In shame we have forged on
as a people, carrying with us the
deep scars of injustice, neglect
and deprivation even as we take
solace in the divine intervention
that miraculously brought about
the emergence of a President from
among us.
We also take solace in the
contributions of our heroes to the
Nigerian state, sons of the soil,
whose giant strides have brought
great honour and pride to our
nation at different times and space.
Today we pay glowing tributes to
men like Prof. Lawrence B. Ekpebu,
born 2nd of May 1936 in Okoloba,
a once picturesque village in present
day Bayelsa, now ravaged by the
harsh consequence of exploitation
of oil in the Niger Delta. From a
destitute background where there
was hardly opportunity to graduate
from primary school, he went on
to become the first African to bag
a Havard degree, graduating with
Honours in Government with
specialization in International
Law and Relations. He won one of
Havard’s most coveted prizes for
graduating seniors, the Francis H.
Burr (1909) Prize Scholarship and
broke an all- time record as the only
black person to ever achieve this feat
in the history of Havard till date.
Indeed, his achievement convinced
America of the brilliance of Black
People, prompting the institution
to grant scholarships to not just
Nigerians but across Africa and
even the Caribbeans. As a result, the
scheme produced additional 200
professors from Nigeria alone and
several others across the African
continent. Among whom are Prof.
Bolaji Akinyemi, Kalu Idika Kalu
and His Excellency, President
Quattara of Cote Ivoire. Prof.
Ekpebu went on to bag Masters
from Princeton University and later
PhD from Havard.
There is also Ernest Sissei Ikoli
of blessed memory (1893–1960),
a nationalist and pioneering
journalist, who is a native of Sangana,
Akassa, in Brass Local Government
Area of present day Bayelsa State.
Ernest Ikoli was very prominent in
pre-Independence Nigerian politics
and remains the first man from
present day Bayelsa State to have
made as much significant foray into
national politics. But, as a journalist,
he was the first editor of the famous
Daily Times newspaper in Lagos in
its formative era in 1926 and as a
politician; he was the President of
the Nigerian Youth Movement. In
1942, Ikoli even represented Lagos
in the Legislative Council. Another
significant first by all standards in
the history of Nigerian politics!
Many will remember Melford
Obiene Okilo, (November 30,
1933 – July 5, 2008), a proud Ijaw
politician of Ogbia extraction from
Emakalakala in Bayelsa State. He had
a long and distinguished career as a
politician from pre-Independence
Nigeria, but his career as a politician
gained tremendous prominence in
post- independence times until his
untimely demise in 2008. He was a
member of parliament from 1956 to
1964 and a Minister in the Nigerian
First Republic. He was Governor of
old Rivers State between 1979 and
1983 during the Second Republic
and a Senator representing Bayelsa
East between 1999 and 2003.
Only recently, the nation had cause
to mourn the painful demise of
General Andrew Owoye Azazi, who
died in an ill-fated helicopter crash
I am certain that the title
of this piece will ‘unsettle’
some people. They know
themselves and I don’t intend
to get in their way! And by
way of assuring them, this piece has
nothing to do with 2015. Trust me.
I also do know for a fact that quite
a huge number of our people will
take keen interest in the title of this
piece and many of them are people
like us – the silent majority who by
means of geography and ethnicity
are regarded as Nigeria’s minority
tribes.
Even in the comity of minority
groupings in Nigeria, Bayelsa
can be considered as the least of
them all! Whereas we are the only
homogenous Ijaw state – the home
base of all Ijaw people and the
epicenter of Ijaw civilization and
culture, yet we are the least in terms
of land mass and population! The
entire state only measures up to
21,110 km2 (8,150 sq mi). That is
the total area measurement, which
includes land, vegetation, creeks,
rivers and ocean. The population,
going by the last census, is put at
1,998,349. So give or take, with
increase in population since the last
census in 2005, our population as at
today should be slightly above two
million. Of course, it is important
to note that the state was formed in
1996 out of the old Rivers State and
is thus one of the newest states of the
Nigerian federation.
Interestingly, this is the state where
crude oil was first discovered in
Nigeria in commercial quantity.
In fact it is on record that Bayelsa
has one of the largest crude oil and
natural gas deposits in the whole
country. Aside from its natural
endowments, Bayelsa also enjoys
the rare privilege of producing the
first President to emerge from a
minority ethnic group – the very
first minority President from the
least of all the minority ethnic
groups. Can you beat that? God is
sure awesome!It is indeed amazing!
So amazing to the extent that the
discovery of oil in Oloibiri in 1956,
according to Wikipedia, ended
almost 50 years of unsuccessful
oil exploration in the country by
various companies. Indeed, the
discovery launched Nigeria into
global reckoning as a major oilproducing
nation, considering the
fact that over 5,000 barrels were
pumped per day from the swampy
oilfield of OML 29, measuring about
13.75 square kilometres.
No doubt, the enormous wealth
that came from the discovery
of oil, ultimately accounted for
the substantial investment in
infrastructure by the then federal
government in building cities like
Lagos and Abuja. It is, however, sad
to note that the developments were
done at the expense of the land from
whose womb the wealth was gotten
or perhaps, ill-gotten. The oil wells
in Oloibiri have since dried up. The
land and its inhabitants lie desolate.
The community is a shadow of itself,
stripped of all its virtues and today it
last year. He had a distinguished
military career and was arguably
one of the finest in the history of
the Nigerian Military, who rose to
the pinnacle of the force. A Chief
of Army Staff and later Chief of
Defence Staff, Azazi, a native of
Peretorugbene in Ekeremor LGA,
Bayelsa State, had for some time
had one of the fastest growing
military careers in the history of
present day democratic Nigeria,
between May, 2006 and June, 2007.
The General had worn the ranks of
Major General, Lieutenant General
and General. General Azazi, who
had retired on the 20th of August,
2008, was appointed National
Security Adviser by President
Goodluck Jonathan on the 4th of
October 2010 and died on the 15th
of December, 2012.
We also remember with fondness
the great Major Isaac Jasper Adaka
Boro(September 10, 1938 – May
9, 1968), better known as “Boro”,
was a celebrated Niger Delta
nationalist and Nigerian Civil War
hero. He was one of the pioneers of
minority rights activism in Nigeria
and perhaps the very first to take
up arms against the Nigerian State
to agitate for the rights of the oil
producing minorities of South-
South. His legacies remain true to
us even to this day.
There are others, too numerous
to profile in just one newspaper
article, with such limited space.
You might wonder what am I really
aiming at by reeling out the profiles
of these proud Ijaw sons of Bayelsa
extraction? Truth is, am drawing
our attention to the fact that we have
as a people over the years, in spite
of the negative classification and
distorted perceptive lenses most
people in the larger ethnic conclave
tend to look at us today, have done
more perhaps more than most
people will readily want to admit,
to project the ideals of a united and
egalitarian Nigeria. Undeniably,
Bayelsa State is a blessing to the
nation.
It is in keeping with these ideals
and to further push the frontiers of
our collective interest as a nation,
irrespective of the fault lines upon
which our so- called unity in
diversity was etched, that another
great Bayelsan, a leader in his
own right, whose record of public
service started way back before his
emergence as Governor of Bayelsa
State, chose to serve as Chairman
of the PDP National Reconciliation
Committee.
Those who criticized his
appointment did so out of pure
mischief and am glad it did not
take long before they realized
that the man they presumed was
inexperienced and “infantile” to
chair the reconciliation committee
was the brain behind the negotiation
that ensured the suit stopping the
party’s convention slated for August
31st was withdrawn. It also didn’t
take long to prove to the skeptics
and cynics that Governor Henry
Seriake Dickson’s persuasive and
consensus building skills, not just as
politician, but as a brilliant lawyer
with many years of outstanding
records of achievements at the bar
fighting and winning the toughest
and fiercest of legal battles both
as a private legal counsel and as
Attorney General of Bayelsa State,
ensured that peace was restored to
the feuding parties in PDP Ekiti and
Anambra States.
What is pertinent to note here
is that nobody (and I wish to
stress this fact very clearly and
categorically) should be looked
down upon, irrespective of where
they come from, the status or class
that they belong to, or be unduly
derided on whatever basis when
called upon to render service to
one’s country. Moreso, at such a
time like this in our history when
our nation’s unity is under severe
threat. We must be able to draw a
clear line between rendering service
and playing politics.
We should all take pride to work
for the unity and development of
our country and by so doing stand
together to resist those who are
exploiting our diversity to harp on
those things that easily pull us apart.
We must emulate the personalities
whose remarkable profiles I earlier
sketched, who at different times
rose beyond pettiness as gallant
patriots and gave their all to render
service to the nation by embracing
and envisioning an all-inclusive
approach to achieve national
cohesion and unity.
Even as politicians, these essential
ideals of leadership and patriotism
must remain our abiding values.
Governor Dickson alluded to
this during his acceptance speech
following his inauguration as
chairman of the reconciliation
committee when he remarked
that “as democrats, we must
evolve ways of appreciating our
differences and resolving crises
within the party without stifling
people”, stressing that: “We must
play the game within the ambit of
national interest and not denigrate
or destroy our institutions whether
it is the office of the President,
judiciary, legislature, military and
security services, professional
bodies, media, traditional and
religious institutions”. These are
food for thought as our dear nation
grapples with the challenges of
democratization and evolving
a federation where our unity in
diversity rings true.
Daniel Iworiso-Markson is the
Chief Press Secretary to Bayelsa