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Where Are The Ijaw Leaders?
Do the Ijaws currently have a leader in the true sense of the word, a leader that they can all stand-up and give their support to? If they Ijaws have any such leader, then, where are they now that the chips
are down? I think the Ijaws are yarning for a respectable - educated, exposed and tested leader who can provide good leadership and be able to advance the course of the people and lay a solid foundation for the development and growth of the Ijaw
nation. We truly need an Ijaw leader with impeccable track record, one who is respected in society. An individual who all Ijaw people would look up to, irrespective of whether you are from Arugbo Ijaw or Torugbene, or indeed from any other riverine community
in the Niger Delta region.
Most of all, we need God fearing leaders that have the love of the Ijaws at heart and are ready to sacrifice there lives for the Ijaw Nation. The question again is do we have such Ijaw leader(s) in
Ijawland? You may want to ask why all these questions? The questions I have asked here are all relevant questions because if we don't have leaders among us with all the above qualities, we may be fighting a lost battle.
People have asked me the above questions in numerous discussion forums. Simply put, they have argued that the Ijaws don't have a leader and so we cannot successfully push our case in the Nigerian
polity. They some time compare our situation to the Ogonis and late Saro Wiwa or mildly put, they will say that there will never be another Adaka Boro in Ijaw land. As strong as the arguments they put forward may seem, the question is, do we Ijaws
as a people actually believe that because Adaka Boro is no more, we the Ijaws are a lost nation?" No! That is not true.
We just need to give full support to those we have identified as true Ijaw leaders. As soon as we do this, we will have a common front, and be able to address issues affecting the Ijaw Nation,
and all the petty quarrels and differences our purported leaders are having presently will be resolved and there will be progress in the land.
Boston Edogi
Phoenix, AZ, USA
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