A former Federal Commissioner for Information, Chief Edwin
Clark, has claimed that the Federal Government has abandoned the Ijaw ethnic
nationality.
He said the suffering and under-development of the region,
“is worse than that of the almajiris up North.”
Calrk made this statement when he played host to the Ijaw
Professionals’ Association, IPA, Homeland chapter.
According to the elder statesman, the Federal Government was
not committed to developing the Niger Delta region to the taste of the people.
He urged political leaders to utilize funds accruable to the
region for the development of the area.
Speaking shortly after the meeting, Clark said, “Nobody who
lives upland in this country will ever appreciate the suffering we have been
living with.
We live in water, yet we have no water to drink. We have no
healthcare, no schools, no roads, yet we produce the resources that oil the
wheel of this country.
“Those exploiting the oil in our land have been very
selfish, unjust and oppressive. They want to perpetually own the resources and
we say no.
“There are even people who believe that for the Federal
Government to exploit our oil, we should be removed from the area to make it
easier to shortchange us. God will never agree with them. They say we are
militants. Who would stay in his own house and allow a stranger to come and
pour sand on his head? We will continue to fight for our God-given rights.”
Source:dailypost.ng
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