By Ovasa Ogaga,
The Chairman of the Ewu-Okuama Internally Displaced Persons IDP, Management Committee, Mr Abraham Ogbodo, has called on good-spirited individuals and corporate organisations to support the Delta State government's efforts by donating relief materials to the displaced people of Okuama, camped at Ewu-Urhobo.
Ogbodo, a former Editor of the Guardian Newspaper stated this on Saturday at Ewu-Okuama IDP Camp in Ewu-Urhobo, Ughelli South Local Government when leaders of his Oghara and Edjeba communities in Agbarha-Otor kingdom in a show of solidarity visited the camp and donated food items for the upkeep of the inmates.
The elated Ogbodo while applauding the gestures, noted that what happened to the people of Okuama was a serious humanitarian crisis that needed the support of the Federal government, and international donor agencies, noting that the task of rebuilding and resettling of the Okuama people in their ancestral land is a huge one that should not be left alone for the Delta State Government.
According to the veteran journalist, now a Niger Delta opinion leader, "What played out today is a show of support from my paternal and maternal community of Oghara and Edjeba communities in Agbarha-Otor kingdom. They pulled their resources together to support the work that their son is doing, this also shows that people trust what we are doing here at Ewu-Okuama IDP Camp.
He noted, "Though the epicenter of the crisis is in Urhobo land that's why we have seen that most of the interventions have come from Urhobo people and groups, but it should not be so. The Okuama people need global attention.
"This is a humanitarian crisis that should not be viewed from ethnic perspectives, the United Nations should be interested because it has become a global crisis, the federal government of Nigeria, Delta Government, all stakeholders and anyone who believes in humanity should be interested in how to rebuild and resettle Okuama people.
"We are working on creating a platform for the next step, because what you see today is just the first step to bigger efforts of resettlement of the Okuama people to their ancestral homeland. That is more capital intensive and will take more than food items.
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Oghara and Edjeba communities in Agbarha-Otor kingdom donate food items to IDP Camp at Ewu[/caption]
"So, we will want good-spirited individuals, originations and international donor agencies to come on board with us as we journey to getting the Okuama people back to their homeland, but in the interim, we need relief materials, particularly protein like fish, meat, chicken and eggs because we have so many children in the camp."
He also called Okuama's neighbour the embrace the fact that God brought all of them together in one location for a reason and should, therefore, fashion out how to live together peacefully by amplifying their strength and not their weaknesses.
Speaking earlier, Mr Peter Edema, Chairman Oghara community on behalf of the delegation which includes, Mr Solomon Agbagba, Chairman Edjeba community, Mr Godwin Ejuvbevbo, Mrs Akpoufuoma Igugu, women leader and four others, commended Mr Ogbodo and his team for the great job they are doing at the Ewu-Okuama IDP Camp.
Mr. Edema explained that they were concerned about the plight of their brothers from Okuama over the unfortunate incident leading to the destruction of their community, hence they have come to lend a helping hand and to also support what one of their sons is doing as the head of the camp.
According to him, "We brought these food items here to support our Okuama brothers and to tell them that they are not alone in this situation. As you can see, we have a lot of children in the Camp who are innocent and need food daily, that is why we have come today to donate these items to support the efforts of the government and our son."
Items donated include bags of rice, bags of garri, salt, cartons of tin tomatoes, and gallons of palm oil.
