From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

Nigeria’s comparative backwardness in the comity of nations despite its huge pool of material and human resources has been blamed on the selfishness of majority of the country’s political leaders.

The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made the assertion on Thursday, at the Literary Swansong and Day of Tributes organized in honour of the late Paramount Ruler of Tombia Community, HRH Christian Atani Otobotekere, at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall, Government House, Yenagoa.

Ewhrudjakpo, who spoke as special guest of honour at the event, lamented that selfishness had been the bane of progress in the country, stressing that every progressive nation has leaders who are not only patriotic but selfless.

Describing the departed foremost traditional ruler and educationist, popularly known as The Poet King, as a man of impregnable integrity, he urged the political class to emulate people like Chief Otobotekere to make positive impact in society.

He said the lifestyle of the late nonagenarian was devoid of greed and selfishness, which enabled him to lead the Tombia community for about 50 years and his native Ekpetiama Kingdom as Clanhead for 14 years without recording any major intra or inter-communal crisis.

His words: “Selfish countries are less progressive. Nigeria is not progressing because of the greed and selfishness of most of her leaders over the years.

“The less selfish a country’s leaders are, the more progressive it becomes, and vice versa. Our father whom we have all come to honour today, clearly lived an impactful life.

“He was not greedy. He was not also selfish. And so, we really have to imbibe and follow the footsteps and  positive legacies of people like him for us to be able to make good progress in this country.

Senator Ewhrudjakpo also applauded the deceased for contributing immensely towards the intellectual development of Bayelsa State and the Niger Delta region in general through his outstanding literary works.

He equally commended Chief Otobotekere’s children for the elaborate celebration they put together for their father at his 97th birthday, adding that it is more worthy to celebrate a great man while he is alive than to do so when he had passed on.

Responding to some of the recommendations made by the reviewer of the 14 books written by the late Otobotekere, the Deputy Governor noted that the poet king deserved to be immortalized not just for a decade as recommended, but for as long as Bayelsa remains.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr Seiyifa Koroye underscored Otobotekere’s contributions to literary development of society, with several anthologies comprising no fewer than 400 poems.

Dr Koroye, who described Otobotekere as a compassionate and true leader of men in all spheres of life, appealed to the Bayelsa State Government to institutionalize a biennial writers’ festival named after the literary icon to immortalize him.

In his 30-minute book review, Professor Kontein Trinya of the Ignatius Azuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, stressed that although Otobotekere’s creative writings had not been streamed in the global literary screen, his works are quite outstanding, especially in the genre of poetry.

Prof. Trinya,  who was represented by Professor Saviour Agoro, cited several works of Chief Otobotekere such as Live Two Lives, Beyond Sound and Voice, All Around About, amongst others, saying “he was a contemporary poet of revered ancestral order.

He concluded the review with recommendations, such as instituting an annual poetry competition for junior secondary students, adding his poetic works in the school curriculum, and the floating of Otobotekere best graduating student award in at least three universities in the South South region.

The event, which was well attended by notable personalities including a former Deputy Governor of the state, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (Retd), also featured exhibition of the late Monarch’s literary works by the Chief Historian and Archivist of Bayelsa State, Dr Stephen Temegha Olali.