*As Diasporans honour Jonathan, Diri, Fubara, Clark, others
The City of Houston in Texas, United States of America, has proclaimed July 5th every year as Ijaw Convention Day.
The proclamation signed by the city’s Mayor, John Whitmire, was presented to the Ijaw National Congress of the Americas (INC-A) on Saturday during the award night and unveiling of the Ijaw Cultural and Heritage Centre.
That was part of activities of its three-day second Ijaw Global Convention with the theme: “Effective Leadership in Ijaw Nation,” held at the Marriott Hotel in Westchase.
The document was received by the Governor-General of the Ijaw nation and Governor of Bayelsa State, Sen. Douye Diri, represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Peter Akpe.
Also at the ceremony were the INC President, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, and the INC-A Chairman, Mr. Ken Anga, according to a statement by Mr. Daniel Alabrah, Chief Press Secretary to Governor of Bayelsa State in Houston, Texas on
Sunday, July 6th.
He said that, Mr. Whitmire described the Ijaw community in Houston and across the United States as “a vibrant and growing segment of the Nigerian-American Disaspora, contributing significantly to business, education, energy, healthcare, culture, and civic life – particularly in the Greater Houston area.”
He also acknowledged the contributions of the Ijaw people to the city’s cultural diversity and spirit of enterprise, adding that the convention was a vital platform for cultural preservation, unity, and international collaboration as it strengthens the historical and socio-political ties between the Ijaw people and the broader African diaspora.
Speaking through Akpe, his Chief of Staff, Governor Diri said the proclamation was heartwarming and that acknowledging the positive contributions of the Ijaw people in Houston and other states would strengthen the bonds of unity and economic ties between Nigeria and the United States.
The Bayelsa governor urged his kinsmen to continue to be great ambassadors of the ethnic nationality in their adopted country while also contributing to economic growth and development back home.
He also commended the INC and the INC-A for a well-organised convention and pledged the support of the Bayelsa government to activities that promote and positively project the Ijaw nationality at home and in the disaspora.
Diri said his administration was intentional in preserving and promoting the Ijaw identity and language by employing more than 350 language teachers and that there was a state legislation that made the teaching of Izon compulsory in schools.
Also, Okaba and Anga expressed appreciation to the City of Houston for the proclamation, saying it would spur the Ijaw community to greater achievements in America and beyond.
In a goodwill message presented virtually, former President Goodluck Jonathan equally commended the INC-A leadership for inviting him, explaining that his absence was due to other pressing commitments and that his wife had to represent him.
Dr. Jonathan stated: “This convention is timely as it offers an opportunity for reunion and re-affirmatiin of our identity and values as Ijaw people.
“The theme of this convention is apt as it reflects the challenges of our time and underscores the need for us to re-commit to the values that define us as a people, which are justice, truth, unity and equity.
“We have a responsibility to stand for what is just and true. We must see ourselves as one and work collectively towards our shared success and progress regardless of our political differences. Let us eschew the habit of pulling down one another.
“Let us nurture the need of love and tolerance in our lives and promote the virtues of unity and sacrifice in our communities”.
Papers on leadership, socio-cultural, developmental and environmental issues affecting the Ijaw nation were presented by prolific author and King of Ekpetiama kingdom in Bayelsa State, Bubaraye Dakolo, the Pere of Tarakiri kingdom, Dr. Seiyifa Koroye, Head of the School of Law, University of Bradford, Prof. Engobo Emeseh as well as leadership and financial management expert, Dr. Sam Jaja.
Awards were also presented to Jonathan, his wife, Dame Patience, Governor Diri, his suspended Rivers State counterpart, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, and former governor and senator representing Bayelsa West, Chief Seriake Dickson.
Others were the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Sam Ogbuku, Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr. Dennis Otuaro, as well as former Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, High Chief Amagbe Kentebe, and Prof. Okaba.
Also honoured were King Dakolo, the Pere of Kabowei kingdom, King Shadrach Erebulu, oil magnate, Chief Ken Etete, and President, Ijaw Youth Council, Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri.
The late Ijaw icon, Pa Edwin Clark, also got a post-humous award.
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ADC’s rise exposes Tinubu’s panic, as his sudden reforms are rooted in fear – Abdullahi
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of “calculated incompetence,” stating that the government’s sudden reform push is not born of compassion or policy, but of political panic sparked by the growing influence and credibility of the ADC.
Challenging the recent disclosure by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, that Tinubu’s government plans to remove bottlenecks to food security and export, the ADC, through its Spokesperson and Interim National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, wondered why it took the emergence of the coalition to make the Tinubu government start thinking of how to make food available to Nigerian people.
He noted that without the pressure mounted on the government with the successful unveiling of the opposition coalition last week, the government would have persisted on its calculated indifference to the plight of the Nigerian people.
“Let us make one thing clear, it took the emergence of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the growing momentum of a united opposition to push this government into action.
“It wasn’t the hunger of hundreds of millions of Nigerians that moved them, it was fear. Fear of the 2027 elections.
“Fear that Nigerians have woken up. Fear that, with a united opposition, 2027 will be a clearcut election between the APC and the Nigerian people.
“Make no mistake, the APC has been deliberately weaponizing poverty.
“After Bayo Onanuga’s statement that they would no longer delay in removing bottlenecks that had hindered food security, the only conclusion possible from that statement is that the government had deliberately sat on its hands and watched Nigerians starve in the last two years,” he said.
He stayed that the federal government was not reacting to an urgent national crisis, but rather a calculated political optics.
“Every move they have made has been about political calculation ahead of 2027. Nigerians, shine your eyes.
The President is not governing. He is campaigning, two years early, because he knows he’s in trouble.
“He knows Nigerians have had enough. And the worst part? He is risking the country’s future, all in the name of his re-election bid. Onanuga’s declaration is not about food security or economic diplomacy this is about politics and 2027,” he said.
