By IGONIKO ODUMA, Yenagoa
Professor Benjamin Okaba, the President of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), said the resolutions of the recent All Ijaw Summit have provided the roadmap for the Ijaw nation to actualise self-determination.
Okaba stated this when he led INC officials to present a copy of the report of the summit to the monarch of Nembe Kingdom, Edmund Daukoru, and his council of chiefs during a town hall meeting at the Nembe City Hall on Saturday.
He said the move was the beginning of mobilisation of the Ijaw people for action on the decisions reached at the summit, which was convoked on December 4 in Yenagoa with the theme, ‘The Nigerian State and the Ijaw Question’.
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He noted that the outcomes of the summit constituted the impetus that had galvanized the INC under his leadership to give teeth to the Ijaw nation’s quest for freedom from the grip of the Nigerian State.
Okaba while enlisting the monarch’s support, said, “We never just had a talk shop.
The summit has provided us the roadmap and a direction. It x-rayed the evil meted out to us in this country.
“Th summit also took a critical look at the various strategies the Ijaw people have applied even from the days of pre-colonialisation down to modern times.
“The Ijaw have resolved to go for self-determination and self-actualisation but in doing this the modus operandi will be peaceful, lawful and non-violent. We shall engage in civil disobedience by protests.”
The INC chief further told the gathering that “the Ijaw people would be liberated without losing blood”, adding that all means to be adopted in the struggle have international standards and acceptability.
Okaba also assured them that his leadership would partner with all INC structures at the clan and zonal levels by providing direction and suppprt for the mobilisation for action.
In his response, the Nembe monarch, Edmund Daukoru represented by the alternate chairman of the council of chiefs, Bright Erewari-Igbeta, commended the INC for the successful summit and providing a strong voice for the Ijaw nation.
Daukoru said the Nembe people are critical stakeholders of the INC and the development of the Ijaw nation, stressing that the message of mobilisation was clear and the needful would be done.
Other members of the council of chiefs present were the general secretary, Jude Pulomote; palace secretary, Isaiah Young-Dede; his deputy, Erewari Igoniowei; B. Peresuo and leaders of INC, Nembe Clan, led by the chairman, Ebinyu Aderigha. (Sunday Independent)
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