Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa has urged the Ijaw nation, particularly the youths, to reflect on and embody the ideals of discipline, selflessness, and justice that the late Major Isaac Boro stood for.
Governor Diri made this call during the Boro Day celebration and wreath-laying ceremony at the Heroes Park in Yenagoa.
The governor emphasised that Boro sacrificed his life fighting for the Ijaw nation’s rights and advised the youths to celebrate their ethnic hero with honour and integrity.
“Let us celebrate our hero with sobriety, honour, and integrity. Was Isaac Adaka Boro a criminal? Was he a selfish man? Did he sacrifice and fight for his people? These are questions we must ask ourselves when we embark on the journey of celebrating a man like Boro,” he said.
Diri also charged the youths to abhor crime and cultism, noting that the recent resurgence of cultism must stop.
“The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) and Ijaw National Congress (INC) must work with government to put an end to cultism.
”We are close to another political season, and such vices must stop in this state,” he added.
The governor responded to the IYC president’s request to declare Boro Day a public holiday, saying the state executive council would deliberate and take a decision on it.
He also addressed the INC president’s request on preserving the Ijaw language and identity, saying that the government was working towards establishing a full-fledged Ijaw language department at the Niger Delta University.
Also, the Commissioner for Ijaw National Affairs, Chief Godspower Oporomo, urged the Ijaw people to live by the ideals Boro stood for while championing their cause.
The INC President, Professor Benjamin Okaba, advised that the Ijaws should remember Boro’s values of justice, peace, and truth during the celebration.
On his part, the IYC President, Comrade Jonathan Lokpobiri, noted that the issues Boro fought for were still prevalent in the Niger Delta, but the region had made progress.
The Chairman of the state’s Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo, lauded the Diri administration for directing the affairs of the IYC and INC aright.
The event’s highlight was the laying of wreaths at Boro’s tomb by Governor Diri, Okaba, Dakolo, Lokpobiri, Boro’s children, and the state council of Nigerian Legions.
