Ijaws Should Not Allow The Abrupt Fall Of The Fast Rising Ijaw Nation

While the fall of some were attributed to human errors, others are the results of pride and arrogance of their leaders and the people in general.

We know of the Roman empire, Egyptian empire under the Pharaohs, the Babylonian empire under King Nebuchadnezzar, etc.

We also know about kingdoms and nations that survived oppression and slavery and emerged as world powers. The United States of America that is the present World Policeman is a classic example.

Ijaw Nation that is one of the oldest nations in Africa has gone through different stages and phases of civilization.

Besides her enormous human endowments, it is also blessed with abundant natural resources ranging from oil palm, timber, sea and ocean bodies with abundant fishes and seafood, quality sand, food and other economic crops, crude oil and gas, etc.

Sadly, the enormous blessings from God have attracted unprecedented envy, jealousy and hatred to Ijaws.

Ijaws who are the first people that encountered the European  adventurers and explorers who were mainly Portuguese starting from the 12th century and later the British imperialists in the 18th century, have suffered so many betrayals by supposed trusted friends and allies.

The worst betrayal was that of the British colonialists who deliberately balkanized Ijaws into different provinces, divisions and regions in order to weaken them.

They resorted to the above as a way of retaliating the renaissance and rebellion of Ijaws who questioned the endless, mindless and misguided exploration and exploitation of their abundant resources without recourse to the owners.

The infamous and inglorious Genocide at Akassa in present day Brass LGA of Bayelsa state that is trivialized and referred to as “AKASSA RAID OF 1895” by the British Military that claimed the lives of over 2000 people mostly women and children, the Okrika, Kalabari, Okarki-Engenni and several resistance by Ijaws angered the imperialists who resorted to balkanization of Ijaw territories into smaller units that they put under other tribes in order to render Ijaws impotent.

In the independent and contemporary Nigerian state, Ijaws have continued to suffer unimaginable discrimination, oppression, marginalization, subjugation, deprivation and other ills.

Ijaws on the other hand, have never helped to alleviate or emancipate themselves from economic and political servitude due to internal betrayals and lack of unity of purpose.

Again, they have a bad culture of destroying good leaders who have good intentions. High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, Chief (Sen) Dr. Melford Obiene Okilo, Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, Elder T.K Ogoriba, High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo GOC and others suffered so many betrayals by their own people.

In many climes, the people queue behind good leaders. They do everything to support their leaders to succeed like the case of Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso. But the reverse is the case in the Ijaw Nation.

The Yorubas have Lagos and other cities that they are building jealously as their economic and political capitals. Hausas and other Northerners see Kano and Kaduna as their economic and political capitals that they are building jealously. The Igbos see Enugu, Onitsha, Owerri and others as their economic and political capitals that they are building jealously. Even the people of Akwa Ibom State are doing the same in Uyo and other cities in Akwa Ibom State.

But what are Ijaws doing with Bayelsa State that is the only homogenous Ijaw State in Nigeria?

Instead of seeing economic prospects and prosperity, most Ijaws only see negatives. They only say evil about Bayelsa State.

Bayelsans are blessed with one of the best gifts from God to humanity in the person of Senator Douye Diri, but instead of seeing the good in him, they cast unwarranted aspersions at him.

What Gov. Douye Diri is doing is exactly what Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore did in Singapore that moved that hitherto third world country to a first world country and one of the most developed economies in the world.

The vast wealth of Nigeria and Bayelsa state in particular is in the ocean. Bayelsa state has the longest coastline in the country. It measures 203 Kilometers. Unfortunately, Bayelsans have not harnessed the abundant economic potentials in the Blue Economy due to lack of access to the ocean.

Today, the Visionary Gov. Douye Diri has courageously embarked on road constructions that only brave and visionary hearts can venture into, to connect and access the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea through the Nembe-Brass Road and Agge.

In the next few months and years, there shall be fishing factories, glass factories and others everywhere in Bayelsa State due to the many roads that the governor is constructing.

Bayelsa State particularly Yenagoa and its environs will soon experience scarcity of houses due to anticipated influx of people including businesses that will relocate to the state due to uninterrupted Electricity that will be provided by the 60mwts Gas Turbine that the ASSURED Prosperity Administration is building.

The government of Bayelsa state is constructing roads and bridges everywhere in the state at the same time. It shows the level of passion that Gov. Diri has for the development of the state.

In the past few years, Bayelsa is among the states that are dominating in Sports due to the huge resources the Governor is committing into sports.

The health and education sectors are also topping the chart. The prioritization of workers welfare, women and youth empowerments are evidence of the value government places on development.

The whole Ijaw Nation need to rally maximum support for our God-sent governor as against the terrible situation where some retrogressive and treacherous sons of the Ijaw Nation were blaming Gov. Douye Diri for standing by his own Ijaw brother, Gov. Siminalayi Fubara. They actually wanted Gov. Diri to abandon his own brother in times of distress.

Let us commend the giant strides of Ijaws in Delta State especially for popularizing various Ijaw Festivals and others and taking them international.

Ijaws need to leverage on the prevalent synergy among Ijaw leaders at all levels to ensure that the present peace, unity and cooperation are strengthened instead of doing things that will threaten the peace, unity, stability, growth and development of the Ijaw Nation.