It’s wrong to label Ijaw Youths kidnappers -Omare

Eric Omare, a lawyer, is the incumbent president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC). In the previous executive of the body he was the Secretary General. In this interview with ISAAC OLAMIKAN he talked about many of the issues affecting the body and also about the involvement of some Ijaw youths in kidnappings in Lagos and Ogun states axis.

What is the lateson the crisis that rocked your organisation, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) aftermath of your election as the president?
It is no strange thing that there was a pocket of disagreement in the IYC as soon as I got elected.

But we are working assiduously to put that behind us. I am appealing to all and sundry, especially the elderly ones, to sheathe their swords and join us in making the organisation to stand firm.

Have you reached out to those dissenting voices so that peace can reign?
We are working gradually towards achieving peace and unity so that we can speak as one voice thus enhancing our resolve to make life meaningful for our kindred.

How have you been handling the affairs of the IYC especially with the current internal crisis rocking it?
Our mandate as executive members is to fight our common cause; give our members a positive direction and seek a better life for our people.

We are working in that direction. There has been no distraction in this regard. As far as we are concern there is no faction in the IYC.

What we have are some few members who are aggrieved. Their grievances have nothing to do with my personality or the composition of my executive. There complaint is on the process of my emergence.

I am not a greenhorn in running the affairs of the association. Before now I was the Secretary General of the association in the immediate past executive. I have enough understanding of the issues as it affects the day to day running of the association.

In your maiden press briefing as president of the IYC you did promise to go round the different clans where you have Ijaw people and sensitise them of your blueprint and all that. How far have you gone with this?
I have been doing that. The idea is to give most of these people a sense of belonging. To let them know that they have not been forgotten or neglected.

In the course of the trip we have been to Edo where we discussed with those in Gelegele. We are not stopping just now.

We still have many other communities we are duty bound to go. This idea is sort of giving those who seem to be voiceless a voice.

Not long ago, acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo ordered the multinational oil companies to relocate their operational headquarters to the Niger Delta where they do their exploration. From your assessment what is the level of compliance?
The pronouncement by Professor Yemi Osinbajo was concise and timely. There is no way that oil concerns will take oil from the soil of the Niger Delta and when it comes to discussing vital issues relating to the lives of the people they would fix the meeting for Lagos.

The risk involved in such long distance travel for the locals is better imagined. Also the issue of corporate social responsibility and employment opportunities in the oil companies is better discussed where the exploration process is undertaken.

We pray that soon the whole issue would be a thing of the past and the compliance to the order would be 100 percent.

Recently, in Edo State Benin youths went around town saying that the Ijaw in Gelegele community in Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state are settlers. What is your take on this?
Like I said earlier, in the course of my team’s tour of Ijaw communities we were in Gelegele where we had the opportunity to address our people and advised them on how to live in peace with their neighbours.

Gelegele is a community whole dominated by the Ijaw. The community has been in existence for so many years and the people go about their businesses without let or hindrance.

This issue of settlers is just coming up because the state government has given hint of tapping into the commercial viability of the place by citing a seaport there.

My advice to the two brothers is that they should not let inconsequential issues separate them. We in the Niger Delta have suffered too much neglect.

Now that the wheel of change is here, we should not let minor issues to divide us and thus deprive us of our long sought for better living conditions.

In recent times, there has been a spate of high profile kidnappings in the Lagos and Ogun states axis whose execution and conceptualisation have been linked mostly to Ijaw youths. What will you say about this?
It is totally wrong to demonise Ijaw youths as being kidnappers. Kidnapping is a crime which should be so addressed.

When anybody commits a crime when the news is being read nobody would say specifically that those involved are from Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo ethnic nationality.

So, I am surprised that just now any issue of kidnapping would be described as a criminal act perpetuated by Ijaw militants. This is a creation of some media establishments especially in Lagos.

I have severally complained about this to the management of the media organisations that are particularly prone to this act. IYC doesn’t support criminality.

It is not ideal that some people should under whatever guise resort to criminality. Such persons should be dealt with in line with the laws of the land when they are caught. They should not be treated with kids’ gloves.