The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) chose not to hold its planned protest against the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) after important leaders in the region spoke out against it. The factional president of the IYC, Dr. Alaye Theophilus, said that the choice was made after talking with important people in the region. Along with the leaders of the Ijaw National Congress (INC), these leaders—Pa Edwin Clark, Ambassador Godknows Igali, Alhaji Asari Mujahid Dokubo, and HRM King Ateke Michael Tom—strongly warned against making things worse. They stepped in because there had been recent fighting in Abuloma and things were already very tense politically in the state.
Theophilus stressed how important it was to avoid doing anything that could make things even less stable in the Niger Delta. He knew that the fight for development was important, but that peace and security were much more important right now. He agreed with the leaders of the area that they were worried and said that there was a big chance that political opportunists would take advantage of the situation. Theophilus said in his speech that the IYC is still committed to the region’s growth, but he also stressed the need to keep the fragile peace that is already there.
At the same time that the protest was put off, Theophilus made it clear that the IYC would not give up on its mission to hold the NDDC responsible. The group is still determined to keep an eye on what the Commission is doing and make sure that it gives priority to long-term, sustainable development projects that will have a real effect on the whole area. He also talked about how the NDDC and the leaders of Niger Delta states need to work together better and called for a broader approach to regional development. Theophilus said that projects should be made to give people in the Niger Delta jobs, give local towns more power, and make life better in general.
IYC head didn’t say that nothing would happen in the future. He told them that the IYC would have to take stronger actions if the NDDC kept failing to do its job or if its management didn’t get better. For the people of the Niger Delta, Theophilus made it clear that the IYC would continue to be a strong voice for justice, fairness, and responsibility. It will remain the IYC’s major goal to make sure that the region’s issues are not overlooked and that the NDDC and other governing bodies keep the promises they made to the people of the Niger Delta.
Even though the planned protest didn’t happen, the IYC is still determined to work for real change. Theophilus’s words showed how important it is to find a balance between the need to speak out and the duty to keep the peace, especially in a region with a past of political and social unrest. The IYC will still push for the growth of the Niger Delta, but it will do so with a sense of duty, making sure that its actions don’t cause more instability by accident.
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