Boro Day:  Ijaw Nation Has Made Progress, Says Diri

Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State said the Ijaw Nation has made significant progress in human and infrastructural development after the demise of its hero, Major Isaac Adaka Boro, 55 years ago.

Governor Diri made the assertion during the 2023 Boro Day public lecture and dinner held in Yenagoa.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said it was after Isaac Boro that the Ijaw nation was able to produce a President of Nigeria and several top-ranking public office holders, including service chiefs in the armed forces.

He insisted that if Isaac Adaka Boro resurrected today he would be fully persuaded that the Ijaw ethnic group had gained more ground and momentum since his death in 1968.

His words: “I agree substantially with our lecturer this evening, Professor Ambily Etekpe, on the issues discussed, but I differ on whether more progress was made in the Ijaw struggle.

“I believe that after Boro more mileage has been made, because Boro had paid the supreme price, which is the fertilizer that grows the tree of success and freedom.

“We have made steady progress even though we are not where we are supposed to be. But definitely we are not where we used to
be.

“If Boro rose today, he would be persuaded that we have gained more ground because it is after Boro that a son of the Ijaw nation, a son of Bayelsa became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is after Boro we have Ijaw sons emerging as Chief of Army Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff. So we have not done badly.”

Governor Diri who drew attention to Bayelsa’s infrastructural drive under his administration, said the state was not doing badly in comparative terms with states created alongside it in 1996.

He pointed out that Bayelsa currently has three functional state universities, an airport, and had expanded the road infrastructure it inherited from previous administrations.

The governor, therefore, called on the elders, youths, women, intellectuals and other stakeholders to close rank with government to sustain what is already on the ground to achieve more for the state.

He said: “When you look at the indices of development, in comparative terms, Bayelsa is not doing badly. Today, we have three state-owned universities, and I don’t think any state created alongside Bayelsa can boast of three state universities.

“Our government has taken the frontiers of development by expanding on what Senator Seriake Dickson started, and that is why you can now conveniently drive from the Ecumenical Centre to the Amassoma Road.

“We have also awarded contract for the construction of the last phase of that road from the Amassoma to Onopa. Let’s sustain what we have, so that we can achieve more.”

Earlier in his solidarity speech, the immediate past Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd) thanked the Bayelsa State Government for organising the dinner and public lecture in the honour Isaac Boro to further enlighten the people on the Niger Delta struggle.

He extolled Boro for his elevated sense of patriotism by keeping faith with the cause he believed in, which was also instrumental to the enlistment of many Ijaw sons into the armed forces with some of them rising to the pinnacle of their military careers later on.

In his contribution, the Amayanabo of Twon-Brass, HRM King Alfred Diete-Spiff, commended government that for bringing the Boro Day celebration back home was the best thing to do to honour the celebrated Ijaw hero.

King Diete-Spiff used the opportunity to call on the returning and fresh National Assembly members-elect from Bayelsa State to make an informed agitation for creation of  more LGAs in Bayelsa State to meet the minimum constitutional requirement of 10 LGAs for a state.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of the organising committee for the Boro Day celebration in the state, Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei pointed out that this was the first time the state government was organising a lecture and dinner of such magnitude as part of activities to relive the heroic exploits of Isaac Adaka Boro.

Gideon Ekeuwei, who is the Secretary to the State Government, expressed gratitude to the state government and all critical stakeholders for their invaluable contributions to the success of the programme.

In his lecture entitled, “The Ijaw Struggle: Before And After Isaac Adaka Boro”, Professor  Etekpe traced the struggle to the Arthur Richard’s Constitution of 1946, which laid groundwork for regionalism and subsequent balkanization of the Ijaw nation.

He said the Ijaw struggle was standing on four major planks, which include economic development, political development, culture and language, as well as environmental development.

While admitting that significant strides had been made by the Ijaw people, Professor Etekpe, noted that more was still needed to be done for the Ijaw ethnic nationality to attain its pride of place in the Nigerian state.

The lecturer, who is a political scientist, opined that the contemporary focus of the Ijaw struggle should be on creation of three additional states and at least 60 local government areas for the Ijaw nation.

Meanwhile, the state government has directed the Commissioners of Justice, Lands and Housing and Urban Development as well as Local Government and Community Development to immediately resolve the conflict among the three communities of Otuabagi, Otuogidi and Oloibiri over the location of the Oloibiri National Oil Museum and Research Centre by the federal government.

The State Governor, Senator Douye Diri represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the directive.

He said the matter should not be left for the Ijaw National Congress (INC) alone to handle in order to enthrone enduring  peace and stability among the three communities in the Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.

As he puts it, “It is sad to realise that we fight over the crumbs that fall from the table because of some differences. As we speak, some persons have taken the federal and state governments as well as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board to court over the location of the Oil Museum. That’s a wrong signal.”

He saluted the sacrifices and contributions made by Boro and his contemporaries for self-determination and self-actualization, stressing that the present administration remains committed to celebrating Boro’s ideals of resource control, justice and true federalism.

While urging the youths to espouse the ideals that the late  Boro stood for, Senator Diri reminded them that the departed hero during the struggle to emancipate the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta did not engage in acts such as cultism,  kidnapping,  militancy, armed robbery and other societal ills.

He therefore, advised the youths to redirect their energies towards deploying intellectual means to advance the Niger Delta struggle against injustice, marginalisation and underdevelopment.

“The youths must recalibrate their energies positively towards ensuring that the struggle descends from criminality to intellectualism,” he said.

The governor, who also spoke on the forthcoming governorship election in the state, implored the youths to reject politicians who would use them to perpetrate electoral violence and thuggery.

He commended the youths for the relatively peaceful manner this year’s Boro Day and urged them to rally round the Senator Diri-led administration to turn their fortunes around.

In his remarks, President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof Benjamin Okaba said the this year’s Boro Day celebration was the 55th anniversary to mark the demise of the departed hero.

According to Prof Okaba, the INC and similar bodies should reflect on the issues Boro fought against such as oppression, marginalisation, environmental degradation and other ills bedeviling the ethnic minorities of the Niger Delta and other parts of the country.

He stressed that though the people of the Niger Delta were still being shortchanged, they must reman united and continue to fight for their rights through legal and intellectual means.

Chairman of the Bayelsa State Founding Fathers, Chief Benedict Gwembe, who represented the Pan Ijaw and Niger Delta Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, stressed that the era of using violence to actualize the struggle for resource control was over and advocated peaceful means to achieve justice, equity and fairness.

Also, Commissioner for Ijaw National Affairs, Hon. Patrick Erasmus said Boro left a legacy of self-sacrifice and doggedness in the struggle for emancipation and applauded the Ijaw Youth Council for organizing a lecture in immortalalising the memory of the Ijaw legend.

Highpoint of the celebration was the laying of wreaths by  Ewhrudjakpo, representative of Chief Edwin Clark, Chief Benedict Gwembe,  Okaba, representative of Chairman of the state legionnaires, Elder Peter Igoin,  and Esther Boro, who represented the Boro family.