilitate our peaceful exit from this fragile, skewed and unproductive unity.
“In the meantime, the INC is willing and also well prepared to partner with you in promoting sustainable peace and building capacity for development and in any other area (e.g., Inter – cultural studies, exchange and scholarship that will be of mutual benefit to you and Ijaw Nation and the region.”