Nyerhovwo Oghenetejiri
The gubernatorial bid of Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege, former Secretary to the Delta State Government got a massive boost recently as prominent leaders of the Isoko nation pledged the support of the Isoko people to his quest to becoming the governor of Delta state come 2015.
Speaking during a consultationvisit by Obaisi Ovie Omo-Agege to his country home at Igbide, Isoko South Local Government Area, Chief Dennis E.A Etaloku, 2nd Vice Chairman of the Leaders of Thought of Ijaw. Isoko, and Itsekiri popularly known as 3i’s, the patron of Isoko Development Union (IDU) and the Oteta of Igbide Kingdom stressed that if an Orogun man becomes a governor, the Isokos stands a better chance to reap multiple benefits.
Obaisi Omo-Agege also visited the residence of the President General of the Isoko Development Union (IDU) Chief (Gen) Paul Omu where a closed door meeting was held as well as the Uzere residence of erudite scholar and political leader, Prof. Abednego Ekoko.
Chief Etaloku described the governorship hopeful as a household name in Isoko land and Delta State at large, he emphasised that, “there is no single man in Isoko who does not know Omo-Agege. Your name is a household here in Isoko nation.”
He noted that the Urhobo and Isoko people were the same, adding, “When we were young and living in Onitsha, they could not differentiate the Urhobo man from the Isoko man. It is the greed of the modern politicians that created bad blood between Isoko and Urhobo people.
They started introducing you are this, you are that. Our fathers worked together. They did everything together. Any new song that came out from Urhobo, the next day it will be sang here in Isoko.”
He advised Obaisi Omo-Agege to hold his home front, saying, “we want Delta South and Central to work together, that is why we made the move to meet with Urhob Progress Union(UPU) , if we all agree to work together to you, you certainly will not change your mind and say we are no more your brothers. We know the people who will say we are not their brothers. Anybody from Ughelli does not discriminate against the Isoko man at all. Ughelli and Isoko are the same, we work together, they don’t discriminate amongst themselves. I don’t see any man from Isoko who is going to discriminate against Ughelli. I will tell you that God has crowned your journey. We will pray to God to give us one mind for us to work together to achieve victory with you”
Chief Etaloku who was one of the representatives of the Isoko nation at the meeting that voted for the creation of Delta state said he was praying that the Anioma people are given their own state so that we can have our own state with headquarters in central which is close to the Isoko people, adding,. “We proposed Ughelli then because if you develop Ughelli, it will spread to Igbide. It takes fifteen minutes to drive to Ughelli from Igbide.”
While acknowledging the political pedigree of Obaisi Omo-Agege, Chief Etatoku, said “you are a house hold name, you are going round, you started on a good footing, you are meeting elders, you are meeting leaders and at the appropriate time they will call themselves together and when the politics come, we will show you the way. On behalf of the Isoko people who are here, I am saying that we will support you. This time, there will be no failure. A special understanding is on the way
to replace all misunderstandings of the recent past between the people of Urhobo and Isoko.”
On his part, Prof Abednego Ekoko expressed optimism that if given the mandate to govern the State, Obaisi Omo-Agege would rectify the marginalization of the Uzere kingdom for the past few years, saying, “we will stand by you at the appropriate time.”
Prof. Ekoko noted that, “power does not come from the east, west, north or south but from God”, he urged Obaisi Omo-Agege to carry his quest to God, adding, “You must have faith in God and yourself. You must have endurance and the forbearance of Jesus Christ. With these and with our commitment and followership, you will be there. I want to use this opportunity to advise your teeming supporters to remain steadfast and committed to the course.”
Earlier in his remarks, Obaisi Omo-Agege noted that he had vied for the gubernatorial seat in 2007 and twice in 2011 and emphasised that, “I intend to succeed this time. I am doing this because I have passion to serve. I have a dream to add value to governance in the State”
While noting that he is not an ethnic bigot, Obaisi Omo-Agege said the common heritage which the people of Isoko and Urhobo share and historical ties that bind them together cannot be waived aside, adding that there is no difference between Urhobo and the Isoko people, he spoke further, ” Urhobo and Isoko were together as Eastern Urhobo, we are one and the same. There is no way an Omo-Agege administration will not protect the interest of the Isoko people.”
Obaisi Omo-Agege assured that the Isoko people will be adequately represented in his government if given the mandate, he also promised to provide more funding for the Law Faculty and School of Engineering of the Delta State University (DELSU), Oleh Campus.
Praising the achievements of the State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan in the implementation of his three point agenda, Obaisi Omo-Agege said, “Chief James Ibori laid the requisite foundation, Governor Uduaghan built on it and I want to take it to the next level.”
The governorship hopeful promised to tackle the challenges of unemployment and insecurity in the state through the implementation of policies with high job creation potentials and establishment of security marshals in the various communities across the state.
