He said that it was regrettable that people who masquarade as Ijaw activists were engaged in the act for selfish commercial interests using the ijaw cause to attract personal commercial patronage.
Okaba spoke on Tuesday in Yenagoa at the Inaugural Annual Memorial Public Lecture in honor of the first civilian Governor of Bayelsa, Late Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha.
The lecture was organized by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Bayelsa State Council with the theme: “True Federalism, Panacea for Sustainable Development”.
The don contended that if the struggle for resource control must continue and achieve result it must return to the days of Late Isaac Adaka Boro and others who sacrificed their lives for the struggle.
He stressed that devolution of power; resource control and true federalism is the key to sustainable development in Nigeria.
He insisted that until the imperfection in the Nigerian system is addressed, we shall continue to have problems as a nation which he said could assume more dangerous dimension until some part of the country is no longer treated as a slave to another.
Okaba who is the pioneer Director of the Institute of Foundation Studies at the Federal University Otuoke said it is not justifiable anywhere for the state to produce the wealth for the federal government.
"Sharing revenues that accrued from the states to the states at the end of every month in the name of federal allocations is cumbersome and percieved in some quarters as exploitative.
"These are the injustice that must be corrected if the nation must move forward, asking for resource control does not mean they are taking everything away.
"It is simply to,0 let every region control what they have and pay percentage to the central government which is the ideal thing to do in normal society where true federalism is being practiced", he said.
According to him, development is not just about infrastructure and money but also the development of the people which late Alamieyeseigha believed so much in.
He noted that the former governor fondly reffered to as 'Governor General of the Ijaw Nation developed peoples mind by creating a new consciousness in them.
"He also believed that the mindset of the people must be restructured if the Niger Delta must succeed in its agitation for self determination.
"Now that nations of the world are moving away from oil, the Niger Delta leaders should also look beyond oil and plan something on ground that will sustain the region in the future" the lecturer said.
Speaking earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Ambassador Godknows Igali said Alamieyeseigha was one of the greatest Ijaw leaders who cammanded the respect and love of the people.
According to him, most of the heroes produced in Ijawland do not have much impact on the people like late DSP.
“He gives directions to the people, courage, a man of visionary leadership, full of humility and with the fear of God. He played the politics of no bitterness and held no grudges against anybody.
"We will keep on celebrating him", he said
The former senator representing Nembe/Brass/Ogbia federal constituency, Senator Nimi Bariagha Amange, who x-rayed the life and times of late DSP. Alamieyeseigha, described him as a true Ijaw man .
He said Alamieyeseigha believed in the wellbeing of his people, a man who never holds grudges against anybody and very free with people across Niger Delta and beyond.
The royal father of the day, king Okpoitari Diongoli, described him as a dogged fighter, firm believer of resource control, and the emancipation of Ijaw Nation.
In his welcoming address, the chairman of Nigeria Union of journalists Bayelsa state council, Mr. John Angese, said the late icon laid a good legacy for the people to emulate.
He noted that the NUJ secretariat was conceived and built by him.
He described late Alamieyeseigha as a lover of the media and his contribution to journalism profession will remain in the annals of history.
He said the Bayelsa NUJ council decided to immortalise and honour Alamieyeseigha with this annual public lecture to keep his memory alive.
In attendance were the children and family members of the late Ijaw leader, media practitioners, traditional rulers, friends and other dignitaries across the country.
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