Activities were paralysed in Yenagoa on Thursday as the Ijaw ethnic group converged in Yenagoa and Kaiama to celebrate the Isaac Boro’s Day.
Shops, markets and other commercial centres except for banks and other financial institutions were shut down for activities.
Isaac Boro Day is marked every year to commemorate the foremost Ijaw freedom fighter who died 51 years ago in Okrika Rivers.
Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa represented by his Deputy Governor, Gboribiogha John-Jonah led the celebration to lay the wreath in honour of late Boro at the Ijaw Heroes Memorial Park Cenotaph in Yenagoa.
Speaking at the event, the governor said the sacrifices and contributions of Boro remained alive and ever present in the lives and minds of the Ijaw people.
He urged Ijaw youths to follow the good path Boro took and always be disciplined in all they do.
“I want to thank the youths of Ijaw nation for always keeping the Boro dream alive.
“I thank all of you for honouring and recognising Isaac Boro and the sacrifices and contributions of all those who fought by his side.
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“But he didn’t do it alone. A number of young men believed in him and the cause. We remembered others who did it with him,” he said.
He urged them to always use the day to remember what he fought and stood for, during the revolutionary days.
He said Boro lived his life for the liberation of his people, which brought about the creation of Rivers and other state in the Niger Delta.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Culture and Ijaw Affairs, Mr Dressman Wilson said the state government had constructed structures in memory of Boro.
In his remarks, the younger brother to Boro, Mr David Boro, commended Gov. Dickson for always remembering the late hero.
He urged the government to set the Day as a public holiday for schools and civil servants in the state.
In an interview with Mr Reuben Okoya, shortly after the event, he urged youths to emulate the good path Boro took.
The philanthropist implored young people to be disciplined and educated, saying that Boro was an educationist during his struggle for liberation of the Ijaw people.
