By Francis Sadhere
An Ijaw leader, A.P (Dr ) Clement Tonfawei, popularly known as The Nabodi 1 of the universe, has rained heavy knocks on the recent stakeholders meeting of Governor Ifeany Okowa held in Warri with various traditional and security agencies, stressing that the meeting was an injustice to the Ijaw people.
Apostle Tonfawei, who has been in the forefront of the Niger Delta struggle from the beginning, said Governor Okowa was not serious about bringing peace to the state because he has failed to bring justice to the oil bearing communities.
Tonfawei who spoke to our correspondent in Warri yesterday, blamed the continuous attacks on oil facilities by militant groups in the state on the injustice done to the people of the oil bearing communities.
He said the people living in the oil bearing communities were suffering from decades of neglect by past and present governments.
Tonfawei, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) member also accused Governor Okowa of showing indifference towards the plight of the riverine communities for the past one year since he assumed office, saying that while Governor Okowa was busy commissioning projects across the state to mark his one year in office, there was no single project sited in the oil bearing communities.
Tonfawei stressed that though he was not an advocate of violence, the struggle for justice will continue in the state unless the oil bearing communities were developed like other areas in the state.
He explained that if Governor Okowa embarks on massive development of the oil bearing communities, all the youths in the affected communities will join hands with him to fight pipeline vandalism and peace will return to the state.
He said, “The fundamental issues that led to the Niger Delta struggle are still pending and I did not expect Governor Okowa to come now and begin to ask us what is happening because the issues are there for everybody to see. The underdevelopment, suppression and oppression of the Niger Delta people by the government and the oil companies are glaring.”
While supporting President Buhari’s fight against corruption, Tonfawei also frowned at the situation whereby Ijaw people who are against destruction of oil facilities, were being labeled as betrayers, explaining that they were against arm struggle because it was favoring only a few individuals.
He advised the Ijaw nation to look beyond violence in their struggle as development can only come to the riverine communities when their is peace. He noted that his joy is to see that everybody in the region benefits from the struggle.
He also called on Ijaws and Itsekiris in Delta State to stop fighting each other and come together as one indivisible entity so that they can together, fight the oil companies and the government who are their common enemies.
