…Says there is no war between them and Ikwerre
By: Felix Ikpotor
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide has blamed leaders of the various struggle platforms in Ijaw nation for escalating the crisis in Rivers State which led to a declaration of state of emergency by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
President of IYC, Jonathan Lokpobiri while speaking at a stakeholders meeting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State said if the Ijaw nation had applied wisdom and encouraged dialogue instead of threatening fire and brimstone the emergency rule which he described as “an embarrassing moment for the nation” would have been avoided.
He regretted that some leaders of struggle platforms took advantage of the situation to drag Ijaw nation into a war they are not prepared for in a matter that could have been nipped in the bud through dialogue.
“I can with all sense of responsibility and conviction state that if we had applied wisdom in the management of this crisis in Rivers State, we would not be where we are today. Sometimes, instead of using wisdom in matters we can nip in the bud, we chose to threaten war in a battle we are not prepared for.
“People in the name of struggles platforms even in matters we can nip in the bud and caution ourselves internally, would rather engage the media and threaten war thereby giving the enemy the opportunity to fortify himself for it and when the war comes we no longer speak,” he said.
He said Ijaw leaders should learn from the situation in Rivers State and avoid making reckless and unguarded statements, saying; “This must be a lesson to all of us. It doesn’t make you a man to speak carelessly and recklessly in an attempt to pull an entire ethnic group into a war that is avoidable.
“When we chose the path of consultation, we knew why we did so. For those who threatened fire and brimstone, the war actually came and I didn’t hear those voices anymore,” he added.
He said the Ijaw nation must be wise in prosecuting the struggled of the Niger Delta, stating that if past leaders of the region had went about their struggles like it is done now, nobody would have respected the Ijaw nation.
Lokpobiri maintained that leaders of the region should be cautioned against making unguarded statements.
The IYC President used the occasion to declare that there is no war between Ijaw nation and the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, stressing that if Ikwerre had responded to the threats from the Ijaw nation, there could have been war in Rivers State.
Lokpobiri emphasized that whilest he wants Governor Siminalayi Fubara to return as quickly as possible to finish his tenure strongly, he however advised that; “We must use our heads rather than the emotions that we are spilling out there”.
He equally advised youths of the region to sometimes apply wisdom in the struggle rather than threats.
