Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja
Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has lamented the alleged inequitable treatment so far meted to the Ijaw nation and the entire Niger Delta region by the Nigerian state.
The elder statesman, who spoke when a former governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, paid him a courtesy visit at his Abuja residence, noted that the entire oil-rich region, especially his Ijaw ethnic group, had been consistently oppressed, despite being the region where the nation’s economic sustenance comes from.
He, however, noted that there would not be unity in the country where some see themselves as superior to others, warning that a time would soon come when the people would take their destiny into their own hands.
Lamenting the situation where the Ijaw people have had to take permission from others before gaining access to the natural resources within their soil, he wondered what kind of country runs like that.
He, however, expressed delight that the former Bayelsa State governor, Senator Dickson, had been elected into the Senate, expressing the confidence that he would be an authentic voice for the Ijaws in the Senate.
“We are an oppressed people; I have always said that we will soon take our destiny into our own hands. People do not appreciate what we are doing for Nigeria, what we are providing for Nigeria. They control our resources in our backyard, they manage it and at the end of it, they benefit from it and now make us second class citizens in our country. They use our very money to control us.
“What type of country do we belong to? We produce all the resources in this country and for me to benefit from it; I have to travel to Daura in Katsina State to ask for approval for me to benefit from what is being produced in my backyard. And if I am lucky they will give it to me with some conditions.
“So, I am happy that you have been elected. As I said when you were coming, I said I’m still mourning; I don’t want to talk about politics yet. But politics is in my vein, I cannot see my Senator being inaugurated and for him to come and see me without saying that this is what you are going to do in that place. Time will come after my mourning period, I will speak.
“This country we are is a country for all Nigerians. No one owns it more than the other. We are equal citizens in Nigeria. Unity does not mean you must be superior to the other. Then you won’t have a country. So, you have a duty to perform,” he said.
Speaking further, the former senator and federal commissioner told Dickson: “I know I will be around to watch your performances in the senate.
“A situation where you have 18 senators representing us and you pass laws/bills that are against us without any opposition, some of us believe we have not got the right people in the Senate or the National Assembly. So, I am very proud that you have been elected as a senator and I wish you the best of luck.
Speaking on the election of Dickson, Clark revealed that he supported the former governor for the position because of his qualities.
“You have all the qualities to become a senator. I have been one before, I was a senator in the second republic and I was a very important one for that matter. I was a member of a select committee which was the most important one in the senate, we were responsible for appointing members of the various committees” he said.
Also speaking, Senator Dickson said he visited to thank Ijaw Leader for his support in his quest for the senate office, informing him that he had been elected and finally sworn into office as Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District.
He said he would constantly call on the elder statesman for advice and guidance on how to continue pursuing the issues facing the Ijaw people.
He said he had planned to physically visit the Ijaw National Leader, but had had to delay the visit until now, due to a number of circumstances, including flooding, the outbreak of COVID-19 and the recent# EndSARS protests.
Commiserating with Chief Clark over the death of his younger brother, Professor John Pepper Clark, the Senator noted that the Ijaw nation had lost a big name, whose impact went beyond just his immediate home nation.
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He described him as not just an Ijaw or Niger Delta icon, but a rallying point for all the leaders who mean well for Nigeria, noting that he had over the years transformed to represent the demand for a just and equitable Nigerian union.
“We know that in this COVID-19 lockdown, calamities, flood, the Ijaw nation lost one of our best, another father and leader, a pathfinder in his own right but your younger brother, Prof. J P Clark. Today’s visit primarily is to formally condole with you and your family.
“The other reason for the visit is to thank you for your support. You have come to symbolise the Ijaw struggle, the Niger Delta struggle and you have gone even beyond the Niger Delta, you have become the rallying point for all those leaders who mean well in this country for a just Nigeria, an equitable Nigeria, a Nigeria for all Nigerians.
“We’ll be coming continually for consultation and advice because the issues that matter to us, which are the same issues you have been managing and dealing with, from pre-independent Nigeria to independent Nigeria and till now. You are a living encyclopedia, it’s only a fool who won’t want to continually tap from this available pool of wisdom and knowledge,” he said.
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