Bayelsa State Governor, Senator
Douye Diri, has renewed the call for justice and equity in the affairs of the
country.
Governor Diri, made the call ,
Saturday at the heroes park, Yenagoa in remembrance of late foremost Ijaw
freedom fighter, Major Isaac Adaka Boro.
At the brief event to mark the 2020
Annual Boro Day, the Governor, described the late Ijaw icon as a symbol
of the struggle and emancipation for the development of the Ijaw land and Niger
Delta region.
Senator Diri, who recalled the
ideals and principles late Boro stood for, said the those issues and concerns
still face the nation today as a federation insisting that Nigeria must be a
country of justice and equity.
"While we are not wishing the
country bad as a federation, we as Ijaw people want a Nigeria of justice and
equity where we get what is due the people. Certainly, not a country where our
oil is expropriated to other places and we do not get the maximum
benefits", Diri stated.
He also called for the unity of all
Ijaws all over the globe and that the strength of the people represents the
unity of the land.
Diri said, "I call on all Ijaws
to come together. Today reminds us of the need to be united. Our strength is in
our unity. Agitation must move into intellectual arena and that is the only way
we can develop. Ijaw nation must move forward, progress and prosper. The only
panacea is that we must be united. We must not hate ourselves".
The Governor also challenged Ijaw
elders and leaders to work hard to resuscitate the once vibrant Ijaw umbrella
bodies, the Ijaw National Congress, (INC) and the Ijaw Youths Council(IYC),
saying they represent the strong voice of the Ijaw nation.
" I call on the leaders of Ijaw
nation to do all that is possible to resuscitate INC and also bring back IYC
stronger. Those bodies are our voices. We will work with all of you on this to
have a great Ijaw nation", he stated.
Earlier in an address presented by
Elder Timi Kaiser Ogoriba, the central zone elders of the Ijaw Youths Council,
(IYC), paid glowing tributes to the late Ijaw hero who led the historic 12-day
revolution to declare the Niger Delta area a Republic because of perceived
injustice and oppression.
"Never in the history of human
conflict in Izon nation has any man so single handedly committed himself as
Isaac Boro who dared all odds and died for our freedom and emancipation. We
will defend his effort and achieve what he attempted to achieve.
They thanked the current
administration in Bayelsa State under Governor Douye Diri, who is from the same
Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area as late Boro, for always putting the
issues of Ijaw nation at the front-burner for national discourse.
The eldest daughter of the late
foremost agitator, Esther Boro, said their late father was a man of courage and
conviction for a batter Ijaw land and that they are all proud of what their
father stood for while alive, saying that his memories live on.
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa
State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who was in attendance joined others to lay
wreaths at the tomb of late Isaac Adaka Boro.
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