URHOBOS TURN TO REGAIN DELTA GOVERNORSHIP: TAIGA, UPU SHOULD STEP UP OR KEEP SILENT

.... By Zik Gbemre.

The parochial, divisive politics Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) President General (PG), Olorogun Moses Taiga was captured declaring in a recent viral video is most contemptuous of his office.

It's not the place of UPU to go about begging support of ethnic neighbors to support Urhobo for a Delta governorship that has rotated back to Central.

It's more reprehensible that Taiga would categorically declare Urhobo's oath to support Ijaws above other ethnic neighbors when the governorship rotates back to Delta South.

In case Taiga isn't informed, Isoko was part of Urhobo when UPU was founded, so it's misnomer to say Ijaws are the closest to the Urhobos.

One of the challenges Urhobo nation will continue to suffer, unless there is urgent change intervention, is the shame of allowing inarticulate leaders to hijack the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) which is seen worldwide as the apex social cultural leadership organ of the proud ethnic nation we are. 

Listening to lousy incumbent UPU President General (PG), Olorogun Moses Taiga recently present, apparently to an Ijaw audience, Urhobo's interest building among Delta ethnic neighbors towards reclaiming the tacit rotational governorship, I couldn't help but wonder, how did we degenerate so bad?

Olorogun Moses Taiga, PG, UPU Worldwide

When has it become decorum that for a senatorial zone, most populous at that, whose turn it is to reoccupy Government House Asaba, to be accorded that privilege, UPU, has to play lead lobbyist to openly beg ethnic neighbors to support Urhobo to reclaim its rotated turn? 

Hear UPU PG, to an Ijaw audience, "What Urhobo need, is what you Ijaw need. I've appointed a Committee headed by my Deputy, to go round all the tribes in Delta, to solicit" ... that the rotation PDP started with James Ibori has turned full circle and it's Urhobo's turn again to become Governor." 

No one is saying UPU should be apolitical, but for crying loud, it's not the place of UPU to be the PDP chief lobbyist, going round all the tribes in Delta, cap in hand begging ethnic neighbors to support Urhobo on a tacit rotation everyone has accepted.  

Such busy body should be left for the political parties. Rather than go about begging other tribes in Delta, UPU should be demanding that ethnic nationalities in Delta should respect the rotation at the turn of Urhobo. 

If Taiga and his parochial UPU are bereft of ideas on the proper attitude to canvass Urhobo government under the rotation, then they must take a cue from the position of the Asagba of Asaba.  

For the Asaba monarch, the tacit rotation over Delta governorship remains in force. And it's the turn of Urhobo to reclaim the office. So what Urhobo, indeed, UPU needs to do is to advocate that not only should the contending political parties ensure that they give tickets to Delta Central, the Urhobo ticket bearers must also be deservingly up to the task. 

UPU should not waste it's lean resources begging ethnic neighbors up and down. They should urge all contending parties in Delta Central to ensure that they present the best resourceful aspirants. When the PDP started the rotation, was UPU needed to promote it to make it workable? 

Even, assuming without conceding that being beggarly before ethnic minorities in Delta is the wisest thing UPU can do to bring back the governorship to Delta Central, why did Taiga have to stir divisive bargaining to pass the message, by not only sounding partisan, but declaring a parochial Urhobo's promise to specifically support Ijaw for governor after next Urhobo eight years. For Taiga, the petty bias is that Ijaw is the closest ethnic neighbor to Urhobo. 

Hear Taiga again,  "When we have done our eight years again, we will look to our nearest neighbors. Of course,  Kiagbodo is half a kilometer from Ovwodokpokpor town of Ughelli South LGA. Which means our nearest neighbors are the Ijaws.  

"When we were elected 2017, we said we would work with our neighbors. And nobody can be nearer the Urhobos than the Ijaws. So we are pleading with you that please ..." support us so we will support you. 

How thoughtless, unguarded and insensitive can UPU leadership under Taiga be? When the rotation goes back to Delta South, why should it be the place of UPU to openly decide which ethnic group in Delta South should be governor? Why would Taiga be so insensitive to the plight of Isokos that he has to be categorical about Urhobo supporting Ijaw when the rotation reverts to Delta South. 

This is same Taiga who has announced wasting UPU's fund to send a Committee across Delta to beg other ethnic groups. So how do you expect the Isokos to support Urhobo this time around since you already categorically declared support and closer ties for the Ijaw nation? 

Finally, how did Taiga came to the conclusion that Kiagbodo's proximity to Ovwodokpokpor Olomu now makes Ijaws closer to Urhobo than Isokos to Urhobo. If Taiga and his shallow minded UPU leadership don't have enough sense of history, they need to be told that the UPU which they now lead started with Isokos as one and same ethnic leaning as the rest of the Urhobos. 

Yes, Isoko was part of Urhobo until the divisive politics of Mid-West let Isokos break away in anger in 1963. If Taiga has no idea how to present issues, he mustn't be the only one to speak. Other Urhobo leaders that are more articulate can hold brief for him. Or better still UPU should work within Delta Central. Let the parties do the trash talking. 

Zik Gbemre

 

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