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Tag: Jonathan’s kinsmen

  • Football competition unites Jonathan’s kinsmen

    Things are looking up in Ogbia, the Local Government Area of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The hitherto divided and highly politicised council is beginning to get its rhythm of peace and unity back.

    Ogbia elders, women and youths are happy at the selfless efforts of Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, in realising the dreams of the late Melford Okilo for the oil-rich council. The commissioner is making a lot of sacrifice to evolve an Ogbia with a free-flow of peace, unity and development.

    Complementing the aspiration of his boss, Governor Seriake Dickson, for the local government area, Iworiso-Markson recently inaugurated a football competition tagged, Dickson’s Unity Cup, the Ogbia Challenge. Indeed, the competition proved to be a unifier. It pulverised the mountain-like disharmony and lifted the obstacles to peaceful coexistence in the council.

    Every community in the council participated in the competition. In fact, 32 football teams representing the communities took part. For the first time in a long while, youths forgo their political and individual differences to engage one another in healthy rivalries. Those who initially could not see eyeball-to-eyeball freely embraced one another, shared jokes, food and drinks.

    The youths discussed brotherhood and other actions required to move their only council forward. For the three weeks the competition lasted, community folks filed out en-mass and rolled out their drums to cheer their teams. The communities bubbled in joy. Economic activities were also stimulated as some persons seized the opportunities to do brisk business.

    More than anything else, the Ogbia Challenge positively engaged the excessive energies of the youths. It took their minds away from crime, violence and hard drugs. It made them realise that they could develop into better individuals and contribute to the progress of their council by developing their potential and talents.

    Therefore, it was with excitement that the competition was brought to an end at the Opume Township Stadium in Ogbia.  Two communities of Otueasega and Otiokpoti slugged it out at the final. Otuasiga later emerged the winner.

    Prominent persons, Dickson’s aides from Ogbia, some local and international football stars, traditional rulers, women, elders and even children from the council graced the occasion. Deputy Governor John Jonah attended the event as a special guest of honour. Secretary to the State Government (SSG) Kamela Okara was also there.

    Jonah in his remarks commended Iworiso-Markson for organising the event and hailed the unity that accompanied the programme. He said the competition was part of the process of encouraging the youths to excel in their chosen disciplines.

    He said such competition should be part of the annual sports calendar in the state. He urged the sports commissioner to work with other local councils and integrate the competition into the ministry’s calendar.

    He said: “Sports as you know is one of the areas that you can derive several benefits, first it keeps you fit, second it gives you the  spirit to go on with life and these days there’s a lot of money in sports too, it can go beyond just this Ogbia challenge.

    “It is also a bit of talent hunt; discovering the talent in the youths at a very early stage, this is what we expect to be done in every local government area. In fact, it should be part of the calendar of the state”.

    The deputy governor lamented the increasing negative conducts of youths particularly their engagements in social vices such as cultism and drug abuse. But he said the Iworiso-Markson’s initiatives would help to tackle the menace.

    He said: “One of the things that we are fighting very seriously against is the conduct of our youth these days; youths’ indulgence in activities such cultism, drug abuse and others. It is not just employment that would take you off but activities of this nature get the youths engaged and this engagement should be done deliberately and not by chance.

    “With what I have seen, which the commissioner of sports can attest to too, some of the players can play for Bayelsa United. The future is here and I am particularly impressed with the standard of play. I was not expecting this standard.

    “For the audience I think this is very good, despite the rain you turned out en masse to support this program, this is what we expect, those of us that are very interested in the growth of the youth would always encourage this sort of activity.

    “On the part of the government, there are programmes to develop a lot of sporting facilities and arena so I will enjoin even the local council area to try and make sure that the facilities here are sustained even if you don’t have a sport complex, the ground is good enough.

    “I congratulate the commissioner of information for this initiative and hope that other local councils will emulate him and maybe later the winner of each council will now square up in Yenagoa”.

    In his remarks, Iworiso-Markson, who was particularly elated at the success and outcome of the competition, called for the sustenance of the unity it brought to the council. He expressed gratitude to all those who supported it.

    ýHe thanked Governor Dickson for providing stable leadership in the state which allowed for such communal event to take place without rancour and also praised him for fulfilling his promise of reconstructing the Iminringi and Opume bridge, internal roads, among others. He said the projects had made Ogbia a huge construction site.

    Iworiso-Markson also expressed immense appreciation to the deputy governor and the SSG for gracing the finals. He also commended all political appointees from Ogbia, the Council Chairman, Naomi Ogoli, the Obanoban III of Ogbia, chairman and members of the Opume Council of Chiefs and members of the Ogbia Restoration Caucus for their roles in making the tournament a success.

    He further appreciated the efforts of the Senior Special Assistant on Youths in Ogbia, Ossanya B. Osaanya who led all youths including the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) in Ogbia to show solidarity and support for the competition in all the communities.

    He was grateful to the members of the Ogbia Restoration Crusaders and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for their coordination. He thanked the women and other groups for turning out in their numbers to make the event colourful.

    But Iworiso-Markson appealed that while the football competition was over, the peace and bonds of unity that it generated should be sustained to foster development and peace in Ogbia Kingdom.

    He said: “This is something that we have to applaud the governor for. We are just basically toeing his line; the need for us to be united, the need for us to work together as one people and the need for us to stay committed to the restoration agenda.

    “So, what we are doing here in Ogbia with this football competition is to further enhance all of the efforts that the governor. With the support of all the leaders and elders of Ogbia Kingdom you can see the unity, togetherness and the cohesion in the council.

    “Our central message is that once we’re united then there is no way that we cannot experience development.  Ogbia needs development and we’re glad that the governor is doing that for us.

    “Look at the Omiringi bridge, the internal roads going on in Ogbia Town; look at the bridge going on in my community here too, all of these can’t happen if we don’t have peace. We should be united. It is the one message that we will continue to preach going forward.

    “We’re saying to our leaders in Ogbia that they should join forces with us to continue to preach peace and unity. Development will definitely follow once we have peace and unity”.

    Also, the Local Government Chairman, Naomi Ogoli, hailed the commissioner for information for pursuing the unity of the council. She said the commissioner had made a lot of sacrifice to bring peace and unity to the council.

    “It is what you have in you that you’ll give out. The commissioner for information is a good man and that is why he’s promoting unity starting with sports. In sports, football unifies people like what is happening here today, if not for this tournament everybody will not be together”, she said.

     

  • Drama as Jonathan’s kinsmen carry mock coffin for PDP

    There was drama at the weekend in Ogbia, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s local government area in Bayelsa State, when youths from the area, carried a mock coffin decorated with the colours and a flag of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The youths comprising males and females took the coffin into a venue arranged for a rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the December 5 governorship election.

    They went to a corner of the venue to place the coffin on a stage, draped it with a PDP flag and inscribed on it: “PDP Rest in Peace.”

    The youths also erected a signpost indicating burial arrangements of the party on December 5.

    Round the coffin were traditional items used to bury deceased persons based on the tradition of the Ijaw people.

    The youths who were dressed in traditional black T-shirts first carried the coffin in a procession round the Ogbia town before bringing it to the venue of the rally.

  • Jonathan’s kinsmen move against Dickson’s second term bid

    Jonathan’s kinsmen move against Dickson’s second term bid

    Politicians in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s council, have resolved to work against Governor Seriake Dickson’s second term bid.

    The elders took the decision yesterday after a crucial meeting.

    The former President’s kinsmen, who met under the aegis of Ogbia Joint Initiative (ODJI), also disagreed with a statement which said Jonathan had endorsed Dickson.

    Jonathan, at a meeting in his Otuoke country home, resolved the crisis rocking the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He urged party members to support Dickson.

    But the former President’s kinsmen, in a communique after the meeting, said: “The ODJI commends Dr. Jonathan for being a statesman but advised him not to involve himself with the politics of endorsing failed politicians.”

    They urged the residents to see the forthcoming election as a “common sense revolution”.

    The communique by the group’s President Godstime Godson and Secretary David Inengite, accused Dickson of neglecting some areas.

    It claimed that his administration sited no project in their area.

    The communique advised the people to vote out the Dickson administration, adding that they would no longer vote for a candidate without performance record.

    The barriers the group listed against Dickson’s re-election include abandoned projects, high level of deception by state officials, lack of developmental ideas and inability to create jobs.

    Others are: the anti-student stance of the governor, non-friendly policies against civil servants and the alienation of the masses from governance.

    The communiqué rads: “ODJI also sympathises with the students on the delay of their bursary payment. It urges them to prepare their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) against the forthcoming election and ensure that they vote out bad leaders.

    “The ODJI resolved that Ogbia people will vote out non-performing administrations. It decries that since the inception of the current government, no tangible project has been sited in the area.

    “It expresses pain that even the Imiringi Gas Turbine Station, which Ogbia once enjoyed under the past government, has also been grounded for over three years.

    “Finally, the ODJI said the level of disrespect for elders of the state is becoming alarming and call on the elders to unite forces in ensuring the delivery of a credible candidate for the sake if posterity. It advises the elders to put the interest of the state first and engrave their names in the annals of history

    “The ODJI also congratulates President Muhammadu Buhari on his successful election and swearing-in.

  • Six years in the saddle: Kudos, knocks from Jonathan’s kinsmen

    Otuoke, a small peasant community in Ogbia, Bayelsa State, found its way to the world map immediately it produced the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. It used to be a rustic impoverished settlement known for farming and fishing.

    Shanties and mud houses dotted the village which is surrounded by a river. The people of Otuoke were disconnected from the government of the day. Most of them took little interest in mainstream politics, though they identified with their traditional political institutions.

    Otuoke lacked the presence of the government. Only the state government sometimes threw some political incentives to the beleaguered people. But the story of the abject, abandoned and politically marginalised Otuoke has changed. It started immediately their son, Jonathan, unexpectedly started climbing the public ladder of recognition.

    From the deputy governorship position to the governor, the “gods” of Otuoke kept pushing Jonathan higher to the position of Vice-President and finally to the zenith of the political ladder. Then, Otuoke wafted like an oak and assumed the centre stage.

    Jonathan rode on the back of the civil society and the critical political world, through the ‘doctrine of necessity’ to become the President after the unfortunate demise of his former boss, President Umaru Yar’Adua. Through the reflection of his poor Otuoke background and the public sympathy which his shoeless mantra attracted, Jonathan won the 2011 election.

    There was wild jubilation, a carnival of sort in Otuoke. Youths took to the streets; the elders and chiefs shared banters under the influence of local gin and women giggled in excitement that they had finally arrived. As they danced and sang, they people of Otuoke concluded that the presidential reign of the community would bring an end to their years of misery, anguish and hardship.

    They reasoned that since Otuoke is a small community with small population, their share of the gargantuan ‘cake’ of the Federal Government would be enough to end the problems of housing, roads, education, electricity and joblessness. They had hoped that with Jonathan’s Presidency, nobody would ever go to bed hungry. Therefore, the expectations of the people of Otuoke were high.

    To some extent, the people agree that their community has changed. Otuoke, indeed, now wears a new look. One of the things that have changed in the community is the house of the President. This house has been a case study. The President’s compound, which is strategically sited close to the river, was small with a single mansion when he was the deputy governor and later the governor in the state. It suffered some attacks in the past when militants invaded it.

    The compound became big when Jonathan moved to the Presidency. As the Vice-President, the compound became expansive and its transformation to suit the status of Jonathan started. But it became automatically transformed when Jonathan became the President. Since then, many hi-tech buildings have emerged in the more expansive compound of the President.

    The President later desired to occupy the axis where his house is located alone. He realised his dreams after he allegedly ‘sacked’ all his immediate neighbours by buying their property from them. Houses and structures around Jonathan’s house were been demolished to create the reserved ambience that the President deserved. But by the stroke of “good luck”, only a church was allowed to share the fence of the President. The compound and its environs have since been undergoing transformation.

    Also transformed is a compound which was initially built to serve as a hotel. It belongs to the wife of the President, Dame Patience. The compound is upgraded to serve as the home of the first family. The compound, which is located directly opposite the Federal University, Otuoke, accommodates the President and his wife pending the completion of Jonathan’s house. Many high-rise and aesthetically beautiful structures have since been erected within and outside the compound. These structures have made Otuoke beautiful.

    Besides, Otuoke now boasts of a federal academic institution, the Federal University Otuoke, and a cottage hospital, which has been taken over by the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. The mud houses are fast disappearing and being replaced with brick houses and storey-buildings.

    But most people that spoke to The Nation are angry with the President. While they believe that the community has changed, they quickly object that the change in the community is not commensurate with the expectations of the people. They contend that the changes are minor when measured against the position occupied by the President and the number of years he has spent in the Presidency.

    “You are talking about Otuoke, have you been to Amasoma and Toru-Orua?”, a lady queried. “Amasoma was transformed into a town by Governor DSP Alameisegha. Tour-Orua within two years of Governor Seriake Dickson’s administration has become a city. These are homes of past and serving governors. The Presidency, is it not bigger than governorship?”, she queried again.

    The lady who refused to disclose her name for fear of victimisation alleged that a few individuals were sitting on the fortunes of the community. She said: “These are the go-in-between. They got a lot of contracts to them to develop this community, but they have little to show for it. There are no good roads in Otuoke, apart from the major stretch of road. But the President does not seem to be doing anything about it”.

    She further lamented that some persons because of their closeness to the President were lording it over others. She said some were benefitting, while many others were wallowing in abject poverty. Our reporter was also told that the President has a special empowerment scheme for his Otuoke youths. A security source said every graduate in Otuoke has been employed. He said Jonathan gave a marching order that all the graduates from his community should be absorbed in ministries, federal departments and parastatals.

    “It is an order from the President that all the graduates from Otuoke should be given jobs. There is also a scholarship scheme for students in the community. Some of them had been sent abroad, while others are schooling in private schools in the country. Recently, some of the youths, who were sent to a Christian private university, were expelled. They were alleged to be smuggling alcohol into their hostels until they were caught. But they have been redistributed to other schools”, he said.

    Some of the youths, who spoke to The Nation, said the handlers of Jonathan’s prorammes were promoting divide and rule. Some of them were so disconnected with the system that they refused to make comments about the President. One of them, who was ferociously consuming bread and soft drink, refused to speak about the first family.

    However, a man who identified himself as I.Y. Precious, commended the President for what he called his human capital development in the community. He acknowledged that many youths were studying on scholarship, while others have been employed. But he pointed out some anomalies in the distribution of the President’s programmes for the community.

    He said: “There is bias in the system. There are many people who are not in school. There are many who can no longer go to school. But these ones are abandoned and neglected. There is no form of empowerment in terms of skill acquisition. Nobody is looking at their direction”, he said.

    He reminded Jonathan that there are no roads linking his community and other communities in his local government area to other parts of the state and the capital city.

    “The President should look for ways of constructing roads around the local government areas. We need refineries, affordable housing scheme and oil museum. Jonathan is my role model. He is educated and he is not weak as some people are saying”, Precious, who said he is a Pastor of the New Covenant Church, said.

    An elderly man, who craved anonymity, also commended the President, saying that the community has changed positively. But, his observed that Otuoke is still being plagued with electricity problems and water crisis. “We shouldn’t be having these problems. There was a period that Otuoke had no light for over nine months. Even after the light started coming, it has been very epileptic. There is no regular supply of potable water in the community”, he said.