Worried over the political crises that characterized the state couple of months ago, the President General of the Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organization Worldwide Professor Augustine Onyeozu has called on the sons and daughters of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality to stay natural and act as mediators to tackle the crisis.
Professor Onyeozu gave the advice while addressing the people of the ethnic nationality during the 197th Convention of the organization at mute Omuanwa town in Ikwerre local government area of Rivers State last Sunday.
According to him, “it is a matter of regret that barely one month after Omerelu Convention, a huge political crisis broke out in Rivers State involving prominent Rivers State politicians including Ikwerre sons, an attempt to halt this crisis dominated Ogbakor IKwerre attention since then, at the expense of their objectives, the crisis is still fresh and vigorous, it contains two dimensions, Port Harcourt and Abuja dimension, pointing out that in respect of the Rivers State dimension of the crisis, the Ikwerre people should not look down on one another, brothers should not fight in the public; to do that is to wash their dirty linen in public, Ikwerre brothers should always use their good sense of judgement to make concessions to one another through mutual understanding, however if for any reason there is a fight, a mediator must step in to stop the fight, stressing that with regard to the political crisis Ogbakor Ikwerre is playing the role of mediator and urged others to follow suit and not to be cajoled into pinning the crisis because joining the crisis is to prolong it.
In respect of Abuja dimension, Professor Onyeozu who spoke onbehalf of the people of Ikwerre noted that honesty and hard working leaders are rare and hard to come by in modern times stressed that the presence of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the governor of the state is a blessing to the state and urged that the Chief Executive Officer of the state should be encourage to complete his tenure as governor in view of his excellence performance in offices, adding that to stop him, is to deprive the Rivers State of the chance to tap its potential to the fullest, maintaining that Ikwerre are one and should continue to be one.
In an address presented by the people of Omuanwa community read by Mr. Damion Okaegbu JP, the Secretary CTC Omuanwa Town Union (OTU), noted that Omuanwa is one of the food basket in Ikwerre land and the highest producer of Cassava in Ikwerre, recalled how Omuanwa people supplied all towns in Ikwerre and beyond the new varieties of cassava stems, tubers and garri when their was scarcity of food in Nigeria between 1980 to 1991.
He described Omuanwa town as a community that occupies its rightful position in the committee of communities in Ikwerre clan which deserved the best from both Ikwerre and Rivers State.
Mr. Okaegbu who lamented that despite unalloyed support the people of Omuanwa has rendered to various governments in power, none of their sons and daughters have been appointed into position of authority and appealed to Ogbakor Ikwerre to provoke and influence the state polity in the area of political appointment and infrastructural development in the area.
In their separate speeches, Oha Samuel Wali the Nyewe Ali Omuanwa and Oha Nkuturum Mandaa who recalled how the people of Omuanwa town has been sharing the same paramount ruler with Ubima town all in Ikwerre LGA stressed that their desire to be autonomous to have their own paramount ruler have been pursued vigorously and appealed to Ogbakor Ikwerre to assist them achieve their goal.
In their separate speeches, Dr. Captain Elechi Amadi, Professor Otonti Nduke, Chief Sampson O. Agbaru the immediate past president of Ogbakor Ikwerre among others who condemned the political crisis masterminded by the anti-Amaechi to chase him out of the office described governor Amaechi as one who has preformed excellently and urged those fighting against him to allow him complete his tenure.
By Emeka Jilly Ejiowhor
