ALAMIEYESEIGHA MUST GO - HE HAS LOST FOCUS

Lately the Chairman of Supreme Egbesu Assembly (SEA) Sgt Werinipre Noel Digifa has been a regular personality on network television programme where he has been tackling topical and contentious issues concerning the very fabric of Ijaw and the Nigerian state at large.

In one of his numerous trip to Lagos Digifa had the privilege, called at Ijaw News liaison office where he spoke with Ebisedor Ugbomah.

Excerpts:

Question: What is the position of the people of Bayelsa on the moves by the National Assembly to impeach president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ans: The position of Bayelsa state people on the issue can be taken from the angle of the every Ijaw indigene.  Today you know that Obasanjo is the cause of the Ijaw people’s poverty.  This is so as it was he in 1979 that promulgated the land use decree and it was entrenched in 1979 constitution of the second Republic.

Then in 1999 he Obasanjo again ordered the destruction of Odi by the military invasion and lately the offshore/onshore dichotomy Supreme Court verdict.

With these at the back of our minds we implore all Nigerians to allow democratic processes to take its course.  That is to allow the National Assembly members who are elected to represent us to exercise their rights fully according to the tenets of democracy.

So I think we are in a learning process, so impeachment exercise should take its course so that we could grow from there and then imbibe some form of decency in the Nigerian democratic system.

And every reasonable Ijaw indigene without being bias would know that Obasanjo has misled this country so, he should be impeached if found to have violated the constitution of the Land.

Recently we read that Niger Delta Youths have threatened to shut down all oil wells and flow stations in the Niger Delta if the National Assembly continues with the impeachment process of Mr. President.  What is your reaction to this threat?

You see, people today are being used.  The politicians today abound to commit any kind of atrocity for the sake of their selfish political achievement.  So we are not surprised at the news that Niger Delta Youths threatening to close down oil flow stations and possibly disturb oil exploration and exploitation if the move by the National Assembly is not discontinued.

This is because we know no reasonable youth from Ijaw land or Niger Delta will make such statement. Its all an issue of people who are bought over and used as stooges to present matters like that. So we cannot be surprised. All what we know is that no reasonable Ijaw youth or Niger Delta youth will do that.

If you look at a crowd today and it has the characteristic of same vest, same manner of uniform, all clad in uniform colours and T-shirt to match. You should know it is a paid or sponsored crowd. A truly and genuine crowd that comes out of genuine feelings of majority mind with people from different background will not come with same manner of uniform and then you will know that this   crowd is a demonstration of the peoples agitation. (So today most of the time we only see paid demonstration where politician print T-shirts and hire the people to organize a make believe crowd and issue press releases to back up the motive of their game plan. And this has greatly affected our people as the outside word will not know the true views of our people as well as what pains we go through in the hands of the Nigerian state.

So on that issues it is simply that the people were actually being used. It was not really Niger Delta youth expressing their views but a paid group who were expressing their mentor’s views.  So we are condemning those who were used and it would be a curse for any true born of Ijaw land to say Obasanjo impeachment will lead to their closing down oil flow station in the Niger Delta.

Let us now look at the National Assembly.  How will you access the Ijaw legislators there?

Ijaw legislators in the National Assembly could not be faulted for lack of activities because they are minority there.

It is no hidden fact that everybody in this country knows or has heard about the Ijaws agitation of neglect and balkanization and the cause of this situation.  But since the majority groups, Yorubas, igbos and Fulanis have not deem it fit the change their attitude towards us as they keep using their majority influence to deny us succour.  As you must know, everything that concerning democracy, climaxes with voting and the majority always  have their way. So with that we don’t expect anything concrete from our representatives as they are in the minority, as they shall only have the say.

In a network television programmed which you featured and was monitored in Lagos, one of the discussants with you, disclosed that the Yorubas as matter of fact were the first in the country to clamour for the issue of sovereign National conference (SNC) to discuss the restructure of the Nigerian State what do you say to that..

Well in that area the Yorubas except when they are touch they come out to champion a cause.  Hence the Odi destruction that was sponsored by the Nigerian government could not get the type of out cry it would have gotten if Odi were to be a Yoruba community.  For example during the Babangida era as the President when June 12 elections was annulled and an interim Government led by Chief Shonekan a Yoruba indigene was put in place due to the persistent political impasse.  At that particular time if you remember some youths under the agies of movement for the Advancement of Democracy (MAD) hijacked a commercial flight from Lagos to the Tchad or Niger republic.  If you recall Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN, went to court to condemn the action of  the Interim Government then that wanted to take action against the youths for their act, as he  because he argued that the Interim Government itself was an illegal one.

But in the case of Odi, nobody took any legal action or proceeding to avert the Odi destruction.  So that goes to show how contentious issues concerning the major groups are readily attended to by their people, while in our case as minorities nothing much is heard of us.  Hence the issue of Sovereign National Conference (SNC) which the Ijaws have all along clamoured for has today been seen to be more orchestrated by the Yorubas, a major group.

That is why issues raised by the major tribes in this country are those that are made to be the dominating National issue for the Nigeria state to grapple with.

Let us now talk about Odi the President last year visited Bayelsa State and he was at Odi briefly.  What has now being the position of Odi after the November 1999 destruction by the Military on the orders of the President Obasanjo’s?

There is so far no development.  There is no compensation what so ever by the Federal government.  After the destruction there has not been any effort on the part of the Federal Government led by Obasanjo to improve the lives of the people there.

Bare in mind, the words of the people are the word of God.  As Odi people has refused to listen to the voice of the people.  From day one after the destruction, we cried out to the people that President Obasanjo who ordered the destruction of Odi should but be allowed to visit Odi some people made some press releases to counter the suggestion and maintained Obasanjo should be welcomed at Odi.  Their persons argued that he should come and see and proffer succour for the people.

Amongst such persons who support the visit of Obasanjo is the then Chairman of Odi Local Government Council Prime Tari Bolor.  They undermined those of us who spoke on behalf of our ancestral fathers and deities.  So today we may say the situation in Odi is an act of punishment from God.  As it has toughened the heart of the Federal government not to provide any relief to Odi.  Hence the place is till in a hapless situation.

Since we don’t have faith on ourselves to know some of us speak on behalf of the ancestral fathers of our land.

We therefore have not experienced any Federal Government effort to ameliorate the  situation of things in Odi after the destruction.

The federal Government led by President Obasanjo in adamant.  This has greatly generated more hatred from Odi people and Ijaws as a whole to the president Obasanjo administration.

Lately we have being observing efforts by almost all the elected political office holders trying to bid for re-election.  How do you see the Bayelsa state Governor’s bid for re-election.

Governor Alamieyeseigha is my friend.  I have said this times without number that Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, first civilian executive Governor of Bayelsa state can literally be said now to be in a state of coma.  This is because he does not know what he is doing.  Therefore I can say Governor Alamieyesigha is more than confused.  Honestly, he has lost focus.

As you must know Leadership is derived from wisdom and knowledge.  There are three things that make up the quality of leadership.  What do we do, How do we do and How do we move.  So in a good leadership quality, what is paramount is the act of leading a people.  In the word “We” but when you always stand by the idea “I” then you have offended the people and your comments in any issue will be misconstrued as it will go astray or be in disarray.  That is one problem of Governor Alamieyeseigha.

He has no good leadership qualify and he has a strong bad followership.  What I mean here is that advisers who have no credibility surrounds him.  Example is chief Okorotie.  This is a person who has greatly discredited him in the midst of credible people.  He has at many occasions sold out the Ijaw cause.  Records are there for us.

Honestly, the likes of Chief Okorotie has no moral justification to be an adviser to the Governor of an Ijaw state.  We all know Okorotie’s antecedents.  Such for example are the think-tanks of our dear Governor.  So we don’t expect anything worthwhile from his administration.

It is not true that Ijaw people have gone to the extreme to attempt to kill Governor Alamieyeseigha No, we have love for the Governor.  He is a true Son of Bayelsa State. But on principle or otherwise, we want to say once again that governor DSP Alamieyeseigha has lost focus, so he must go.  Hence we are only appealing to him to honourably go.  And by God’s grace, if God must have sympathy for Bayelsans, Alamieyeseigha will be voted out in 2003 election.  We have all resolved that we shall all go to our various communities to do the right thing of voting in a new Governor for Bayelsa State.

There is this allegation that a good number of you who canvas against Governor Alamieseigha re-election bid are being sponsored by outside influences.  Can you comment on this?

Well as to that I will not blame those who peddle such stories as they have a right to their views. As we are  99 percent poor people in Bayelsa while the wealth of the richly endowed state is today being controlled by a circle of family.  Since they feel that the people are poor.  Hence, they don’t believe the people who struggle to get their daily bread will not be able to mobilize against them in power.  Like the kind of opposion we  were able to put forward to stop Governor Alamieyeseigha from getting the N15 billion.  We were able to get the backing of concerned Nigerians and the Nigerian media.

The campaign against the loan was a collective idea of the people and friends of Bayelsa state.  So much so that we wrote a protest letter to the presidency, the Stock Exchanges Commission (SEC), the Capital market including the Finance and Banking industries to stop the state government from securing the loan.  Most importantly with the help of Jehovah God, We succeeded in stopping the state Government from taking the loan.

So we are not surprised if some people alleged that we are sponsored by outside influences.  The whole campaign against DSP is an in house struggle.  Not by any outside forces.  What we do is, we use the little at our disposal to carry out the campaign. Believe me sincerely the Bayelsa people have resolved to send Governor Alamieyeseigha out in 2003 because his leadership has misled us the Bayelsa people.

We are only appealing to him that he should have sympathy on the people of Bayelsa to honourably resign form Greek haven at the end of his tenure in 2003.

Last modified: January 07, 2003