Our Correspondent
Traditional rulers, community leaders and indigenes of Ugborodo community in Warri South-West LGA of Delta state have expressed disappointments over President Goodluck Jonathan’s withdrawal to perform the ground breaking of the multi-billion dollars Export Processing Zone (EPZ) project earlier scheduled for yesterday at Ogidigben, describing the decision as shocking.
The Eghare-Aja (traditional Prime Minister of Ugborodo community) Eghare Wellington Ojogor, could not hide his displeasure over the sudden decline of the President to keep a date with the community after they had committed so much human and material resources in their planning to make the hosting and the commissioning ceremony a huge success.
According to him, “it’s unbelievable that the President could have a last minute change of mind in coming to Ugbodorodo to perform the ground breaking of the gas project. We have committed so much to his hosting and what that means is that all the efforts put in place by the community was already a waste. Anyway, I don’t want to give up yet. I am still very optimistic that the President would pick another date to perform this duty in our community”.
Another prominent traditional title holder, the Olaja-Orori of Ugborodo, said he was particularly disturbed about this development and faulted the rationale behind the President’s decision to boycott the commissioning of the gas project at the last minute thereby causing the community so much psychological trauma and loss of confidence in the his personality.
His words; “naturally, disappointment comes with bad feelings and one would not expect the indigenes to be happy over this incident. But beyond this, this singular act by the President to renege in his plan to commission this project also shows he is not a man of his word. But all hope is still not lost. President Goodluck Jonathan should know and appreciate that he’s not an ethnic President but the President of the entire country and should live to that bidding”.
In her own remark, the Ugborodo community woman leader, Mama Ayuwe Omoseyinje, lamented how the effort of the community women to give the President a befitting hosting was now in vain and condemned the excuse of ethic sentiments attached to the reason why the President declined coming to perform the commission ceremony of the gas project.
“We (community women) have not rested ever since the day we were informed that the President was coming to perform the ground breaking ceremony and in fact we have committed so much of our time, energy and resources in planning for a successful hosting. The sudden cancellation of this ceremony was coming as a shock to us as we don’t expect the President to place ethnic sentiment above national interest. I do not expect the President to be bias or carried away by ethnic agenda in carrying out his duty to the nation”, she said.
A member of the EPZ Interface committee, Mrs. Betty Gbubene noted that the joy of the Ugborodo indigenes would have been completed if the President had perform the commissioning of the gas project as scheduled for yesterday but expressed sadness that the people have been traumatized by decision of the President to boycott the event.
“Our people have been looking forward to when this project would b commissioned and when the date was announced the community was agog but this latest development has brought pains, regrets and sadness to our people. We respect our Ija w neigbours and I do not expect that they would want to cause any disaffection between us. They should know that this project is not going to serve the interest of the Itsekiris alone but the entire nation”, she stated
Also adding his voice, another member of the EPZ 21 member Committee, Mr. Godwin Tuoyo, urged their Ijaw brothers to let reasons prevail and stop whipping unnecessary ethnic sentiments to the project that was designed to benefit the entire country, adding that the boundary between the two ethnic groups as far as the gas project was concerned was clearly spelt out and the confusion over the name of the project was absolutely a distraction.
Hear him, “Our Ijaw brothers should know that we have come a long way together and in fact, we shared boundaries and family ties in term of inter-marriages. These are bonds that had kept us together. We (Itsekiri) have so much respect for our Ijaw neigbours but we stand to disagree with them on this issue of re-naming the gas project to reflect their name. We all know our boundaries as far as the land we occupied is concerned and I expect we all respect ourselves on this issue. We have never lay claims to projects cited on their land, why are they trying to cause confusion now that it has come to our turn”.
The highpoint of the community reaction saw the various community women from across the various clans that made up the Ugborodo community staging cultural dances to demonstrate their peace, loving nature and appealing to the President to return back to carry out his duty as the President of the entire county and not just that of the Ijaw nation.
