In 1999, when ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo mounted the mantle of Nigeria’s leadership, he shunted the Urhobo, the fifth largest ethnic group of Nigeria, from his constituted Federal Executive Council, FEC. This was after the Urhobo nation had massively given him their mandate through the electoral process.

He actually got away with it because the Urhobo, being peace loving, left him with his oppressive tendency. However, in the coming of the late President Musa Yar’Adua as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, political fortune smiled on the Urhobo nation which was rewarded with a full Ministerial position and later Minister of State portfolio and a Personal Secretary to the President.

Mr. Temienor wrote from Warri, Delta State.

Take it or leave it, there  was probably the presence of an Urhobo son digging deep for the distribution pool of the Niger Delta resources at the centre of government at Abuja.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on which side of the divide you may belong, the era of the late Yar’Adua passed and the son of the Niger Delta soil became the President and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the marginalised indigenes of the Niger Delta heaved a sigh of relief.

According to political watchers in Urhobo land, the Urhobo got their son a state ministerial appointment through the collaboration of an octogenarian who they regarded as having his stamp of recognition at the Aso Rock, the seat of Nigeria’s power.

However, that was to be short-lived as the Urhobo since the swearing in of the President,  have not been given any position, instead the state ministerial appointment and chief spokesman position previously enjoyed by the Urhobo have been taken away.

Some Urhobo have wondered aloud why it should be at this time when one of their own is on the saddle and who knows the true  position, strength and contribution of the Urhobo to Jonathan’s victory at the presidential poll that the Urhobo are being treated with disdain and ignominy.

Others prefer to view the present lack of appointment of the Urhobo as temporary, stating that in due course of time the anomaly  would be corrected.  That the Urhobo would be given their due considering that in a country where some ethnic nationalities get as much as five and above appointments, whereas the Urhobo, the fifth largest ethnic group, have nothing to show for their population and their electoral contribution to the current presidency.

Seemingly at loss of what has led to this sorry state of affairs, some Urhobo political watchers are of the view that given the peaceful nature of the Urhobo ethnic nationality in a disjointed, mangled and winner takes all political space bestrode by political warlords pretending to be democrats, woe betides any ethnic group which lacks adequate representation in the political firmament of Nigeria.

Herein, according to them, comes the misfortune of Urhobo,  a predicament indeed. Ordinarily, others say there should not be any representation of ethnic groups at the centre before one is recognised. But given the vindictive nature of Nigerian politics, the supposedly weak is antagonised and denied its rightful place.

The Urhobo, another group pointed out, have all what it takes to be recognised by the Jonathan administration. They noted that when it comes to their electoral contribution, they accounted for more than 50 per cent of the votes cast for the President in Delta State.

In terms of natural resources contribution to the national resources pool, their crude oil is enormous and their gas  fire power stations and the industrial sector across Nigeria and beyond. According to them, in terms of their peaceful agenda, they have made exploitation and exploration of natural resources conducive in their communities even though others complain that their peaceful nature is their greatest undoing as others who took violence  and propaganda routes have reaped bountifully from their actions.

On Urhobo’s contribution to the national economy, academy and intellectual development, another group noted that despite the vicissitude and vagaries of life, Olorogun Michael Ibru’s empire has been a pride to the Niger Delta and Nigeria as a whole. Employment in the conglomerate did not stop at the Urhobo man or woman alone but covered the whole nation.  Their contribution to the national income is massive.

SAM ANAGBO TEMIENOR wrote from Warri, Delta State.