SIR: From every available records of governance of Delta State, it’s now glaring that Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is not the Messiah that the Urhobo nation seeks to fulfill their dreams of being the centre of excellence in the Niger Delta.
Oborevwori sees himself more as an Okpe governor as against the spirit and philosophy of “one Urhobo nation under God. Urhobo ovuovu.”The poor disposition of the governor to the plight of the people of Okuama in that imbroglio would not have been so if the people of Ewu Urhobo clan are among those who top the priority list of the governor. Even while prominent sons of Urhobo nation are being incarcerated by the authority, the governor is not making efforts at getting freedom for the innocent ones including a Professor of Physics and senior lecturer of the Delta State University, Abraka.
We won’t allow anyone, not even the governor to belittle Urhobo nation and her people anywhere in the world. The governor alleges that Urhobo people didn’t vote for him in 2023, but he was massively voted for at the polls by Urhobo voters who had their two prominent sons in that contest. It is natural that the votes would be divided along the lines of popularity of the two politicians who eminently qualified to be governor. Why hold such a grudge against the people who stood and are still standing by you?
Shouldn’t Urhobo nation have voted for other Urhobo brothers? The votes from Urhoboland were split between two contenders, so why vilify Urhobo nation and deny them the benefit of having their own at the helm of affairs? The governor doesn’t respond to calls or messages from Urhobo traditional rulers. He doesn’t give the youths of Urhoboland attention either.
Former governors Emmanuel Udughan and Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, within two years in office, produced billionaires from their ethnic nationalities. Today, we know them in Ika and Itsekiri, who has Oborevwori lifted out among our youths? Can the governor point to any Urhobo man whom he has awarded contracts to like Okowa did to his people? None!
Nobody should belittle Urhobo nation. Urhobo youths need the governor’s patronage, we need his attention, and we need his executive support as the governor to thrust us up. Respect our elders, particularly Urhobo monarchs and the youths. Anything short of this, the people of Urhobo nation may choose to look into better alternatives for 2027. If Urhobo youths are left in the doldrums of acute poverty without an executive touch in their affairs, 2027 may end up being a mirage for the governor.
It is on record that Oborevwori was Okowa’s candidate at the 2023 polls, but today, the same person who rode on the back of Okowa to power claims to be all-knowing for reasons of avoidable arrogance, pride and excessive flippancy. He doesn’t even listen to advice from his handlers because he’s the self-acclaimed omniscient.
We won’t allow anyone waste our slot before it gets to the turn of Delta South Senatorial district in 2031. The governor owes us a duty of responsibility and patronage.
I strongly call for a change of heart and approach to better the lots of Urhobo ethnic nation. The governor is not all-knowing. Only God almighty is knowing that’s why he’s omniscient.
We saw how the state ignored the calls from a stranded Urhobo lady in Ghana recently until spirited Nigerians who are mostly Urhobo people donated money to rescue her from death in Ghana by bringing her back home yet, we have a governor in the state whose government would rather waste our commonwealth on one rabid air passenger who hails from another state. The disregard for the people of Urhoboland is that bad. How would he accuse Urhobo people of not voting for him at the 2023 polls, whereas I deployed human and material resources to mobilise the grassroots for him. I was the first Urhobo man to announce the result from unit to the public where Urhobo people overwhelmingly voted for him.
Eshanekpe Israel is the head of the Association of Urhobo Mayoral Family Crown (AUMFC) and Mayor of Urhoboland.
Credit:The Guardian