The former Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in Delta State, Brother Emmanuel Ogidi has urged the people of the Isoko ethnic nationality as a matter of survival to relinquish the lifestyle of following the norms of other ethnic nations.
He stressed the need for the people to return to the basis of their existence and move, speak and act in their best interests, core values and shared vision.
Ogidi made this known during his keynote lecture titled; “Isoko People And Her Neighbours – A Comparison In Growth And Development”, at the first edition of Delta Pillars of Development Awards/Book Launch at the Mano Event Centre Oleh, Isoko South Local Government Area, Delta State.
“Isoko was the second nation where crude oil was discovered over fifty years ago. It is a tragedy that no Isoko nation community can boast of constant electricity while other locations without natural gas continue to enjoy 24/7 electricity”, he noted
He emphasized that the anomaly should be the rallying cry of leaders of Isoko today and he is sure that if they decide on it as a shared vision, it will be an easily achievable goal.
“What is the shared vision of Isoko nation? Do we have a shared vision?” he questioned, maintaining that every nation rises on it core of its shared vision and aspirations.
He wondered what could be the “yardstick to measure growth and development when we don’t have anything to compare the journey of growth with.
Ogidi said: “The emergence of Isoko nation as a growing and developing nation must be based on a shared vision and aspiration. It is not a concept, it has been the true way of all nations. Every successful nation found a way to translate its core values into a blueprint for growth and development.
“This activity which in some cases is called Policy and in other cases is called master plan became the bible that shed the light on the way of moving from one reality to another reality. There is no other way to translate the growth of a nation except to see their vision and plans”.
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He lamented the republican and self-governance nature of Isoko citizenry which has become the undoing of the growth and development of Isoko nation stating that leadership is a result of structure, structure is a result of accepted goals and accepted goals is a result of shared vision and objective that nothing is achieved in a vacuum of vision, a plan and leadership.
He noted that there was a time due to the coastal terrain of Isoko when you needed both land and water transportation to reach many Isoko communities. Education was restricted to only urban communities of the Isoko nation. Medical facilities were also far off. We have not achieved much yet but we are better due to individual and collective efforts of our leaders in their various fields.
Brother Ogidi also acknowledged that the Isoko nation has moved forward in various endeavours, in terms of infrastructure, education, energy and human capital development. Isoko citizens have excelled in various fields. Have their exploits moved us to our desired location? The answer is emphatically no, but we must be grateful that we are not where we were and critically review where we are and we need to do more to move forward.
He affirmed that “The need to develop a clear plan for which the Isoko nation can move forward is more critical than ever. If this must be done, we need to utilize and believe in the leadership of Isoko nation. Progress can only happen in the platform of unity of purpose not in intra-quarter, intra-community wars.
He commended the sacrifice of many leaders who endured many hurdles including lack of a master plan for the nation, criticism and backstabbing from their own ethnic nationality in order to push the Isoko nation forward.
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