By Zik Gbemre
With news that Bishop Diamond Emuorbo has passed on to eternal glory, I must say that we have lost a great gem, who was an exceptional patriotic Urhobo man. We both actually worked together to make Shell (SPDC) to recognize the operations in the Western operations of Warri.
I still remember his baritone voice that could be compared with that of Barry White. The last time we met was in a send forth party, when the Shell Warri bush hut at Ogunu was still functional. It was actually Ron van den Berg send forth party. And he spoke so well at the said event, that he was given a standing ovation because he spoke their minds.
Though, when it was time for me to speak, I warned Shell Directors then on how to sustain peace in their operations, and that the youths can still reach out and get to the deep offshore they were running to. I still remember when Bishop Diamond and I were invited to Portharcourt to join the lunch party in the official resident of the then Shell (SPDC) MD, Basil Omiyi in Portharcourt, for the visiting Royal Dutch Shell Directors. Those were good moments.
Both of us, as agitators and advocates of social justice, had attended several forums on Community development and sustainability. Bishop Diamond Emuorbo was indeed an orator. His exit will remain a great loss to the Niger Delta struggles, which was hijacked by militant youths. He was an agitator in the Niger-Delta for good Governance, and he was not like those militant youths who came in to hijack the agitation. But Emuorbo was a good man loved and known by many.
Then, he was known as Rev. Diamond Emuorbo, but later became known as Bishop Diamond Emuorbo before his death. We have indeed lost an exceptional individual in the region. May the Lord give his family and loved ones the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.
Zik Gbemre,
We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes
