From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

A former President of Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) Worldwide, Udengs Eradiri has told the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri to desist dragging the entire Ijaw nation into his fight for political survival in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Eradiri, a former Governorship Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Bayelsa said, Diri should go and grind his political axe with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike and stop making it look like the Ijaw was at war with Wike.

He said it was unfortunate that the likes of Diri were attempting to drag the entire ethnic group into unnecessary bad blood and the bad book of the Federal Government with their ethnic posturing in pure political matters.

Eradiri, a former Commissioner for Youths and later Environment in Bayelsa clarified that he was neither a Wike’s man nor looking for the Minister’s endorsement recalling that he tried to get Wike’s nod as a candidate of the LP during the last governorship election in Bayelsa, but that some persons around the Minister blocked him.

He said: “I guess it was the game at the time because a Wike’s endorsement would have perhaps made the outcome of the governorship election different as evident his support led to the victory of Douye diri because if not for the cancellation of Chief Timipre Sylva’s stronghold made possible by Wike’s support, things would have been different.

“This is why I am talking about the hypocrisy on display today. When Douye Diri, ‘Governor-General of the Ijaw Nation’, went down to kneel down for Wike to collect power he used in Ijawland to win Sylva and myself, where was the Ijaw pride they so profess today?”

Eradiri queried the whereabouts of today’s so-called Ijaw lovers, when Wike splashed N5bn on the dilapidated Law School in Yenagoa, which was abandoned by those claiming to love Ijaw more than others.

He asked those fighting Wike to take a trip to Port Harcourt in Rivers and behold the magnificent Law School Wike built in Ikwerre land.

Eradiri asked persons, who claimed Wike insulted the Ijaw nation to replay the Minister’s statements and judge for themselves without bias if what the Minister said there was not bitter truth.

Eradiri said: “As usual, our people don’t read or listen. They simply went to the ijaw square to sentence Wike. Without even knowing what the issues were, they jumped into the bandwagon of crucification.

“Let’s even ask ourselves, this our ijawness, why is it not in the development and progress of our nation and people? Why always solidarity at war but not for development?

“Look at Yenagoa, the capital of ijaw nation, like a place where mad people reside replete with abandoned projects courtesy of some ijaw leaders, yet no solidarity is shown for the development , light up and progress of ijaw nation.

“Our airport is moribund and our schools are a disgrace to education. Young talents are deliberately not encouraged to stardom; jobless youths roam the streets due to visionless leadership; no hope of survival but you are very active for solidarity to fight political battles of those impoverishing them.

“There are herdsmen in our bushes killing and destroying our crops yet no solidarity to deal with such a menace but same youths can gather against a speech of fact from deputy governor but they cannot gather for their progress but easy to gather against a perceived political enemy?”

Eradiri said Wike suddenly became an enemy of Ijaw simply because he took the PDP from Douye Diri and his colleague governors.

“When did ijaw people choose PDP as ijaw party? Diri should go and deal with his issues in PDP and stop dragging ijaw people into what does not concern us”, he said.

Eradiri insisted that the incompetence of the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, caused the crisis in his state and asked the governor to stop ethnicising the impasse.

Eradiri recalled that when Wike singlehandedly made Fubara Rivers governor, no ijaw gathered or even went to thank him.

Eradiri criticised the way and manner the Ijaw National Congress (INC) handled the Rivers crisis and warned the body against ethnicizing political issues, insisting that the INC brought the Rivers embarrassment on the Ijaw nation.

Eradiri said the NDDC Forensic Report revealed that those so-called lovers of ijaw nation looted the commission and stole money meant to develop the same Ijawland, adding that they got paid for contracts but refused to execute them.

He said they deliberately underdeveloped the only ijaw state, noting that they collapsed the educational system and resorted to sending their children abroad.