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By Young Erhiurhoro
Without doubt, as I have observed and experienced in recent years as a community leader, community leadership is more tedious and cumbersome than leadership in government circles and other corporate organizations. This is because community leadership is directly administered to the community people and it’s typically grassroots based. This is unlike the leadership in government circles where both the elected and the appointed in the three arms of government deal indirectly with the people through enacted laws, policies and programmes.
Another reason why community leadership is tedious and cumbersome than leadership in government circles resonates in the words of Socrates, a great philosopher of blessed memory that, “man is a political animal.” His philosophical thoughts are nothing but the bitter truth. In fact, every community leader who is just and truthful in leadership and governance will always confess that, leading herds of cows is simpler than leading crowds of men. These sets of animals would like to obey their leader who in this case, is a man and not even an animal like them.
This animal-man leadership scene is very rampant and glaring in the Niger-Delta region with the Fulani herdsmen and their cattle terrorizing the region during every farming season. With just a warning signal of hissing or shouting from the herder to the cows, maybe not to enter a particular place to graze, the cows have nothing to say than to obey their leader and immediately turn back to him. This is direct opposite of leading community people which in this case, are higher beings with higher sense and wisdom.
True to the above facts, I want to describe our subject of discussion in this master piece in the person of Mr. Peter Maison, JP as a leader with a large heart, a just and a truthful community leader that every community in the Niger-Delta region in particular and Nigeria at large is craving and praying to have as a leader and a man who has brought about another type of leadership known as ‘Sacrificial leadership’ in modern times.
Peter Maison is a man who is ever determined to pursue selflessly and vigorously the legacies of justice, fairness and equity to spread round all classes of people irrespective of tribe or ethnicity, even in his own community. He’s a bridge builder, a goal getter and a change maker. He is a leader whose heart and house are freely opened to all his subjects and a man whose simplicity and humility are incomparable and second to none. He’s kind and generous to every of his subjects and others outside his community. His testimonies of goodness and humanitarian services have been shared in different places by his beneficiaries. Our subject of discussion, Mr. Peter Maison, JP is the president-general of Unenurhie community, Evwreni kingdom in Ughelli North LGA of Delta State.
More importantly, I want to commend Mr. Maison, for being a freedom fighter for his people and community. He’s at the moment pursuing the true identity and origin of his people by seeking recognition, autonomy and independence for his people.
Historically, Unenurhie community is in Evwreni kingdom. Evwreni as a kingdom in Urhobo land is made up of two distinct autonomous communities of Unenurhie and Evwreni communities and other adjoining villages and hamlets. Unenurhie has two major quarters of Enurhie and Uruwheru while Evwreni has three major quarters of Uneni, Okpawha and Urevwe respectively.
However, my question is: What makes a kingdom in Urhobo land or Nigeria? Is it not the conglomerate of communities, villages and families? If this is true, then Unenurhie as a community in Evwreni kingdom has been shortchanged and relegated to the background since this co-habitation as a kingdom began many years ago. Unenurhie as a community in Evwreni kingdom has been marginalized without recourse. Many injustices and oppressive actions have been melted out to the Unenurhie people by the so-called Evwreni kingdom.
Since the Evwreni power wants to silent the voices of the Unenurhie people by every possible means, the first thing they did was to raise the three quarters that made up Evwreni community to the status of a community to confront and contend with Unenurhie community. This was the first marginalization. In this case, whatever that comes to the kingdom, it’s always shared into four. Evwreni as a community will take three while Unenurhie community goes home with one.
Politically, Unenurhie and Evwreni communities are also in one electoral ward known as ‘Evwreni Ward 08’. In this grouping or co-habitation too, Unenurhie community is never recognized at this ward level. It’s always placed at a disadvantaged end or position. Since the creation of this electoral ward till date, no Unenurhie politician from any political party has become a councilor to represent the ward in the local government council. What sort of political marginalization is higher, greater and worse than this in Nigeria? Under party leadership structure, no Unenurhie party man or woman is ever allowed to hold key party executive positions especially the position of the chairman of the party in the ward. These and many more are what the Unenurhie people as a community are passing through in the hands of the Evwreni people for so many years now.
Happily, these forms of oppressive and marginalized leadership against the Unenurhie community is what Peter Maison, JP as the president-general of Unenurhie community came to set aright. He came to change the story of the Unenurhie people in the past years from bitter to sweet story. He came, he saw and he’s fully ready to conquer if actually, he gets the needed support from his own people. Amongst all the president-generals and other leaders of the community, dead or living, past or present, Mr. Maison is one leader that is determined to pursue this struggle of autonomy and independence to a successful end.
Though records have shown that some leaders of the community in the past made some frantic efforts to pursue this struggle; but before the end of the race, they were either cajoled with influence or affluence by the same Evwreni power. At this, they easily fell prey to their political and traditional gimmicks and try to use them as tools to achieve their ill-conceived goals of continually oppressing Unenurhie community by giving them peanuts and to also make them look influential and powerful before their people. This is what Unenurhie community has been passing through for many years by using the Unenurhie leaders to fight their own people, which they vowed and swore to protect.
However, at the moment, Mr. Maison is at the centre of the struggle to place Unenurhie community in her rightful place and position in the scheme of things in Evwreni kingdom or to create their own kingdom. Thank God, some influential leaders in Evwreni as a community are currently seeing some elements of truth in these agitations by the Unenurhie people and are ready to throw their weight behind them to strike balance and justice.
Unfortunately, my fear as I have expressed it before now is that, some of these Unenurhie past leaders that couldn’t fight this battle to a victorious end in their time because of threats from Evwreni or based on their own selfishness are vehemently fighting against this struggle initiated by Peter Maison. They are at the moment trying to use some of the community youths to scuttle this noble vision and dream by viciously looking for loopholes in his leadership to forment troubles in the community.
My message to all Unenurhie people, both home and abroad is that, we should key firmly into this vision and struggle in any area or position we are placed in the society today and to also support this agitation to a victorious and a successful end. Unfortunately, if we continue to be afraid of threats of influence and affluence of these Evwreni people because we want to fight for our personal good, then our slavery in the hands of these Evwreni people will continue till the end of this realm of human existence.
Young Erhiurhoro;Kjc is a reporter and a member of the Urhobo Historical Society
