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Group tasks ‘Niger-Deltans’ to sustain Agitation

By Anietie Akpan, Calabar 
18 April 2021   |   3:20 am
Niger Delta people have been charged to keep alive the dreams behind the Niger Delta question and agitation, which late Senator Etang Umoyo stood for.

Niger Delta people have been charged to keep alive the dreams behind the Niger Delta question and agitation, which late Senator Etang Umoyo stood for.

Chairman of Senator Umoyo’s Media and Publicity Sub-committee, Mr. Ekong Sampson said the statesman worked for Nigeria and shared strong views about the Niger Delta question, which remains in the front burner of national discourse and is a reflection of the times that Senator Umoyo devoted a good chunk of his adult life, fighting for a better Nigeria, particularly a better Niger Delta.

“And to that extent, we in the Niger Delta owe him a duty of recognition, a duty of commitment of service, considering what he lived for, which was a better life for his people.”

 
Sampson, who is also Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Rural Development, said: “As we compare notes towards his burial, it’s important to note that he was a key driver of the Niger Delta agitation, which is being taken seriously within the context of a better Nigeria. I am happy that his people are rallying round his legacies. But beyond Esit Eket, Akwa Ibom South and Akwa Ibom itself, is the larger Nigerian space.”

He said as the Niger Delta question is on the front burner of national consciousness today, the people and the region should live his dreams.

“Questions such as regional integration and resource control will remain dominant within the context of the emerging Nigeria, and these were some of the thoughts that the late Umoyo shared in his life and times.

“He was fearless and he devoted his intellectual ability towards fighting for a better Nigeria and to this extent, his life also exemplified a challenge to intellectuals that you don’t just live a life of detachment. If you are an intellectual, you have to work with others towards a better society and you don’t retreat into a cocoon. But you must bring your capacity to bear in remaking Nigeria”.

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