BEVERLY HILLS, May 17, (THEWILL) –Â The Presidential Amnesty Programme Interim Administrator, Col. Millard Dikio (rtd), has urged the Ijaw ethnic nationality to embrace peace and unity to sustain the development of the Niger-Delta.
Dikio spoke while honouring the late hero and icon of the Ijaw struggle, Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, the leader of the famous “Twelve Day Revolution.”
Speaking at this year’s Isaac Boro Day celebration at the Kaiama ancestral home of the Ijaw hero, he said the liberation that Boro fought for and died for could only be achieved through no other means but dialogue, lobbying and collaboration with other stakeholders and working in unity.
He said in honour of the late freedom fighter, all stakeholders in the region must come together and work in synergy for the development of the Niger-Delta region.
Dikio insisted that with its rich endowment, the region must be united in purpose, and that it could only attain the expectations of Boro if all stakeholders closed their ranks and work in harmony.
He said: “In his latter days, Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro became known as a rebel with a cause which dovetailed into the armed struggle.
“We still believe in fighting for that which legitimately belongs to us: that we are part of a Federation with many moving parts. That means we need to adopt other strategies like dialogue, lobbying, collaboration and working in unity.
“In honour of the cherished memory of our beloved hero today, l want to enjoin all of us to come together as a people for the development and transformation of our region.
“We are a blessed people and we have what it takes to make our region live up to the cherished expectations of Boro, only if we all agree to work together in unity and maintain the peace in the region.”
He said the Boro Day celebration provided another opportunity to imbibe some of the high values, virtues and principles associated with the late icon.
“Isaac Boro inspired different kinds of passion in different people. The one most people would continue to remember him for is his passion to see his people liberated from the shackles of oppression and marginalisation,” he said.
