By Ovie Okpare & Eseoghene Emuke
Ahead of its 90th anniversary, Nigeria’s oldest socio-cultural group, Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) has rolled out a seven-point agenda at securing a brighter future for the Urhobo nation.
UPU noted that despite immense contributions to the stabilization of the Nigeria State and her economy, Urhobo has not been fairly treated by past and present Nigerian Governments.
Expressing the reservations Wednesday, President-General of UPU, Olorogun Moses Taiga, bemoaned piteous state of federal roads criss-crossing Urhoboland, urging Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently revive them.
Taiga spoke at a world press conference to herald activities marking the 90th anniversary of UPU beginning Monday November 29th through Sunday December 5th.
The UPU Leader said Urhobo people have always contributed to the development and socio-political stabilization of Nigeria pre- and post-independence till date.
Citing Urhobo’s contributions to Nigeria, Taiga said, “The Urhobo people of over five million and Nigeria’s fifth largest ethnic nationality, with the treasure trove of oil and gas, rivers, and arable land, have contributed immensely to the making of Nigeria.
“There is hardly any sphere of national development that the Urhobo have not contributed to in Nigeria’s quest for nationhood. In politics, economy, military, media, medicine, education, corporate sector, sports, science and technology, the arts, and more, the Urhobo have and are still paying, their dues in the making of Nigeria. Crude oil and gas from Urhoboland continue to sustain the nation’s economy.
“The role the Urhobo people played in ensuring the unity and stability of Nigeria is significant. The Urhobo fought gallantly in the Civil War of 1967 to 1970.
“Thereafter, the Urhobo played stabilizing roles in post-Civil War Nigeria. From the June 12 crisis to the Creek Wars of militancy in the Niger Delta, the National Political Reforms Conference of 2005, the National Conference of 2014, the Urhobo have always been counted in support of one Nigeria, a nation that is strong, united, prosperous, and abiding by the creed of fairness and justice to all.”
He, however, lamented that despite Urhobo Nation’s huge contributions to Nigeria, Urhobo Nation and her people have not been fairly treated in the Nation’s socio-political space.
“Despite our very tangible and laudable contributions to the making of Nigeria, we have not received a fair deal from past and present Nigerian governments. The Urhobo number among the geese that lay Nigeria’s golden eggs and yet getting suffocated.
“With a dynamic, creative, hardworking, and resourceful population, the Urhobo ethnic nationality could match any race in the world in terms of development aspirations. Our Ukane experience and the attendant economic revolution it initiated in Yorubaland is one of the many examples of the Urhobo genius at work”, he added.
On the 2023 governorship race in Delta State, Olorogun Taiga insisted that it was the turn of Delta Central Senatorial District to produce Governor Ifeanyi Okowa’s successor in line with the existing senatorial district rotation among the three districts.
He pleaded with the people of Delta South and North senatorial district to maintain the rotational formula to foster peace among the people of the state.
The UPU PG further added, “The Urhobo are forward-looking people who are conscious of the imperative of change. It is not lost on us that Nigeria is undergoing a kind of tumult that will ultimately engender a new dawn. What then is Urhobo doing to negotiate a place for its future in the anticipated dawn?
“This is where I have envisioned and encapsulated an URHOBO AGENDA. A Think Tank has been at work drafting what will be the URHOBO AGENDA with which we will engage our people, Nigeria, and the world.
“In crafting an URHOBO AGENDA we took a hard and dispassionate look at the Nigeria of yesterday, today, and what it would be like tomorrow. What we offer as the URHOBO AGENDA will begin by evaluating our present predicament in Nigeria and then come up with a blueprint of a new deal with Nigeria.
“An URHOBO AGENDA must of necessity focus on our endangered environment which has been laid waste by years of crude oil exploitation and exploration. To begin with, the Urhobo people will be demanding reparation of One Trillion Naira from the Federal Government of Nigeria and the oil multinationals for the many years of resource plunder and environmental degradation. In line with this, we demand an environmental remediation programme for communities that were negatively impacted by oil exploration such as Erhoike, Erhobaro-Orogun, Imodje-Orogun, Afiesere, Evwreni, Erhuemukohwarien, and others.
“Urhobo Unity, Language, History, and Culture
Our AGENDA will look inward to consolidate our unity and the true essence of Urhobo ovuovo. We are also taking measures to reclaim our language which is already threatened by extinction. We must salvage our history and culture. To this end, the UPU will continue to work with the Urhobo Historical Society (UHS) and the Urhobo Studies Association (USA).
“An URHOBO AGENDA should redirect our interest to agriculture and the attendant empowerment and wealth creation advantages tied to it. This will culminate in the industrialization of Urhoboland. We are calling on both the State and Federal Governments to create an enabling environment by curbing insecurity and providing constant electricity for Urhoboland to be attractive to investors.
“Urhoboland can be an investors’ destination and production hub. The Okugbe Micro Finance Bank will drive a revolution in Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Urhoboland. The Sapele Port has to be revived, the moribund Delta Steel Company must come alive, and the African Timber and Plywood in Sapele must be made to work. An URHOBO AGENDA will encourage Nigerian and foreign investors to revive the many other moribund industries across the length and breadth of Urhoboland.
“The Warri factor is also an item on the URHOBO AGENDA. The Urhobo presence and identity in Warri can never be undermined. While we will continue to live peacefully with our neighbours in Warri, we will not allow the erasure of what Warri is to the Urhobo and what the Urhobo are to Warri.”
“Tackling the monster of insecurity is also cardinal to the URHOBO AGENDA. While calling on the Federal and State Governments to take the necessary steps at combating this ogre, the UPU is also deploying an internal mechanism to secure Urhoboland. We shall ensure that all of Urhoboland from Ugbenu to Uwheru is secured.
“2023 and a Delta Governor of Urhobo Extraction
The UPU strongly supports the emergence of a Delta State Governor of Urhobo extraction in 2023. The Urhobo have been supportive of rotation on the basis of Senatorial Districts as a recipe for peace. Equity and justice in Delta State and we shall continue to do so.
“The URHOBO AGENDA seeks to build alliances with our neighbours and other ethnic nationalities in the South-South and beyond to work out a new destiny for Nigeria as she totters towards a new beginning. To this end, while the URHOBO AGENDA does not support secessionist agitation, it aligns with the call for the restructuring of Nigeria, in line with the tenets of federalism.
“We support the call for the relocation of the headquarters of all oil companies to the Niger Delta. We align with the position that election results should be electronically transmitted. We support the State’s collection of the Value Added Tax (VAT), the enactment of Anti-Open Grazing Laws, the establishment of State Police, and other such progressive factors that will make Nigeria great.
“The UPU has come a long way and we are rolling out the drums in celebration and reflections. From 29th November to December 5th, we call on all Urhobo people wherever they are to join us at Uvwiamuge-Agbarho. We have also sent out invitations to other ethnic nationalities as well as other people of goodwill from far and wide to join us as we commemorate 90 years of UPU’s existence.”
