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Tag: ijaw

  • Brick House…Wike versus Rivers Ijaw

    A colleague of the Rivers State-born Supervising Minister for Education, Nyesom Wike, once described him as ‘Wicked Wike’ jokingly. It was during the height of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis in Rivers State when police believed to be loyal to Wike were terrorising the oil rich enclave. The day before Wike was described as “wicked” by his colleague, police had descended on supporters of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and thrashed them mercilessly. The minister, said a report, laughed and added that he was in Abuja and had no hand in the wahala that happened a day before the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

    Ask anybody on Amaechi’s side and they will readily say the minister is truly wicked.

    Last Tuesday, Rivers Ijaw elders placed an advertorial in this paper and came close to declaring Wike as wicked for daring to take what belongs to their people: Rivers governorship after Amaechi. What infuriated the elders was an attempt by Wike to get an endorsement from their area for his ambition, which, they said, was uncalled for.

    The elders, in a statement on their behalf by the Andoni-Opobo-Nkoro Leaders of Thought, said it is the turn of the riverine area to lead the state.

    The statement by Prof Dagogo Fubara, Alabo Biekpo Jack, Amaopusenibo Diri, Dr Francis Minimah, Capt Paul Akins, Sunday Paul, Chief John Egongh, Mr Ubokineme Owor and Gilbert Mkparo, said Wike “caused a few self-serving politicians in the two local government areas, ostensibly, to induce the endorsement of his governorship ambition, and cause same to be published and carried in both print and electronic media”.

    The elders said their investigation revealed that this was the first of an orchestrated plan by lovers of underdevelopment to plunge the peace loving areas into series of sustaining political upheaval, with the active connivance of outsiders.

    They warned: “We shall resist any such attempts at turning the two local government areas into a theatre of war. Andoni, Opobo and Nkoro people are too sophisticated to mortgage their tomorrow for a pot of porridge today. No amount of money can make us sell our right to the Brick House, come 2015.”

    They added that any aspirant worth the salt should come forward through the appropriate and legitimate means, “rather than going through the back door to induce lesser minds for endorsement”.

    They observed: “While we do not begrudge any person or group in Andoni, Opobo and Nkoro communities from taking any political position, it is our unequivocal stand that such a position should, and must not have the colouration of the majority of the people. The quest for pecuniary benefit by a few selfish polliticians in the area leaves a sour taste in our mouth. Such elements are willing tools in the campaign for the promotion of divisive tendencies. Andoni, Opobo and Nkoro communities had gone through very painful moments of political reclusion, and we do not intend to go back there.

    “In so far as the people of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas are concerned, we have either considered, nor approved any Governorship candidate for Rivers State. We therefore call on all discerning, nor approved any Governorship candidate for Rivers State. We therefore call on all discerning minds to discountenance the induced, misleading and deceitful planned endorsement of Chief Nyesom Wike for the exalted office of the Governor of River State.

    “It is instructive here, to state that the people of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro local governments areas believe in the principle of fairness and politics of inclusion. We believe that having shown and given untainted support and solidarity to other areas and senatorial zones in their period of governance, equity demands that 2015 is the turn of the Riverine Ijaws to take a shot at the governorship of Rivers State. Any act, therefore, that tends to say otherwise, does not represent the true spirit, zeal and drive of the riverine Ijaw Project 2015.”

    Last week, ‘freedom fighter’ Alhaji Mujahhid Dokubo Asari also spoke against an Ikwerre man like Wike succeeding Amaechi. He said it is morally reprehensible in the light of the dominance of the political landscape of the state by the Ikwerre, to which Wike belongs, in the past 16 years.

  • Bayelsa dangles the carrot to promote Ijaw culture

    Bayelsa dangles the carrot to promote Ijaw culture

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has never hidden his passion for Ijaw culture. His zeal to create cultural awareness for the third most populous ethnic group in the country at the beginning of his administration was seen by some as having a secessionist agenda.

    His efforts have produced an anthem, a coat of arm and a flag as identifying marks of the Ijaw nation. So, it is not out of place to see Ijaw flags hoisted and flying beside the Nigerian flag in most public institutions including the Government House. The Ijaw cultural flag is also embossed on the governor’s Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) each time his long siren-blaring convoy sets out for any journey.

    Though the Ijaw anthem is not popular, the nation’s attire has significantly stood out. Dickson does not pay lip service to Ijaw attire. He wears it, especially in all his public outings. Nobody has ever sighted the governor in suit or any corporate outfit. How he will look in a pair of trousers, shirt and tie only exist in one’s imagination.

    Dickson once directed that all civil servants and government appointees must wear Ijaw attire to work every Friday. The governor frowns on anybody who flouts the order.

    The Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs (a novel ministry created by Dickson himself), Dr. Felix Tuodolor, has vowed to enforce the directive which is within the jurisdiction of his ministry.

    Therefore, last Friday Tuodolor set out to observe the level of compliance of the governor’s pronouncement. His monitoring team chose the Ministry of Energy. They paid the ministry a surprised visit.

    But he was dissatisfied. He observed that some persons dressed below the expected standard. He was, however, happy that the Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Mr. Francis Ikio, stood out. He decorated him with the state emblem and gave him an umbrella.

    Others who were encouraged with similar gifts are the Permanent Secretary, P. E. Gede; Head of Petroleum, Christmas J. Brass and Human Resources Director, John Diepreye Appah. They were adjudged the best dressed in the ministry.

    But persons whose outfits were said to be of partial compliance were denied the two gifts. The commissioner encouraged them with either the emblem or the umbrella. Ronima Joseph of the Accounts Department received an umbrella while Monday Godfrey of the commissioner’s office got an emblem.

    Tuodolor reiterated that he was in the ministry to assess the level of compliance of civil servants to the subsisting order on Friday’s dress code. He asked Bayelsans to be proud of their culture, their language, dishes and cuisine.

    “Since it is a directive, we don’t want to inform anybody in advance that we will come. And to encourage those that are traditionally dressed, we prepared little reward for them. We always give the best five we come across in any ministry these gifts”, he said.

    Felix further observed that people in the state had not been sensitized enough on the need to wear the Ijaw outfit. He said more awareness would be created in the state.

    He said: “I believe what we are doing today will further sensitise the people and further make them know it is good to be proud of their culture. We had radio jingles even on television on these issues, advertising it and telling people to be culturally compliant to their culture, be proud of their language and cuisines and so on. We think it is not enough, we need to do more”.

    He said the action was not designed by the governor as a witch-hunt but to encourage people to love their culture. He said apart from civil servants, Bayelsans must develop longing for their attire and export same to people within and outside the state.

    “We want to encourage all Ijaw people to comply with this little directive, it is not a witch-hunt. It will encourage many facets of the economy. The local textile industry will grow. Cuisine industry, the hotels, the food and the arts and culture will grow. If we put more effort, it will be exported which can generate revenue.

    “We are complete when we have our hat and working stick. Culture does not only mean the dressing but also your language and dialect. Encourage parents to speak Ijaw language to their children. Encourage those who have not been complying to comply”, he said.

    Ikio appreciated his culture counterpart for the surprised visit. He said it had become part of him to dress in Ijaw attire every Friday even when outside the state.

    Gede also said he appreciated the directive and said he was so in love with the attire that he wore it throughout the week.

    He emphasised the need for civil servants and the Ijaw to be proud of their culture. While Brass said he would remain proud of nature, community and environment, Appah urged the commissioner to continue with the surprised visits.

  • A mother’s death unites Ijaw youths

    A mother’s death unites Ijaw youths

    It was a burial, but one with a difference. It had a touch of youthful class. It further consolidated the hard-earned unity among the Ijaw and Niger Delta youths. Most of the reconciled aspirants who initially protested the emergence of Mr. Udens Eradiri, as the President of the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), including the key players in the crisis such as Jonathan Lokpobiri and Elvis Donkemezuo were in attendance.

    They all came to commiserate with Eradiri whose mother, Catherine Douye Opukiri, died at 56. Opukiri’s death was remarkable. She was the backbone of Eradiri during the post-electoral crisis that tore the Ijaw youths apart. Having observed the uncommon determination of her son to retain the presidency of IYC, Opukiri had no choice but to support her radical son.

    But at the climax of the controversy, Opukiri who was scared of her son’s life could no longer bear it. She died. So, she was fondly but painfully referred to as the heroine of the existing peace among the youths in the region. No wonder her funeral attracted all the youths that played active part in the crisis.

    It was, however, regrettable that Opukiri could not live to see the end of the debacle and enjoy the reign of her son as the President of IYC. Though she died as a young woman, she achieved what many people who lived over 100 years could not boast of. Udens acknowledged the quality of life of her mother at the interdenominational service he organised before the interment at the Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    “It is not the number of years one lives on this earth that matters. It is the quality of life that counts. Some people lived up to 100 years but achieved nothing. Sometimes, people even pray for such people to die”, he said.

    Udens was right. Her mother was significant figure in the state and the region. She was a graduate of Economics Education from the University of Port Harcourt. Despite marginalization of women and sometimes lack of interest in education by women, Opukiri stood out.

    She rose above her peers to acquire degrees and demonstrated her passion for education by making teaching her first profession. Her doggedness paid off. She was employed in the Rivers State Ministry of Education and later transferred her service to the Bayelsa Ministry of Education after the creation of the state.

    She rose from the ranks to become a Director, Secondary School Education, Bayelsa State. At a point, Opukiri became the Secretary, Hand Over to Civil Rule Committee (HOCRC); Director, Inspectorate Department, Ministry of Education and Acting Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).

    The late Opukiri who was born in Odoni community in Sagbama local government area, was also a Fellow, Certified Institute of Administration, Ghana. She died as a Grade 17 Director in the stage Ministry of Education.

    Udens was, however, elated that her mother saw her five children through education which he said had opened a vista of opportunities for them. He said his brothers and sisters were doing well in their chosen professions and advised parents to give their children best education. Opukiri was a proud grand mother to six children.

    Also, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Mr. Kingsley Kuku, poured encomiums on the late Opukiri. He described her glowing tones.

    He said: “Mama, you lived a highly fulfilled and enduring joyous life. You gave kids of value (apparently referring to Eradiri who is himself an engineer) to mother earth”.

    But the Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw National Affairs, Dr. Felix Tuodolor, who attended the reception after the funeral described the death of Opukiri as a great loss.

    But one of the sympathisers who identified herself as Fortune Dorgu seized the opportunity of the funeral to appeal to the government to pay retirement benefits to promptly. She condemned the prevailing situation of paying gratuities posthumously to retired employees.

    “We know that Mama did not have problems with money before she died. All l am saying is that the government should strive to pay people when they are still alive to enable them enjoy their hard work”, she said.

    Though Mrs. Opukiri’s death was painful, the IYC President danced the pains away. Eradiri took over the floor in a celebration that entertained the guests.

    “I lost her but I am dancing because of her uncommon achievements. People should imitate her resilience, resourcefulness, kindness and honesty,” he said.

     

  • Confab: Ijaw, northern elders may clash over resource control

    Confab: Ijaw, northern elders may clash over resource control

    There were indications on Wednesday that Ijaw elders may clash with their counterparts from northern Nigeria at the proposed National Conference over issues bordering on resource control.

    Ijaw delegates for the conference were said to be warming up to flex muscles with representatives of the north on resource control.

    While Ijaw delegates were said to be heading for the conference with resource control in their minds, northern delegates and elders were said to be ready to scuttle such demand.

    Already, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide, has raised the alarm over ongoing moves by some northern leaders to galvanise consensus against resource control at the conference.

    The youth body accused a northern leader and former National Secretary of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Alhaji Usman Bugaje, of canvassing support against resource control.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, through its Spokesman, Mr. Eric Omare, IYC derided Bugaje over his comments against clamour by the Niger Delta region for resource control.

    It quoted Bugaje as saying that “it is wrong for any state in Nigeria to claim that it is oil producing because 72 per cent of the total land mass in the country belonged to the North and by the United Nation’s Law, it is only the North that actually has the right to claim ownership.”

    According to the group, Bugaje further said investment in the oil and gas industry “came from the Nigerian state and that the territory belongs to the Nigeria State”.

    IYC said Bugaje made the statement at the meeting of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on the National Conference held in Kano on March 11.

    The Ijaw youths said: “Dr. Bugaje’s statement is a deliberate ploy to mislead his northern brothers to prepare the ground to oppose the legitimate demand of the Niger Delta people to control their resources at the forthcoming National Conference.

    “The IYC is very much aware of the game plan of the Northern Elders Forum. The IYC is watching and ready for the challenge.”

    Describing Bugaje’s statement as reckless, provocative, baseless and misleading, the group accused him of displaying “the highest level of ignorance.”

    The group said there was no charter of the United Nations which based determination of maritime boundary of a country on land mass.

    “For the records, there is nowhere in Articles 3, 5, 57 and 76 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) where it is stated that the landmass of a coastal state determines its mileage into the sea or its maritime boundary.

    “The United Nations Law of the Sea which is the primary law which determines the maritime boundary of coastal states defines the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf to be up to 200 nautical lines measured from its baseline which is the low water mark along the coast”, it said.

    Contrary to Bugaje’s position, the Ijaw youths said northern Nigerian and other states in the country were not part of the investment in the oil and gas sector.

    “It was the multinationals who came to explore for oil during the colonial and post-colonial era that did the initial investment and subsequent investment of government in the oil industry is from the proceeds of the Niger Delta oil.

    “Furthermore, the groundnut and economic resources produced from the North were never used to develop the Niger Delta and the oil and gas industry.

    “Northern leaders and especially elites like Dr. Usman Bugae are advised to bury their frivolous claim to Niger Delta oil and think of creative means to harness the resources found in the North.

    “The IYC wish to state clearly that the Niger Delta oil belongs to the communities and people of the Niger Delta and by extension the states where the oil is found and produced.

    “Niger Delta oil does not belong to Northern Nigeria and the Nigeria State. The IYC is capable and ever ready and willing to defend, protect and assert the Niger Delta communities and people ownership of its oil and gas resources both onshore and off shore.”

  • Police arrest six suspected robbers

    The police in Bayelsa State have arrested six suspects, who allegedly robbed a home in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, and escaped with the owner of the house.

    It was gathered that marine police officers intercepted the bandits on the Southern Ijaw waterways and freed their victim, a woman.

    A police source said the suspects robbed a home at Diabu and escaped with some valuables, taking the woman with them.

    “They were armed with AK47 rifles. They stormed a home, stole valuables. Curiously, they took a woman along with them.

    “But they ran out of luck when some marine policemen intercepted them on the Southern Ijaw waterway. They are being detained at the headquarters of the command in Yenagoa,” he said.

    The Commissioner of Police, Hilary Opara, said three AK47 rifles were recovered from the hoodlums.

    He said the command was ready to tackle criminality.

     

  • Politics, intrigues tear apart Ijaw youth body

    Politics, intrigues tear apart Ijaw youth body

    The umbrella body of Ijaw youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), has serached for peace without success since last October as a result of intrigues, reports Mike Odiegwu

    Disaffection has remained like a festering sour within the ranks of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC). No member of IYC, the umbrella body of Ijaw youths, envisaged that the crisis, which erupted during the October 2013 elections of the body, will remain unresolved till now.

    At a point, aggrieved youths took to the East-West Road blocking the Mbiama axis of the road to register their anger. The hullaballoo also ‘contributed’ to the death of the President of INC, Senator Tari Sekibo who slumped and died at 70 while mediating on the crisis.

    Though the youths are seeking solutions to the imbroglio that has crippled a hitherto vibrant forum, many of them are against the latest intervention of the Ijaw elders and leaders of thought led by Chief Edwin Clark.

    Clark’s think-tank in Abuja dissolved all the structures of the IYC. The dissolution was supported by three zonal chairmen of IYC – Saviour Olali (central), Preye Okaba(western), Hamilton Opuende (eastern)-and speaker of IYC parliament, Deme Yinkore.

    The elders, in a move they believed would restore sanity to the Niger Delta and calm frayed nerves, ruled that a committee would be inaugurated to take over the functions of IYC till after the 2015 general elections. They ruled that after the general elections, the structures would be resuscitated and made functional again through fresh elections.

    While persons protesting the outcome of the October elections applauded the decision, others, including some political analysts, view it with suspicion. Mirroring it from political lenses, observers believe that such position if allowed to stand, especially considering the clash of interests ahead of the 2015 elections, will be counterproductive.

    They argued that the verdict, if not overruled, would sideline the Ijaw youths and denied them their rights of participation as a group in all activities leading to the 2015 general elections.

    It implies that no group will seek to protect the interest of Ijaw youths, articulate their views, canvass their aspirations and project their feelings on political discuss. Besides, some have also argued that Clark’s intervention, if honoured, will only succeed in depleting the support base of President Goodluck Jonathan, if he declares to seek reelection in 2015. They caution that elders like Clark should not be demanding Ijaw’s Presidency in 2015 while at the same time making utterances and taking positions that seem to be narrowing Ijaw’s chances.

    “How do we build bridges with other youths for Jonathan in 2015 if we don’t have any structure?” an aggrieved member of IYC queried loudly as he walked away angrily from the venue of an emergency convention organised in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State by Ijaw youths to deliberate on the development.

    The elders’ decision jolted most of the youths. The convention had in attendance all structures of the IYC comprising the three zones of Ijaw east, central and west, parliament, all clans, organisation of Ogbo leaders, chapters students’ representatives, women groups and elders.

    In fact, the emergency convention spared no thought while deliberating on the matter. They dissected the effects of the elders’ decision on the political fortunes of President Jonathan and decided to hold a contrary view. Instead of working with the elders, the convention held that IYC had decided to close ranks and work with the embattled President of the body, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, whose emergence after the October election triggered the crisis.

    To concretise their position, the youths raised a seven-point communique. The communique was signed by Siso Simeon (Chairman, communique drafting committee), Chris Anthony (Secretary), Princ Mac Ake (member), Ezetu Rawlings (member, Acting Chairman, Central Zone), and Gbarasi Brown (member, Acting Chairman, Eastern Zone).

    The youths praised the interventions of Clark and other elders. They also thanked the elders for seeking lasting peace in the region and for supporting the Transformation Agenda of Jonathan.

    But they said: “The convention rejects and dissociates itself in its entirety, reports that some elders and the three zonal chairmen and Speaker of Parliament in Abuja have purportedly dissolved all structures of council.

    “Accordingly, we state with strong terms that the elders, three zonal chairmen and speaker of parliament do not have the powers to dissolve all structures of council and that the only authority vested with such powers is the National Convention of the Ijaw Youth Council expressly provided by Article 7 section vi of the IYC constitution.”

    The youths further reiterated their resolution to work with Eradiri and gave the elders five-day ultimatum to reverse their pronouncement. They threatened to hold peaceful demonstrations in Abuja and other parts of the region, if after five days the elders fail to recant their decision.

    They said: ” The convention directs the communique drafting committee led by Comrade Sisso Simeon to cause a letter to our father President Goodluck Jonathan to be very careful with some of his aides who are occupying politics space from Ijaw extractions because they are out to divide the unity of the Ijaw Nation for the opposition parties.

    “The convention warns the National Executive Council of the Ijaw National Congress (INC) to stay clear from IYC activities because they have not only created disunity among the Ijaw youths but have taken over the day-to-day activities of the council.”

    Furthermore, the youths announced the dissolution of three zonal chairmen–Saviour Olali (central), Preye Okaba(western), Hamilton Opuende (eastern)–and speaker of parliament, Deme Yinkore, who, they said, voluntarily resigned and dissolve themselves through their alliances with the elders.

    Curiously, INC seems to have complicated the matter. INC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Victor Burubo, disassociated itself from the decision of the elders to dissolve all the structures of IYC. It claimed that Clark hosted a meeting to resolve the crisis rocking the national executive council of IYC only.

    Burubo said the meeting resolved that the purported election of Eradiri was null and void; that IYC presidential election would be held in June 2015 and that a caretaker committee be set up to run the affairs of the IYC until 2015.

    He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the Ijaw National Congress is not part of any decision to dissolve all duly elected structures of the IYC. The Parliament and the IYC zonal structures are still in office and their decision have the force of law according to the constitution of IYC.

    “We reiterate that setting up a caretaker committee affects only the executive body of IYC at the national level. We appeal to the leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council not to be lured into taking precipitated actions that may lead to crisis.”

    But the embattled Eradiri wondered why INC was speaking from both sides of its mouth. He said the body of elders and Burubo complicated the problems, instead of resolving them. He added that the elders had no right to proscribe any structure of the youth body, including the presidency of the council.

    He said the resolution of the elders, including the latest position of the INC, amounted to contempt of court, adding that a court had issued an order against any attempt to cancel the presidential election of IYC.

    A High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, last November issued an order stopping the INC from canceling the controversial elections that produced Eradiri.

    The court presided over by Justice Rapheal Ajuwa said INC should stay action on the matter pending the determination of the substantive suit. The order was given shortly after the late President of INC attempted to set aside the election for a fresh poll.

    Months after the death of Sekibo, another High Court sitting in Yenagoa gave an ex-parte order restraining the INC from conducting/supervising the conduct of the IYC election pending the determination of the motion on notice for the interlocutory injunction.

    Ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by the plaintiff, Eradiri, Justice Young Ogola restrained the defendants, which include the Vice President/Acting President of the INC, its agents, servants, privies and cronies from conducting any election for the office of the President of the IYC.

    It ordered that no election should be conducted on any other date pending the determination of the motion on notice for the interlocutory injunction.

    The court had adjourned the matter till February 18 for hearing on the motion on notice for the interlocutory injunction.

    Eradiri, in the suit filed against Sir Theodore Ezonfade, Amangala Miteabal Joshua, Don Kemezuo Elvis, Femowei Tariela Fredrick, Olorogun Kennedy, Zuokemefa Enebraye Peter, Eze Waribigha, (aka Skido), Alfred Erepade Akamu, Igoli Timi, Mr. Lokpobiri Jonathan and Oweikeye Ndoro, sought the interpretation of the IYC constitution.

    Against the backdrop of the court pronouncements, Eradiri said the elders were at a risk of contempt of court. He said anybody who flouted the court order would go to jail.

    He said: “What is important to me is the unity of the IYC. It is insensitive on the part of anybody to make a statement prescribing any organ of IYC at a time like this when all of us should unite to support President Jonathan.

    “We must demonstrate that we are ready for 2015. I am the president of IYC and nobody can take it away from me. If I key into the position of elders, IYC will die. It is not about me alone, the entire organs of IYC are revolting. We are on cause and we are resolving our differences.”

    But one of the vocal presidential candidates of IYC, Mr. Jonathan Lokpobiri, said he stood by the decision of the elders. He described the recent emergency convention and its resolutions as a product of demented people. He said no meeting of IYC could hold without the body’s structures.

    “The structures have been dissolved and nobody can claim to be holding a meeting of IYC without those structures,” he said.

    Lokpobiri said his supporters and the loyalists of other aggrieved presidential candidates would await the proposed protest by those who attended the convention.

    “We are waiting for them on the streets. Let them come out and we will clash there. We know the decision of the elders is painful. But we accepted it as a sacrifice to move the Ijaw Nation forward. All we are demanding is free and fair election,” he said.

    Despite the demands for free and fair elections, spectators to the crisis and those sympathetic to the cause of the Ijaw believe that the development has further divided the Ijaw nation ahead of its clamour to retain the Presidency in 2015. They are of the opinion that the crisis should be resolved in the collective interest of the ethnic group ahead of the elections.

     

  • Niger Delta not synonymous with Ijaw, say Itsekiri leaders

    The Itsekiri ethnic group in the Niger Delta region has advised their Ijaw counterparts to stop seeing President Goodluck Jonathan as an Ijaw man rather than President of Nigeria.

    The Itsekiri Leaders of Thought in a paper presented at the Pan Niger Delta Conference held recently in Port Harcourt, noted that the attitude of the Ijaws towards President Goodluck Jonathan’s government was alienating other Nigerians within and outside the South-South zone from the Jonathan administration.

    Mr Edward Ekpoko, who read the text of the address of the Pa JOS Ayomike-led group, noted that ascendency of President Goodluck Jonathan was a divine intervention, adding, “It must be seen largely as being for a purpose.

    “The President should not be seen and taken to be an Ijaw man, or for anyone to see the Niger Delta, as synonymous with the Ijaws. The situation where political appointments and patronages in the South-south zone have become the prerogative of the Ijaw is not in the interest of the unity of the region.

    “The handshake across the Niger Delta is gradually becoming a fisticuff. There is much hue and cry over the amnesty programme and also the Niger Delta Ministry,” the ILOT stalwart added.

    Ekpoko said for the president to success, he needs the support of every ethnic nationality in the region and indeed the country and urged the Ijaw to have attitudinal change.

    He particularly canvassed bridge- rather than fence-building, adding “we need one another for the sake of our brother President Jonathan. We also need other regions as we South-South alone (even if united) cannot make it.”

    Ekpoko said the issues of true federalism, resource or fiscal federalism being agitated for in the Niger Delta would be difficult to achieve and even become meaningless unless their iss unity borne out of peace and justice.

    He urged their Ijaw brothers to initiate the process of fence-mending among other ethnic groups of the region and to also extend hands of friendship to other regions.

    “We should be less arrogant and more humble,” he stated.

  • An Ijaw youth’s lamentation

    An Ijaw youth’s lamentation

    Forget my name, which gives away my ethnic stock. For this moment, I am Ijaw and will speak like one and hope I am convincing enough. You can call me Oronto. And if you choose you can add Douglas after my adopted first name. This is my story:

    For the first thirteen years of my life, I knew nothing like fast-moving cars. Houses, in my own definition, were nothing palatial. They were just somewhere to put our heads. Luxury was eating plenty of sea foods. We knew nothing of exotic holidays. For us in the creeks, holidays meant helping our mothers hawk. And school was where we went without shoes. Life, indeed, was beautiful.

    But it all began to change for me when an uncle came and said it was time I had a change of environment. And to Port Harcourt he brought me. I was shocked to see storey buildings. I marveled at fast-moving cars. I was flabbergasted by the architectural masterpieces they call homes. For days, I could not sleep in the room my uncle, who had no children at that time, gave me in his three-bedroom apartment. The room was too good for what I had been used to.

    I got along with time. Courtesy of my uncle, I went to secondary school and university. My brilliance was there for all to see, but it was not good enough to get me a job. It was while searching for a job that I got involved in ethnic politics. I became a member of the Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC), a body formed to champion the cause of the youth from my ethnic stock.

    It was not long after I became part of IYC that one of us from Ijawland, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who was deputy to former Governor Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha and deputy to the late Umar Musa Yar’Adua, was catapulted by fate to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was a dream I am sure many of us from Ijawland and even Southsouth never really thought could become a reality. It was just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. If not, we will still be waiting till His kingdom comes to smell the Presidency of this nation, whose three main ethnic groups, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo (to a little extent), determine the fate of the rest of us.

    It was celebration time for us in Ijawland. It was an opportunity we were sure would take a long time before coming again. So, when it was time for the 2011 elections, we rallied behind our brother to get elected. Though our brother has not officially indicated interest in seeking a second term of office, we are already warming up and ready to do battle with anyone who wants to throw spanner in the works.

    Unfortunately, we are also doing battles with ourselves in Ijawland. Since last October, the IYC has become polarised. Efforts to mend the fences have proved abortive. The two parts are holding tenaciously to their positions and I am afraid we may not get it before the 2015 election whistle is blown. It is more painful that this is happening at a time our brother needs us more. The enemies our brother had in 2011 were ones we were able to defeat with less stress. I am afraid we may not have that kind of luxury this time around. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the vehicle which drove our brother to Aso Rock, is in bad shape. Five of the governors elected on its platform, 35 members of the House of Representatives and 11 senators have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has control of the Southwest, some chunk of the North and two states in our Southsouth. You can appreciate my fears. This is not the time for us to be disunited and it is not a time for some of us to just threaten others that our brother must be re-elected. We must understand that this is a democratic government. What we are going to have in 2015 is election and not selection. So, we have to put our house in order, convince other regions to support us and then hope for victory. Threats cannot do it. We can’t go it alone. We also can’t convince anybody when we too are divided.

    What pains me the more is that our elders have also lost our respect. Their attempt to mediate has been rejected. We have even dragged the court into our matter. It is supposed to be a family affair, which we should resolve in the house. Now we have called the court to help solve a quarrel between brothers.

    I see violence looming. Already, opposing sides are issuing threats. While one is planning to take to the streets to protest the dissolution of the IYC executive, another is planning to also take to the same streets to settle the matter with fists and weapons.

    Now that the elders have been unable to calm frayed nerves, maybe it is time our brother intervened. Brother Ebele cannot keep quiet any longer. But I can understand his dilemma. With the way Hurricane APC is bulldozing everywhere, the president’s hands must be full indeed.

    I beg all of us to stop this in-fighting and reflect on our situation. Let’s look at our Niger Delta. So blessed. Yet so cursed. We have all the oil and still our people ranked among some of the poorest in the world. Some of the most prosperous companies in the world operate on our land, yet prosperity is far from us. At times, I wonder if some evil spirits are not after us, ready at every excuse to confuse us and make us stay in the backwater forever. I reject it in Jesus’ name like the Christians are wont to say.

    We must really watch it. Unity will help us in this trying time. I also beg whoever is hiding undercover to fuel the IYC crisis to stop it now. All we need is unity. Our organisation is not a political party. So, politicians should leave us alone. I also beg some of our brothers to stop threatening to cripple the country if our brother does not win a second term. We should work for it and not scare our way into it.

    Opening our mouth wide and talking as if we have the monopoly of violence will not help us. It will only worsen our situation. There are youths in the North, whose capacity for violence is the sort that has shocked many, even beyond our shores. They are ready to die in order to kill. We have not reached that level. So, we need to be careful about issuing threats.

  • Ijaw Christians pray for Jonathan

    Christians of Ijaw extraction in the Niger Delta region under the auspices of Izon Christian Fellowship (ICF), last weekend held the 17th edition of the Izon Day of Prayers, Praises and a special thanksgiving.

    The annual event, which was held at the BB Hotels Warri, was used by the attendees to pray to God for protection and the security of President Goodluck Jonathan, the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large.

    In his welcome speech, the Chief Host, Rev. Emmanuel Imeleye, who is a Senior Pastor of the “Citadel of His Power” branch of the Foursquare Gospel Church, described the emergence of an Ijaw (Izon) indigene in President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the Commander in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as the handiwork of God Almighty.

    Imeleye recalled that long ago, there was a vision for the Ijaw Nation that one of its sons would rise to become the President of the country, adding that the election of President Jonathan was the fulfillment of the prophesy.

    He cautioned opponents of the president that nobody can stop the power of God, remarking that the Jesus rose from little Bethlehem to become the Saviour of the world was a proof of the power of God and his ability to choose whomever he wishes to do his works.

    Imeleye described President Goodluck Jonathan as Nigeria’s ‘good luck’ and a man sent by God to redeem Nigeria from maladministration and rescue it from the brinks.

    In his address, Rev. Dr. Ikem C. Tolar, the founder and grand Patron of ICF, described the 17th edition of Izon Day of Praises, Prayers and Thanksgiving as a unique one and gloriously. He expressed joy over the massive attendance by Ijaws at this year’s edition, describing the turn out as encouraging when compared to past years.

    Rev Tolar, a former Chairman of the board of Egbema/Gbaramatu Communities Development Council, explained that the program is always held yearly to pray for the state, Niger Delta and Nigeria and to thank God for sustaining the people of the Niger Delta.

    He said, “We pray for the nation, especially our own son who is the head of the country Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan, for God to guide him always and give him wisdom to pilot his administration and to shaping Nigeria.

    “We are calling on all Nigerians who are one way and the other fighting against the administration of Mr. President to stop fighting him and urge them to join him to build and develop the country,” he added.

    Rev Tolar warned those who are behind the recurrent bomb blasts to repent from the evil acts to avert impending God’s judgment upon them.

    Guest speaker, Rev. Benson German tasked youths to eschew violent, kidnapping, killing and murder against their fellow Christian, warning that their actions are against the ethics of God.

    Rev German advised Christians to look up to God in their endeavors, assuring that President Jonathan’s administration would bring positive changes that would benefit all Nigerians.

    The high point of the event was a special thanksgiving and prayer for Nigeria, Delta State, Niger-Delta, Izon Nation/Youth, churches, business, traditional rulers and communities.

    The event was attended by prominent Ijaw politicians, traditional rulers and community leaders including Senator James Manager, representing Delta South Senatorial District, HRM and HRH Joseph Ebenanaowei, Pere of Ogulagha kingdom and his counterparts from Isaba Kingdom, Dunukoromu.

    Others were the traditional rulers of Obotebe and Bisieni kingdoms, Pastor Anthony Doubra, the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria, Warri South West Chapter and President Ijaw, Pastor Ministry Fellowship.

     

  • Group cautions Ijaw over Jonathan

    A group, the All Niger Delta Peoples Congress (ANDPC), has cautioned leaders and socio-cultural groups in Ijaw land to be open minded in their defence of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The group made the call yesterday against the backdrop of the raging controversy over ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter to President Jonathan in which Obasanjo raised critical issues on the state of the nation.

    In an interview with reporters in Abuja yesterday, the coordinator of ANDPC, Comrade Alaboso Joejim, warned the leaders and groups against the use of provocative and inflammatory statements in attacking the President’s perceived enemies.

    According to Joejim, Jonathan got elected with a pan-Nigerian mandate to govern the country and not a president elected to rule the Ijaw nation, stressing that projecting Jonathan as an “Ijaw hero” could create disaffection among other ethnic groups.

    The ANDPC leader said the recent provocative statements and reactions credited to some Ijaw leaders and groups were capable of generating ill-feelings and alienating other ethnic groups from the President.

    Joejim said: “I plead with leaders of the Ijaw groups to exercise restraint in their comments on the issues affecting President Jonathan and the leadership of the nation.

    “They should avoid issuing threats against perceived political opponents of the president because such extreme views do not reflect the position of President Jonathan.

    “The President needs votes from all sections of the country to renew his mandate in 2015 if he so wishes. The votes from the Ijaw alone cannot get him there, so I appeal to my brothers and sisters in Ijaw land and the entire Niger Delta not to stoke the embers of discord among the ethnic groups.”

    He enjoined the President’s top aides to always rebut divisive pronouncements by ethnic nationalists as promptly as possible, to free the President from such tendencies.

    The ANDPC leader appealed to the managers of the nation’s economy to exercise discretion in their pronouncements on the economy, particularly in the oil and gas sector.