Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State said the Ijaw Nation has made significant progress in human and infrastructural development after the demise of its hero, Major Isaac Adaka Boro, 55 years ago.
Governor Diri made the assertion during the 2023 Boro Day public lecture and dinner held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Banquet Hall at Government House in Yenagoa.
The Governor, who was represented by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said it was after Isaac Boro that the Ijaw nation was able to produce a President of Nigeria and several top-ranking public officeholders, including service chiefs in the armed forces.
He insisted that if Isaac Adaka Boro resurrected today he would be fully persuaded that the Ijaw ethnic group had gained more ground and momentum since his death in 1968.
His words: “I agree substantially with our lecturer this evening, Professor Ambily Etekpe, on the issues discussed, but I differ on when more progress was made in the Ijaw struggle.
“I believe that after Boro more mileage has been made, because Boro had paid the supreme price, which is the fertilizer that grows the tree of success and freedom.
“We have made steady progress even though we are not where we are supposed to be. But definitely we are not where we used to be.
“If Boro rose today, he would be persuaded that we have gained more ground because it is after Boro that a son of the Ijaw nation, a son of Bayelsa became President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is after Boro we have Ijaw sons emerging as Chief of Army Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff. So we have not done badly.”
Governor Diri who drew attention to Bayelsa’s infrastructural drive under his administration, said the state was not doing badly in comparative terms with states created alongside it in 1996.
He pointed out that Bayelsa currently has three functional state universities, an airport, and had expanded the road infrastructure it inherited from previous administrations.
The Governor, therefore, called on the elders, youths, women, intellectuals and other stakeholders to close rank with government to sustain what is already on the ground to achieve more for the state.
He said: “When you look at the indices of development, in comparative terms, Bayelsa is not doing badly. Today, we have three state-owned universities, and I don’t think any state created alongside Bayelsa can boast of three state universities.
“Our government has taken the frontiers of development by expanding on what Senator Seriake Dickson started, and that is why you can now conveniently drive from the Ecumenical Centre to the Amassoma Road.
“We have also awarded contract for the construction of the last phase of that road from the Amassoma to Onopa. Let’s sustain what we have, so that we can achieve more.”
