FOR about six years now, the Urhobo ethnic nationality, a single majority in Delta state and forth largest ethnic group in Nigeria has paraded a double UPU, meaning Urhobo Progress Union. One UPU is headed by Chief Joe Omene as President General and the other UPU has Chief Moses Izeze Taiga as President-General. Whereas, Chief Omene emerged President-General in the December 3, 2015 Annual Urhobo National Congress, AUNC, the AUNC of January 6, 2016 produced Chief Taiga as another President-General. Thus, for almost six years now, Urhobo has been in a fix as to who is her authentic President-General.
The matter,for me is simple one. And I raised it at the UPU Port Harcourt branch. One, the UPU has a governing constitution. So, the issues are: Who does the constitution say can appoint an UPU Electoral Committee or can contest for the position of UPU President-General? Who does the constitution give power to summon the AUNC? Which month or time of the year does the constitution provide for the AUNC and UPU National Election to hold? Can the appointment of Electoral Committee which did not comply with the provisions of the constitution produce an authentic, lawful and valid UPU President-General? These questions no doubt terrified and upturned the branch president who stepped down a discussion on the matter. And just like the Port Harcourt branch, no segment of Urhobo was willing to face the truth and righteously give an answer to those questions. Thus, in the absence of any patriotic and genuine concern from any quarter to amicably resolve the matter in the spirit of love, unity, justice and peace, Chief Omene who probably did not want this charade to repeat itself in Urhobo a second time, took the matter to the Federal High Court,FHC sitting in Warri, where the whole world has been watching Urhobo wash her dirty lining at the public square for almost six years now. Surprisingly, the court has not been able to deliver judgment on the matter.
I cannot exactly say if there are unseen powers that tie down people’s cases at the FHC Warri. My friend suffered a very frustrating and terrible experience in that court under the former judge, now transferred to FHC Port Harcourt. In a pre-election matter of unlawful exclusion and where the defendant tendered in court two conflicting and self-inflicting results of the said primary election and three years almost gone into a tenure of four years, and for which the matter was brought to court, the court never ceased to give suspicious long adjournments, all in an effort to frustrate the plaintiff case. At a time, the plan to deliberately avoid sitting on adjourned dates became visible to all that my friend had to petition the CJN to ask for a transfer for his case from the Warri court. His petition was granted and the case was transferred to FHC Asaba. All this narration would become unnecessary if the court had delivered judgment on the UPU matter. Again, if Urhobo had done the needful, pursue love with her two sons. But Urhobo chooses to kill Peter to please Paul, forgetting that not all Paul would accept injustice and oppression.
Unfortunately, this divisive, anti-social, ungodly and self-destructive practice is becoming a trend in Urhobo, especially for members of Urhobo Social Clubs who are now finding it fashionable to sponsor or fan the amber of crisis at the UPU. It’s no longer news that the imbroglio that brought about double UPU at the National Headquarters was sponsored by members of the Urhobo Social Club, Lagos. Recently, the UPU Port Harcourt suffered a similar moral attack when members of the Urhobo Solidarity Club in Port Harcourt invaded a peaceful election. It was a desecration of values and all that is rational, equitable, lawful and just, particularly the UPU constitution.
It’s sad when normal men make a normal system abnormal. The result is mockery, loss of integrity and respect. Not for any value principle, rational or progressive consideration, but just for a fleeting bravado that they are members of one social club together with the incumbent president, Chief Felibens Okoro, hitherto very respected chiefs and academic scholars mortgaged their honour and offered themselves to be used against an established constitutional procedure and general will of the people. Most challenging is that these men are not registered members of the UPU. They don’t attend the UPU monthly meetings and don’t contribute ideas towards its development and effectiveness. Certainly for them, it’s not a concern whether the UPU and Urhobo move forward or not, but that ‘our club member must remain as president’. They actually threw caution to the wind, brought everyone to a standstill yet these are men who by privilege of western education are in position to lighten the path of their people and community. In Port Harcourt, Urhobo has a crowd of academic scholars, successful businessmen and women, industry captain and tens of well-paid expertise workers, but come to the UPU it remains like a lonely child without siblings in town. And that is because it has a leadership that lacks a potential and have to galvanize, harness and inspire the people.
As seen in Lagos and now in Port Harcourt is a pointer that Urhobo is gradually sinking into an annual farm-where no one has a mind for truth, justice and unity. It’s becoming a scenario where dog eats dog. No doubt, the UPU endless court case at the FHC Warri is a mockery on the Urhobo collective sensibility. Fortunately, Urhobo has several forums. It has the Forum of Traditional Rulers Council, Form of Kingdom President-General, Forum of men of God and many others yet a case involving not just two Urhobo prominent sons but indeed Urhobo umbrella body is left to linger in court for about six years now without any noticeable and genuine intervention from any quarter. And that is because everyone has allegiance somewhere. Today, sources of kolanut support, garden eggs and groundnut have become important determinants of loyalty in Urhobo. Nobody wants his sources of freebies cut off, and so Urhobo has become a community of deaf and dumb. Yes, nobody wants to offend governor Okowa who is been fingered in the UPU case.
Does Urhobo really need to allow this matter to linger in court? As it is, the matter has overstayed in court. Chief Taiga has completed a first tenure of three years and by January 6, 2023 he would be completing six years in office as UPU President-General. The question is: What purpose will the court judgment serve? But if peradventure, the court decided against Taiga then, what level of restitution will be sufficient to compensate for the material and psychological trauma he has taken UPU and Urhobo through? What amount of apology can Urhobo offer to Omene?For eight good years Urhobo clapped hands and danced round Governor Uduaghan, even when there were no tangible government investments in the state to justify his re-election, Urhobo insisted it must be Uduaghan for second tenure. And for seven years now, Urhobo has been beating the drum of loyalty for Okowa even when they have nothing significant in their community to celebrate Okowa for. Pitiably, Urhobo who eulogized and celebrated Uduaghan and Okowa in failure, could not tolerate Omene as UPU President-General for just three years even when there is no billions of naira to steal at the UPU. It’s disappointing. It’s becoming a lion at home. Undoubtedly, when a people hold themselves in hatred and not in unity and love to harness their population potentials to attract development and respect of others, they will always remain backward and a subject of mockery. Today, Urhobo does not have any agenda to be recognized at the Federal Level but only to frustrate one another. May God help Urhobo.
Edafe,writes from Port Harcourt.
