By NIGER Delta-born environmental rights activist and peace advocate, Comrade Sheriff Mulade, has strongly appealed to and cautioned the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, over his public attacks and expressions of hostility towards the Ijaw nation due to personal political conflicts and interests.
The peace ambassador and development advocate, who hails from the Ijaw ethnic group, has urged Minister Wike to tread carefully to avoid creating a false impression and instigating animosity between the Ijaw people and their Ikwerre neighbours in Rivers State and beyond.
He emphasised that the Ijaw people are not at war with the Ikwerre over the Rivers State Government House, which does not belong to any individual but to all peace-loving people of the state.
“It has become necessary to formally appeal to and caution the former Rivers State Governor and now FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, who is a lawyer and Life Bencher, to manage his anger and inflammatory comments.
“His expressions of hatred must cease to prevent ethnic conflict. He should also stop insulting and attacking Ijaw elders and leaders, both living and deceased, over Rivers State’s political affairs.
“We respect you as a former governor of our dear state, a state that Ijaw leaders sacrificed their lives to create in 1967,” Mulade stated.
He further highlighted that the Ijaw nation’s population and influence in Nigeria, particularly in the Niger Delta, are undisputed.
He urged Wike to stop inciting hatred against the innocent people of the region, noting that Ijaw people, as Nigerians, have the right to aspire to govern states such as Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Edo, and Delta, and even to hold the position of FCT Minister in the future.
“Your Excellency, our most admired FCT Minister today, Barrister Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, it is important to remind you that the Ikwerre are the Ijaw’s closest neighbours, and the Ijaw are the Ikwerre’s strongest partners.
“You are a product and great beneficiary of that relationship. For the sake of peace, unity, and the development of our dear state and region, let us embrace the South African proverb Ubuntu: I am because you are, and you are because I am,” he said.
Mulade concluded by reminding Wike that Rivers people have always shared a bond as Niger Deltans and that political interests should not lead to the destruction of peace or the creation of anarchy.
“We must tread with caution because power is transient,” he added.
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