Ahead of elections at hand, desperado Urhobos, seeking petty political relevance are going about contriving parallel leadership movements with our collective ancestral identity (URHOBO), in direct competition with the UPU, to front partisan support for office seekers.

Every election year, this clan of jobbers, without any collective bargaining and approval of the larger Urhobo nation, impulsively arrogate to themselves, the inciting garb of Urhobo Progressives Network, UPN, Urhobo National Youth Movement, UNYM, Urhobo with no proof of when and in which town-hall or village square Urhobo sat to so elect them to lead such impunity.

Aggravating the impunity, Urhobo born officeholder in the Governor Okowa led Delta government, Sunny Onuesoke has also been leading an Urhobo Nation for Okowa in the current campaigns ahead of the March governorship elections. What audacity?

In mockery of Urhobo and the apex UPU leadership, the PDP bell ringing UPN even addressed its out of favour racketeers – Chief Emma Okumagba, Chief Abel Oshevire and co as “Prominent Urhobo Sons & Daughters (Oja tunu Urhobo, iprominete ri phovwe), charging the rest of us to reelect Okowa for the sake of PDP rotational agreement and for transforming “several communities into modern cities” in one breathe. How many of those communities they know in Urhobo, they never mentioned.

These fellows once held key elective and appointive political offices in Delta. They have forgotten, and also think we have too, that they never attracted any meaningful development for the common good of Urhobo in their time. Why should they expect us to take them serious when they have been pushed into oblivion by same PDP whose bell they want to ring louder that Urhobos currently in public offices.

I look around Isoko, Ijaw, Itsekiri and Anioma where incumbent Okowa hails from, I still see a lot of Okowa bell ringers, but none calling themselves Isoko Progressives Forum, Ijaw Nation United for Okowa or Anioma Progressives Network for Okowa. Rather, individuals among these our neighbors create their self-identified support groups to front their selfish political interests.

This impunity in Urhobo may not be new. We once had UPF and the rest, but it’s time UPU disciplined these desperadoes among us. That should not use the name of URHOBO for selfish partisan ventures. “Wetin sef?” Urhobo Ex-Militant, Urhobo Prominent Politicians, Urhobo Ex-Agitators, “who give una name.”

UPU, take note, do the needful, else you will be guilty of aiding and abetting. Even the face of the current UPU Leadership is not having the courage to discipline these rebels, they must not lose sight of the fact that UPU, created from the sweat and credibility of our forbearers like the Great Mukoro Mowoe, Chief Salubi and others, led by the spirits of our ancestors.

There is a clear warning that our ancestors are watching and won’t spare any Urhobo son and daughter who sells out or denigrates the brotherhood for petty political greed. Less I forget, the Amoris, Amiokus, Mageges were once prominent in so rubbishing the Urhobo and the UPU for selfish partisan interest in the past. Where are they today in the political arena, relegated to irrelevance.

Our ancestors will continue to catch up with anyone who delight in selling out Urhobo and bringing our common heritage to disrepute.

Urhobo, “Ajomaotor”, UPN nonsense.

Zik Gbemre.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC