By Russell Bluejack
I am worried that my own Ijaw leader, Asari Dokubo, has misstepped like Nnamdi Kanu. Both of them have failed to realise that it takes the unity of a people to severe the cord binding separatists to sovereign states. Asari and Kanu may mean well for those that follow them, but their agitation will never go the distance.
Neither BNC nor IPOB can speak for the oppressed people without Power of Attorney. Power of Attorney, which is a symbol of representative authority, can only emanate from a regional assembly vide a summit. I am a member of the 2019 Niger Delta Economic and Security Summit. I will tell you how it will be organised. All the political, traditional, community, youth, and women stakeholders are being consulted by the organising team. I had to persuade my team to include the youth wing of Ohanaeze to give it a wider acceptance.
You cannot go far without the stakeholders in your region. Asari’s BNC is not regionally acceptable because it is not the product of a summit. Today, Gani Adams of the OPC speaks for the West because his crown is a product of a summit. BNC and IPOB are not the only arms of the struggle. MASSOB, BIM, BNYL, Customary Government etc are all strong arms of the struggle, but until they are all able to come together nothing will change.
When I started talking about unity to the detest of the charlatans in Kanu’s misdirected group, another faction of IPOB wanted me to become member of DOS. I politely turned it down because I have never been interested in power: what I want is unity. Our concern should be unity, not personal gains. People have died and will continue to die until we are able to work as members of a team.
When I heard that IPOB had factions, I set out to see how the wall between the factions could be pulled down. I was abused and called “saboteur” for attempting to unite the factions. It dawned on me that Kanu and Mefor were not interested in unity, so I concluded that the duo were using Biafra as a mask. Everyone can see how Kanu and Mefor have deserted their flaky call for referendum to be running after Buhari. Don’t forget that Kanu’s IPOB does not have blueprint for Biafra. Sometimes I just laugh. They will run after Buhari until someone else takes over. Will they run after the new president, too? A learned friend of mine suggested that they should form a party and contest, since they are after power. Funny, isn’t it?
Well, Uwazuruike, Kanu, Dokubo, Emekesiri of Customary Government, and others must come together. They have to discuss with the stakeholders in the region. Asari Dokubo is just one of the leaders in Ijaw land. He lacks the power to speak for the Ijaw. A member of a tribe cannot speak for them without their Power of Attorney. No regional summit, no freedom. We are free to beat up politicians and follow Buhari everywhere he goes like flies following faeces. At the end of such misadventure lies the fact that we need unity.
Groups cannot give us freedom. The self-made leaders of some of these groups deceive their callow followers; some even send them to shrines or use military command-and-control mantra to keep them tethered like goats to be slaughtered. For some of these ill-intentioned acclaimed leaders it is all about money and power. Unity is the way. I will keep telling us the truth. I know how many letters the organising team of Niger Delta Economic and Security Summit write per day. We must get the support of youth bodies, politicians, traditional rulers, corporate bodies, and distinguished individuals. It takes an all-inclusive approach to get it right.
I interviewed some of our warlords at the palace of HRH King Ateke Tom and realised that Asari is on his own. I spent time with the same Ijaw leader I worked hard to connect Kanu to and was told that Kanu has been blocked from reaching him. He sees Kanu as a criminal. Too bad. The only way out is a regional summit. We are too selfish, greedy, and power hungry to drive the revolutionary train. I will never work with any group. I stand for unity. Abuse me and call me names. I will always talk about unity. Keep running after Buhari while we think of a regional summit. Freedom will never come from outside. Never! He who wants us to be free must work with the stakeholders. Simple.