…call for more Ijaw states
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, and a former military administrator of old Rivers State and King of Brass Kingdom, Alfred Diette-Spiff and other leaders have celebrated one of the founding fathers of the state, the late King Geoffery Filinti Aganaba.
They spoke at the 25th remembrance anniversary of the late King Aganaba in Yenagoa at the weekend.While Jonathan was represented by a former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd), Spiff was represented by King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV, Ibenanaowei of Ekpetiama Kingdom.
Jonathan appealed to Ijaw people to rally round one another, describing the late Aganaba as a man with an exemplary lifestyle.
He said: “Succeeding generations will come and judge us with standards far higher than what we have now.”
“What Aganaba has done, you learn these things so that the children will know that these things are possible. Most of our children didn’t grow from home. They stayed in Lagos, they stayed in Abuja; so they don’t actually know.
“But it is by studying what people of this calibre have done; the self sacrifices they have made to get us to this point that we can actually know that yes, we have a duty to this state.”
Diri, on his part, recalled that the founding fathers had requested for three states before the late military head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha, created Bayelsa.
Describing the Ijaw as the fourth largest ethnic nationality in the country, Diri lauded the late Aganaba for his contributions to the creation of Bayelsa but said it was not the end of the agitation for more Ijaw states.
Also, Diete-Spiff said that late Aganaba was pivotal to the creation of Bayelsa. He said: “The late Aganaba was born at a time when it was difficult to go to school, when he took 28 days to get to Lagos by canoe and then later when he took three days to get to Lagos by engine boat. In spite of all these odds, he was able to make to primary school, secondary school and the university.
He also has children numbered as many as 24 and all of them got to the level of getting university education and they are contributing to the development of this world in diverse fields.”
