Ogbia 2 indigenes charged to contest elective positions of trust - OCAF

                                By Ajibola Expenses

  Eligible sons and daughters of Anyama Clan in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa state have been told to aspire for elective positions of trust in the ongoing political democratization process in the country to salvage the area from the shackle of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment.

Mr Majesty Inegbagha FCIDA

  They have also been told to shun blackmail, character assassination, violence, hiring and use of thugs as well as cultists before and during the 2019 general elections.

   The National Chairman of Ogbia Constituency 2 Advancement Forum (OCAF), Mr. Majesty Inegbagha gave the charged while addressing newsmen in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa state.

  Mr. Inegbagha reminded the people of the area particularly the politicians irrespective of their political affiliations or leanings to see themselves as members of one inseparable entity to foster peace, love and unity to enhance the desired development of the area to meet the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

  The OCAF boss lamented that Ogbia Constituency 2 is the only Clan in Ogbia local government area that has not been link to the state capital with motorable road to alleviate the transportation difficulties facing the people; occasion with coastal erosion menace devastating several communities, particularly Anyama, Ayakoro, Otuegwe 1, Otuaganagu, Ologi and the and annual flood affecting Otuobhi and other communities.

  He maintained emphatically that it is only through unity of purpose and love among the various political stakeholders in the constituency that the desired development of the area could be achieved.

  Inegbagha advised politicians of the area mostly aspirants seeking positions of trust to embrace and imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship in all their dealings noting that in every election there must be a winner or loser. He stressed the need for aspirants of the area to see themselves as members of one indivisible family at all time when such incident had occurred devoid of ill-motivated tendencies.

  According to him the essence of joining politics by every patriotic Nigerians or indigenes of the area is borne out of the desire to render selfless service to the people but not for selfish interest.

  He called on the people of the constituency especially those having ambition to contest the 2019 general election to embrace the political footsteps of Late Senator (Chief ) Melford Obiene Okilo of blessed memory, the political gladiator and father of Ogbia politics by always avoiding acts capable of causing disaffection  and acrimony, or do or die affair politics.

  The pacesetter pointed out that late Senator Okilo in his lecture titled God, Man and politics which he delivered at the conference Hall of Women Affairs in Yenagoa, on February 10, 2001 while alive; said “ the misconception of the true meaning of politics is one of the causes of political instability in the world especially the developing nations.

   Okilo posited that the average man thinks that getting involved in politics is a short cut to get-rich quick. He sees politics as a place of exploiting the people or oppressing his imaginary enemies. To him, politics is a “polluted” profession, a ‘game of rascals’ or that of “never-do-wells” which men of high integrity should

never get involved.

  This mentality, according to Late Senator Okilo led to cut-throat competition based on a system of “winner-takes-all” and other electoral malpractices.

   He added that blinded by greed for money and power, he resort to violent and might – over right methods to win and even overthrow constitutionally elected governments, by whatever means thereby causing political instability in the political system.

 This set of person he said does not seem to realize the fact that participating in politics or holding a political office could give any person the opportunity of bettering the condition of his people or rendering selfless service to the suffering masses.

   In his lecture, Senator Okilo said politics in the moral and spiritual sense should mean the expression of the power of God within every man, woman. It is the manifestation of power, which should always be used for the welfare and well-being of mankind, and never for selfish ends.  

   Mr Inegbagha therefore urged those seeking elective positions from the area in 2019 general election not to see politics as a means to show brute-force or the use of privileged position to corrupt the people and deny the less privileged their rights.

  He asserted that when politics is divorced from morality and spirituality it becomes a corpse fit only for burial or burning, stressing the need for those aspiring for elective position to embrace morality in all their dealings to sustain the existing peaceful atmosphere in the area.

 Inegbagha further urged the people to avoid destructive politics by observing the moral laws of politics as postulated by late Senator Okilo.

   The moral laws of politics he said is based on honesty, goodness, righteousness and the consideration for others in all our dealings with others.

  He appealed to aspirants of the area to sell their manifestoes to their party stalwarts and the electorates and allowed them to choose candidates of their choice devoid of brutal force or hijacking of electoral materials to deny the people their mandate to elect their representatives.

  OCAF boss added that aspirants should see politics as a game or means of testing popularity and not to perpetrate violence or sponsor criminals to cause destruction.

  He commended the political party’s standard bearers, the youths and the people of the area for the peaceful manner exhibited during the conduct of the 2011 and 2015 general elections and enjoined them to sustain the tempo.