By: Ifeanyi Izeze
Godsday Orubebe’s Ovu declaration that ethnicity would be given priority in determining who succeeds Emmanuel Uduaghan and that “it is the turn of the Ijaw people to produce the next governor of Delta State,” could have been dismissed as another vacuous political jive but for the uncertainty of whether he spoke the mind of his “people” especially as President Goodluck Jonathan, is one of their own.
His words: “I must say categorically that all the ethnic nationalities of this state must have a taste of the governorship of this state. Urhobo people have gotten it, Itsekiri have gotten it, Ndokwa has not gotten it, Ijaw has not gotten it, Isoko has not gotten it.
And so we are appealing to others that, this is the turn of the Ijaw people. We are appealing that it is the turn of the Ijaw people now because all the ethnic groups must have a taste.” Though Chief Edwin Clark was quick to remind the Niger Delta minister that his declaration was “careless and irresponsible,†there are serious matters of urgent concerns from Orubebe’s expressed disposition.
How could the minister who was fully aware of President Jonathan’s directive banning all serving ministers and other political appointees from embarking on 2015 political campaign decide to defile the presidential and party directive? Does it mean he is damning the consequences of such act or that he covertly has the backing of the “oga and madam at the top?
So if Chief Clark described Orubebe’s statement as “careless and irresponsible as opponents and detractors are already cashing in on the statement to insult Mr. President, the Ijaw nation and himself that they are definitely behind the Minister’s ambition,” the elderstatesman was even very kind and diplomatic with his words.
Is it not interesting that this was the same minister that few weeks ago confronted the Rivers state governor, Chibuike Amaechi over perceived disrespect of President Jonathan because of the perceived combative engagement of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) with the Presidency on national issues?
Chief Clark: “I am aware that all his other colleagues and other government functionaries have religiously obeyed the Presidential order. It is unfortunate and ridiculous that Mr Godsday Orubebe should be the one to flout this order.” According to Clark, “His fragrant disobedience is no doubt an embarrassment to Mr. President, to the leaders of the party and party faithful, particularly to me that everybody believes contributed greatly to his becoming a Minister having regards to the opposition from the former governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori and his supporters against it.” But this was the elderstatesman’s own viewpoint. Neither the president nor his people are yet to say anything on Orubebe’s political campaign which represented a gross misconduct of a serving minister. Or could we take it that Chief Clark spoke for the president?
On the substance of the declaration, Orubebe’s classification of those who had ruled and those that have not gotten it was very myopic and an outright insult to the people of Anioma. It was an outright mischief to assume that Ndokwa is the only ethnic nationality in Anioma (Delta north senatorial district). What was he actually playing at- pitching the Ndokwas against their Ika and Aniocha brothers?
The shortsightedness was that the Ijaw minister who wants to rule Delta state at all costs is unaware that the state has three senatorial districts- North, Central and South which has come to be the basis for political office distribution rather than ethnicity as some groups may be found in more than senatorial districts.
The Urhobos occupy the Delta Central Senatorial zone with eight Local Government Councils; the Ikas, Ndokwas and Aniochas occupy the Delta North Senatorial zone with nine Local Government Councils; while the Delta South senatorial zone with eight Local Government Councils is jointly occupied by the Ijaws, the Isokos, the ltsekiris, the Urhobos of Agbassa and the Urhobos of Okere.
Now, the first elected governor of Delta state, Chief Felix Ibru came from Delta Central Senatorial District.
When this democratic dispensation was enacted, Chief James Onanefe Ibori became governor in 1999 and he is also from Delta Central Senatorial District.
Now the present governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan is from from Delta South Senatorial District and has been ruling since 2007. When Uduaghan’s tenure finishes in 2015 after eight years of full circle rulership, then another governor from Delta South senatorial district will take over for another eight years. Haba mallam! Does this sound reasonable and fair at all?
So Delta Central Senatorial District occupied Government House Asaba in all the democratic dispensations since the state was created until Delta South took over in 2007. And did common sense, equity, fairness, and justice not tell those embarking on this sterile Ijaw adventure that there should not be any ambiguity about Delta North Senatorial District producing the next governor?
In my earlier comment on the 2015 governorship tussle in Delta state, it was said that “From my experience, the fleet of newspaper campaigns against the Anioma interest may not actually be coming from Delta Central Senatorial District as were faked but from persons of Delta South stock that may want to cause crisis between the good peoples of Delta central and their Anioma brothers of Delta North.†Was this Orubebe’s misstep not a confirmation of where the sponsored smear campaigns and propaganda have been coming from?
These are the same people from the same area (South Senatorial District) who have so disturbed and distracted our governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan to the point that he is almost losing confidence in himself. He literally spends almost all the useful time and resources for service to the entire state and its people trying to appease them in order to avoid trouble. They never saw anything good in everything Uduaghan has done in terms of development programmes or projects or even his personal ideas simply because the man is Itsekiri. How long can we continue as a state to tolerate these minors in our midst?
The Anioma people (Delta North Senatorial District) the only section yet to produce a governor for the state have always supported our brothers from the central and south senatorial districts in spirit and in truth as they reigned in Government House Asaba since 1999. So why can’t they now stand with us at least for equity, fairness, and justice? Maybe, the Anioma people now seriously need to constantly remind our ijaw borthers that “Na cooperation dey make rice swell o!
IFEANYI IZEZE IS AN Abuja-based Consultant and can be reached on:iizeze@yahoo.com; 08033043009)