A WAKE UP CALL SPEECH MADE BY WAKIRIKE MAN IN 1949 APPLICABLE TODAY
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS DELIVERED BY MR. E. D. WOLSELEY PRESIDENT-GENERAL, AT THE CENTRAL MEETING OF THE IJAW RIVERS PEOPLES’ LEAGUE, HELD ON AUGUST 13, 1949, AT ENITONNA HIGH SCHOOL, PORT HARCOURT.
My comrades of the Ijaw Rivers,
It is with the same feeling as possessed the Biblical father at the return of his run-agate son after his long sojourn in the world of indiscretion and whoredom that I address myself as President-General to this August body of people, the Ijaw Rivers Peoples League, at this unique occasion. I am happy that Ijaw Rivers Peoples’ League has returned, may I prophesy, to stay, from its rather long sojourn in the lethargic sleep and inertia, amidst the roaring torrents and waves and splashes of progressive march of the various peoples of our country, to the top. I say to you all, “welcome and well-done, so far!”
May I dare to say; gentlemen that these are no times that need extra-ordinary powers of oration and charm of words to arouse us, the proud sons and daughters of our brave and gallant progenitors of the Ijaw Race to concert measures and pool our resources for a tremendous, forceful, and lively drive towards self-determination as long with other virile tribe in our beloved country, Nigeria, in matters affecting education, health, economic stability, good sense of government, and other kindred factors which, together, constitute the pivot round which spins the glorious mechanism of modern civilization and progress.
We have lost the enviable niche carved for us of old by our forefathers, in the corridor of fame in the old Rivers Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. Like dogs, we are today assigned to pick the ignoble crumbs that fall from the master’s table, which mean place is even sometimes and in some respects denied us. We are today so wholly given a prey to disintegrating forces of individualism and clannishness that we cut our noses to spite our faces, to the extent of appearing ludicrous to the eye of the world; and we have by this means, ignobly and without feeling invited to ourselves the application of saying, “the first shall be last, and the last, first.”
The surf of the dashing shallow water rolls laughing over our heads, and we remain as still and silent as real deep water. If these facts and others natal to the people of the Ijaw tribe be not motives enough to spur us to continued activity towards rising once more to keep our proud pace along with other tribes of our country, then let us break off even now, and let our memory be forever a monument of shame to generations to come, but if these be fire enough to kindle in us a feeling to retrieve our lost ground in the march of the times, then let us, one and all, here resolve to use might and main to pull ourselves together, our people together, forgetting petty differences amongst us to recall, once more, the glory and grandeur that belonged to the Rivers People.
We learn, gentlemen, from yesterday the things to do today. Yesterday, we did resolve in this same strain, but did later rest on our oars. One and perhaps the only salient achievement of this League were getting a province of our own, the Rivers Province. A delegation of this League, led by my humble self did interview the Chief Secretary to the Government of Nigeria, here at Port Harcourt in 1947, through the Chief Commissioner, Eastern Provinces, in this concern; and soon after our aspiration materialised, we fell asleep. This of course, was caused chiefly by a lack in our Secretariat. As this lack, I am glad to say, has been provided for by our amended constitution, it is nothing but hope that swells in our breasts. Let us now onwards sail smoothly on the troubled waters.
Our country calls us; the dictates of the times cry aloud unto us, “Arise, thou sleeping Ijaw giant! Free yourself of thy disrupting entanglements, and take thy wonted giant strides, and march unto progress!! It is only dynamic, fearless but tactful and selfless leadership that will take us far in our journey; leaders who are free and independent in profession are a desideratum. We need a faithful and loyal following; not a following saturated with fault-finding spirit, not a following like dumb-driven cattle. Let us adjust our ranks by a general election of officers, and then, let us bid ourselves, “Godspeed.”
Countrymen, we are faced with problems of very intricate and frustrating complexity in our drive for self-realisation. And brains must be seated in rubber not to appreciate our difficulties. I shall be doing great dis-service to our tribe if I gloss over our faults which militate against our progress; and if we, through infatuation refuse to own these faults, and determine to make amends, we shall be wasting our powder in empty air.
I have been President-General of this League for five years since I took over from our beloved father of the League, Mr. R. T. Wilcox BL, the first General President, and I have discovered within this period certain traits of character which fight against us. Here are a few of them: We lack the spirit of live and let live. By this lack we fail to stretch a helping hand to others who particularly do not belong to the same clan or town as we do, though of the same tribe. Many of us refuse to see anything good in others who, though of the same tribe, do not belong to our clan. A good many of us have eyes only for ourselves and not for others, no matter to what clan or tribe they may belong. A lack of the spirit of generosity towards one another amongst the peoples of the Rivers, stunts the coeval progress of our youth. We are far too prone to think in terms of clan and town, a rather narrow and circumscribed concept of nationalism.
Compatriots, before us lies the turbulent sea filled with such traits that wedge our common progress. There is nothing of general importance to be gained by the disproportionate rise of any single clan. We meet to plan and scheme, we strive, we strain, not in terms of clans although these constitute the integral units in the superstructure of our Ijaw State, but in terms of the whole area as a State to be. Our policy should be equal, common and contemporaneous development of the area concerned.
The voice of the Ijaw race in the field of politics has been silent for long; his place has been left void for so long that even his existence is no longer felt. The recent successive political waves that swept so windily over the whole country have shown the Ijaw man where he places himself. In the past we had Kings, Chiefs and Leaders who treated on comparatively equal terms with rules in Europe through their representatives; but what foul turn of events, oh Countrymen, that has so levelled us with the mire! Let us therefore rise and sleep no more until we have reached our goal.
I thank you gentlemen for listening to me patiently and for so long. I now take leave of you to end my address.
Thanks,
E. D. Wolseley
Ijaw Rivers Peoples’ League (1949)
President-General
Comments