Sunny Onuesoke
Delta State gubernatorial aspirant, Senator Arthur Okowa has received tremendous boost in his quest to govern the state as the Ijaws of Delta State have rallied around him, ahead of the governorship elections coming up on April 11 polls.
Coming under the aegis of socio-cultural groups, there are no fewer than 20 groups in Ijaw land which have come out to offer support and endorse the candidature of Okowa.
This is apart from the overt endorsement by the Ijaw political leaders like Chief Edwin Clark and James Manager who see Okowa as a rallying point for the Ijaws, after many years of waiting in the sidelines for a commanding political position in the state.
The Ijaws have been a very strong and important component of the jigsaw that makes up the Delta state political machine. With three local government areas, and a large voting population, Ijaw land has been a key battle ground for political parties, and often acts as a swing base for politicians who often wait patiently in palpable frenzy as the results filter in late due to the difficult coastal terrains that naturally defy logistics calculations.
With three local government areas that include Bomadi, Burutu and Patani, and a population that stretches into the coastal terrains of the Atlantic Ocean, the Ijaws of Delta State are clinically ready to vote en masse for the PDP candidate.
Apart from the fact that one of its own, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro is the running mate of Okowa, the traditional affiliations the Ijaws have had with the PDP since 1999 makes it plausible that the Ijaws will look only to same direction again.
This much was also echoed by the Ijaw group under the auspices of Gbaramatu Political Forum which has vowed to support the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Okowa, notwithstanding partisan comments by a few ethnic chauvinists. The group’s chairman and secretary respectively, Chief Godspower Gene kama and Comrade Isaiah Ogah, had stated “It is on record that the Gbaramatu people supported Felix Ibru, Ibori and Uduaghan, so why should their support for Okowa now be subjected to scrutiny and daily commentaries,”
There are so many other groups in Ijawland, from Patani, Burutu to Bomadi who are rooting for Okowa. PDP chieftain, Hon. Tam Odogwu has been mobilizing Ijaws in Delta State to massively vote candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Same goes for the Ijaws progressive Agenda for Change, an umbrella body of Ijaws in Edo and Delta states whose President, Comrade Goddey Money has long started grassroots mobilization of Deltans for the realization of the governorship ambition of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.
Meanwhile traditional rulers from Ijawland have also unanimously endorsed the candidature of Dr.Ifeanyi Okowa and Hon. Kingsley Otuaro and vowed to give unflinching support for the PDP in the April 11 polls.
The meeting of the traditional leaders which held at the palace of His Royal Majesty Pere Charles Ayemi Botu at Warri was an historic event. The event which was inspired by High Chief Government Ekpemupolo aka Tompolo was a huge success as the Ijaws were unanimous in thei resolve to support Dr Okowa.
Traditional Rulers present includes the Pere of Egbema The Pere of Isaba, The Pere of Ogulagha, The Pere of Operemor, the Pere of Iduwini and others
The 2006 population census put Ijawland in Delta State at over 500,000 inhabitants. Juxtapose this with increasing population rate, the Ijaws in Delta State are a formidable force to be reckoned with and will readily boost the PDP chances.
However, such chances are not limited to electoral fortunes or opportunities alone. Many analysts agree that Ijawland is underdeveloped and therefore needs urgent and sustained government intervention.
Such intervention, they believe, can readily come to fruition if an Ijaw man is in the seat of power. And the emergence of kingsley Otuaro is seen as the best trajectory that will connect the ijaw aspirations with these expected fulfillments.
Therefore come on April 11, all eligible voters in Ijawland will head to the polls to vote for their son Kingsley Otuaro who is standing on a joint ticket with Senator Okowa of the PDP.
Chief Onuesoke, former Delta State governorship candidate is the Country Director of Network for Good Governance, Nigeria’s largest online media network.