Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has admonished the Ijaw nation, particularly the youths, to reflect on and imbibe the ideals of discipline, selflessness and justice that the late Major Isaac Boro stood for.
Governor Diri, who gave the admonition on Friday at this year’s Boro Day celebration/wreath laying ceremony at the Heroes Park in Yenagoa, urged Ijaw youths to show respect to constituted authority, leaders and their elders.
The Governor emphasised that Boro sacrificed his life fighting the injustice to Ijaw nation and advised the youths to celebrate the ethnic nationality’s hero with honour and integrity.
He said the ljaw nation should always embrace intellectual and legal means in seeking justice because no society exists without law and order.
He particularly charged youths to abhor crime and cultism, and called on leadership of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and Ijaw National Congress (INC) to work closely with government to put an end to the menace.
His words: “Let us celebrate our hero with sobriety, honour and integrity. Was Isaac Adaka Boro a criminal? Was he a selfish man? Did he sacrifice and fight for his people? These are questions we must ask ourselves when we embark on the journey of celebrating a man like Boro.
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“Boro was not a cultist. So shun cultism as it would not pay you. Government is creating several opportunities, including sports, for youths to develop and empower themselves.
“The recent resurgence of cultism has to stop. The IYC and INC must work with government to put an end to cultism. We are close to another political season and such vices must stop in this state.”
Responding to the request of the IYC president on declaring Boro Day a public holiday in the state, the Governor said the state executive council will deliberate and take a decision on it.
Also, on the INC president’s request on preserving the Ijaw language and identity, Diri said the government had taken steps on it and that it was working towards establishing a full-fledged Ijaw language department at the Niger Delta University.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Ijaw National Affairs, Chief Godspower Oporomo, represented by his Permanent Secretary, Mr. Fred Kemedei, urged Ijaw people to live by the ideals Boro stood for while championing the cause of his people.
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President of the INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, advised that in celebrating the 57th Boro anniversary, the Ijaws must not forget that their late hero stood for justice, peace and truth.
He commended the Diri administration for improving the welfare of the Ijaw people through its strategic intervention projects and support to the ethnic group’s socio-cultural bodies.
Okaba revealed that the INC had embarked on an Ijaw language project, lamenting however that the language was going into extinction and appealed to government to make the study of Ijaw language compulsory at the primary and secondary school levels.
Also, president of the IYC, Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri, said the issues that Boro fought for were still prevalent in the Niger Delta even though the region had made some progress.
Lokpobiri noted that Boro’s legacies will remain evergreen in the minds of the Ijaw people.
In a goodwill message, chairman of the state’s traditional rulers council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, lauded the Diri administration for directing the affairs of the IYC and INC aright.
King Dakolo observed that the Ijaws were not where they were during the time of Boro because they have made a lot of progress and called for unity of purpose to address issues of underdevelopment and injustice.
Highpoint of the event was the laying of wreaths at the Boro tomb by Diri, Okaba, Dakolo, Lokpobiri, Boro’s children – Felix and Esther – and the state council of Nigerian Legions led by Elder Okubokekeme Ogele.
