| Urhobo Historical Society |
in the Socio-economic and Political Development of the Urhobo Nation
Associate Director/Head of Research, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group
Being paper
delivered at the Annual Atamu Day of the Atamu Social Club of
Nigeria,
held at University of Lagos, Akoka, on Saturday, March 20, 2004.
It is my great
honour and
pleasure to be part of this august gathering. I thank the organizers of
the
event for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you about
one of
the most critical strategies for engineering desired social change,
namely,
networking.
Our assembling today constitutes a special forum for us to reflect on
our
journey so far and to identify those areas we have not fared well and
how to
collectively move the Urhobo nation forward. I am not here to berate
anyone but
I must state one fact: if the Urhobo nation succeeds, we all have
succeeded; if
it fails, we all have failed. But as a nation with enormous human and
natural
endowment, the Urhobo have no business with failure. And because we
have not
done very well collectively as the sixth largest ethnic group in
The
Urhobo Nation
Distinguished
ladies and
gentlemen, before delving into the business of the day; permit me to
briefly
refresh our mind on who we are and where we are coming from. As I
earlier
mentioned, the Urhobo nation today remains the sixth largest ethnic
community
in
In terms of human
resources,
we have produced and are still producing great and notable sons and
daughters
in all fields of human endeavour. There is hardly any field where an
Urhobo son
or daughter, either in the country or in Diaspora has not excelled. We
have
also produced prominent and forthright leaders, who have fought in
various
capacities for the progress of our people. Amongst them are Chief
Jereton Mariere
(whose statue we are commissioning today), Chief Mukoro Mowoe, Chief
Omohwovo Okoro,
the founder of the Urhobo Brotherly Society (now Urhobo Progress
Union), Chief Agboter,
Chief M. G. Ejaife, Chief Adogbeji Salubi, Chief David Ejoor, Senator
D. O.
Dafinone, the Ibrus and of course, our illustrious son, the present
Executive
Governor of Delta State, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, just to mention a
few. We
have also able-bodied youth as epitomized in Atamu Social Club of
Nigeria, a
club that has brought to the fore the exemplary leadership qualities
inherent
in the youths of the Urhobo land. We as a people were known to be
highly
united, with strong cultural background, despite some minor linguistic
differences that exist among some of the clans. But of late, we have
begun to
allow personal and narrow interests to becloud our sense of collective
interests and corporate survival. We have existed as a nation and must
remain a
nation for the progress and development of Urhobo land.
In recent times,
the Urhobo
nation has started to witness a gradual but progressive marginalization
in the
scheme of things in the Nigerian federation. In spite of our enormous
human and
natural resources and contribution to the common wealth of
Our people live
daily in fear
of the unknown; we kill and destroy one another daily from external
incitement.
We lose gradually our greatest assets, the youths to war and different
forms of
crisis. Our land is increasingly being militarized and our people
intimidated
and molested at the least provocation. We are gradually losing grip of
the
development of our land and the human resources, and urgent attention
is
required to address the situation. The onus of moving the land forward
falls on
all of us. We must redirect our energies and work assiduously as a
united and
forward-looking people.
There has been an
on-going
call for our people to unite and have one strong voice to achieve our
common
vision. We cannot continue to allow our nation to be exploited and
destroyed
without running to its aid. With our heavy contribution to the wealth
of this
nation, we do not deserve to be marginalized in any form and at
whatever level.
As it is, the Urhobo nation has nothing to show for the enormous oil
wealth in
the area. As a result, there is increased poverty and frustration and
unemployment among the army of youths. We cannot watch our proceeds
being
massively used for the development of other parts of the country while
our
people remain in abject poverty. Allow me to illustrate this with one
example.
The power generating station at Ogorode district of Sapele was expected
to
serve Sapele and other surrounding communities. But this was not to be;
rather
the electricity was fed into the national grid to serve privileged
areas in
other parts of the country, while the people living around the source
of power
stayed in perpetual darkness, unlike other areas where such generating
stations
were sited, like the Shiroro and Kainji dams, and Egbin Thermal
station. How
can one justify or rationalize this gross injustice.
As I said earlier,
I am not
here to berate anyone, but remembering such things makes me weep for
our
people, because rather than seek for useful solutions to all these, we
allow
our minds to be dissuaded, seeking selfish and narrow ends at the
expense of
collective interests. There is a serious task which involves developing
the
area, empowering the people and ensuring that the Federal Government
concedes
sufficient compensation to our land that bear the brunt of
environmental
degradation and other sundry problems associated with oil exploration.
We have
what it takes to actualize our dreams and vision for the Urhobo land
and one
possible way of realizing this great vision is through networking.
What is
networking?
There are no fixed
definitions for “networking.” The term is used in many ways and has a
variety
of meanings to different people. Of all the available definitions, I
would like
to conceptualize networking along the thoughts of Professor Paul
Starkey.
According to him, “networking is a process by which two or more
individuals or
communities collaborate to achieve common goals.” Networking can also
be seen
as the communication and exchange processes by which an extended group
of
people with similar interests or concerns interact and remain in
contact for
mutual assistance and support. Networking is a means to an end.
Networks are
increasingly
important, whether local, national or international. People talk about
networks
in communities, in businesses and in organizations. For some people,
networking
seems just another jargon. But many organizations and, more recently,
communities now recognize networking as a valuable means of sharing
information, of furthering common objectives and values, and most
importantly,
as a strategy for promoting socio-economic and political growth and
development
of communities and nations.
Basically, there
are two main
types of networking-bonding (i.e. associative networking) an bridging
(i.e. dissociative
networking). Bonding involves the sharing of information among people
with
common characteristics, norms or belief systems. It is a horizontal
form of
networking, and one would say that networking by the Urhobo people
today is
largely of the bonding type. On the other hand, dissociative
networking
(bridging) involves building alliances across cultural boundaries for
strategic
reasons. The use of dissociative networking has been described by
networking
experts as the most potent strategy for advancing community development
efforts, especially in a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and politically
complex
nation as
In
Characteristics
of a network
Most networks have
some or
all of the following characteristics. They are:
* Venues for social
action
through exchange and mutual learning.
* Sustained through
some form
of communication and information sharing.
* Committed
to a
jointly-developed structure and shared responsibility.
* Based
on
commitment to shared objectives and means of action.
* A group of
communities/organizations and or individuals who come together to
pursue joint
goals or common interests.
Benefits
of networking
Individuals, groups
and
communities consciously or unconsciously engaged in networking because
the
socio-economic and political problems and issues that they face on a
daily
basis (especially in a competitive environment such as ours) are too
large and
weighty for them to tackle on their own.
Networking is used
as a
strategy of giving greater impact to individual or group efforts. It
involves
synergy and has become highly fashionable in moving communities forward
across
the globe. We must learn to synergise efforts through bond networking
and, more
importantly, strategic alliances with other ethnic nationalities to
fast-track
our efforts at socio-economic and political growth and transformation.
No human
being or community is an island, and we cannot do it alone.
Basically,
networking will
help us as a group to:
* Accomplish those
things we
cannot accomplish alone – complex development problems and issues that
seem
overwhelming, e.g. resource control and real political and fiscal
devolution of
power to states and local governments.
* Influence others,
within
and outside the network.
* Promote
exchange of
ideas, information, knowledge, insights, experiences and skills through
cooperative programmes and arrangements.
* Provide a needed
sense of
solidarity, moral and psychological support.
* Link people of
different
levels, disciplines, communities and background.
* Broaden the
understanding of an issue or struggle by bringing together different
constituencies.
* Provide the
critical mass
needed for local and national advocacy and lobbying – networking has
been quite
useful and successful at influencing decision-makers both within and
outside
the network.
* Reduce
duplicating efforts
and wasting of resources.
* Open
opportunities,
strengthen and sustain capacities.
* Under certain
circumstances, mobilize financial resources for development.
Problems
of networking
Networks all over
the world
can face many organizational problems. Some of these are structural and
financial in nature, while others relate to more subtle networking
matters.
Most networks tend to have different levels of membership; a core of
critical
agenda-setters and activists, and a periphery of user-members. The
first are
key, as the ‘spark-plugs’ and leaders of the group … generally
interested and
persuasive, knowledgeable and respected. The latter are people who
belong to
the network, but operate as members-at-large, using its information and
products, but not contributing much of their own inputs. Some members
of this
category may constitute the black-sheep of the network and may at some
occasions work at the background to derail the efforts of the networks
or do
things to tarnish the image and reputation of the group. It is on
record that
some Urhobo sons and daughters use their respective privileged
positions not
only to advance their selfish interests but in the process work to
undermine
the collective interests of the Urhobo nation. It must be mentioned at
this
point that unity, cooperation and solidarity constitute the key
building blocks
of networking. Their absence remains a threat to the group’s vision and
aspirations.
Networks can also
easily
become dominated by some powerful and highly influential members, and
personal
interests maybe promoted as collective interests. Sometimes, jealousies
and
rivalries may become the order of the day among some of the influential
members, to the extent that the objectives and vision of the group are
undermined. In all of these, there must be effective leadership to
ensure
sufficient internal cooperation and unity to enable members to see the
value in
acting collectively to build for the common good of the group. As
things are,
it appears we not only lack the charismatic leadership but the
principle of
shared values and oneness needed to move the Urhobo nation forward to
greater
heights.
Within the Urhobo
nation,
there are numerous socio-cultural groups and associations, but we must
understand that these associations, including the Urhobo Progress Union
(UPU),
as they are presently designed, run and managed, may not take Urhobo
land to
the Promised Land. Apart from the fact that many of them have existed
without
visible achievements and contributions to the well-being of the Urhobo
nation,
they remain crisis-ridden and private interest-driven platforms. Some
members
of these associations use them to profile themselves for government
favour in
terms of appointments and contracts at the expense of the collective
interests.
Their voices are never heard on critical national issues affecting the
Urhobo
nation and when it is necessary to act they turn blind eyes and keep
mum. Even
the UPU for close to three decades was incapacitated and completely
lost focus
due to the tough gale of leadership squabble and internal politics. I
am not
too sure right now if these malignant tendencies have been completely
removed
from the apex body of the Urhobo nation.
The challenge is
how to build
a formidable unifying force, capable of delivering results of
socio-economic
and political engineering for the present and future generations of the
Urhoboland. It is clear that given our continuing socio-economic and
political
marginalization, many of the Urhobo associations may not claim to have
discharged fully the responsibility and obligation of promoting the
well-being
of the Urhobo nation.
Way
forward
Distinguished
ladies and
gentlemen, all Urhobo sons and daughters have a key role to play in
ensuring
the socio-economic and political transformation of the Urhobo nation
not only
through bonding among ourselves but through strategic alliances and
building
bridges across our cultural boundaries with other ethnic nationalities.
This
requires the elimination of conflicts and crisis in our land, fostering
team
work, unity and cooperation, and articulating a “Marshal Plan” for the
rapid
development of the Urhobo nation. The UPU must live up to its
responsibilities
and work out programmes of coordinating the activities of the different
socio-cultural groups and associations in the land.
We should work
towards a
conference of all Urhobo socio-cultural groups and associations to be
held
annually, (different from the Urhobo National Day and devoid of
cultural
carnival) under the auspices of UPU to brainstorm and fine-tune
concrete
development strategies to move the Urhobo nation forward. All hands
must be on
deck to give Urhoboland the attention it deserves at this point in our
development
process. Any deliberate and serious effort to promote the
socio-economic and
political development of the Urhobo nation must be addressed through
strategic
alliances with other ethnic minorities especially in the South-South
zone. The
utility in this mechanism is enormous and if effectively utilized may
jump-start the economy of Urhoboland for rapid socio-economic and
political
transformation. The present-day Nigerian situation makes this mechanism
imperative for us to adopt.
Besides, it is
essential that
all Urhobo socio-cultural groups and associations synergise to adopt
consistent, coherent and transparent programmes for the development of
Urhoboland. There is a need to harmonize efforts, build consensus and
adopt
common strategies in tackling the various problems of development
confronting
the Urhobo nation.
I thank you for
your time and
patience and pray that God will help us to realize our dreams for the
Urhobo
nation.