As Ijaws youths marks the 56th anniversary celebration of Isaac Adaka Boro, who was the icon of the Ijaw struggle for self-determination and emancipation, the administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Chief Dennis Otuaro, has advised Ijaws to shun violence in the course of the struggle.
The PAP Administrator also paid glowing tribute to the memory of the late Isaac Boro, seen as hero of the struggle to emancipate the Ijaw ethnic group from all forms of deprivation.
While advising the Ijaws to look onwards for a better way digital ways of handling the struggle, Otuaro said all hands must be on deck to promote peace and stability in the Niger Delta region.
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In a statement issued to mark this year’s Boro Day by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Igoniko Oduma, on Thursday, Otuaro said Boro was being remembered for his vision, amazing intentions to ensure better standard of living for the ijaw people.
He described Boro as a ‘courageous’ Ijaw freedom fighter who lived a selfless life and promoted the ideals of an egalitarian society.
Otuaro stated that Boro believed in the unity, progress and development of Nigeria where equity and justice would reign, saying it was for this reason he fought to keep Nigeria as one indivisible nation.
According to him, the commemoration of Boro Day was one of the significant ways of celebrating Boro’s legacy of community service and mutual co-existence.
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He noted that the establishment of the Presidential Amnesty Programme was a response to the agitation by Niger Delta youths whose advocacies were anchored on Boro’s school of thought and principles.
He, therefore, advised Ijaw and indeed Niger Delta youths to celebrate this year’s Boro Day responsibly while upholding the ideals for which the late icon is being remembered.
He was quoted as saying, “Major Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro is an Ijaw hero and icon of the Ijaw struggle. His 56th anniversary is a commemoration of his bravery and courage.
“Today, many Ijaw and Niger Delta youths are drinking from the fountain of Boro’s struggle which is a worthy legacy bequeathed by him.
“The Presidential Amnesty Programme was created as a direct response to the intense agitation by Ijaw and indeed Niger Delta youths who were inspired by Boro. Therefore, it is imperative that all hands must be on deck to promote peace and stability in the region in order to fully achieve the objectives of the Programme”.
Otuaro also urged Ijaw and indeed Niger Delta youths to shun violence, embrace unity and love one another in the interest of Ijaw nation.
He also enjoined the Ijaw people to look inward to note the fact that Boro fought for the unity of a strong virile Nigerian nation where the Ijaws would have a pride of place.
He stressed further that Boro did not engage in acts of disunity and pull-him-down syndrome, which has become the pastime of some youths of today.