Chief Tonye Graham-Douglas accuses major ethnic groups of ganging up against the Ijaw

FORMER sports minister Chief Tonye Graham-Douglas has accused Nigeria's main ethnic groups of ganging up to deprive the Ijaws of the presidency but has called on the people of the south-south to regroup and reflect on the way back.

 

Speaking in Yenagoa yesterday at the fifth memorial lecture in honour of the late educationist and former transport commissioner in Bayelsa State Chief Nicholas Frank-Opigo, Chief Graham-Douglas said the Ijaw lost the presidency to the north due to intrigues, conspiracies, betrayals and manipulations. A former minister of youth, sports and culture, Chief Graham-Douglas, pointed out how the south-south geopolitical zone was born and the roles he and Chief Frank-Opigo played in its actualisation.

 

He that the development gave the zone the opportunity to produce the president of the country in President Goodluck Jonathan. Chief Graham-Douglas added that the mustard seed eventually grew to be one of the greatest political metamorphoses and eventually gave the minorities of the south-south geo-political zone the presidency.

 

Chief Graham-Douglas said: “The sojourn, as we observed was a giant stride with glorious acclamation, true emancipation and deliverance of the hitherto insignificant Ijaw nation. No sooner than was imagined, the situation suffered an infestation of political cankerworm, the consequence of which the centre, ethnically and parochially suffered, caving in.

 

“The up and coming impeccable Ijawness became incohesive with suspicion and mistrust, all culminating to the control by the evil spirit of politics defined as a concentric circle of intrigue, conspiracies, betrayals, manipulations and all kinds of societal rivalries. The ultimate resultant tsunami became inevitable and the greatest loser thereof became our great Ijaw nation and the south-south geopolitical region.”

 

However, Chief Graham-Douglas charged his Ijaw brothers and sisters not to despair, asking them to go back to the drawing board to critically re-examine themselves. He asked them to re-examine where they were coming from, where they are and where they intend to be in the evolving politics of the Ijaw nation and south-south geopolitical zone.

 

Also speaking at the occasion, the former governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, extolled the virtues of Chief Frank-Opigo. He said the former commissioner was a true purveyor of knowledge and invested his resources accordingly.