TO WHOM MUCH IS EXPECTED, MUCH IS GIVEN-Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah.__ Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah (LLB; BL; LLM).

TO WHOM MUCH IS EXPECTED, MUCH IS GIVEN-Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah.

The time honoured proverb that we all grew up to know is: 'To whom much is given, much is expected.'

However, permit me to speak in the converse that 'To whom much is expected, much is given'.

With all sense of humility to my beloved people of Egbema Kingdom (otherwise now proudly known, addressed and called Warri-North Constituency 2), my  revered chiefs, respected elders, leaders of thought, my very dear brothers and sisters, esteemed leaders of our great party, the APC, women, youths and, all stakeholders, ladies and gentlemen.

I want to give God Almighty the glory today that we are now free from the political subjugation of the Itsekiri People,  and we now have an opportunity to send someone to the Delta State House of Assembly for the first time since the creation of Warri-North as a Local Government Area and since the creation of Delta as a state. 

Those years are some of the darkest years of our history, never to be experienced by us again.

The joy that comes with this freedom is profound, inexplicable and sui generis.

Let me at this juncture crave your indulgence to bring to play the very famous quote of a French psychiatrist and philosopher, Franz Omar Fanon from his seminal 1961 book, The Wretched of the Earth (specifically in Chapter 1 thereof) when he said and I quote:

''"Every generation must, out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it".

In this quote under reference, Franz Omar Fanon challenges his contemporaries to recognize their historical responsibility, urging them to either actively take up the mantle of liberation or fail their historical duty.

Franz Omar Fanon presupposes therefore that every generation faces a unique set of societal or political challenges. Rather than inheriting a predefined destiny, a generation must define its own historical responsibility (discover its mission) and either actively take up the mantle of liberation (fulfill it) or fail their historical duty (betray it).

The fact that our societal or political challenge in Warri-North was the oppression and political subjugation from the Itsekiris is not new to anyone of us.

Nobel laureate Professor Wole Soyinka in his novel, 'The Man Died', asserts that "the man dies in him who keeps quiet in the face of tyranny," underscoring the moral imperative to resist oppression through active expression.

Several generations before ours did their best but none could give us the freedom in the manner we yawned for.

Tired of this recurring decimal of the oppression from the Itsekiris and driven by a high sense of patriotism and a duty to fulfil the God-given destiny of the 5 Ijaw kingdoms of Egbema, Gbaramatu, Ogbe-Ijoh, Isaba and Diebri in the Warri Federal Constituency, *Hon. George Ugulasuowei Timinimi,* *Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor,* *Chief David Pere (now late-may his soul rest),* *my very humble self, Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah,* *Arc. Sylvester Adowei,* *Comrade Julius Kenedabor,* *Hon. Lucky Oromoni,* 

*Mid-West E. Kukuru,* *Comrade Sheriff Mulade and Emmanuel Igetei* went beyond the requirements of duty to discover the mission of our generation and took INEC to court in 2011 for one reason. And, that reason was for INEC to come to the Warri Federal Constituency, tour all the Ijaw, Itsekiri and, Urhobo areas and rely on the population, size, number of communities and all other necessary criterions they would see to create wards and units in the Warri Federal Constituency instead of the then wards and units that had been created arbitrarily to the disadvantage of the Ijaws in the Warri Federal Constituency and put an end to our societal or political challenge of oppression and political subjugation from the Itsekiris.

From the Federal High Court. which was the court of first instance, the matter climed to the Supreme Court and judgment thereof was given in our favour in 2022-a space of 11 years.

True to the content of the judgment, INEC came down, met with all stakeholders and toured all the Ijaw, Itsekiri and, Urhobo areas and empirically saw the population, size, number of communities in our kingdoms and eventually created a Constituency for us, bestowing on us the status of a people who can now send someone to the House of Assembly to represent us always. 

By the reason of that singular step of ours, the freedom we all wished for all these years, is finally here. 

I give God the glory. And, I thank my leader, *Hon. George Ugulasuowei Timinimi,* for conceiving, for  birthing and for bankrolling this venture.

To my friends, *Hon. Denbo-Denbofa Oweikpodor, Chief David Pere (now late, may his soul rest), my very humble self, Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah, Arc. Sylvester Adowei, Comrade Julius Kenedabor, Hon. Lucky Oromoni, Mid-West E. Kukuru, Comrade Sheriff Mulade and Emmanuel Igetei,* there's no gainsaing the fact that we are nationalists who have written our names in gold in the annals of the histories of our kingdoms.

But, today, our leader in the Niger Delta has taken his decision that Chief Ebipate Kari (and not me) should be the one to represent us at the Delta State House of Assembly, come 2027 via the APC platform.

I believe God Almighty expects so much loyalty to leadership from me, so much concessions from me (even at my own inconvenience and discomfort) to decisions of leaders, and that is why he has made me one of the main, foundational liberators of Egbema Ijaw Kingdom from the shackles of oppression of the Itsekiri man spanning decades.

The decision by High Government Oweizide Ekpemupolo that Chief Ebipate Kari should be the one represent Egbema Kingdom (now otherwise proudly known, addressed and called Warri-North Constituency 2) via our great party, the APC, may not be convenient to me, but, I can't go against the decision of the GOC. 

That will be disrespect  to leadership. The GOC loves Egbema Kingdom. He means well too for Egbema Kingdom. 

And, afterall, to whom much is expected, much is given. The Almighty God knows best why he made me a liberator without making me a beneficiary of the first fruit of that liberation.

I accept the decision in good faith.

I thank you all for your wonderful support.

I enjon us all to give our support to Chief Ebipate Kari to see that he succeeds in the general elections. 

God keeping us alive, with the size and magnitude of freedom in our hands, more opportunities will come our way in the near future for me to be compensated for my efforts.

I thank you all.

May God bless Egbema Kingdom.  

May God bless Warri-NorthConstituency 2.  

May God bless Delta State.  

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.  

May God bless the All Progressives Congress.

I remain Barr. Bei-Ugha Kurumah (LLB; BL; LLM).

21st June, 2026